Full Definition
Influencer marketing involves partnering with individuals who have built audiences on social platforms to create content featuring your product or service. The core insight: people trust recommendations from people they follow far more than ads from brands they don't know. Influencer tiers: - **Nano** (1,000–10,000 followers): Highest engagement rates (often 6–10%), very affordable or barter-based, deeply trusted by their small but tight-knit audience - **Micro** (10,000–100,000 followers): Strong engagement, reasonable cost, good niche targeting - **Macro** (100,000–1 million followers): Significant reach, lower engagement rate, professional management, higher cost - **Mega / Celebrity** (1 million+): Mass awareness, very low engagement rate relative to reach, extremely expensive For most Indian SMBs, nano and micro influencers in their city deliver the best ROI. A Chandigarh food brand partnering with 10 local food creators at ₹5,000 each (₹50,000 total) will often outperform one macro influencer at ₹50,000 — because of greater credibility and specific audience alignment. Key pitfalls to avoid: - **Vanity metrics**: Follower count without checking engagement rate is meaningless — many large accounts have purchased followers - **No brief**: Giving creators no direction produces off-brand content - **Ignoring disclosure**: ASCI in India and FTC in the US require clear disclosure of paid partnerships Actionable tip: Before partnering with any influencer, check their last 10 posts' average engagement rate (likes + comments ÷ followers). If it's below 1%, their audience is passive — look elsewhere regardless of follower count.