What is a Micro-Influencer & Why Are They Important?

With dreams of going viral, you might be tempted to focus on influencers who have millions of followers. Stats like that mean a single endorsed post published by a celebrity can be seen by millions of people, in theory.

As the top influencer agency in Canada, the Peersway team knows better. In reality, these views don’t convert into sales or even click-throughs. For higher engagement rates, you need to consider micro-influencers — and more specifically, nano-influencers.

Micro-Influencer: A Definition

A micro-influencer is a content creator who has anywhere from 10 to 50 thousand followers.

Follower count is an important metric in the influencer world, which is why the industry categorizes content creators by their audience size.

Micros are one of four subcategories, which you can see below:
• Mega: 1,000,000+ followers
• Macro: 50,000–1,000,000 followers
• Micro: 10,000–50,000 followers
• Nano: 1,000–10,000 followers

This placement on the scale of accounts puts a micro-influencer somewhere in between the average user and a celebrity. This happy medium between celebrity and anonymity adds to their credibility as creators.
On one hand, they aren’t unrelatable mega stars who never engage with their followers. But on the other hand, they are more interesting than a neighbour whose only followers are the people they know in real life.

What Do Micro-Influencers Post About?

Besides the black and white of their follower count, what else do you need to do or be in order to fit into this neat definition?

Not much, other than being a person who inspires others by posting engaging content on all the usual social media platforms. Here at Peersway, we manage influencer campaigns on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and more.

What do you think of first when you hear the word “influencer”?

If you’re like most people, you might conjure up images of the pretty Instagram model at New York Fashion Week or a fitness enthusiast showing their gains.

While there are plenty of those on social media, micro content creators’ sphere of influence can run the gamut of niches — from gaming and cooking, to DIY, makeup, art, tech, comedy, parenting, and more.

If you can think it, you can find someone creating content about it — which is a good thing for micro-influencer marketing campaigns. Variety means you can find a niche creator who aligns perfectly with your brand.

Why Are Micro-Influencers Important?

Micro-influencers often get to where they are by creating engaging content that appeals to a niche audience. As they build their brand and refine their content, they become authorities in their subject.

That kind of passion and knowledge attracts followers who share their interests. More importantly, their followers look to them for advice and trust their recommendations.
Micro-influencer marketing campaigns piggyback on this credibility, lending their status as digital creators to your brand.

Since their followers trust the micro-influencer’s opinions, a collaboration with a brand is worth checking out. As a result, micro-influencers boast higher levels of engagements than macro and mega content creators.

This engagement comes at a lower fee than most macro and mega influencers, which can cost several thousands of dollars per post depending on the person. Cristiano Ronaldo, the most-followed account on Instagram, can make $1.6 million with a single post!

What is the Difference Between Nano- and Micro-Influencers?

Follower counts make up the biggest difference setting these two categories apart. Nano content creators have fewer than 10 thousand followers.

At a lower-wrung of the follower ladder, nanos are that much more approachable to their followers; they’re like a friend or family member who gives reliable advice.

As a result, they foster deeper relationships with their audience. Nanos often respond personally to each engagement beyond a “thumbs up” or “like”. They answer questions, share advice, or solicit requests for new content, which can’t be said about the macro and mega accounts of Instagram.

Like micro-content creators, they are considered trustworthy experts in their field, and they attract a unique group of followers.

By choosing the right partnership, you can target a specific audience that you wouldn’t ordinarily reach with traditional advertising.

What is the Benefit of Working with a Nano Influencer Agency?

Let’s cut to the bottom line — literally. Like most brands exploring influencer marketing, you want to convert social media scrollers into customers. And when money is on the line, you want to make sure your business venture delivers an impressive return on investment.

Here at Peersway, our network of nano content creators clinches higher levels of audience engagement than any other subcategory of influencers. However, their rates are often lower than even micro-influencers, which makes nanos an option for small businesses operating on small budgets.

Cost-effective influencer marketing is one of the biggest benefits of working with Peersway and our network of experienced nano content creators. We offer scalable options that let you work with a few content creators to start out, or hundreds of influencers on one campaign.

According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, brands can earn up to $18 in earned media value for every dollar they spend on influencer marketing. Your ROI could be even higher when you factor in nano’s greater engagement levels with their lower upfront costs.