i’ve been thinking about influencer tiers a lot lately, and i wonder if my matching strategy is wrong.
when i search for mid-tier influencers (like 100k-500k followers), i tend to look for those who’ve already worked with big international brands—success indicators are pretty clear. but when i search for micro-influencers (under 100k), i often can’t find that proven track record. so i end up just looking at engagement metrics and hoping they’re reliable.
the thing is, micro-influencers might actually be better for cross-market campaigns in some ways. their communities are tighter and more engaged. they’re often more willing to work closely with brands to get the message right. but how do i actually evaluate them without a portfolio full of international work?
i’m wondering if the matching criteria should be completely different. like, for micro-influencers, maybe i should be looking at:
- niche expertise (do they really know their category?)
- community sentiment (are they authentic to their audience?)
- willingness to collaborate (are they responsive? do they ask good questions?)
instead of:
- previous brand partnerships
- reach
- audience size
has anyone else struggled with this? how do you evaluate micro-influencers for cross-market campaigns when they might not have the portfolio of a mid-tier creator?