Types of influencers (by audience size)
Nano-influencers (1K–10K followers): High engagement, niche audiences, often most authentic.Micro-influencers (10K–100K followers): Good balance of reach and engagement.Macro-influencers (100K–1M followers): Broader reach, more professional.Mega-influencers / celebrities (1M+ followers): Massive reach, but often lower engagement rates and higher costs.
Common partnership models
Gifted / seeding: Free product in exchange for potential coverage (no guaranteed post).Sponsored posts: Paid flat fee for specific deliverables.Affiliate / commission: Influencer earns a percentage of the sales they drive.Brand ambassadors: Ongoing relationship with multiple posts over time.Content licensing: Brand pays to use influencer-created content in their own ads.
Key metrics to track
Engagement rate (likes, comments, shares relative to followers).Reach and impressions.Click-throughs (using UTM links or unique discount codes).Conversions and revenue attributed.Cost per engagement (CPE) or cost per acquisition (CPA).
Why it works in growth marketing
Bypasses ad fatigue and banner blindness.Reaches audiences through trusted voices.Generates authentic content that can be repurposed.Can be highly targeted to specific niches.
Challenges
Measuring true ROI can be difficult.Fake followers and inflated metrics.Authenticity drops if influencers promote too many brands.Many teams combine influencer partnerships with paid amplification (running influencer content as ads) to get both credibility and scale.
Case: Quality over vanity metrics
The analysis
You do not just look at "views". You look at quality:
Did people coming from that YouTuber actually use the product?Or did they just sign up, look around, and leave?Insight
"Mid-sized tech creators (around 50K subscribers) have a 300% ROI. Mega creators (1M+ subscribers) have a 50% ROI."
Recommendation
"Stop hiring mega stars; hire 10 mid-sized creators instead."