Have you incorporated influencer marketing into your startup’s marketing strategy? If not, it’s time to start thinking about it. While at it, what type of influencer marketing are you using or thinking of using? 

First, integrating various marketing techniques in your startup’s operation will propel your growing venture into scalable heights. 

We have shed many insights about email marketing, influencer marketing, digital advertising with Facebook and Google and even a highly targeted form of advertising, niche marketing. Businesses of all sizes must leverage such powerful tools to expand their outreach and ultimately attain optimal success. 

Nonetheless, without proper knowledge, your startup’s marketing techniques might turn out to be useless and a waste of resources. This is especially critical in influencer marketing, where brands must consider several factors before creating a conventional influencer marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, some brands, especially startups, make the mistake of initiating their influencer marketing campaign by targeting celebrities to promote their products/services. 

Mega influencers, like A list celebrities, are usually the go-to solution for influencer marketing. Sadly, these are highly inaccessible and can cost your startup quite a significant amount you could use elsewhere. 

The good news is that your startup doesn’t need to use such influencers. Instead, it requires smaller, niche-focused influencers with relatively low, but amped-up followers. 

Nano influencers are the key to a successful influencer marketing campaign, despite the smaller follower count or lack of fame. Still, there is more. 

Here is everything you need to know: 

Nano influencers: Why you need them for your startup’s influencer marketing 

In most cases, nano influencers are everyday people, maybe your neighbour who loves driving cool cars over the weekend, students who are fans of certain brands, etc. In sum, nano influencers are content creators with fewer than 10,000 followers on social media platforms. 

Due to their smaller sizes, it’s easier for them to get a high engagement rate, leading to trust and involvement with their followers. For instance, a 2020 Instagram marketing survey established that users on Instagram with less than 10,000 followers had an average engagement rate of 8%, in contrast to a 2% engagement rate for content creators with more than 1,00,000 followers. Even better, their audiences tend to be more active.

Moreover, nano influencers are ideal for brands, especially startups and SMEs, to experiment with influencer marketing. Not to mention, they are budget-friendly. Don’t get it wrong, macro and mega influencers are still vital pillars to influencer marketing. However, ventures have realized the immense amount of value nano influencers offer to share brand messaging with much authenticity. That’s also more alluring to the modern-day consumer.

Here are detailed insights to why nano influencers are the perfect choice for your startup’s influencer marketing: 

They are authentic

As already outlined, nano influencers are typical or simple guys with non-glamorous lives compared to celebrities and mega influencers. Their audience can relate to them and tend to foster genuine connections with their followers. Individuals will most likely purchase a product/service if they hear a recommendation from someone they trust. 

It’s the authenticity that warms 90% of consumers to a brand recommendation. Considering that most followers of nano influencers are people they relate to, such as friends, coworkers and family, it’s reasonable for your startup to partner with them to give your venture an authentic feel. 

Also, unlike mega influencers, they don’t get approached by thousands of brands every day, and therefore it’s impractical for nano influencers to bombard their timelines with several ads. 

Nano influencers generate quality engagement

Again, nano-influencers have a higher engagement rate on most social media platforms than other types of influencers. 

First, they are more authentic and approachable than celebrities. Therefore, their posts will most likely get more comments, likes, and click-throughs. The high engagement rates are ideal for your growing venture to enhance its outreach and drive conversions. 

Also, the social butterfly effect plays a critical role in nano influencers’ ability to generate quality engagements. In contrast to celebrities and mega influencers, they have a small following that’s practical to keep track of. As a result, they can respond and react to their followers’ posts, creating a feedback loop. 

They are cost-effective

Financial restraints are a significant impediment hindering the success of startups. Allocating lump sums to pay mega influencers to push your brand can overwhelm your startup’s operation. 

Luckily, it’s much cheaper with nano influencers, and some might promote your brand in exchange for complimentary products/services. Nonetheless, it would be best to pay influencers to get the best from your campaign. 

For example, you might find the price of one sponsored Kim Kardashian post is almost equivalent to deploying hundreds or even thousands of Nanos to push your products. What’s more, it’s feasible to mobilize hundreds of nano influencers to create relatable and targeted content that reaches trusting consumers. 

In sum, working with nano influencers tends to have an excellent ROI, and there is less risk of losing lump sums. 

Nano influencers are enthusiastic and easier to work with

It’s more viable to reach an agreement with nano influencers than following the stringent and overwhelming hassle of reaching out to celebrities. First, you can directly message nano influencers. They are likely to respond without much delay. Some might even reach out to you first by expressing their zest and eagerness to push your brand. 

On the other hand, several brands are always trying to get the attention of mega influencers or celebrities. As a result, it might take long before they get back to you, or worse, they might not get back to you. 

In addition, nano influencers are more eager and passionate to work with a brand, build their fan base, and establish a reputation for future gigs. 

Better audience retention

Due to their high engagement, there is a higher likelihood of retaining referral traffic from nano influencers’ content. By following up with emails, newsletters, and, in general, customer acquisition tactics, you can make the best out of your influencer marketing campaign. 

Unfortunately, some entities make the blunder of paying little or no attention to retaining an audience with their nano influencers’ followers. As such, it might be far-fetched for your startup to sell on its own in the future. Instead, it might always have to depend on influencer marketing to remain relevant and competitive. 

Final thought

Working with nano influencers will go a long way in ensuring your startup attains optimal success. Nonetheless, and akin to all marketing strategies, a wrong approach might break your campaign. 

Therefore, it’s essential to understand the influencing landscape and have the right influencers. What’s more, incorporating the ideal tools will help you find influencers in your industry. Glean more insights from our recent post: How to Create An Influencer Marketing Strategy For Your Startup before tapping into the immense potential of nano influencers.