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Brands across categories – FMCG, fashion, F&B – are moving on from follower count to prioritising one metric: engagement. From mega-celebrities with millions of followers to nano influencers with a few thousand, what’s now shaping campaign success is not how many people see a post, but how many care enough to click the link attached to the influencer post.
Sayak Mukherjee, Co-Founder at Creatorcult said, “Shifting focus from reach to engagement requires a fundamental change in both mindset and metrics. Today, platforms like Instagram no longer serve content primarily to followers — the reel discovery experience is driven by user interest, not followers or subscriptions. This algorithm shift has been in place for some time, but many brands continue to rely on outdated assumptions based on follower count.”
According to him, this is the sole reason why creators with smaller audiences but high content relevance can often outperform bigger names in terms of engagement and ROI.
"The main challenges that brands face while making shifts from reach to engagement are internal: reorienting KPIs, overcoming legacy thinking, and managing the complexity of working with multiple smaller creators. With the right agency support, however, this transition can be seamless,” he explained.
For example: Kriti Sanon (55M+ Instagram followers) vs Shreya Jain (beauty content creator with 500K+ followers) – who drives more actual sales?
Most brands would instinctively choose Kriti, assuming “big star + huge reach = big results.” But in reality, reach doesn’t always equal revenue. Consumers today are smarter—they know celebrity posts are paid endorsements. Kriti might get millions of likes, but the buying intent is low because people view it as just another glamorous promotion.
Meanwhile, someone like Shreya Jain has built deep trust in her niche. Her followers don’t just watch her—they listen, engage, and most importantly, buy. Her reviews feel real, and her product shoutouts lead to real sales because people believe she’s genuinely recommending what works.
Shreya’s community may be smaller, but it’s laser-targeted and highly engaged. Her comment section is full of people asking for product links, shade matches, or dupes. She replies, gives tips, and builds a two-way connection that celebrities simply can’t manage at their scale.
According to the EY 2024 report, campaigns with nano and micro influencers — typically those with under 100K followers — are showing 2x higher click-through rates than those with celebrities. Conversion rates are up by 20%, and the cost is 3–5x lower per campaign.
And, more than 67% of consumers report trusting smaller influencers over traditional celebrities advertisements, as per recent Kantar report.
Chandan Sharma, GM, Digital Media at Adani Group, said the game has changed for brands. “We’re seeing a clear shift. It’s no longer just about how many people see your content, but how deeply they connect with it,” he said. “When you build campaigns around real communities, trust goes up—and so do conversions. These aren’t just one-off wins; they help brands grow in a more sustainable way.”
He shared five strategies brands should follow: work with niche influencers who truly align with your product; smaller creators often have stronger, more loyal audiences; bring influencers into the planning room, not just the execution stage; use AI to identify relevant creators and lock in long-term contracts; and build testimonial-style content to boost authenticity and peer influence.
He also explained how influencer tiers play a major role in shaping campaign outcomes. “We typically break them down into nano, micro, mid-tier, macro, and mega categories,” Sharma said. “Each tier brings something different to the table.”
Smaller influencers—usually in the 10K to 100K follower range—are great for building community, driving conversions, and nurturing brand loyalty. These creators charge between ?8,000 to ?1.25 lakh per post and often deliver high engagement.
Mid-sized influencers with 100K to 500K followers help expand reach and boost awareness, with rates ranging from ?1.7 lakh to ?8.3 lakh per post.
Macro creators, who have between 500K and 1 million followers, are typically tapped for large-scale visibility and mass awareness campaigns. Their charges can go up to ?41.5 lakh per post.
At the top of the pyramid are mega influencers with over a million followers—ideal for high-impact launches and prestige branding. But they come at a hefty price, often starting from ?41.5 lakh and going beyond ?8.3 crore per post.
“Different goals need different kinds of creators,” Sharma said. “It’s all about matching your objective with the right voice and reach.”
For brands looking to tap specific regions or cultural pockets, working with multiple nano influencers is becoming the go-to strategy. Varun Matani, Business Head – Influencer Marketing, Dot Media, said brands must now think smaller to go bigger.
He advised brands who are now in transition from famous to engagement metric to prioritise creative concept over views and engagement numbers.
"By emphasizing good storytelling, brands can create a lasting impression on their audience and create a deeper connection with them. This approach encourages creators to think outside the box and develop fresh, engaging content that resonates with the target audience, ultimately driving more brand loyalty,” he said.
Campaign design and engagement metric is also evolving.
Deepmala, Founder of The Visual House (TVH), which works closely with both brands and influencers for campaigns stresses that metrics like “likes” are insufficient to gauge a campaign’s impact.
“Agencies usually look at engagement rates, saves, shares, click-throughs—and…honestly, even DMs and replies to Stories. Those are gold because they show someone truly connected with what they saw…”
She recalled a campaign for the National AIDS Control Organisation on World AIDS Day. “Over 50 influencers from diverse categories and follower bases came together to spread awareness and break HIV-related stigma. The content, often raw and vulnerable, sparked heartfelt reactions—people shared personal stories, opened up in the comments, and asked meaningful questions, resulting in a level of impact that likes alone could never quantify.”
A social media consultant, who wished to remain unnamed, offers an unfiltered take: “If brands still ask about follower count, some might fake it. But real influence comes from consistency. Use your phone. Take AI help with scripts and editing. Post daily for a month. Even with 5–7 good posts, you can get noticed. But remember—it’s not about cheating the system. It’s about showing up with content that reflects you. Tag random brands. You will be in their radar.”
Despite shortcuts like these, what endures is authenticity. Brands and creators that lean into meaningful engagement are finding that it’s not only possible to win without massive reach—but in many cases, it’s more effective. As influencer marketing matures, the industry seems to be aligning around one truth: it’s not about which brand shouts the loudest. It’s about who speaks in a voice their customers actually trust.
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