Council Post: Think Small, Go Big: A Guide To Working With Nano-Influencers

Founder and CEO of Heepsy, an influencer marketing software which makes it easy to find influencers for your campaigns.

Micro-influencers have become stars of the industry over the past few years. Many brands are realizing that prioritizing engagement over pure follower count has the potential to get them better returns on their campaign investments.

While the use of micro-influencers continues to be a great option for your campaigns, it’s also important to pay attention to their “smaller” counterparts: nano-influencers. With between 1,000 to 5,000 followers, these influencers might be novices, but they have a lot to offer.

First, why choose nano-influencers?

Let’s illustrate this with a metaphor: Imagine you’ve been chosen as an expert speaker at a convention about shoes. 

On Day 1, you give a perfectly polished, general presentation to all the attendees, and the audience is massive. Some people seem interested, but others not so much. At the end, there are only a few minutes for audience questions, and many go unanswered.

The following day, you lead a discussion group on shoes and recycled leather. The audience is much smaller, but everyone signed up for this talk. You don’t have a flashy presentation, but you do have an active dialogue with your group all about recycled leather — processes, brands, etc. Everyone leaves with their questions answered and feeling like they were an active participant in the conversation.

From these two events, think of which audience would be more likely to remember what you said and maybe even share it with a friend. Probably the second, right? 

Now to relate this to influencers: Day 1 makes you a mega-influencer, a celebrity. Day 2 makes you a nano-influencer. Your audience is much smaller, but that factor is outweighed by the following:

• Attendees are genuinely interested in your content and opinion, not just a famous name.

• They see you as a normal person on their level, not someone on a pedestal.

• They can actively communicate with you and feel included in the conversation.

This is engagement, and in an earlier article, I explained why it’s so important when choosing influencers for brand collaborations. And at my influencer marketing software company, we’ve seen that nano-influencers generally have some of the highest engagement rates in the industry.

OK, they have high engagement. What else do you need to know?

High engagement isn’t the only pro when it comes to working with nano-influencers. In my experience, these influencers also tend to have lower fees or are willing to collaborate with brands in exchange for free products, which can be helpful if your marketing budget is limited.

Moreover, as I illustrated with the convention metaphor above, nano-influencers can help you penetrate small niche markets. That market could be a niche theme, like recycled leather shoes, or a niche location, like a small hamlet in upstate New York. Either way, nano-influencers gain their followers because people see something special in their content.

Tips For Working With Nano-Influencers

If you’re thinking of working with nano-influencers, there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Guide, but don’t micromanage. Your brand might have specific guidelines for your collaboration publications, and that’s OK. Explain what you want to emphasize about your product, and specify any hashtags, discount codes or links you want the influencer to include. 

That being said, give nano-influencers creative freedom. They built their follower base with their unique perspective, and that means they best know how to present your brand or products to their followers.

2. Set realistic schedules. Nano-influencers are often just starting out; they’re not always experts at content creation, and they might not have the same resources as influencers with larger followings. On top of that, I’ve found that most nano-influencers don’t influence full time. When they’re not on social media, they might be nurses, fitness trainers or shop assistants. And that’s part of what makes them special.

Therefore, it’s critical to set realistic expectations regarding scheduling. Don’t expect nano-influencers to be able to drop everything in their life to accommodate your brand. Iron out the schedule during negotiations, and make sure they are comfortable with the timing and pace of the content you require.

3. Don’t let contracts become conversion killers. By “conversion killer,” I mean something that stops you from closing the collaboration deal and “converting” that influencer to one who’s publishing for your brand. When working with nano-influencers, demanding a contract could be one of those, and big brands used to getting everything down in a contract might not realize this.

In my experience at Heepsy, contracts aren’t always necessary when paying an influencer solely in product. Of course, if you’re sending them a free product that has an extremely high value, such as fine jewelry or a motorcycle, you might want a contract. I also recommend having a contract when paying an influencer a monetary fee, too. 

But if you’re sending a nano-influencer some clothes or a makeup palette, a contract might be overkill. You could end up overwhelming them and losing the deal. Instead, you can simply firm up the collaboration details in an email. This way, you still have the deal in writing in case someone needs to refer to it. 

Conclusion

Nano-influencers are steadily moving up the ranks as brand favorites for influencer campaigns. Their high engagement and authenticity make it easy to see why. Just remember that many of them are still learning and finding a balance between their online and offline lives. If you can manage your expectations, you might end up pleasantly surprised.

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