Audrey Hepburn’s black Givenchy evening gown from Breakfast at Tiffany’s proved a single image can define fashion for decades. Over the past 60 years, her iconic look—black dress, long white gloves, and a string of pearls—has become a timeless trend, gracing fashion magazines and Pinterest boards alike.
Today’s trendsetters wield similar power, shaping trends and driving consumer behavior through social media. Brands increasingly invest in collaborations with social media influencers, with a quarter of consumers making purchases based on social media influencerrecommendations in 2023.
Macro-influencers, or those with vast reach, connect businesses with their target audience. Here’s how macro-influencers differ from other influencers, the benefits of working with them, and how to develop an effective macro-influencer marketing campaign for your business.
What is a macro-influencer?
A macro influencer is a social media personality with a large following typically ranging from 500,000 to one million followers or subscribers. One segment of the larger influencer marketing community, macro-influencers include both public figures who’ve translated their offline celebrity status into social media celebrity and content creators who’ve built a large audience online through their engaging content.
Macro-influencers are diverse, ranging from reality TV housewives like Luann de Lesseps to art critics like Jerry Saltz.
5 types of influencers
The influencer type depends on the personality’s social media presence and following. Here are the five general categories:
1. Mega-influencers
Mega-influencers have over one million followers. This group includes A-list celebrities and other content creators with a giant reach. These influencers can set trends overnight thanks to their mass audiences.
To put it in perspective, the Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has the most-followed Instagram account, with more than 635 million followers; the population of the European Union, meanwhile, is around 449 million.
However, engagement rates (the number of likes, saves, shares, comments, and mentions) for mega-influencers tend to be relatively low on Instagram—typically less than 1%. As an influencer’s follower count grows, it becomes increasingly challenging to keep up with comments and maintain personal connections.
2. Macro-influencers
Macro-influencers reach between 500,000 and one million followers. Influencers of this size have significant reach and brand recognition, even though they’re not quite as visible as mega-influencers.
Comedian and macro-influencer Veronika Slowiskowska has more than 500,000 Instagram followers, with her Reels typically receiving over 20,000 views. She’s made content for brands like Pizza Hut and Reformation without compromising her unique voice.
3. Mid-tier influencers
Mid-tier influencers reach between 100,000 and 500,000 followers. Activist Adrienne Maree Brown and travel influencer Love Mari are two examples of mid-tier influencers with well-defined audience segments on Instagram.
4. Micro-influencers
Micro-influencers fall in the range of 10,000 to 100,000 followers and have a good balance of audience reach and interaction. According to Statista, they have an average engagement rate of roughly 10% on TikTok. Micro-influencers create niche content and offer more affordable rates compared to influencers with larger followings.
Miette Dierckx, a Belgian micro-influencer, shares content about her daily life in China with nearly 35,000 Instagram followers. Her content, focused on Chinese culture and expat experiences, engages a dedicated audience. Regular interaction with her followers has made her a sought-after partner for brands targeting this niche market.
5. Nano-influencers
Despite having smaller followings of between 1,000 and 10,000, nano-influencers boast the highestengagement rates, often exceeding 10% on TikTok. This is largely because their audience usually includes personal friends, family, and acquaintances who are very likely to interact with their posts.
With a little over 4,400 followers, nano-influencer Andrea Louise shares product reviews and “day in the life” videos on TikTok. Her top video, showcasing a Brooklyn cafée, has roughly 200,000 views. In another post, Andrea presents the luxury products she receives for free as a nano social media influencer.
Benefits of working with macro-influencers
Here are the benefits of working with macro influencers:
Expanded reach
Partnerships with macro-influencers can introduce your brand to completely new demographics. For example, established skin care and beauty brand Estée Lauder launched partnerships with multiple Gen Z TikTok and Instagram influencers to highlight its products to a younger online audience, who are often harder to reach through traditional marketing channels like print and television ads.
When skin care brand Topicals invited a group of macro-influencers on a sponsored getaway to Bermuda to celebrate the company’s third birthday, content from the trip generated significant engagement, creating a total of three million impressions, plus 5,000 new followers for the brand’s TikTok and Instagram accounts.
High-quality content
Macro-influencers tend to be “career” content creators, meaning they produce professional photos and videos for a living. This experience means they can elevate your brand image with impressive visuals.
Take macro social media influencer Maris Jones, who channels her skills in set design, costuming, and photography to create deeply original, visually engaging content for her nearly 300,000 Instagram followers. In a recent partnership with canned water company Liquid Death, Maris seamlessly incorporated the brand’s can into a creative “Beach Days through the Decades” post in her signature retro, maximalist, and colorful style.
Because of the high quality of macro-influencers’ content, you may want to repurpose it across other digital marketing channels for a greater return on investment (ROI).
Brand credibility
Sixty-nine percent of consumers trust recommendations from friends, family, or influencers more than those from brands. When a macro social media influencer endorses your brand, they shore up its credibility while also expanding your brand’s visibility.
Author and environmentalist Leah Thomas partnered with clothing rental company Nuuly to promote its sustainable business model to her more than 250,000 Instagram followers. Leah showcased Nuuly to her audience as a guilt-free wardrobe update, while Nuuly used Leah’s environmental credibility to position itself as an eco-friendly choice.
Increased sales
Macro-influencer posts can increase traffic to your website and lead to more sales. A survey found that brands make $5.78 for every dollar they invest in influencer marketing. This underscores the growing recognition of influencer marketing's significant sales potential.
How to build a macro-influencer marketing strategy
- Determine your goals
- Research and connect with influencers
- Negotiate the terms
- Monitor your campaign
- Analyze the results
1. Determine your goals
Before connecting with a macro-influencer, have a clear idea of your campaign goals. Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Is there a sales target you want to reach?
Knowing more about the specific audience you’re targeting can help you to identify the best influencer for your campaign. Defining specific metrics—like content engagement, website traffic, and sales or conversions—is crucial to gauge your campaign’s success.
2. Research and connect with influencers
Follower count is an important factor, but consider also an influencer’s relevance to your industry and how they can further your campaign goals.
For example, if you’re trying to promote an upcoming launch, a macro-influencer’s large audience can mean more eyes on your product. But, if your focus is on community building, a micro-influencer’s higher engagement rate may be a stronger asset.
Contact potential influencers by sending direct messages on social media or through an influencer marketing platform. When reaching out, highlight the mutual benefits of a collaboration.
3. Negotiate the terms
If a macro-influencer is interested in working with you, discuss compensation, deliverables, and the timeline for completion. You might offer a one-time fee in exchange for a video they produce and share on their accounts, or you can offer an affiliate link to influencers and provide a commission on each sale attributable to their link.
Clearly explain your campaign goals and remain open to input from the influencer. They have a clear sense of the content their target audience engages with and can be a helpful creative partner.
4. Monitor your campaign
After your campaign launches, remain in contact with the influencer and track their social media posts’ real-time engagement. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics and unique influencer discount codes to understand how the campaign is performing in terms of the goals you set for conversions or sales.
5. Analyze the results
When you have enough data to analyze, determine whether your campaign goals were met, and if not, what could be improved. Even if your influencer campaigns fall short of expectations, there are still valuable takeaways that can inform your marketing strategy going forward.
If your collaboration was a success, stay in touch with the creator to maintain an ongoing dialogue for future projects.
Macro-influencer FAQ
How many followers do you need to be a macro-influencer?
Having anywhere between 500,000 to one million followers generally qualifies you as a macro-influencer.
What is the difference between macro- and mega-influencers?
Mega-influencers, with more than a million followers or subscribers, have an even wider reach than macro-influencers. This influencer type uses their A-list celebrity status or established online presence to reach massive, global audiences—though partnerships come at a much higher cost.
How do you choose the right influencer to work with?
Do your research when choosing an influencer. Take a look at their audience demographics and see if they match your target market. Is the tone and style of their posts a good fit with your brand’s voice? Choosing an influencer with a high engagement rate may be more impactful than a high follower count, depending on your goals.
