“Social Media Marketing is dead!” Busting Myths with Nano-, Micro-, and Mid-Tier Influencers

Think nobody trusts influencers anymore? Think again. You may just need to know where to look for the right fit.

All is not lost!

I hear what y’all are saying over on LinkyDink. “Nobody trusts influencers anymore.” “There’s no ROI in Social Media Marketing.” “People don’t have any money to spend on Instagram/TikTok.” “Social Media Marketing is dead!”

Respectfully, bullsh*t. Maybe you’re just not working with the right people. A big name won’t save your brand (and not all that attention will be positive!), and tying yourself to the wrong big name could be a huge mistake. But you don’t have to despair, internet marketer! There’s still plenty of gold in them/their hills. Have you considered working with nano-influencers (accounts with fewer than 10k followers), micro-influencers (accounts with up to 100k followers), or even a mid-tier influencer (accounts with up to 500k followers)?

“Nobody trusts influencers anymore.”

Wrong! Nobody trusts an influencer who spends their whole life on unboxing PR hauls. Nobody trusts an influencer who doesn’t disclose that their content is advertising. Nobody trusts an influencer with faceless hordes of mindless fans. But don’t get it twisted: people are still very much getting their info from social media. Maybe we’re not all listening to Kim Kardashian’s favorite coconut water (although plenty of people are, or she wouldn’t be where she is), but the cute trans girl I’ve been following for three years who does GRWM for her burlesque performances while talking shit about homophobic gamer culture? If she tells me that the keyboard she just got is her new favorite, I’m going to pay attention. And if there’s a discount in it for me, I’m going to comment to get a link in my DMs.

The era of celebrity worship is waning, class consciousness is on the rise, and we’re more likely to listen to the accounts that feel more like friends than like brands. The nano-influencer who has 8k followers and shares asexual awareness and education content is just fundamentally different from a 10M follower account from someone I see on TV, or in a movie, or in a standard commercial. According to Entrepreneur, “Gen Z trusts people, not polished ads. Around 80% say they rely on influencers who share real experiences, and more than 60% say reviews and content from beloved bloggers are the most influential factors in their purchasing decisions.”

With a nano- or micro-influencer, there’s familiarity there, and there’s more trust. Even mid-tier influencers command a close-knit community vibe that’s unmatched for generating trust. There’s a sense of being in an inside circle, an in-group, a smaller, niche community with shared interests and morals. When your best friend tells you to watch something, aren’t you more likely to actually go watch it than if the recommendation comes from your cousin’s brother-in-law? It’s the connection and community that niche nano- and micro-influencers foster that makes their word worth more than your average big-name celeb.

Shoppers today, especially young people shopping on their phones, want to feel like they’re invited to sit with the cool kids, like they’ve received an invite to the hottest, most exclusive party in town.

“There’s no ROI in social media marketing.”

I understand why you might think that, if you’ve been going about it the way you probably think you’re supposed to. Traditional social media marketing would have you find someone really popular to use your product, film themselves holding and talking about it, and then post that online, maybe with an affiliate link or a discount code. But the fees for those popular names are enormous, and if they’re not actually aligned with your brand, the partnership may do more harm than good.

Luckily, there’s a better way. If you need a bigger return on a smaller investment, I can’t recommend nano- and micro-influencers enough. They have a highly engaged audience — it may not be huge, but it’s active. Those 8k people who follow the asexual awareness account from before? They’re hanging on to that nano-influencer’s every word, and they flood her online events with supportive fans. When they start a mutual aid fundraiser, it gets funded in days or even hours. In her niche, within her community, there’s goodwill and trust and a communal spirit of resource sharing and recommendation giving. And if they recommend a product, app, or service that they like, that community listens and takes notice.

The best part is, that influencers’ rates are WAY lower than the aforementioned Kim K’s. Nano-influencers’ rates often start at just $10-$100 or so, while micro-influencers are often hoping for $100 - $500 and mid-tier influencers (with up to 500k followers) might ask for $500 - $1500. If you’re paying for follower count alone, you’re going to miss out on the authentic connection that a nano- or micro-influencer can deliver. Rather than spending your $10k social media budget on one big celeb who may or may not draw in the engagement numbers you’re hoping for and leaving it up to the whims of the algorithm, you could be working with 3-7 nano- and micro-influencers who are going to earnestly endorse what you’re offering to their communities and get people actually talking about it.

Instead of blowing your budget chasing the biggest celeb who will have you, consider investing in the niche communities your target demographic is likely to inhabit. Are you hoping to pitch a poly-friendly queer dating app? I have just the trans lesbian micro-influencer for you. Do you want young leftist gamers who are pro-LGBTQ+ and chronically online? We can do that. Are you a beard care company? Have you considered targeting transmasculine folks whose beards are growing in and could use a little boost? (I have recommendations for you, if so.) There’s truly a niche demographic for every kind of need and desire, and I can guarantee that there’s someone out there posting about it online. Because they’re not macro celebs, their rates are incredibly reasonable, and they can offer flexibility to fit your budget, particularly if it leads to a longer-term partnership. If you want help connecting with YOUR ideal niche community, I’m just an email away.

“People don’t have any money to spend on Instagram/TikTok.”

While it’s true that the economy is slumping and the job market is a total dystopian nightmare, that doesn’t mean that people don’t want and need things, and it doesn’t mean they aren’t seeking out luxuries. Trends might be shifting, and where people are choosing to spend might be changing, but they’re still spending. Don’t let anyone tell you that the market has evaporated — the interest is there, it’s about connecting to the right audience. According to a February consumer survey by PartnerCentric, Americans spent an average of $700 on TikTok Shop in 2024, and according to RetailNews, more than half of Gen Z shoppers are headed to TikTok this holiday season. Once again, it’s not about a lack of interest or a lack of an audience interested in spending — it’s about connecting with the niche audience that’s going to be most interested in hearing about what you have to offer.

“Landing pages have been replaced by in-app storefronts that turn moments of inspiration into instant purchases. In 2024, more than 53% of Gen Z ordered directly through social media, and 58% of all US users said they made a decision to buy once they saw a product in their feed. Social platforms are no longer just communication channels — they are the marketplaces where discovery, inspiration and purchase go together.” Entrepreneur, June 2025

A product link in a TikTok could lead audiences to convert, even when they weren’t planning to.

So, how do you find out where your audience is? You LISTEN to them! If you’re hoping that young adults aged 18-25 will engage with your ad, you need to go to them, where they’re already hanging out. Sponsor the Twitch streamer who’s hosting a streamathon for trans rights. Strike up a partnership with a YouTuber recounting historical trans figures from Ancient Rome; her subscribers are dedicated, engaged, and tuned the f*** in. Maybe your dating app hasn’t encouraged asexual users to engage; find an asexual content creator to help you capture that audience! You can find your niche audience and your message will land — you just need to put in the legwork to figure out who they are and where they hang out online.

The reality is that people trust smaller accounts with figures who feel more familiar and welcoming. They don’t want to listen to some rich bozo recommend them one of the 800 lipsticks she just unboxed from her PR haul. They want to know what waterproof eyeliner the burlesque dancer is wearing that still looks good the morning after. They don’t want to know that Hilton sponsored the travel vlogger’s latest trip to Paris; they want to know that this hotel chain welcomes LGBTQ+ travelers in places where they might not feel safe just anywhere. You read me?

Find the creators your target demographic is already listening to and spending time with. That’s where your dollars will go the furthest toward helping you capture that niche audience’s attention.

Here’s the Takeaway

If you’re a marketer tasked with reaching any kind of audience right now, you have a big job ahead of you, but you also have a lot of options. Instead of prioritizing the biggest accounts you can afford, work with a variety of smaller nano-, micro-, and mid-tier influencers who have an authentic vibe and a genuine connection with their audience; their word is worth its weight in gold in their community. Encourage influencers who use your products to do promote your content organically in their content, or call more attention to the fact that their using your products when they show up organically. If you can, partner with these creators on a long-term basis. Studies show that this generation wants authentic, ongoing endorsement, not a one-off exposure to an ad. Showing up consistently matters, and signaling your welcome to the queer community is paramount at a time when we’re being publicly vilified. Reward highly engaged audiences with a discount code or affiliate link to demonstrate your support and commitment. You can reach your audience and generate goodwill online with smaller accounts, like nano-, micro-, and mid-tier influencers.