It is not uncommon for brands that are inexperienced with influencer marketing to spend all of their money on one large, famous profiles. And in some cases, that has proven to be a successful strategy. But what many are unaware of is that size does not always equal quality, and behind a big following is often a large number of fake or suspicious accounts, or maybe followers that are not relevant for your product or service. To minimize the risk of throwing money on irrelevant followers, you should consider working with nano-influencers or key opinion consumers (KOCs) – i.e. influencers with 1,000-10,000 followers.

Benefits of Working With Nano-Influencers & KOCs

There are several benefits of collaborating with nano-influencers and KOCs, including:

1️⃣ Close relationship with their followers

With their small numbers of followers, nano-influencers and KOCs are able to establish a stronger and more personal connection with their audience. They are more likely to provide honest and personalized answers to DMs, to engage in discussions with their followers and to reply to every comment – resulting in a higher engagement and a more loyal community.

2️⃣ Better performance

With more engaged and loyal followers also come better results on key performance metrics. Nano-influencers and KOCs are more likely to reach out to a larger proportion of their followers, resulting in a higher impression rate and a lower cost per view. With Instagram removing the 10K-followers rule previously limiting smaller accounts from including links in stories, brands can now also take advantage of the high-perming nano-influencers and KOCs for driving traffic.

3️⃣ Cost-effective
Investing in nano-influencers and KOCs is a more cost-effective alternative to working with larger profiles – especially for brands with a limited budget. Not only because of their excellent performance which lowers the cost per different units, but also since they charge a far much lower rate than bigger and more coveted profiles. With the lower prices you will also be able to increase the number of influencers, and hence also the volume of the content – allowing you to scale the campaign more effectively.

How to Work With Nano-Influencers & KOCs

It is important to keep in mind that nano-influencers and KOCs are people that primarily uses their social media for a hobby, and therefore do not perfectly master the art of collaborating with brands. As a result, they can be tricky to identify and to work with. But don not worry, here are few tips on how to run a campaign with nano-influencers and KOCs:

👉 Hashtags

If you do not have access to an influencer search tool, try to identify a few hashtags that fit the specific vertical of influencers that you wish to collaborate with. These hashtags will give you quick access to various influencers, and will most likely lead to someone who is perfect for you.

👉 Followers

Once you find a profile that you like, take a look at who they are following. Most of the time, a high-performing influencer within your specific nisch will follow other high-performing influencers within that same nisch.

👉 Sample content

When you have decided who to work with, it is a good idea to provide them with sample content that capture what you are expecting them to produce. Giving a visual presentation of what your vision for the campaign is increases the likelihood of them living up to your expectations.

👉 Analyze

Regardless of the size of the influencer – make sure to evaluate and track their performance after each campaign, in order to have a good overview of which influencers work for your brand and what you should look for when onboarding profiles for your next campaign.