Influencer Categories
Power of persuasion, a talent for taking photos, great charisma, or maybe a great sense of style? All those features can describe a perfect influencer. However, it is not as easy as it seems.
Creators spend a lot of time standing out and creating interesting content. Many people think that influencers are only those who have a particular number of followers/subscriptions. In this article, we will prove that a number is just a symbol.
Nano - influencers
In this case, the number of followers is completely irrelevant. Nano-influencers are people who gathered their profiles from 1 thousand. up to 10,000 observers. A small number? It doesn't matter! More important is how much influence they have in a particular community. Some of them may be experts in their field or idols of niche categories. Are you the most popular kid at school? Do you win a horse riding competition? Or maybe you create original macros? Show the world what you can do! Maybe you will not get the attention of a million recipients, but it is very likely that specialized brands will respond to you, and then the door to an influencer career will be wide open. Barter cooperation, i.e., non-cash exchanges of goods or services in return for your posts on social media, is very popular.
Advantages of cooperation: low cost, high engagement in content creation, a group recommended for local companies.
What to watch out for: small reach - the need to select more influencers at the same time, no or very little experience in creating such specialized content.
Micro-influencers
Authenticity is nowadays the most wanted feature among influencers. Micro-influencers, although they can boast a much larger number of followers (10,000-50,000), must try much harder than the previous group. The public is extremely demanding in this case. This is because followers identify with this group the most and expect the most reliable content from it. They know their idols will recommend products they can afford. They excitedly await new posts, but can also quickly get disappointed if the content doesn't impress them. Micro-influencers are prone to attracting attention and won't hesitate to take advantage of controversial content. Micro-influencers also often cooperate in the form of barter. However, the best ones can also close a deal on paid campaigns. Nowadays, they are the most popular group on the Internet.
Advantages of cooperation: authenticity, affordable competitive prices - thanks to which the company can afford campaigns with several influencers at the same time, followers’ loyalty.
What to watch out for: controversy, reach, quality - Instagram is not the only source of income for these influencers, so they may not have enough time to create content, and that’s why the quality of the posts may not be impressive (but not necessarily!).
These two groups are currently the most popular among middle-sized businesses.
Medium-influencers
In many research, you can find different categories of influencers. The medium-influencer category appeared relatively recently and describes a group of creators who have gathered on their channel from 50,000. up to 500 thousand followers. Some specialists do not differentiate a separate category for such a group of influencers and divide them simply between micro- and macro-influencers. This group can arouse a lot of interest among larger, more famous brands. These are usually influencers who started quite early when social media wasn't that popular or those who particularly stand out in the online world. Such influencers usually also decide to create their own Internet businesses, e.g., selling e-books. Their creativity is managed by specialized agencies.
Advantages of cooperation: significant range, knowledge of your recipients, high commitment and conversion.
What to watch out for: quality, higher costs.
Makro-influencers
Makro - influencers are mostly the ones with 500,000 or more, up to 1M observers. This group gained their fans "from scratch" mostly via the Internet. As a result, a large amount of this group specializes in campaigning with big brands. They are professionals in their field. They have huge and often highly engaged followers. They know their fans very well and know what content they love. They can’t afford cooperation that the recipients may not like, so they carefully select contracts and reject those they consider unfit. Many macro-influencers work with agents who are usually prepared to negotiate the right rates.
Advantages of cooperation: huge reach, professionalism, knowledge of their audience.
What to watch out for: huge reach doesn't always mean high commitment, the costs of cooperation tend to be high, and partnership can seem less credible than with smaller influencers.
Mega-influencers
Those influencers are mainly media people: celebrities, artists, actors, sportsmen, etc. Their career didn’t start in social media. They became famous much earlier, and Instagram or TikTok only serve as a "bonus" to their careers. Of course, this group also includes people who started their adventure only with social media, but it is only the minority. Their reaches are huge, and an even greater advantage is the fact that they appear not only on the Internet but also in traditional media. As a result, they reach an even larger group of followers. They often decide on long-term cooperation or sponsorship. This group doesn’t engage so much with their audience. They rarely respond to comments or private messages, which makes them less credible.
Advantages of cooperation: massive reach, frequent long-term cooperation instead of one-time deals.
What to watch out for: lower credibility, high cooperation costs.
The Native Hash editorial team is made up of experienced specialists and enthusiasts of influencer marketing.