In 2025, expect to see brands focus less on mega and macro-influencers and instead gravitate towards micro and nano-influencers for higher engagement rates.
Influencers have become an important part of the digital marketing ecosystem. In 2024, 80% of companies reported allocating budget towards influencer marketing. We can generally define influencers as belonging to one of the following groups:
- Mega-influencers: influencers with over 1M followers, usually a celebrity, athlete, actor, or other prominent public figure.
- Macro-influencers: influencers with between 100K and 1M followers
- Micro-influencers: influencers with between 10K and 100K followers
- Nano-influencers: have the smallest audiences, typically between 1K and 10K followers.
The recent trend, which we expect to continue into 2025, is that brands are focusing less on mega and macro-influencers and instead gravitating towards micro and nano-influencers. In 2024, 64% of brands said that they have shifted towards working with smaller creators. Nano-influencers tend to be ordinary digital content creators who have a knack for social media and have earned a small but dedicated audience. Because of this, these influencers are seen as more trustworthy and relatable than large influencers who aren’t as approachable to the average consumer and are often trying to make a living via sponsorships.
This article is part of a series that examines major digital marketing trends that franchise systems should be aware of in 2025. Check out our other articles in the series:
- How Generative AI is Changing Digital Advertising for Franchises in 2025
- How Franchise Companies Should Adjust their SEO Approach in 2025
- What Franchise Companies Need to Know About Voice Search in 2025
- Video is a Must-Have Marketing Tool for Franchise Companies in 2025
- Franchise Marketing Data Privacy Update for 2025
- How Franchise Companies Can Capitalize on Social Search in 2025
- Social Shopping Trends for Franchise Companies in 2025
Nano-influencers often focus on a specific niche and have developed a deep understanding of their followers’ interests and preferences. This means they’re very skilled at creating highly specialized content that appeals to their followers. As a result, nano-influencers consistently have higher engagement rates than macro or even micro-influencers. Their followers are more likely to like, comment, and share their content because they feel a personal connection. This means that even with a smaller audience, nano-influencers can generate significant buzz for a brand.
This combination of high engagement rates and loyal audiences who trust the nano-influencer’s recommendations translates into higher conversion rates when they endorse a product or service. In fact, Influencer Marketing Hub reports that micro-influencers have an engagement rate of 3.86% in 2024 compared to 1.21% for mega-influencers.
To make the opportunity even more compelling, nano-influencers are often willing to collaborate for free products, small payments, or simply for the love of sharing something they believe in.
Cost-per-engagement (CPE) measures how much a company pays per like, share, comment, or click on an influencer’s post. Because nano-influencers tend to cost less and have highly engaged audiences, their CPE is much lower than macro-influencers on Instagram and TikTok. Interestingly, the opposite is true for YouTube. This is likely due to YouTube’s more “mass media” nature.
Another consideration when working with influencers is that there is an increasing expectation of transparency. The Federal Trade Commission in the US has made it clear for some time that any paid endorsement should be disclosed. However, in October 2024 the FTC further updated its endorsement guidelines which impacts how brands, influencers, and digital agencies are required to handle user-generated content (UGC) and disclosures in digital advertising.
The updated guidelines make it clear that if there is a material connection between a brand and a person endorsing it, then the connection must be clearly disclosed. This includes paid partnership, free products, or any form of compensation. This means that if you are working with influencers, you must be sure they understand their responsibility to disclose material connections. Disclosures must be included in the text, spoken word, and visual elements as appropriate.
Going into 2025, we recommend that franchise companies add influencer marketing to their marketing mix. When doing so, here are some major considerations to keep in mind:
Keep it authentic: When choosing influencer partners, you should be looking to ensure authenticity by finding influencers that align with your brand values. People often feel like they know and understand their favorite creators, so they can spot when a brand partnership feels forced. Allow creators to be “real” with their audience and use their creativity to connect with their followers. While you can give them brand guidelines and topic suggestions, allow your influencers the freedom to create the content that they think their audience will respond to best.
Go “nano”: In our experience, franchise companies find it difficult to find mega or macro-influencers whose reach matches their system footprint. At the same time, the cost and complexity of influencer marketing makes it impractical for individual franchisees to pursue on their own. This is where the trend towards micro and nano-influencers makes perfect sense for franchise systems.
The reach of micro and nano-influencers is often focused within a specific geographic area, which means that instead of trying to find a handful of larger influencers to cover your network, franchise companies are able to source local influencers on a market-by-market basis for maximum effectiveness. This approach increases engagement, trustworthiness, and relatability, all focused in areas where you have a location.
Convert customers into influencers: You almost certainly have some “fans” within your customer base that have a good-sized social media following. These individuals are ready-made nano-influencers for your brand because they already know and like your company. Even better, they often are happy to create content in exchange for free products/services.
Repurpose influencer content: Posts created by influencers can be used across marketing channels to increase content authenticity, including paid media. This approach not only improves advertising effectiveness, but also aligns with consumers’ preferences for genuine, relatable content.
Be aware of regulations: Ensure you are compliant with the pertinent regulations and disclosure requirements in the area(s) you are operating in.
Interested in learning more about the topics presented in this article and other franchise digital marketing trends for 2025? Be sure to download our guidebook here.
Check out the other articles in our series below:
- How Generative AI is Changing Digital Advertising for Franchises in 2025
- How Franchise Companies Should Adjust their SEO Approach in 2025
- What Franchise Companies Need to Know About Voice Search in 2025
- Video is a Must-Have Marketing Tool for Franchise Companies in 2025
- Franchise Marketing Data Privacy Update for 2025
- How Franchise Companies Can Capitalize on Social Search in 2025
- Social Shopping Trends for Franchise Companies in 2025
