A step-by-step guide for working with nano influencers

Nano influencers aren’t the Kim Kardashians or Taylor Swifts of the world. They’re everyday people with small but highly engaged followings between 1,000 – 10,000 people. And that’s what makes them so effective to work with.

Big influencer campaigns often rely on reach, but with nano influencers, it’s about quality over quantity. These creators connect with their audience on a personal level. They’re relatable, authentic, and their followers listen because they trust them.

In this guide, we’ll show you the benefits of working with nano influencers, and give you a step-by-step framework to help you get started with an effective nano influencer strategy.

Why nano influencers work for any brand

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a small, local business or a multinational conglomerate, nano influencers reach audiences and niches that bigger influencers can struggle to connect with.

They’re a popular choice too – 76% of brands have already worked with nano influencers over the past twelve months, making them the most in demand tier for brand collaborations. In comparison, only 35.6% have worked with top tier influencers.

Here’s what makes them work so well as a content partner:

• They’re relatable & trusted: Followers see them as a friend, not a business. When a nano influencer shares a product, it feels like a recommendation from someone they know personally.
• High impact, low cost: Many nano influencers will post for a free product or a nominal fee ($10–$100 per post). That’s a fraction of what you’d spend on a macro-influencer or celebrity endorsement.
• Active community: Smaller audiences mean higher engagement with nano influencers maintaining the highest engagement rate of all influencer tiers on Instagram, at 6.23%.

Nano influencer campaigns often deliver higher ROI per dollar spent, with a 7% conversion rate compared to just 3% for bigger influencers. Imagine 10 nano influencers with 5,000 followers each and 4% engagement rate, that’s 2,000 highly engaged followers, often more valuable than a single macro-influencer with 500,000 followers and 0.5% engagement.

Real-world impact of an effective nano influencer strategy

Organix, the UK’s No.1 leading baby and toddler food brand, provides a great example of how authenticity drives results, whether through nano influencers or a blended influencer mix. When launching their WonderDen campaign, Organix focused on creating a genuine connection with parents through engaging, family-friendly content and partnerships with creators who shared their values.

By giving influencers creative freedom to tell their stories and connect naturally with their audiences, Organix built trust that went far beyond traditional advertising.

Using Emplifi’s Social Marketing Cloud, they tracked performance across both brand and influencer content to understand what truly resonated, proving that success isn’t about influencer size, but about authenticity, relatability, and community trust.

Here’s how you can start working with nano influencers in just 3 simple steps:

Step 1: Partnering with the right nano influencer

Big follower numbers don’t always equal impact. Hand-pick a select number of nano influencers who genuinely connect with your brand.

Here’s how to find the right partners:

Niche down for high engagement

• Focus on creators in a specific niche that aligns perfectly with your brand. There are plenty of influencers having conversations in your industry but you could be missing all the good stuff. A social listening tool like Emplifi can help you tap into these opportunities, so it’s easier for you to make the right connections.
• Check who follows your brand – or your competitors – and has an engaged following. Look beyond numbers – comment quality and frequency matter.
• Notice who’s active in comments on bigger accounts. These people already have a voice in the community and are passionate.

Save time by using influencer management tools

• Influencer management platforms like Emplifi can help you get started quickly. Our AI filters help you discover influencers with the right interests, follower numbers, and language choices to fit your brand.
• Many tools help you spot hidden gems you might miss manually. Emplifi even lets you compare influencers based on key KPIs so you can choose a partner you’ll be confident in.

The benefit for your brand? A curated team of influencers who will help sell your product on a personal level, to a highly engaged audience.

Step 2: Crafting your campaign for authenticity

Customers are craving authenticity when it comes to brand advertising, with 51% of social media users purchasing products if posts feature people like them. They don’t like the hard sell; they prefer someone to recommend products, just as a friend would.

Nano-influencers are uniquely placed to be a trusted advisor to their audience, and a key marketing asset to brands.

Their authenticity shines through, so stifling it with a script would strike the wrong tone with their followers. Instead, think of your campaign as more of a collaborative process where you provide guidance, rather than dictate every word.

Provide creative freedom, yet clear expectations

• Give a clear brief but let them create content in their own voice.
• Followers can spot inauthentic content instantly. Allow your nano influencer to incorporate personal stories or experiences – this is what makes their content so engaging.
• Keep agreements simple and clear including:
  • the number of posts, e.g., one feed post, two Instagram Stories.
  • the key message: what do you want their audience to do?
  • the compensation e.g., gifted product, flat fee, or both.

Remember, nano-influencers are often using their social platforms as a side hustle – they won’t have time to sift through hefty contracts before working with you. Don’t overcomplicate things. Keep collaborations positive and authentic, rather than stifling creativity.

Spotlight user-Generated Content (UGC)

User-Generated Content (UGC) is one of the best weapons in a marketing team’s arsenal, with 65% of consumers saying it does influence them.

Nano influencer campaigns are UGC gold mines. High-quality, authentic content can be repurposed across your own channels; your brand gets social proof from trusted voices, without the extra creative spend.

For example, a skincare brand might collect UGC from 15 nano influencers to create three months’ worth of authentic Instagram content, boosting credibility and saving time.

A nano influencer management tool like Emplifi also allows you to build a customizable calendar, full of impactful UGC that you can share across your own channels. Plus, the legalities are made easy with automated workflows that reach out to content creators for rights approval on your behalf.

Step 3: Proving ROI to your leadership team

Reach is great for brand awareness. But ultimately, you’re going to need to prove ROI if you’re going to get sign-off on future nano influencer campaigns. To do this, you need to make sure your social media analytics are accurately set up, and you’re able to monitor campaign performance.

Key metrics to track for your nano influencer campaign

Once you’ve outlined the goals of your campaign, you’ll understand the key metrics you’ll need to be track. They could include:

• Engagement rate: Percentage of followers/viewers who like, comment, or save.
• Clicks & conversions: Track direct results using promo codes, UTM links, or affiliate links.
• Qualitative impact: Monitor brand sentiment and positive mentions – nano influencers often drive buzz that numbers alone can’t capture.

When you’re presenting to your leadership team, keep it simple, show your results, and emphasise the ROI that nano influencers bring to your brand. Getting your leadership team on board ensures you have a backing for future campaigns, and support for your marketing team initiatives.

Why you should include nano influencers in your marketing strategy

Nano influencers might not boast millions of followers, but that’s the point – they don’t need to. The audiences they do reach are deeply engaged, highly trusting, and more likely to act on a recommendation that feels personal rather than paid.

This translates to:

• More meaningful connections: Followers see nano influencers as peers, not celebrities.
• Higher conversion rates: A smaller, tighter audience often means more people clicking, buying, and signing up.
• Better ROI: Lower costs per post + higher engagement = more value for every marketing dollar spent.

In short: while bigger influencers give you reach, nano-influencers give you that all important authenticity, as well as trust and impact.

Scaling your nano influencer strategy

Once you’ve got the basics of your nano influencer strategy nailed, you’ll need to manage your growing network to get the most out of your campaigns. Emplifi can step in here to make your life much easier with:

• Unified Management: Handle outreach, contracts, and payments all in one platform.
• ROI Tracking: See which creators are driving the most value with built-in analytics.
• Content Sourcing: Discover, license, and repurpose the best UGC from your nano influencers.

Emplifi helps you scale effectively without losing the core authenticity that makes nano influencer campaigns so successful. You’ll be able to choose from 30M+ influencers to find the right fit for your brand, and track campaign performance from beginning to end.

Get a demo with the Emplifi team to see how you can streamline and scale your nano influencer campaigns.