A way of grouping influencers by follower count. A common split is nano (1,000 to 10,000 followers), micro (10,000 to 1,00,000), macro (1,00,000 to 10,00,000) and mega (over 10,00,000). Agencies draw the lines a little differently.
Formula
Expected engagements = followers × engagement rate · Cost per expected engagement = fee ÷ expected engagements
Example
Meera can pay ₹30,000 to one creator with 5,00,000 followers (macro) or ₹3,000 each to ten creators with about 8,000 followers each (nano). The nano group adds up to 80,000 followers.
How you'll hear it
“For a local store, a set of nano creators in Pune will do more than one macro name.”
What it helps you decide
Whom to spend the influencer budget on: one large name for broad awareness, or several smaller creators whose audiences are closer, more local and more engaged.
Where people misread it
Follower count is read as audience size and quality. It says nothing about engagement, where followers live, or whether some are fake or bought. A tier is a size label, not a measure of fit.
The story
Meera has ₹30,000 for influencer marketing this month. Her agency offers two options.
Option 1: one Mumbai lifestyle creator with 5,00,000 followers for ₹30,000. Option 2: ten Pune fashion creators with about 8,000 followers each, at ₹3,000 each.
Option 1 sounds bigger: half a million people. Meera asks for each creator's recent engagement rate by followers and where their audience lives.
| Macro creator: followers | 5,00,000 |
| Macro creator: assumed engagement rate | 0.3% |
| Macro creator: expected engagements | 1,500 |
| Macro creator: cost per engagement | ₹20 |
| 10 nano creators: total followers | 80,000 |
| 10 nano creators: assumed engagement rate | 5% |
| 10 nano creators: expected engagements | 4,000 |
| 10 nano creators: cost per engagement | ₹7.50 |
|---|
The nano creators also had most of their audience in Pune, where Meera's store is. The macro creator's audience was spread across India.
She picks the nano creators and gives each a separate discount code to see which one actually brings sales.
All figures, including the engagement rates, are fictional assumptions for illustration, not benchmarks.
Compare creators by expected engagement for your budget
The example's numbers are filled in. Replace them with yours.
Run this once for each option. Then check where each creator's audience lives before you decide.
Don't confuse it with
- Creator: describes what someone does, not their size.
In India: In India, ASCI's influencer guidelines (2021) apply at every tier: any material connection, such as payment or free products, must be disclosed upfront with a label like 'Ad', 'Sponsored' or 'Collaboration'.
Related terms
Want to use this at work? AI-led Social Media Excellence is aFactor's 16-week program for social media work.
Sources
- Types of influencers, Sprout Social
- ASCI issues final Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media (press release), Advertising Standards Council of India, 2021