7 Tips for Nano-Influencers Who Want to Stand Out in a Competitive Niche

Shoutcart Team

Oct 19, 2022 • 7 min read

Around half of the world’s population are active social media users who spend an average of nearly 2.5 hours on these channels daily, so it's no surprise that social media platforms are innovating to offer new ways to make revenue for users of all sizes and niches.

As brands team up with different types of influencers, nano-influencers—opinion leaders with small but loyal followings—now have more opportunities to monetize their social media accounts, so the number of nano-influencers who want to stand out in a competitive niche is growing, too.

About Nano-Influencers in Brief

Nano-influencers are common social media users who have established authority among their followers. On average, these opinion leaders have up to 5,000 followers who pay close attention to recommendations from these users, but their profiles are neither well-organized nor polished.

At the same time, nano-influencers represent the second most popular group of creators (27.8%) with the highest engagement rate which makes this group appealing to brands of all sizes and niches.

However, nano-influencers aren't professional influencers and practically every social media user can become this type of opinion leader and start making money on social media. With the growing competition among nano-influencers, it's all the more important to stand out in your niche. Today, we've gathered 7 tips for nano-influencers who are just starting out.

More often than not, nano-influencers don't bother about overly-polished social media content. They don't create posed photos and they rarely add tons of filters to their visuals. When scrolling the feed, nano-influencers give the feeling of someone who is completely ordinary and common as they mostly publish photos of their friends and family, pets, or food.

But if you want to stand out in a competitive niche as a nano-influencer, it's time to take the next step and make your social media profile look more professional. How? Take care of its visuals!

First, write a descriptive Instagram bio that tells visitors more about your niche. And it would be great if you could add contact information like email address to help interested brands get in touch with you for collaboration, just like in the example below:

Second, you should also remember that Instagram Story Highlights appear right below the bio so these permanent Stories can help to tell more about your passions when done right. Thus, you can group relevant Stories and divide them into albums.

Finally, pay attention to visuals. From using the same filters or color palette to posting grid layouts, there are many simple ways to make your social media profile look eye-catching and cohesive. After all, the majority of people are visual learners, so your visual content matters.

2. Incorporate Cool Video Effects into Videos

As people globally prefer watching video content online, influencers of all sizes hop on the bandwagon to create eye-grabbing videos for their social media profiles. Today, practically every social media influencer makes videos, but just a few nano-influencers bother about using cool video effects in their videos to make them better.

With the growing demand for amazing video content, the modern market offers a big number of video editing tools that make the video editing process easier. For example, you can rely on an easy-to-use platform like Videoleap to create exclusive and creative videos while using your iPhone or Android on the go. Not only can you use templates to customize videos, but you can also borrow inspiration from other content creators. With this tool, the sky is the limit.

Let's take a look at Lara Akerman, an aspiring nano-influencer who creates eye-catching Reels. To show off several outfits, she used Videoleap's mixer feature to add images to clips and therefore make unexpected and funny video content as in the example below:

Users crave for cool video content. When nano-influencers incorporate artistic effects into videos, not only can they grab the attention of their followers, but they can also reach a wider audience of potential followers. As a result, it helps to stand out in a competitive niche and become more influential.

3. Offer Something Unique

As the second-largest group of social media opinion leaders, practically every social media user can become a nano-influencer and try to monetize his or her following. However, having a social media presence isn't enough to stand out in a competitive niche. It's important to develop your blog, attract new followers, and keep existing ones engaged. Thus, nano-influencers should offer something unique if they want to stand out from the crowd.

Whether you want to establish influence in a specific category or you can give your followers something valuable, there are many ways to offer something unique. For example, brows & body waxing specialist Roseville who is a beauty nano-influencer offers a discount of 15% to new clients who follow her on social media.

Not only does Roseville increase the purchase intent, but she also offers something unique to her followers that give users a solid reason to keep up with her social media updates which means higher engagement rate and increased customer satisfaction. All in all, this approach can lead to influencer growth, too.

4. Interact with Your Followers

Have you ever heard that social media users trust opinion leaders as much as their real-world friends?

When people choose a social media influencer to follow, it's more likely that the person shares his or her views or beliefs. What is more, people crave for mutual communication, so they expect influencers to interact with followers.

As a nano-influencer, your community consists of people you know. As a result, you must have a more engaged community of loyal followers which means your followers are interested in leaving comments, writing a direct message, or tagging you on other posts. Simply put, followers are ready to communicate with you.

To give your followers a sense of community, never ignore their desire to communicate with you. When people ask questions, go the extra mile to write a descriptive reply. For example, if you use TikTok, you can make the most out of its video comment reply feature.

5. Start a Conversation with Brands

For most influencers of all sizes and niches, a brand collaboration is one of the most effective social media monetization strategies. Every opinion leader seeks out brands to work with as it gives an opportunity to make money, create a portfolio, and gather results.

However, it can be daunting for nano-influencers to secure a brand collaboration when brands have never heard about it. To stand out in a competitive niche and get your brand deal on social media, it's a good idea to be proactive and start a conversation with brands. For example, you can become an active social media follower who constantly leaves comments.

When you interact with brands on their social media profiles, you also get an opportunity to connect with like-minded people who show interest in the same company. It can help to grow your following and get noticed by a brand who can offer collaboration. Win-win!

6. Spy on Niche Influencers

As a social media user, you must follow some influencers, too. For a variety of reasons, you find these people interesting. Plus, it's more likely that you know niche influencers who have established authority in the niche. So, wouldn't it be great if you could learn from them or draw inspiration from other influencers who have succeeded?

The solution is simple: spy on these influencers. First, you can check out what type of content users engage with (or take a look at the image below).

Second, you can analyze influencers' content. Not only can you check out what type of content works best for your target audience, but you can also find new creative ideas on what kind of posts to create.

What is more, if you notice that your selected influencer tags the same company several times or writes posts about it from time to time, it means it's a long-term collaboration and you can check out this company's social media account to find information about its brand advocacy program.

The more attention you pay to other influencers, the more valuable information you gather that can help you become more influential in your niche.

7. Promote Your Profile on Other Platforms

Living in the era of social media, when common people have multiple social media accounts on different platforms, it's no wonder that influencers use various networks to talk to different audiences, reach a wider audience of potential followers, or keep up with current trends.

If you're active on several social media platforms and you use all of them to grow your influence, you can promote your primary account on another platform to redirect your loyal fans to another network that you use more often. For example, if you choose Instagram as a primary platform, but you also have a social media presence on TikTok, you can create a custom landing page with a link that goes to your IG profile to attract users from TikTok to Instagram. Check out how one skincare influencer did it:

And here's how the landing page looks like. When people tap on it, they see various social media icons that can give them a quick access to these profiles:

In Short

Word-of-mouth recommendations have always been the most effective marketing tactic. With the rise of social media networks, when common people can become influencers, it's no wonder that users try to establish authority as nano-influencers.

To stand out in a competitive niche, it's important for nano-influencers to keep up with current trends and give their followers what they crave. The above-mentioned tips can help nano-influencers grow online and become more influential, so give some of them a try!