Nano-ambassadors, or nano-influencers, are social media users with between 1,000 and 5,000 followers, and they make up the majority of influencers on Instagram. As of the end of 2018, 52% of influencers were nano-ambassadors. As trust in influencers with larger followings continues to wane, micro and nano-ambassadors are becoming the go-to for brands across the spectrum.

Why Are Influencers Called Ambassadors?

At PopTribe, we use the term “ambassadors” to describe Instagram influencers who work with your brand. We use this terminology because that’s a more accurate description of what these people actually do on their Instagram feed. They’re the ones out there between you and your target audience who regularly take it upon themselves to let everyone in their sphere know why they believe your brand is so awesome. They are more critical to developing a positive online reputation for your brand than anything that’s directly associated with your company. Nothing you write on your website or stream on your YouTube channel is going to do as much to garner enthusiastic traffic as what your ambassadors do on Instagram and perhaps other social media channels. Their devotion to your brand is why we use the more specific term, “ambassadors,” rather than the more general term, “influencers.”

Why Nano-Ambassadors?

There are Instagram users out there with hundreds of millions of followers – think Christiano Ronaldo or the Kardashians. Any content they post is guaranteed to go in front of more eyes than any nano-ambassador could hope to attract. So why aren’t they the best avenue to blast your brand name out there? The most obvious reason is money. Unless you have at least half a million dollars to blow on one post, the biggest Instagram stars are going to be out of your  reach for now.

That’s not to mention that just getting your name in front of those people and convincing them to work with you over others is a daunting task that requires lots of legwork for likely zero return. More importantly, however, the engagement rate (comments, shares and reactions) on posts of the largest Instagram influencers is generally dismal at around 0.5-2.5%. Given their overall following, that’s still a lot of people, but they have such a broad audience that they end up promoting products all over the spectrum. Readers are generally uninterested in most of their posts, and their engagement rate reflects that. There is generally an inversely proportional relationship between followers and engagement rate, with nano-influencers enjoying a comparatively healthy 5.60% rate.

The relatively high engagement rate of nano-influencers speaks to the level of trust they engender. People have more trust in others with whom they can identify. Most people can’t identify with Kim Kardashian, for example. But they can identify with someone who has a similar class standing and similar interests. It’s this identification and commiseration that makes nano-ambassadors so powerful as compared with larger Instagram personalities.

What Nano-Ambassadors Bring To Your Brand

Credibility

Strut around telling everybody how great you are, and see what that does for your relationships. The same applies to the relationships between brands and consumers. Tooting your own horn is not particularly endearing, and it can even drive people away. If you went on a date and spent the whole time talking about how awesome you are, do you think you’d get another? On the other hand, if a mutual friend of yours goes on about how great you are, this other party is going to be intrigued to say the least. That’s how brand credibility works. Direct communication with your prospects is largely going to go in one ear and out the other; but if they here from someone with whom they can identify that your brand is the real deal, they’re going to be much more inclined to give you careful consideration and even see for themselves by giving your products or services a try.

Bang For Your Buck

Mega-influencers demand huge sums in excess of a quarter mill to promote a product, and the price falls from there. Even macro-influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers, though, will charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars per post. Nano-influencers, though, are new to the entire concept of Instagram influence; they’re just doing what they do and accumulating followers because of their authenticity, knowledge and passion for their particular niche. While they would love some sort of consideration for trying a product, they don’t have a set system where they expect monetary compensation for each post. They’ll be thrilled with  free products and a sneak peak at what else you’ve got cooking. The same goes for most micro-influencers with followings in the tens of thousands. If you recognize them appropriately, and, more importantly, your products and brand ethos continue to impress them, you’ll have continuous positive publicity at a tiny fraction of the cost of a typical PR campaign.

Continuing Loyalty

When you form a relationship with a nano-ambassador, you have the opportunity to grow together with that person as your market share and their following increases. If you carefully cultivate these relationships by keeping your ambassadors in the loop and making sure they know you appreciate them, their loyalty to you will grow accordingly. As you each grow, your relationship will evolve and become even more lucrative for both parties. However, as you add more ambassadors and as their expectations of compensation grow, managing your various ambassador relationships can be a challenge.

Find and Manage Your Nano-Ambassadors with PopTribe

At PopTribe, we help you recruit and manage these incredibly valuable brand boosters. We’ll make sure everyone’s on the same page and handle the potentially time-consuming activities of tracking ambassador-assisted purchases and ensuring appropriate compensation. Put your best foot forward with a top-flight team of nano-ambassadors; get the ball rolling today! Do you think you have what it takes to become a brand ambassador yourself? PopTribe can help you find the brand that perfectly matches your passion and manage your ongoing relationship. Start your brand search and harness your passion to become a prime Instagram influencer.