Great! You’ve decided you want to get started with influencer marketing! But now what? How do you choose the right influencer for your campaign?
How many followers should they have? What kind of engagement do they need in order to reach your campaign goals?
These are all the perfect questions to ask before you select your content creator. Unless you’re working with an influencer marketing agency, here’s how you can narrow down the vast market into your own brand-specific shortlist.
What are the Different Types of Influencers?
Influencers can be divided into tiers based on their follower count. Of course, followers are not the only metric that determines success, but that’s where it starts.
Common benchmarks will classify influencers into one of the following tiers:
- Meg-Influencer = 1M+
- Macro-Influencer = 100k-1M
- Mid-Tier Influencer = 20k-100k
- Micro-Influencer = 5k-20k
- Nano-Influencer = 1k-5k
Each has a unique role in the influencer ecosystem and will bring something different to the table. Depending on your campaign objective, whether you need more brand awareness, sales, or engagement, you may need to hire more than one influencer for your campaign.
Mega Influencers
Who is a Mega Influencer?
A mega influencer is an online content creator who has more than 1 million followers. They could have more across other platforms but mega status means they have 1 million on a single platform.
Some of these accounts will be celebrities or other globally famous figures. Keep in mind that fame does not always equal influence.
What Type of Campaign is Best for Mega Influencers?
Mega influencers get a lot of attention but due to the nature of their status and fame, they won’t be able to offer a high amount of engagement or sales. While these influencers may not fit conversion-driven campaigns, they could work wonders on a brand awareness objective.
Why Work with a Mega Influencer?
If your brand wants to get more exposure, you would be a good fit for a mega influencer in your niche. This tier will have account managers, production teams, and creative teams that work behind the scenes and ensure top-quality content.
Where To Find Mega Influencers
Where there is a social media platform, there will be a mega influencer. However, for brand awareness, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are your best bet.
Macro Influencers
Who is a Macro Influencer?
A content creator with more than 100k followers but less than 1 million on a single platform is a macro influencer. These accounts strike a strong balance between being a niche expert and reaching social media fame. They often have some previous secondary notoriety, such as TV or magazine features or top-notch collaborations.
What Type of Campaign is Best for Macro Influencers?
A macro influencer in your niche would be a great fit for a brand awareness campaign and will offer a higher level of engagement than a mega influencer. This would be a great match for a top-of-funnel campaign.
Why Work with a Macro Influencer?
Macro influencers offer more niche-specific content while also appealing to a wide audience. These are the workhorse accounts of social media that can help you enhance your brand credibility.
If you need eyeballs for your campaign but don’t have a five to six-figure budget for a mega influencer, a macro influencer would be the answer.
Where To Find Macro Influencers
Instagram is the king of influencer marketing but be sure to keep your eyes on TikTok and Pinterest for macro influencers.
Mid-Tier Influencers
Who is a Mid Tier Influencer?
Statista reports that the second most popular category influencers on Instagram were this category, those with a follower count between 20k and 100k followers.
What Type of Campaign is Best for Mid-Tier Influencers?
Mid-tier influencers are the workhorses of social media. They are a great fit for an engagement or conversion-driven campaign.
Why Work with a Mid-Tier Influencer?
A mid-tier influencer will bring a wide net of reach as well as a deeper audience connection than the two higher tiers. Their feeds are a mix of polished and organic content and they will likely be open to partnering with new brands in their niche.
Where To Find Mid-Tier Influencers
Mid-tier influencers probably won’t offer a multi-platform of influence as they’re still growing. Instagram and YouTube will be the top spots for mid-tier influencers.
Micro-Influencers
Who is a Micro-Influencer?
You probably personally know someone who would classify as a micro-influencer. These content creators have between 5k and 20k followers and it was estimated that Instagram influencers that land in the micro category accounted for 47.3% of influencer accounts worldwide.[2]
What Type of Campaign is Best for Micro-Influencers?
A micro-influencer is a great fit for a highly-niched campaign with the objective to drive conversions and ultimately sales.
Why Work with a Micro-Influencer?
A micro-influencer won’t be a professional just yet but is steadily growing. They will have high engagement rates and a strong level of trust with their audience.
Where To Find Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers with smaller accounts are most likely to be found on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Nano Influencers
Who is a Nano Influencer?
A content creator with less than 5k followers but more than 1k is a nano-influencer. These people are of the everyday sort and not at all pros. But they’ve proven they can appeal to and grow a following.
What Type of Campaign is Best for Nano Influencers?
A nano influencer is a good fit for a small campaign that is looking to secure a high level of trust and credibility in its brand.
Why You Want To Work with a Nano Influencer
Their engagement will be the highest of any other influencer because they’re actively still engaging on a personal level. This influencer is on the rise and you could be part of their growth.
Where To Find Nano Influencers
Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are the top spots for nano influencers.
Choose Your Influencer
When it’s time to start narrowing down the shortlist of influencers, you want to look for a mirrored audience, the highest possible engagement rates, and any past sponsorship experience. In most cases, multiple influencers across more than one tier will yield the best possible results.
About the Author
Chris Jacks is the Director of Growth Strategy at HireInfluence. As Director of Growth Strategy, Chris is tasked with analyzing and adapting to the ever-changing influencer marketing industry to ensure HireInfluence is positioned for long-term success and remains at the forefront of innovation.
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