- The influencer-marketing industry is projected to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, and creators with a range of follower counts are making money from it.
- The influencer-marketing agency Viral Nation classifies influencers into seven tiers using terms like nano, micro, and macro.
- Classification methods like this help marketers and influencers determine how much content is worth for a brand campaign, and help define a social star's influence.
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Whether you are an influencer or a marketing agency, trying to determine how much a piece of content is worth for a brand campaign can be challenging in the ever-changing creator economy.
The influencer-marketing industry is projected to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, and the ability to make money off sponsored content has opened up to creators with a range of follower counts on various platforms – from Instagram to TikTok.
While there's no single way to classify every social-media influencer, marketers use terms like nano, micro, and macro, to help define a social star's influence and determine rates.
The influencer-marketing agency Viral Nation categorizes influencers seven different ways to help understand the difference in pricing and engagement across each social-media platform.
This method of classifying influencers can be helpful in understanding who to hire given the overall goal of an influencer marketing campaign– which can be to promote a new product, convert followers into paying customers, or create brand awareness. Campaigns can be with a single influencer or up to hundreds, depending on the budget and goal.
Here are the seven tiers Viral Nation uses to categorize influencers in:
1. Nano influencers
Nano influencers specialize in a specific niche, with a small and engaged community that feels like they know the influencer on a personal level.
Nano influencers:
YouTube: fewer than 5,000 subscribers
Instagram: 2,500 - 10,000 followers
TikTok: 5,000 - 50,000 followers
2. Micro influencers
Micro influencers like mommy-blogger Jehava Brown, who has 79,000 followers on Instagram, or fashion blogger Caitlin Patton, who has 24,500 followers on Instagram, offer their audiences knowledge on a specific niche.
Patton shares posts like apartment-friendly workouts and outfit inspirations with her followers, while Brown shares tips for traveling with kids and advice on motherhood.
Both Patton and Brown told Business Insider that their digital brands are one of their top sources of income. They earn money by promoting products for brands online and through affiliate marketing.
Micro influencers:
YouTube: 5,000 - 25,000 subscribers
Instagram: 10,000 - 100,000 followers
TikTok: 50,000 - 150,000 followers
3. Mid-tier influencers
Once an influencer enters the mid-tier stage, they begin to transition their platforms from a hobby to a profession, according to Joe Gagliese, the CEO of Viral Nation.
Mid-tier YouTube influencers like Sienna Santer, a Harvard student with 300,000 YouTube subscribers, often earn money by promoting brands and through ads that play in their videos.
Mid-tier influencers:
YouTube: 25,000 - 250,000 subscribers
Instagram: 100,000 - 500,000 followers
TikTok: 150,000 - 750,000 followers
4. Macro influencers
Macro influencers are established personalities who have amassed a large following.
Megan Batoon, a YouTube creator with one million subscribers, has a huge audience across social media. She's active on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, and has a podcast where she interviews fellow creators. She is known online for her comedy and dance content.
Batoon earns her money a number of ways, from ads in videos, promoting brands and products, and by developing a merchandise line that she designs herself.
Macro influencers:
YouTube: 250,000 - 1 million subscribers
Instagram: 500,000 - 2.5 million followers
TikTok: 750,000 - 2.5 million followers
5. Celebrity influencers
Celebrity influencers are ones who have reached a "celebrity status" due to their presence on social media.
For instance, take YouTube star Liza Koshy, who has has 17.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 18 million followers on Instagram. Koshy got her start on Vine and launched her influencer career through comedy videos on YouTube.
Now she has a popular show on YouTube Originals and has appeared in videos with celebrities like Will Smith and Alicia Keys.
YouTube: 1 million+ subscribers
Instagram: 2.5 million+ followers
TikTok: 2.5 million+ followers
6. Celebrity personalities
Celebrity personalities range from famous actors, to musicians, to athletes. They are primarily known for work beyond social, but still use their owned channels as a means to generate income and engage with their fans.
7. Social publishers
Social publishers are content distributors and content creators, considered the 'TV of Social' due to the extensive reach and seamless content placement.
Examples of social publishers include accounts like BestVines (10.2 million followers), which post memes and entertainment content.