Whether you are a business owner looking to bring some fresh perspective into your marketing strategy or a marketer looking to expand your reach, then perhaps you already have influencer marketing on your to-do list. But the real confusion is about choosing the right type of influencer for the job, isn’t it? That’s the confusion we aim to address today. 

Ready for an influencer marketing crash course? Let’s dive in! 

Let’s begin by understanding the importance of influencer marketing in today’s age. 

The Power of Influencers in Marketing

Did you know 75% of people turn to social media for buying advice? Hence the power of social media and the power of influencers cannot be ignored! Here’s how influencer marketing can supercharge your brand:

• Influencers help foster engaged communities and partnering with the right types of influencers brings quality leads. In fact, 83.8% of marketers say that influencer marketing delivers better customer quality compared to other channels. So, if your aim is to attract high-value customers then it’s time to start investing in influencer marketing. 
• Influencer content resonates more than branded content, with 36% of brands reporting it outperforms traditional marketing materials
• Data shows that a whopping 69% of consumers trust influencers more than they trust brands. Therefore, if you are a new brand looking to establish your voice, influencer marketing can be a powerful tool.

It’s important to remember that while the benefits are undeniable, choosing the right influencer is crucial. About 86% of marketers cite this as the biggest challenge in influencer marketing. Let’s tackle that by first understanding the different types of influencers and some strategies to work with them. 

There are various types of influencers based on factors like their follower counts and their niches. Choosing the right types of influencers based on niches feels like a straightforward decision because you are going to be sifting through the options within your niche. However, choosing them based on their follower count feels more challenging. Hence this is the categorization we’ll tackle in this blog.  

Understanding the 4 Types of Influencers + Strategies to Work With Them 

Based on the follower count, there are 4 main types of influencers: 

• Mega influencers 
• Macro influencers
• Micro influencers 
• Nano influencers 

We’ll be looking at how each of these types of influencers can be leveraged in marketing and the ups and downs when considering them to collaborate with your brand. 

1. Mega Influencers (1 Million+ Followers)

The first most influential category of influencers is mega influencers. They are the accounts with more than 1 million followers. These are likely celebrities who are active on social media or influencers with such massive following that has earned them the social media celebrity status. 

According to the popular social media monitoring tools provider Mention, accounts with more than 1 million followers account for merely 0.76% of the total accounts on Instagram. Evidently, you will see such small figures on other platforms as well. This exclusivity and rarity make them special. 

The idea of working with mega influencers is to tap into their pre-existing fame to give your brand a significant boost in recognition. 

A few examples of mega influencers on various platforms are: 

If you look at the accounts with the most followers or subscribers on these platforms, you’ll probably notice that:

• On Instagram, it’s mostly celebrities, athletes, and brands. 
• However, on TikTok & YouTube, you’ll find internet celebrities most of whom share content spanning across diverse niches. 

Quick highlights:

• Without a doubt, mega influencers have a massive reach! So, yes, if you are looking to expose your brand to a diverse audience, then working with them makes perfect sense. 
• However, their audience spreads too wide. They might not always be relevant to one particular niche. Some social media users are merely following them for their popularity and might not share their values. Therefore, you cannot always expect the best engagement rates.  
• Finally, there is the cost factor. Mega influencers can be very expensive to work with. According to Shopify, mega influencers charge approximately $10,000+ for one post on Instagram, about $2,500+ per TikTok post and the figure goes to about $20,000+ for a YouTube post. So the question is, do you have that budget? 

Working with mega influencers: ideas + tips

Product launches 

Mega influencers are the best types of influencers to collaborate with when you are launching something revolutionary. For example, Samsung collaborated with several celebrities to launch their Flip and Fold series smartphones. A folding smartphone was not a common trend when these phones were introduced and hence the popularity of these celebrities helped reduce the skepticism that comes with any new technology.

Moreover, these phones were promoted as glamorous gadgets and they carried a hefty price tag. Therefore, the allure of the mega influencers the brand collaborated with came in pretty handy. 

Like this collaboration with Catriona Gray to promote Galaxy Z Fold 5. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Catriona Gray (@catriona_gray)

Or when Motorola collaborated with Grant Thompson on his YouTube channel TKOR to promote the launch of the Moto Z Force smartphone and their new mods! In this case, the idea was to focus on the USP of the smartphone (its durability). The video created here perfectly captures the idea and preserves Grant Thompson’s signature style as well. 

Boost brand awareness 

If you are looking to quickly get your brand name out there, to quickly boost your brand awareness, then the best types of influencers to achieve this will be mega influencers. 

For instance, in the below post, Velveeta positions their product within one of the quirky videos shared by popular Canadian chef and influencer, Matty Matheson. Simple posts like these where the mega influencer seamlessly integrates the brand into their existing content style, resonate well with the audience. 

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A post shared by MATTY MATHESON (@mattymatheson)

2. Macro Influencers (100K – 1 Million Followers)

Macro influencers are the types of influencers who mostly belong to the “internet celebrity” category. They do not have millions of followers like film and sports celebrities. However, they have managed to master the pulse of social media through years of experience in creating content for various platforms. 

Let’s look at a few such profiles: 

Quick highlights: 

• The first and foremost difference between these two types of influencers we’ve discussed so far is that macro influencers tend to be more niche-focused. Yes, they might cater to some related niches at times but they are still engaging with a more targeted group of audience than mega influencers. 
• Additionally, one main benefit of working with these types of influencers is that they have established an authority within their niche. This lends more credibility to their endorsements. 
• While they tend to be slightly less expensive than mega influencers. According to Shopify, they charge about $5,000–$10,000 for an Instagram post, $1,200–$2,500 for a TikTok post, and nearly $10,000–$20,000 for a YouTube post. Hence, they might still not be within the scope for startups or small businesses.

Working with macro influencers: ideas + tips

Boost credibility 

These types of influencers have built their following by sharing their expertise in their field. This combined with their large following leads to followers looking up to them for advice and answers. These traits come in handy if you are looking to boost your brand’s credibility. 

Take the below campaign for example. This is a partnership between JYM Supplement Science and Gunnar Peterson, a renowned fitness influencer. Gunnar Peterson’s videos are generally informative and this one follows the same format. Similarly, product review videos and educational videos like this one created in collaboration with macro influencers can help brands boost their credibility. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gunnar Peterson (@gunnarfitness)

Achieve targeted reach 

Targeted reach is crucial for brands looking to strengthen brand recall. Because only on delivering resourceful content to the right audience will you be able to get them to remember your brand and recall it the next time they make a purchase. 

For achieving such targeted reach, working with more niche-focused macro influencers can be highly effective. 

The below post is the collaboration between Camila Mariana Ramon and the popular exercise equipment brand Peleton. The video particularly targets the RBC Brooklyn Half runners by answering questions they might have before the event. 

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A post shared by Peloton (@onepeloton)

Question and answer format like this one works particularly well when collaborating with these types of influencers because macro influencers have both better engagement and authority in their niche. 

3. Micro Influencers (10K – 100K Followers)

Let’s now move on to the most ideal types of influencers for most small business owners – micro-influencers. They do not have an intimidating number of followers which means that their followers feel more comfortable engaging with them. In short, they are the perfect blend of trust + engagement. 

Therefore they are the perfect types of influencers for brands looking to start small and build a strong online community. 

Here are some examples of micro influencers on popular social media platforms: 

Quick highlights: 

• Micro influencers still have a decent following consisting of more loyal followers than with the other types of influencers we discussed so far. These highlight engaged communities of theirs can be valuable resources for brands. 
• They have by now established their unique style which is easily recognized by their loyal followers and hence this can be leveraged to create content that helps establish a brand’s unique personality. 
• Collaborating with these types of influencers can be highly cost-effective. According to Shopify, micro influencers charge around $100 – $5000 per Instagram post, $25 – $125 per TikTok post, and about $20 to $5000 per YouTube video. 

Working with micro influencers: ideas + tips

Build trust through personal stories  

Unlike celebrities and authoritative macro influencers, micro influencers are still seen as everyday people. This can be a huge plus for brands looking to build trust through genuine experience-based stories. 

They can also take the simplest of features or attributes of a product or a brand and build in-depth stories around it helping the featured brand impress their engaged communities. 

For example, the below post is a collaboration between the Lululemon brand and Drew Jessup, a model with a strong social media presence. On scrolling through his page you’ll notice that most of his posts look casual and unscripted. This casual style aligns with Lululemon’s brand personality. Hence, this video feels natural and non-intrusive thus building trust. 

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A post shared by lululemon (@lululemon)

Tapping into referral marketing 

If you are looking to make the most of referral marketing for increased reach and popularity of your brand, these are the types of influencers to work with. We spoke about their experience-based stories acting as genuine reviews for customers to trust your brand and products. This trust forms the cornerstone of winning referrals too. 

Besides, we also discussed how micro influencers focus on specific niches. Therefore their followers are following their account because they are interested in that particular topic. Which means that they are more likely to make purchases based on recommendations from them. So adding a referral program, an affiliate code for these micro influencers to share with their followers increases conversions for your brand. 

The below video is a collaboration between the fitness apparel brand TÜDAY and Aisha Zara Sams, a popular influencer in the fitness niche. The natural placement of the product in this post helps boost the effectiveness of the referral code in the caption. 

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A post shared by Aisha Zaza Sams (@aishazaza)

4. Nano Influencers (Less Than 10K Followers)

The last on our list of the types of influencers and one of the most sought after types in recent times is nano influencers. These are accounts that are yet to hit the 10K mark. Therefore these are creators who are highly invested in growing their accounts.

The below graph from Statista shows how the average engagement rates on Instagram vary based on follow count. As can be seen, nano influencers had the highest engagement rate of 2.19% in 2023. Therefore these are the best types of influencers to work with when you are looking for a small-scale impact but with the best ROI. 

Let’s look at some nano influencers on various platforms: 

Quick highlights 

• The influence of a nano influencer extends over a small community but the influence is stronger and more genuine. Therefore they are often seen as trusted voices within specific local markets. 
• Collaborating with these types of influencers is a budget-friendly option for local business owners. According to Shopify, they charge about $10–$100 per Instagram post and $5–$25 per TikTok post. These are small amounts considering the engagement they bring. 
• Given their close communities, there are powerful two-way conversations happening on their pages and this can be a huge plus for brands looking to skyrocket their engagement on social media. 

Working with nano influencers: ideas + tips

To tackle hyper-local marketing 

Do you want to target granular audience? Or perhaps your focus is on a hyper-local approach? If these are the cases, then these are the types of influencers to work with. Because nano influencers have a strong local reach and tightly-knit local communities. 

For instance, in the below post, a nano influencer promotes a local store. 

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A post shared by Daniel Rodriguez (@_danielphysique)

To make the most of this idea, collaborate with local influencers in your target geographic location in local events or host a giveaway that can help both your brand and the influencer grow. These ideas can also be handy for both the brand and the influencer to generated user-generated content to boost their respective social media following.  

When you have to establish your presence in a unique niche 

Similar to targeting a hyper-local audience segment, targeting unique narrow niches can sometimes be difficult. For example:

• Targeting pet parents but specifically those nurturing pet reptiles.
• Bakers but particularly vegan bakers.
• Fashion niche but particularly focused on eco-friendly clothing. 
• Yoga but for people with chronic conditions. 

These are sub-niches within popular niches and there might not be much content within such narrow segments. Therefore, there is a significant gap your brand can fill and nano influencers are your best bet for this. 

For instance, in the below post, the focus is on protein shakes particularly vegan options. Therefore a nano influencer who talks about this sub-niche is the most effective choice. 

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A post shared by Linz E. | Content Creator+Model (@linz.e)

Similarly, if you are looking to create laser-targeted campaigns to promote a particular product for your brand or to establish your brand as a unique option within the main niche, then working with these types of influencers amplifies your efforts. 

Create Stunning Visuals For Your Influencer Campaigns With KIMP 

In all of these campaigns, irrespective of the objective, there is one common factor and that is the use of engaging visuals. Whether it is the influencer sharing a sponsored post on their page or the brand and influencer creating a collaborative post, there is always a video or image or carousel involved. Because visual stories help paint a clearer picture of the collaboration and the story behind it. 

The quality of these visuals can make or break the effect of the campaign, irrespective of how creative your idea is. Therefore, working with a professional design team feels like the must-have component in influencer marketing. After all, you want to make the most of the budget set aside for these campaigns, and engaging visuals ensure this. 

Ready to tackle the visual aspect of this effortlessly? Choose a KIMP subscription and our dedicated team of designers will take care of all your design needs. 

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