The best way I can describe Nano influencers is through a brief story –
I oftentimes have the opportunity to speak to high schoolers about the importance of LinkedIn. When I ask a room of 17 high school seniors who their favorite YouTuber is, how many different answers do I get? 17. Which ones do I know or recognize? Zero.
And that’s a great thing.
The more we, as marketers, seek out the person who has the attention of the audience we’re attempting to serve, the better off we are. It’s better to focus on a micro-niche audience than to say, “we’re for everyone.”
Nano influencers embody this concept perfectly. What they share on social media will often be called “fringe,” “non-mainstream,” or just “flat-out weird.” And that’s perfectly fine. What they share – in fact – is absolutely irrelevant to most people.
The benefits? As marketers, we know almost exactly the audience who is seeing/hearing our message.
The drawbacks? We need to develop (or help the Nano influencer develop) the content that will resonate with her audience. This is difficult because – unless we’ve served this audience extensively before – we don’t know which creative (copy, images, videos) to couple with the Nano influencer’s current voice. Or, do we try to get her to do something out of the ordinary and appear disingenuous to her audience. It’s a very, very tough balancing act, but a risk worth taking.