Influencer marketing has grown exponentially over the past few years and is now being embraced as one of the most effective channels for driving a higher ROI in your brands’ marketing efforts. In fact, 80% of marketers have found influencer marketing to be effective, with over 71% of them saying that it helps them both drive high-quality traffic and customers, and also facilitate an uptick in conversions.

If these reasons fail to convince you of the power that influencer marketing holds, then we don’t know what will. But regardless, brands and marketers alike are turning to influencer marketing in no short order and seeing the tremendous value of investing in influencer marketing.

Are you planning on launching an influencer marketing campaign? Crafting an effective influencer marketing strategy is both an art and a science, and most importantly, you need to find the right Influencers for your campaign. This is a task that many brands find themselves overwhelmed with, so it’s no surprise that over 61% of marketers struggle to find the most ideal influencers for their campaigns. Part of the reason for these struggles is knowing the different tiers of influencer that exist today, and how their influence aligns with their follower counts and engagement rates. So we are here to help! Let’s break down the different tiers of influencers, and discuss what makes each of these groups both similar and different from one another. Let’s get started!

Get To Know Your Influencer Tiers

When looking to select the right influencer for your campaign, it’s important to know the different tiers of influencer…

NANO

Nano influencers are the lowest on our tiers of influencer, but don’t let their smaller follower counts fool you. These creators have highly-engaged audiences that have developed a strong personal connection to them. Nano’s typically specialize in a particular niche, which is one of the primary reasons that their audiences are so engaged.

Nano-influencers are classified as creators who have 5,000 or fewer subscribers on YouTube, 2,500 – 10,000 followers on Instagram, and 5,000 – 50,000 followers on TikTok. 

MICRO

Micro-influencers became all the rage in 2019, as brands began to utilize their value in creative ways and on a more frequent basis than ever before. Similar to their nano counterparts, they are often creators who specialize in a particular niche. However, they have established themselves a bit more than the nano’s, oftentimes being viewed as an expert in their specific niche.

Micro-influencers are classified as creators who have 5,000 – 25,000 subscribers on YouTube, 10,000 – 100,000 followers on Instagram, and 50,000 – 150,000 followers on TikTok.

MID

Staying true to their namesake, mid-tier influencers occupy the middle ground of the influencer spectrum as we know it. Mid-tier’s often reflect the transition that takes place with many online creators and influencers, who begin to translate their hobby and their growing fanbase into a legitimate brand and profession. These influencers provide a wide range of value to multiple people who make up their diverse audiences.

Mid-tier influencers are classified as creators who have 25,000 – 250,000 subscribers on YouTube, 100,000 – 500,000 followers on Instagram, and 150,000 – 750,000 followers on TikTok.

MACRO

This group of influencers represents the first tier of ‘big-time’ creators and celebrities on Social Media. These influencers are established online personalities who have amassed a large following on their social channels. While nano and micro-influencers may be the ‘experts’ in their unique niches, macro-influencers represent the leaders of their particular niches or genres, and their established audiences often follow them cross-platform. This is why macro-influencers often have large follower counts on multiple social media platforms.

Macro-influencers are classified as creators who have 250,000 – 1,000,000 subscribers on YouTube, 500,000 – 2,500,000 followers on Instagram, and 750,000 – 2,500,000 followers on TikTok.

CELEBRITY INFLUENCER

The celebrity influencer tier is a select group of prominent social media stars. The best way to describe these social media savants is that they are established, high-profile macro-influencers who have crossed the threshold of social media stardom and inserted themselves into the spotlight of pop culture as a whole. They are no longer ‘online celebrities’, but rather a traditional celebrity who achieved their fame and status through their presence online.

Celebrity influencers are classified as creators who have 1,000,000+ subscribers on YouTube, 2,500,000+ followers on Instagram, and 2,500,000+ followers on TikTok.

CELEBRITY

Contrary to their ‘celebrity influencer’ contemporaries, this group of influencers established their online audience as a result of their pop-culture fame and notoriety. These celebrities range from famous actors, professional athletes, massively popular musicians, and any other form of full-blown celebrity. These individuals are known to the general public for their work beyond social media, but who still use their social channels as a means to generate income and grow their already large fanbases.

Celebrities who also happen to be influencers can have a wide range of follower counts, depending on factors such as time on platform (how recently or long ago they signed up for social), how active they are on social, and a multitude of other elements that may impact their numbers. Regardless, their impact and influence on social media is profound.

SOCIAL PUBLISHER

Social publishers represent a unique group of social media influencers. These content creators and distributors are considered by many to be the ‘TV of Social’, mostly as a result of their extensive reach and seamless content placement. Social publishers are often known as theme pages, as well.

Much like celebrities and celebrity influencers, social publishers can have a wide range of follower counts.

Final Thoughts

Here at Viral Nation, we put together this article to highlight the ever-changing tiers of influencers we see on social media today. Our talented content team constructed this insightful infographic to provide you with a quick guide for assessing the different types of influencers. You can download it here!

The post Micro, Macro, Celebrity: Get To Know Your Influencer Tiers appeared first on Viral Nation.