Any marketing professional worth his or her weight in salt knows that blindly going with influencers with huge follower counts as a main digital marketing tool is passe, not to mention likely a very cost-inefficient move.

Sure, you can get Kylie Jenner to shout out about your brand - but just how much sales do you have to generate to earn back that investment?

These days, when it comes to influencer marketing, the adage of size matters rings true - just sometimes in inverse.

Word-of-mouth is king

Nano-influencers are generally defined as influencers who have a follower count between 1,000 to 5,000, and are not to be confused with micro-influencers who usually have between 5,000 and 30,000 followers.

While they may not have the reach of the big players, nano-influencers are often sought after for their high engagement rate, or how actively involved their audience is with their content.

Just imagine this: are you more likely to trust an Instagram ad for a brand, or one of your friends raving about the same brand over a period of time?

Word-of-mouth marketing has long been deemed the most valuable form of marketing, and can amplify a brand's key messages and enhance brand awareness and confidence that few traditional marketing tools can.

The new laws of attraction

Influencer marketing by way of nano-influencers essentially harnesses the power of the word-of-mouth and uses it on an already-captive audience. Consider it a double whammy, if you will.

According to research done by local influencer marketing platform Partipost, the average Instagram engagement rate for influencers with more than 30,000 followers is around two per cent. In contrast, nano-influencers with up to 5,000 followers are estimated to have an average engagement rate of seven to 10 per cent.

Those with less than 2,000 followers can even achieve up to a 20 per cent engagement rate, thanks to the close, personal relationships that many of them have with their followers, and the niche content that their followers tend to advocate for.

It is also known to be very cost effective; with the same budget meant for one macro-influencer, Partipost says brands on average can work with up to 50 nano-influencers.

Use the right strategy

Once you have decided to give nano-influencers a shot, it's all a matter of employing the right influencer marketing strategy to ensure that they are used effectively for your campaign.

In general, Partipost recommends consumer-facing brands to utilise nano-influencers as these influencers are likely to already be existing or potential customers, and their advocating of one of these brands will not look out of place on their social media platforms.

Partipost has also seen nano-influencers to be especially effective for F&B and FMCG brands, due to these brands being accessible and consumed in high volumes and available in a variety of price points.

Other important considerations to keep in mind include ensuring that the brand message does not drown out the authentic voice of the nano-influencer, and remembering to track ROI to make sure that the strategy is the most effective one for your brand.

Send the right, impactful messages

Alternatively, you can leave the influencer marketing strategy to the experts.

Partipost, for example, has access to over 29,000 influencers from different tiers, a mobile app and a user-friendly back-end system for brands to track submissions. After a brand shares its objectives (eg. to increase awareness and sales), Partipost will help create, execute and oversee the influencer campaigns.

Once the campaign goes live on the Partipost app, nano-influencers (named 'Partiposters') can submit content for the brand's approval. Approved content will then be posted on their social media accounts. All campaigns will conclude with a post-campaign report.

Go big or go home? In the new year, it's perhaps time to consider downsizing your marketing strategy, whilst still reaping the upsized benefits that comes with having the right know-how.

To find out more about how influencer marketing strategy can help your business, email info@partipost.com for their latest deck or click here for more information.