We often find ourselves returning to the same debate: “macro or micro-influencers?” Between trends pointing to the rise of micro-influencers and analyses highlighting the impressive numbers achieved by macro-influencers, it can be difficult to figure out what the “x” in this equation really is.
But the truth is that there is no magic formula when it comes to influencer marketing, and therefore, no single answer. If someone asked me, “macro or micro-influencers?”, I would probably answer, “it depends,” and respond with another question: “what is the objective of the campaign?” And well, perhaps that’s the real key to the equation.
Understanding the alternatives
First, let’s understand the elements that make up our equation. What differentiates macro-influencers from micro-influencers? Is it simply their follower count? Of course, audience size is an important part of this definition, but beyond the numbers, we need to understand how that audience behaves in relation to the creator.
Micro-influencers have a more targeted audience, largely driven by content niches. They’re usually creators who focus specifically on a particular subject or have a very distinctive lifestyle that their followers identify with. This allows their storytelling to create a closer connection with their audience and, consequently, greater engagement. That’s why micro-influencers typically have higher engagement rates than macro-influencers. It’s basic math — a smaller but much more targeted audience, naturally more interested in the creator’s content, equals a higher engagement rate.
But macro-influencers have their appeal too. Despite having a less targeted audience, they make up for it through the reach of their message. With a single influencer, we can reach different audiences and, better yet, benefit from the potential for virality and earned media opportunities. The narrative becomes more accessible to a wider audience, and when we have something to say, we want that message to reach as many people as possible, right? With macro-influencers, the potential to generate buzz increases exponentially. But with so many people in the “crowd,” it’s harder to feel a close connection with the creator, which is why engagement rates tend to be lower.
Both options sound great, but that still doesn’t tell you which one to choose. The right answer depends on a denominator we’ve already mentioned: the objective.
The common denominator
We know how important it is to do our homework. So, before diving into the search for macro- or micro-influencers, we need to define our objectives — and yes, it’s perfectly fine to have more than one. When it comes to influencer marketing, we generally talk about three concepts: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
When we talk about awareness, imagine a giant loudspeaker, so powerful that it shakes the ground around it. So, if we want a big moment when our brand makes some noise and spreads its message far and wide across the internet, that should be our objective.
But perhaps making such a deafening noise isn’t the best approach, and what makes more sense is having a closer conversation with the right people, generating interest and a connection with the narrative we’re proposing, and engaging a community. In that case, our objective is consideration.
Yes, we know that, ultimately, everyone wants to sell. Of course, the objective may be to encourage an audience to open their wallets, but we can’t forget that, in influencer marketing, this doesn’t happen without awareness or consideration. First, and most importantly, because the true strength of influencer marketing lies in creating connections and building a brand’s image — conversion is a consequence and may take time to actually happen. Second, because influencer marketing metrics don’t allow us to directly measure conversion, only to understand whether purchase intent was generated. So, let’s consider conversion as the final outcome of our objective and focus on the other two factors that will help us answer our main question.
So, macro or micro-influencers?
After all these explanations, are the calculations becoming clearer, or do we still feel like that Confused Nazaré Tedesco meme?
If we connect the dots, here’s what we get: for large campaigns where we need to make noise, generate awareness — and can invest a little more — and want to strengthen our brand image among a broader audience, macro-influencers may be the better choice. Meanwhile, for more targeted campaigns where we need to reach a more qualified audience, generate higher-quality engagement, and build a relatable narrative that connects with people’s lifestyles or interests, micro-influencers may be the right answer.
Here’s a very practical and simplified example: it would be much easier to sell a book through a creator who specifically produces content about reading and entertainment, whose audience is genuinely interested in learning more about those topics, than through a major lifestyle influencer who covers a wide range of subjects and whose followers may not all enjoy reading.
But as I mentioned earlier, a single campaign can have more than one objective, and the same influencer can help achieve both. That’s why influencer marketing is more complex than it seems, and ultimately, we can arrive at different results from the same equation.
Beatriz Belangier
