Influencer Marketing
Influencer Tiers
A rough classification of creators by audience size: nano (1K–10K), micro (10K–100K), macro (100K–1M), and mega (1M+). Smaller tiers often convert better per dollar due to higher trust and engagement.
What it means
Tiers give brands a shorthand for creator selection based on the tradeoff between reach and trust. Nano and micro creators tend to have smaller but tighter, more engaged audiences who see them as a peer, which drives stronger conversion per follower. Macro and mega creators trade some of that intimacy for scale, better suited to broad awareness campaigns than niche, high-trust recommendations.
Examples
- •A skincare brand runs a campaign across 50 micro-influencers instead of one mega-influencer, for a similar total budget but broader, more targeted reach.
- •A national retailer books a mega-influencer for a product launch aimed at maximum visibility.
- •A local business partners exclusively with nano-influencers in its city for community-level reach.
Use cases
- •Choosing the right tier mix for a campaign's goal, awareness or conversion.
- •Budgeting a campaign across many smaller creators instead of one large one.
- •Setting rate expectations before outreach, since pricing scales roughly with tier.
Why it matters
Tier moves both cost and conversion behavior more than almost any other factor. A campaign built entirely on mega-influencers optimizes for reach. One built on nano and micro creators optimizes for trust and niche relevance, usually at a lower total cost.