With each visit to Instagram comes a new advertisement by an influencer we may or may not know. That’s no surprise because research has proven that influencer marketing receives 11 times higher ROI than traditional marketing. Regardless of their identity, one thing’s for certain - influencers have been around for a long time and have no intention of leaving anytime soon. That said, the world has yet to see nano influencers in their true glory.
Benefits of nano influencers
Most brands are unfamiliar with nano influencers but truth is, they come with advantages in tow.
Credibility
Nano influencers have the lowest follower count among the various tiers and therefore have more opportunities to interact with each follower. They gradually develop a genuine friendship with their followers as well. Data from invesp shows that 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know. Since nano influencers share a close relationship with their followers, reviews made are more reliable. Nano influencers’ followers are most likely made up of friends and family, people that they’ve interacted with before. Therefore, the level of trust is a lot higher.
High engagement rates
It is proven that engagement rates decrease as follower count increases. According to our research, influencers with up to 5,000 followers have an average engagement rate of 7% to 10%. Those with less than 2,000 followers can even receive up to 20% in engagement rate.
Cost-effective
Engaging nano influencers is a great way to maximize your marketing budget. On average, brands can potentially work with 50 nano influencers using the same budget meant for 1 macro influencer. As more influencers post for the same campaign, the chances of someone seeing it multiple times increases. In addition, repetitive content familiarizes consumers with the particular brand.
Niche
Unlike other influencer types, nano influencers are niche, thereby making them the perfect brand advocates. Their followers are more likely to share the same interests as well, enabling effective dissemination of information to the right audience.
How nano influencers support your marketing campaigns
More brands are eventually hopping on the influencer marketing bandwagon because they deliver impressive results.
Brand awareness
With the rise of social media, influencer marketing is much more effective than traditional methods due to the change in the way consumers consume content. Since content can be instantly shared across various platforms i.e. from social media to messaging applications, the reach of today’s ads can go further than before. This means maximum brand awareness/exposure for you.
Captivating content
Brand advertisements tend to be sales-driven, unattractive, and disruptive, which is why most consumers have ad blockers installed. According to GlobalWebIndex, ads are blocked when they’re deemed as “too many”, “annoying or irrelevant” and “intrusive”. On the flip side, influencers create their content with a personal touch which more often than not, is deemed more relevant. This helps to make branded content much more appealing to consumers.
Brand relevance
Nano influencers usually focus on specific areas of interest, making them ideal for brands with a specific target audience in mind. Just like how you would not trust your finances with someone outside the banking industry, the words of influencers, who are experts in their field, would carry more weight than one who isn't. E.g. there would be a disconnect if a beauty blogger suddenly starts promoting cars. Hence, by engaging relevant nano influencers, potential customers are able to relate to the brand better.
Key metrics to determine the effectiveness of nano influencers
Measuring the effectiveness of any business decision is key in determining how a brand can refine it, especially where money is involved.
Reach
Brands engage influencers to connect with the new generation of consumers who are active social media users. With influencers, a click is all it takes for hundreds of people to learn of your brand ASAP. To determine the effectiveness of their reach, we recommend looking out for indicators such as increase in brand mentions, keywords, hashtags and number of website visits. It sounds like hard work but thankfully, these can be tracked via online tools.
2) Engagement
The engagement rate consists of likes, comments, and shares garnered by an influencer. Naturally, the engagement rate will be higher for well-received content. Taking note of the engagement rate received by influencers gives brands a better idea of the type of content their followers like to see. In feeding their appetite, brands and influencer can craft campaigns that are mutually beneficial.
3) Sales
Unless your brand is a non-profit organization, your business decisions are likely sales-driven. If you’re struggling to attribute sales driven by influencers, simply furnish each of them with a unique code to track their effectiveness individually. This gives you a better idea of which influencer is able to deliver results in your favor.
4) Website traffic
Nano influencers are a gem because they have the closest relationship with their followers, and are deemed the most reliable among the influencer types. As such, these influencers can successfully push their followers to take action i.e. visit your website. With that, you’re able to re-target those potential customers with ads via Google/Facebook/Instagram.
How should nano influencers be incentivised?
Nano influencers typically work with brands they love as they genuinely want to share about it. Unlike other influencer types, most nano influencers are not as motivated by monetary rewards. Again, they don’t usually do this for a living, and therefore, interest will always come first.
Brand-related advantages
Underneath it all, nano influencers are everyday people who share about the brands they are passionate about. Brands can ride on that affection and gift nano influencers products and merchandise related to the brand. This includes samples, full-sized products, gift cards, and even media kits.
Intangible rewards
Such rewards include exclusive experiences like giving nano influencers a peek into how products are made or inviting them to masterclasses held by brands. They may not be full-time influencers but they will definitely appreciate the gesture and opportunity to get up close and personal with a brand that they love. In addition, this prompts nano influencers to share more about the brand with their followers.
Unexpected gifts
A great way to show your appreciation to nano influencers is to stay updated with their personal lives and send them little gifts from time to time. For instance, sending them a bouquet of flowers on their birthday, or concert tickets to see their favorite band. This further strengthens your relationship with influencers and would resonate well with their followers should they share it online. Moreover, such content would be seen as genuine and ignite good feelings towards your brand.
Common mistakes to avoid when running an influencer campaign
Influencer marketing has been widely used throughout the years. While brands running such campaigns for the first time may not have first-mover advantages, they can definitely learn from brands who have done it.
Unclear objectives
A good rule of thumb is to clarify your goals to the selected group of influencers before embarking on the campaign properly. This ensures that everyone’s on the same page. Knowing your end goal would also make it easier to identify the relevant metrics for measuring the success of your campaign.
Over-emphasizing the brand
Ads put out by brands are often skipped and marked as irrelevant as they’re not transparent about the effects of their products/ services in the name of sales. In contrast, branded content shared by influencers are more well-liked as they are seen as reliable. Consumers trust that their favorite influencers will not only shed light on the benefits of a product/ service, but the downside as well. It’s normal to highlight key words for influencers to mention in their caption but ultimately, the brand message should not drown out their voices.
Focusing on follower count instead of brand compatibility
Some brands get carried away in engaging influencers with a large following. Truth is a) high follower count doesn’t equate to higher engagement, and b) it defeats the purpose if your brand message doesn’t resonate with the followers of a popular influencer. Therefore, it is more effective to engage influencers who are aligned with your brand.
Not measuring ROI
Engaging nano influencers is an investment in itself that should ultimately help brands maximize their profits. With money and time at stake, brands should always measure their ROI to check if influencers indeed help them achieve their marketing objectives. This also identifies red flags for brands to rework and improve their influencer marketing campaign. To go about doing this, simply tie up each campaign objective with a suitable metric. E.g. an increase in brand awareness generally results in greater profile and website visits as people want to learn more about the brand.
Not playing to the strengths of influencers
As comedian Dave Chapelle said, “modern problems require modern solutions”. Hence, brands should actively discuss the look and feel of their marketing campaigns with influencers. As active social media users, influencers would have seen various ideas, and can then provide brands with valuable input on what works. Brands should step out of their comfort zone because the safest way out is not necessarily the most interesting. And in this day and age, a boring ad will definitely not get eyeballs.
Engaging influencers for your marketing campaign takes time and effort. After all, success does not come overnight. If you’re exploring influencer marketing for the first time, we hope this guide gave you valuable insight into the industry!
Have a burning question about getting nano influencers on board? We’re here for you.