Influencer marketing in 2025: Why brands are backing micro and nano-influencers

The age of mega-influencers isn’t over, but it’s definitely evolved. In 2025, more brands are shifting budget and attention towards smaller creators — specifically micro and nano-influencers — in search of stronger engagement, better ROI, and more authentic content.

Forget celebrity-level reach. The current focus is community, trust, and conversion. Whether you’re running an affiliate programme, launching a new product, or building brand awareness in a specific niche, micro and nano-influencers are proving to be the smart choice for marketers who want results over scale.

Here’s why this shift is happening, and how it’s changing the shape of performance marketing across industries.

What defines a micro or nano-influencer?

Definitions vary, but generally speaking:

• Nano-influencers have fewer than 10,000 followers
• Micro-influencers range from 10,000 to around 50,000 followers

These creators may not have the reach of influencers with hundreds of thousands (or millions) of followers, but what they do have is trust. Their audiences tend to be highly engaged, loyal, and often niche-specific. That’s gold for marketers trying to reach the right people — not just more people.

Why smaller creators are winning in 2025

There are a few key reasons why this trend is picking up pace:

1. Higher engagement rates – It’s common for nano-influencers to see engagement rates double or triple those of larger accounts. Their followers know them, interact regularly, and actually listen to what they recommend.
2. Lower costs – Working with ten micro-influencers can often cost less than hiring one big name. That makes it easier to test campaigns, spread across different niches, and manage risk.
3. Authentic content – Audiences are increasingly sceptical of overly polished influencer content. Smaller creators often produce more relatable, less commercial content — and that resonates better with today’s buyer.
4. Better performance tracking – When affiliate links or discount codes are used, smaller creators often deliver more trackable conversions. The signal is cleaner, the intent is clearer, and the sale is easier to attribute.

How affiliate and influencer marketing are merging

One of the biggest changes in 2025 is how these smaller creators are being plugged directly into affiliate programmes.

Rather than charging flat fees for content, many are open to commission-based models — especially when working with brands they trust. That makes them ideal partners for affiliate marketers, who can support them with creative, trackable links, and bonus incentives for top performers.

Platforms like LTK, UpPromote, and Shopify Collabs are making it easier than ever for micro-influencers to join affiliate programmes without needing a full media kit or agency representation. For brands, this opens up access to thousands of creators who were previously out of reach.

What brands are doing differently

Brands that are embracing this trend aren’t just throwing money at influencers — they’re building proper relationships.

That means offering product education, exclusive discount codes, creative freedom, and timely feedback. It also means moving away from vanity metrics like follower count, and instead focusing on real outcomes: clicks, sales, referrals, and repeat engagement.

Some brands are building ambassador-style programmes that turn high-performing nano-influencers into long-term partners, rather than one-off content creators. This approach blends the best of affiliate, influencer and advocacy marketing into a single channel.

What marketers should watch out for

Working with smaller creators does come with its own challenges:

• You’ll need to manage more relationships, which means more time on outreach and reporting
• Some creators will need guidance on disclosures, brand messaging and link usage
• Results may vary — testing across a mix of creators is key to finding what works

But the rewards are often worth the effort. The brands seeing success in this space are the ones willing to experiment, build systems, and treat creators as strategic partners.

Final thoughts

In 2025, influencer marketing isn’t just about big names and big reach. It’s about relevance, trust, and conversion.

Micro and nano-influencers may not dominate the headlines, but they’re delivering real results — especially for brands willing to work with them at ground level. If you’re running an affiliate programme, launching a DTC brand, or trying to grow on a budget, smaller creators might just be your biggest asset.

The future of influence is not louder. It’s closer.