Nano Influencers: Everything You Need to Know

As influencers grow in popularity on social media, nano influencers are carving out their own section of the influencer industry and brands are taking notice. Nano influencers are gaining traction as a type of influencer that brands are integrating into their influencer marketing campaigns and initiatives because they have something special to offer that micro influencers and even mega influencers don’t have. Here at Sidewalker Daily, we work with brands on their influencer marketing campaigns, and also work with influencers and creators to help them build their businesses. We work with influencers at all levels and in all niches so we have insight into the benefits of working with nano influencers and what it really means to be a nano influencer.

Whether you’re a nano influencer vs micro influencer, being able to properly identify what kind of influencer you are will help you position yourself in the market and also help you know how to leverage your social media influence to land paid brand deals and build a sustainable business.  So let’s cover everything you need to know about nano influencers, the up and coming segment of the Influencer Industry. 

What is a Nano Influencer? 

A Nano Influencer is a person with a social media following between 1,000 to 10,000 on any given social media platform. While that doesn’t sound like much compared to those with more than a million followers, a nano influencer’s followers tend to trust them more, and they typically even have a higher engagement rate than mega influencers.

Nano Influencers are known to have their own niche audience of friends, family, and followers with similar interests to what they talk about online. Their focus on relationship building on social media, authenticity and providing valuable content in their specific niche or online community is what really sets them apart and makes them attractive for strategic brand partnerships. So now that we know the Nano Influencer definition, let’s go over some examples.

Nano Influencers Examples 

For our first example, let’s say you see ads on social media all the time for a smoothie company. Whenever the ads pop up on your feed you don’t really pay attention because it’s just another juice company and you think they are all the same. Then you see your friend who always knows about the latest products post about the smoothie company and how amazing the drink tastes. Wouldn’t you be more inclined to trust their opinion than an influencer you follow that has 500,000 followers? You probably would assume that if it’s a mega influencer posting about the smoothie that it’s a paid advertisement and they may have just done it for the money….and not because they actually think it’s amazing.  

This is the power of the Nano Influencer. Nano Influencers will influence you and they will influence the rest of their followers because they are a highly trusted source of information.

Another example of the power of a Nano Influencer is when a young mom we know, Tiffany, told us that she loves this particular reusable water bottle that has a really cool design and tells you how much water you’ve had that day to motivate you to drink more. She is always raving about the water bottle on social media and posting about the product and tagging the company on her posts. While she is not an influencer, she does have a larger following because the moms in her community love to hear her recommendations.  Because she was always posting about the water bottle and her followers were taking her recommendation and purchasing it, the brand reached out to her and asked if they could send her other products they had that they thought she might like too. 

This is because she actually feels passionate about the product and the people who follow her were taking her advice and buying the water bottle. The brand was happy because they were getting sales. This is the power of word of mouth marketing and the value of the Nano Influencer. When you hear a recommendation from a trusted source, you’re way more likely to purchase the product or service than when it’s shoved between 10 other #Ad posts on a celebrity influencers posts.

What Makes A Nano Influencer Special?

Since Nano Influencers can’t rely on their follower count, they focus more on building relationships with their followers and providing valuable content in their specific niche. Let’s go over 10 things that set Nano Influencers apart from the rest. 

1. Nano Influencers Have a Selling Mindset

One thing that sets influencers apart from other types of Influencers is that they have a selling mindset. Nano influencers have a strategy on what they post, how they post, and when they post. Their bio, highlights, and Instagram stories all let their followers know what they’re selling and how to make a purchase. 

2. Nano Influencers Keep their Audience Engaged

While Nano Influencers don’t have as many followers as the mega or macro influencers, the nano influencer engagement rate is normally quite impressive. This tends to be because their photos look more real and un-posed, although the opposite may be true. While Nano Influencers have become a valuable tool in promoting products, they offer an authenticity that keeps their audience trust and engagement. They don’t come across as too sales-y because their pages tend to be more personal, and they engage more with their smaller audience.

3. They Focus On Gaining Trust

One way nano influencers stand out is that they build trust with their followers. They do this in many different ways, such as being very visible in pictures on their platforms, posting Instagram stories, and even take their community off online platforms to engage with them in smaller groups. Studies show that we tend to trust our friends more when we make a big decision, and people who follow Nano Influencers consider them friends because they have closer relationships with their audience. 

4. They Tend To Go Live

Nano influencers can be valuable brand ambassadors because of their tendency to interact in real time with their followers and let them in on their life and perspective. One way people do this is by going live, specifically a nano influencers Instagram Live but TikTok Live is popular too. This makes them valuable to business owners because they can select someone who’s personal brand matches the value and lifestyle of the product they’re selling, and they reach an audience that would also be interested in their products. When the audience directly interacts with the influencer, they build connection and trust with their brand. 

5. They Use Direct Messages To Connect

The direct message feature on social media allows Nano influencers to connect with their audience in a deeper way. DM’s are also a great way for influencers to directly sell a product in the messages or to turn the person into a lead. DM’s allow conversations to flow naturally, which can lead to product recommendations, email subscriptions, or even selling services. DM’s allow people to talk one on one, and since Nano Influencers have a smaller scope of influence, they are much more likely to respond to their direct messages than a mega influencer.

6. Nano Influencers Share Reviews and Testimonials

People are much more likely to trust their friends and families when deciding what to buy, which makes Nano influencers a great option for companies who are just starting out with influencer marketing. Their following typically starts out consisting of high school friends, college friends, and professional colleagues that like them and trust them because they know them in real life, giving them an unmatched credibility with their social media audience. Nano influencers who post sponsored content that appears candid seem more authentic, which encourages their audience to believe their recommendation and these trustworthy reviews and testimonials are valuable to brands. 

7. They Let Their Audience Behind the Scenes

Whether nano influencers sell a product or a service, a powerful way they create trust in their brand is by showing the “behind the scenes” in their life. This can apply to products from other companies, showing details in the company’s offered services, or even showing behind the scenes in their personal life. When people feel like they’ve seen a more personal side of a brand, they tend to feel connected to it. This can lead to higher sales and higher engagement.

8. They Use Ask Questions And Other Instagram Features

Another way Nano Influencers keep their audience engaged is by using the engagement features on Instagram such as “Ask Questions” on Instagram Stories. This feature allows the user to ask a question or ask their followers to pose a question into a text box on their Stories, which the influencer will then answer with a video or text answer. These exchanges are typically shared through Instagram Stories so their followers can see the questions and answers. It’s effective because it gives followers a prompt which then allows potential customers and clients to engage and ask questions. People want to feel good about their purchase, so engaging with someone about the product or service will likely lead to more sales and higher satisfaction. 

9. They Love Sharing New Products and Services

Many people may not know what your product is or how to use it, so having someone model your product or showcase its uses can encourage sales. This is another way nano influencers can encourage their followers to learn about and understand your product. If the influencer is promoting a service, they can explain everything that’s included in the service. Since 1 in 2 consumers believe anything an influencer says, a tutorial makes the potential buyers feel safe and like they know exactly what they’re going to get when they purchase.

Companies also use Nano Influencers to show products before they officially launch. Nano Influencers can often call this a “sneak peek,” and it includes tutorials, stories, creative hashtags, asking questions, and explaining or modeling the product. This builds excitement and can lead to higher sales when the product becomes available. 

While Nano influencers have smaller followings, they tend to have greater influence among their followers. Since they often are perceived to be very trustworthy and authentic by their followers, they are ideal brand ambassadors and candidates for brand partnerships. 

The Rise of Nano Influencer Campaigns

There are so many brands looking for Nano Influencers these days to help them with their social media marketing initiatives. From a marketing standpoint, incorporating Nano Influencers into your marketing mix and allocating budget for them may be an extremely important strategy to reach your goals…especially if your focus is on sales. Yes, it may be more work for you to develop a Nano Influencer strategy because there are so many people you can work with, but in terms of it’s effectiveness, it may be a home run. It’s also great if you have a geographically targeted product or service because the Nano Influencer’s audience and following will most likely be the exact customer or client you are trying to reach.

While it may be more difficult logistics wise, for brands that work with nano influencers, there are a lot of benefits of working with a Nano Influencer. First off, they are super easy to work with because they are most likely not trying to do it professionally or make a full-time living off brand deals. That means the nano influencer rates for brand partnerships might be more affordable, especially for small companies and start ups that don’t have a huge marketing budget but know and value the importance of marketing their product or service on social media. Nano Influencers may appreciate the notoriety and prestige of working with brands and be grateful for some extra cash in their pocket just by incorporating your product or service into their lives organically. No pushy sales tactic, just passionate whole-hearted recommendations.

That’s the whole reason social media was created, to feel that connection and Nano Influencers have a leg up on the influencer competition because they are also interacting with their followers in real life. They see them at events, they see them at parties, they are leaders and integral to their community. And we don’t always mean community by the geographical sense – but community can be someone influential in the fashion industry, a PR representative, a respected executive. There are a lot of people who have major influence in the world that don’t tote hundreds of thousands of online followers. In their space, niche, world, community – what they say has value and people listen.

So if you’re one of the brands looking for nano influencers then you need to pay attention to who is influential in your niche or industry because they may be a key brand partner for you to help you reach your goals. 

How To Become A Nano Influencer

Becoming a nano influencer may be easier than you think. If you’re passionate about the type of content you create, are authentic and transparent with your followers, and have an audience of over 1,000 people who will listen to what you have to say then you’re off to a great start to your nano influencer journey.

When you are considered a Nano Influencer, you don’t need to worry about your numbers when it comes to pitching to brands because you’re leading with your engagement and actual influence. Focusing on your engagement is key and you should make an effort of getting offline and actually interacting with your followers.  You can even test your influence and see if you can get people to do what you ask of them – make a purchase, follow a business, join your email list. Whatever it is – do people move when you say move? That is going to be a huge clue in seeing if you are ready to monetize as a Nano Influencer, or if you need to work more on your engagement and relationship with your followers.

But whatever you do – always stay authentic. The reason people trust you is because you promote only what you actually use and find value in. So please don’t fall into the trap of taking on partnerships for your ego because it will actually hurt you in the long run. If you’re looking to work with brands it’s important to think of brand relationships as a long term thing – not a one night stand.  Try to start a relationship with a brand and grow with them,  one step at a time. Maybe you promote their product in exchange for free product and then you pitch a paid post and who knows what will happen…maybe you’ll be doing a full on campaign one day. The point is, if you treat working with brands as a one-time deal, they most likely will never be fruitful. If you’re serious about your influencer or creator business, you have to think long-term. 

We’re really happy that Nano Influencers are now recognized as being a valuable part of the Influencer Industry because we have always seen their strength and do our best to educate our brand clients on why every influencer category is special and key to an effective influencer campaign.  

So to summarize what we’ve covered in this article, Nano Influencers are a valuable part of the influencer industry because: 

 1. They tend to have deeper connections with their followers and audience. 

2. Brands are starting to recognize Nano Influencers as an important part of their influencer marketing strategy because of their strong ability to convert a sale. 

3. If you want to become a Nano Influencer you need to start by being authentic and providing true value to your followers. 

If you still have questions about how to become a Nano Influencer or figuring out the right business strategy for you and your goals, you can book a private coaching session with one of our professional influencer coaches and we can work together to get any questions you have answered and set up a tailored gameplan for you to find success as a Nano Influencer!