5 types of gaming influencers you can use to hype your game

The world of influencer marketing is evolving, and marketing professionals continue to define and redefine terms to help quantify this evolution. While all influencers have their place in the marketing ecosystem, video game marketers should be aware of the five main types of influencers to partner with during their next influencer campaign.

• Nano-influencers: 1,000 - 10,000 followers
• Micro-influencers: 10,000 - 50,000 followers
• Mid-tier influencers: 50,000 - 500,000 followers
• Macro-influencers: 500,000 - 1 million followers
• Mega-Influencers: 1 million+ followers

Source: DCI: Influencer Marketing 2020 Infographic

Nano-influencers (1,000 - 10,000 followers)

Traditional marketing strategies tend to categorize influencers from micro to macro based on follower count alone, but nano-influencers tend to go unnoticed. Unlike professional influencers, these influencers tend to post more personalized content about their family, friends, cats, and memes without much of a plan.

The main treasure found within nano-influencers is the lack of regular promotional content. Instead, their posts regarding a service or product tend to come across as authentic and genuine, showcasing a unique perspective. For a marketing professional, nano-influencers can reach an untapped market by embracing the human nature of these niche influencer types.

When to use Nano-influencers

Small teams with limited budgets can find nano-influencers as a cost-effective option for boosting their influencer marketing strategy. In addition, larger brands can use nano-influencers as a testing ground for a new release or service and explore market potential in niche audiences.

If you are looking to maximize engagement and authenticity, then you should partner with nano-influencers. Marketing professionals can find nano-influencers through social media listening tools or by taking a look at your social followers and identifying nano-influencers that share your brand values.

Micro-influencers (10,000 - 50,000 followers)

One size up from the nano-influencer are micro-influencers who are defined as accounts ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 followers. While this is not a staggering number of followers, it does come with its unique power. They tend to cost less, have a more substantial authenticity than a macro-influencer, and are more available for flexible campaign directions.

Leveraging content creators in the gaming industry that meet the micro-influencer threshold is a great way to get your game out there. Micro-influencers that play your game create authentic content that other influencers and audience members support and share - which can amplify the content from there. More importantly, the viewers on a micro-influencer tend to be more focused on your target audience. Niche influencers, niche markets, and they are all there to see you succeed.

When to use Micro-influencers

When a brand wants to start generating more focused leads, micro-influencers hold the key. They tend to have a specialized audience that is primed to hear your marketing message within a specific niche. Finding micro-influencers is easy, as many of them will already be using your brand hashtags and are most likely already social followers.

Mid-tier influencers (50,000 - 500,000 followers)

Many marketing professionals like to think of mid-tier influencers as the “middle child.” These influencers exist between the size of established macro-influencers and the affordability and freshness of a micro-influencer. Since most mid-tier influencers have built a following from the ground up through their blood, sweat, and tears, this dedication is a great trait when looking for an influencer partner. In short, they can mix high engagement rates with authenticity and excel at leveraging campaigns with word of mouth alone.

These influencers can be used as a launchpad for macro-territory in campaign design. By mixing a low price with a high impact, companies that invest in mid-tier influencer marketing efforts can find the returns worth their investment.

When to use Mid-tier influencers

For authenticity and large reach, the best balance is the mid-tier influencer. Campaigns that are wanting to expand their brand awareness while still maintaining an authentic voice should evolve their campaign with mid-tier influencers. Finding these influencers can be tricky, as there is a careful balance between the authentic user and the brands they represent.

Macro-influencers (500,000 - 1 million followers)

If you are looking for low risk with high reach, then a macro-influencer may fit your campaign. These influencers tend to be a diverse and easily reachable community with innovative content that drives their brands. By leveraging a macro-influencer that resonates with your game release, you can find thousands of potential customers and optimize the chances of initialing the first step in their buyers' journey.

When to use Macro-influencers

Brands that have a nice size budget who want to reach large amounts of potential customers should turn to macro-influencers. The risk is low and returns can almost be guaranteed depending on how they are leveraged. With large communities, niche focus, and experience in influencer marketing it is generally easy to find macro-influencers on most platforms with contact information publicly available.

Mega-influencers (1 million+ followers)

These influencers have massive exposure and often gain their attention from media or television careers. Although they are few in number, you can guarantee mass exposure as their fame and brand can become associated with a product. However, their boost does come at a price as they often trade a single burst investment for a large sum of money. While celebrities or mega-influencers do have a massive reach, their engagement rate is often the lowest. It’s up to you to determine if your company is financially prepared for celebrity pricing.

When to use Mega-influencers

Have a big budget and want a massive boost? Mega-influencers are the way to go. Major brands often use mega-influencers to boost their publicity, and while they can have a huge reach the cost is usually out of reach for smaller businesses. Use mega-influencers for high-impact campaigns that need a far reach and a large audience.

In summary, if you understand the five main types of influencers, it can help you determine which type of influencer will be best to partner with. You can use the follower count metric as a starting guide but it's recommended to combine it with other metrics, such as average concurrent viewership and minutes watched, to determine the quality of a streamer.