By Oliver Jacobs, Co-Founder of UniTaskr

Influencer marketing is big business, and most of us are no strangers to branded content and sponsored posts from huge influencers and celebrities splashed across our social media feeds.

However, as we move into 2022 and businesses start to recover from the effects of the pandemic, the push for value is greater than ever as brands seek to get the biggest bang for their buck for their marketing efforts.

Enter the nano-influencer – these influencers generally possess small but dedicated followings, somewhere between 1000 – 5000, and provide niche content to their highly engaged audiences. Savvy brands are starting to realise the value in these smaller influencers in both targeting new customer segments, and ensuring the right people see their branded content.

With the Content Marketing Institute reporting that 75% of the most successful marketers believe in the importance of cultivating relationships with influencers, nano-influencers present a powerful opportunity for brands to leverage a ready-made audience, and get their branding efforts noticed without breaking the bank.

Here are just five reasons why your marketing strategy should include nano-influencers.

Cost effective

For businesses operating on reduced marketing budgets, or start-ups that need an affordable way to get their message out there, nano-influencers present the most cost-effective form of influencer marketing.

They charge smaller fees than their macro-influencer counterparts, making it easier for businesses to achieve their target ROI. Rather than blow an entire marketing budget on one large influencer with low rates of engagement, brands can instead recruit several nano-influencers, while targeting specific and more relevant demographics in the process.

Authenticity

When it comes to brand appeal, authenticity is key. People want to feel a connection with the businesses they buy from, and collaborating with nano-influencers allows you to do exactly this. 

They excel at creating genuine and authentic content, as their more intimate followings allow them to connect to their audiences on a deeper level, gaining a better understanding of what their followers want in terms of content.

Research from Stackla revealed that 90% of consumers place an emphasis on authenticity when choosing the products or services they support. By developing relationships with nano-influencers that already possess this authentic appeal, you can position your brand in a more credible and relatable light.

Better engagement

The highly relatable nature of nano-influencers means they enjoy far better engagement rates than larger influencers, and this feeds directly into your return on investment when collaborating with them.

Unlike influencers with follower counts in the millions, nano-influencers are consistently active on social media, interacting with their audiences and building that sense of trust and connection. In return, their audiences care more about what they say and do. 

An endorsement about your brand from a nano-influencer will hold a far greater degree of social proof in the eyes of their audience, helping you to increase your reach and drive those all-important conversions.

Local appeal

As well as being more focused on a specific niche or audience segment, nano-influencers are also more likely to focus on a specific local area – which is great news for smaller businesses looking to establish a presence and build awareness of their brand within their community.

The pandemic has placed greater emphasis on local marketing, and opting for a location-based approach to online marketing by recruiting nano-influencers in your target area is a particularly effective lead generation tactic and a potent form of “word-of-mouth” advertising.

Competitive edge

In marketing, it is vital to keep up with emerging trends, and though the concept of nano-influencers is rapidly growing, it is still relatively new to many brands, who are yet to leverage their full potential.

Many nano-influencers are at the start of their content creation careers, making them far more accessible and approachable than an influencer with a follower count in the hundreds of thousands. It is businesses that establish these early connections with nano-influencers that will be able to build strong partnerships as they continue to grow their following (and your brand) over time.

The year of the nano-influencer

Forward thinking brands are already starting to see the potential in being able to target specific audience demographics with authentic, user-generated content. Word-of-mouth marketing has long been deemed one of the most valuable forms of endorsement, and the rise of the nano-influencer brings just this to the digital age, and to their dedicated, highly engaged audiences. 

As the popularity of nano-influencers continues to grow, it’s the businesses that establish early partnerships with them that will reap the benefits of this new form of influencer marketing. In a vast digital landscape where companies may struggle to stand out, nano-influencers can help you boost the relatability and authenticity of your brand in the minds of customers.