The Influencer Sweet Spot: Between Micro-Influencers and Mega-Stars
How can a marketer determine which type of influencer is the most influential? It’s all about finding that influencer sweet spot: a middle ground flush with ideal influencers that balance reach, engagement, cost-efficiency, and scalability.
Though you may have heard the phrase “sweet spot” tossed around in reference to finding those golden unicorn influencers, I bet there are still many of you who have trouble discerning who’s who — but we have you covered!
Check out the visual below for a quick reference guide to the spectrum of influencers and their audience sizes, from micro-influencers to A-list mega-stars.
The Influencer Sweet Spot: A Visual Guide
Why Do Intermediate Influencers Work?
Advertising with both micro-influencers and A-list celebrities has its own unique benefits, but intermediate influencers in the sweet spot now make the most business sense. Here are a few reasons why:
- Intermediate influencer audiences are smaller than those of A-list celebs but larger than those of micro-influencers, who have limited reach.
- They have loyal audiences with much higher engagement rates (an average of 16x higher engagement rates than paid media and owned alternatives).
- They are much more cost-efficient and work at a much lower individual cost than A-listers, yet have more “star power” than micro-influencers.
- Working with micro-influencers involves far too much brand micro-managing and hand-holding, pushing them towards inauthenticity.
- Despite their massive reach, A-list celebrities are very expensive to work with and have lower audience engagement rates due to the overwhelming size of their audiences.
The idea of working with the Jennifer Lawrences and Brad Pitts of the world may seem lofty and ideal, but at the end of the day, it’s become something of a hollow endeavor — expensive and shiny but rarely engaging to consumers in meaningful ways.
