As digital marketing specialists working across the UK market, we recognise that influencer collaborations have become one of the most effective strategies to reach a targeted audience with valuable qualities for companies, such as high level of engagement and interaction. In this article, we’ll explore the different types of influencers and how they can help your brand achieve specific marketing objectives in the competitive British landscape.
What is an influencer?
Before talking about the different types of influencers, it is important to establish what precisely constitutes an influencer. An influencer is a person with a substantial social media following who possesses the demonstrable ability to shape the opinions, behaviours, and purchasing decisions of their audience through authentic content creation and community engagement.
Due to their popularity, brands can collaborate with content creators to promote their products or services.
TYPES OF INFLUENCERS ACCORDING TO THEIR NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS
Categorising influencers by their number of followers can help brands better understand the different levels of reach, engagement, and impact potential available. This classification helps marketing teams develop more targeted strategies aligned with specific campaign objectives and budget parameters
In general, five main categories of influencers can be identified according to their size: micro-influencers, small influencers, large influencers, macro influencers, and celebrities.
NANO-INFLUENCERS (1,000-10,000 followers)
Though often overlooked in traditional classifications, nano-influencers represent an increasingly valuable category. These creators typically maintain the highest engagement rates (often 5-8%) and foster extraordinarily close relationships with their followers. Their recommendations carry significant weight within highly specialised local communities, making them particularly effective for region-specific campaigns in areas like Scotland, Wales, or specific English counties.
MICRO-INFLUENCERS (10,000-50,000 followers)
Micro-influencers maintain impressively strong engagement rates, averaging 4% across platforms. Their authentic connection with followers makes them exceptionally valuable for targeted marketing campaigns requiring genuine audience trust. UK brands particularly benefit from micro-influencers’ ability to drive meaningful engagement with specific demographic segments at a relatively accessible price point compared to larger creators.
Learn the details to find the best micro-influencers for your brand
MID-TIER INFLUENCERS (50,000-100,000 followers)
These creators represent an optimal balance between reach and engagement (approximately 2.4%). Mid-tier influencers have established credibility while maintaining relatively close audience relationships, making them particularly effective for brands seeking both reasonable reach and authentic connection. They typically specialise in well-defined content categories with dedicated followings across major UK cities and regions, offering excellent value for campaigns targeting specific interest groups.
MACRO-INFLUENCERS (100,000-1 million followers)
With rates averaging 1.8%, this group provides significant visibility for marketing campaigns. These established content creators often work professionally with brands and demonstrate sophisticated content production capabilities. While their audience connection may be somewhat less intimate than smaller creators, they offer substantially broader reach for campaigns targeting wider UK demographics, making them particularly suitable for nationwide product launches or major brand initiatives.
CELEBRITIES (1 million+ followers)
Prominent British personalities with extensive followings across multiple platforms maintain approximately 1.4% engagement rates. These influential figures typically operate in mainstream sectors such as entertainment, sport, or broadcasting with broad appeal across diverse audiences. While precise audience targeting becomes more challenging with celebrity collaborations, their tremendous reach makes them valuable for raising nationwide brand awareness or supporting major campaigns requiring substantial visibility across the UK market.
When selecting the optimal types of influencers based on followers for your campaign objectives, consider both audience scale and engagement quality rather than focusing exclusively on follower numbers. The most successful UK influencer strategies often combine multiple creator tiers to achieve both reach and resonance with target consumers.
TYPES OF INFLUENCERS ACCORDING TO THEIR CONTENT
There are several types of influencers specialized in a certain area, such as fashion, beauty, food, travel, etc. We can divide them into the following categories:
FASHION AND BEAUTY INFLUENCERS
This type of influencer focuses on fashion, beauty and lifestyle. They usually share tips, tutorials, and product recommendations related to these sectors.
LIFESTYLE INFLUENCERS
They cover a wide range of topics, showcasing their lifestyle on social networks. Their versatility makes them valuable partners for brands seeking broader audience reach while maintaining relevance to typical UK consumer lifestyles and regional preferences.
TRAVEL INFLUENCERS
This type of influencer focuses on tourism and travel. They often share travel photos and tips, travel destination recommendations, and promote hotels and travel companies. Travel influencers can have a wide and global audience, which makes them an ideal choice for brands that want to reach an international audience.
TECHNOLOGY INFLUENCERS
Focuses on technology and gadgets. They usually share reviews of technological products, tutorials on how to use them and news related to technology. They have an audience interested in new product launches such as mobiles, computers and video games.
FITNESS AND SPORTS INFLUENCERS
This type of influencer focuses on physical activity, sports and wellness. They tend to share training tips, exercise routines, sports and nutrition product recommendations. They usually have an engaged and active audience, which makes them an ideal choice for brands that want to promote products related to sports and wellness.
GAMERS
Video game lovers have created digital communities that share the same tastes for these entertainments. In general, their content is focused on the publication of videos using different video games, information on market news (the launch of a new video game or a new version), and disseminating tricks and techniques for success.
FAMILY INFLUENCERS
They are those influencers who spread parenting tips, products needed for the whole family and anecdotes, both of their successes and failures so that followers can identify with them.
HUMORISTS
Finally, we must mention those influencers who are characterized by disseminating humorous content in which their followers are highly loyal to them because they make them laugh and keep them entertained.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TYPE OF INFLUENCER BASED ON FOLLOWERS FOR YOUR BRITISH BRAND?
Selecting the optimal content creator category for your influencer marketing campaign requires alignment between your specific marketing objectives and each influencer tier’s unique strengths:
- For Brand Awareness: Celebrity and macro-influencers (100K+ followers) deliver maximum visibility across the British market, ideal for new product launches or nationwide campaigns requiring broad reach.
- For Engagement and Trust: Micro-influencers (10K-50K followers) generate superior engagement rates and authentic connections with UK audiences, perfect for building credibility in specific communities or regional markets.
- For Conversion and Sales: Mid-tier influencers (50K-100K followers) often provide the optimal balance between reach and trust for driving purchase decisions among British consumers, offering excellent ROI for established brands.
- For Niche Markets: Nano-influencers (1K-10K followers) excel at reaching highly specific UK audience segments with extraordinary relevance and authenticity, particularly valuable for specialised products or localised campaigns.
The most effective British influencer strategies often combine multiple types of influencers based on followers across different campaign phases—using larger accounts for initial awareness before engaging smaller, more targeted creators to drive meaningful conversions within specific audience segments.
Understanding the different types of influencers is essential for developing targeted marketing strategies that align with your specific business objectives in the British market.
Micro-influencers (10K-50K followers) often deliver exceptional results due to their authentic connection with audiences and superior engagement rates, making them particularly valuable for brands seeking meaningful interactions with specific UK consumer segments. Conversely, macro-influencers (100K-1M followers) can significantly enhance your brand positioning by offering expanded visibility and reach across the broader British marketplace.
For brands seeking to implement a comprehensive influencer strategy across the UK, Flow Flamingo delivers bespoke solutions tailored to your specific marketing goals. Our team specialises in identifying and managing the optimal types of influencers based on followers for your particular campaign objectives.Ready to transform your marketing approach with the right influencer partnerships? Request your consultation today!
