The influencer landscape has exploded over the last decade with creators making content in every industry imaginable. Niche influencers, in particular, have become a hot topic among brands looking to partner with creators with engaged, targeted audiences.
But what exactly are niche influencers, and why are they so valuable? This blog will explore what makes a niche influencer, the most popular niches, and provide tips for partnering with brand-aligned influencers. We’ll also look into some more obscure niches if you’re looking for something a little different.
A niche influencer is a content creator with expertise in a specific industry. These influencers typically focus on a targeted area of interest, like beauty, food, or fitness, and produce content tailored to that niche.
Niche influencers can have any size following. However, creators in broad niches generally have a larger following than creators in a more targeted sub-niche (think fashion versus sustainable fashion).
Fashion and beauty influencers specialize in tips and tutorials on hair, makeup, skincare, fashion trends, and more. They tend to collaborate with brands to promote new products or collections.
Health and wellness influencers share tips for keeping the mind and body healthy. They often promote supplements, workout gear, and healthy food options.
Fitness and sports influencers inspire anyone needing workout routines, training tips, and daily motivation to reach their performance goals. They often work with gear and supplement companies to promote their products and showcase their benefits.
Gaming influencers create content like gameplay videos, reviews, tutorials, and more. They’re the perfect partners for brands wanting to showcase their products in action.
Travel influencers document their adventures and give tips on the best destinations, accommodations, and activities. These creators have a lot of range and can partner with most brands. But they often work with hotels, airlines, restaurants, and other vacation-oriented companies.
These influencers share recipes and recommendations for restaurants, cooking products, and appliances. They usually partner with brands looking for someone to showcase how their products can help make a beautiful dish or delicious beverage.
These mom and dad influencers give audiences a glimpse of their parenting successes and failures, provide tips for common problems, and give family-life inspiration. Any brand with products that kids love or make parents’ lives easier will find a strong partner in these creators.
Technology influencers are experts on the latest software and tech trends. They do a lot of reviews and unboxing content and are a good fit for any brand with a gadget to promote.
Home stylists inspire their audiences to get organized and find the perfect aesthetic. If it belongs in the home, these influencers can help you promote it.
These creators share their knowledge on how to start and grow a business, manage wealth, and more. When they aren’t promoting their own endeavors, they’ll partner with brands that can help their audience reach their financial goals.
Possibly the toughest decision when partnering with pet influencers is deciding whether you want the human or the pet. Either way, these creators are the perfect match for pet food, toy, accessory, and training brands.
@asmr Comment down below 🫢 #asmr #asmrsleep #sleep #asmrtiktoks #asmrvideo #triggers #foryou ♬ originalljud – ASMR
Audiences love ASMR influencers for their calming video and audio recordings. These creators can make content in about every popular niche, but many partner with brands that can enhance the ASMR experience, such as candle, lotion and tea companies.
@the.minimalistmama Five things I do not buy as a minimalist #nontoxic #clean #minimalist #minimalism #lessismore #declutter #sustainability ♬ Good Vibes (Instrumental) – Ellen Once Again
Minimalist creators are all about reducing clutter and simplifying their lives. They often partner with brands that help promote a similar lifestyle, like eco-friendly cleaning supplies and organizational products. These creators are also known for guiding audiences on what not to buy to reduce their carbon footprint.
@healthyxkelsey they may not look prettier but organic & local are healthier 🌱 #healthyxkelsey #healthrules #eatyourfruitsandvegetables ♬ original sound – Healthy Kelsey
Organic farmers, foodies, and cruelty-free product enthusiasts provide tips for integrating clean products into daily life. These creators can partner with brands in any industry as long as their products are all-natural.
Sustainable fashion influencers promote ethical fashion practices, such as upcycling and clothing swaps. You can find these creators showing off their latest thrift store hauls and partnering with brands with environmentally friendly products.
@magicbymikaila Calling all witches, wizards, and muggles! ⚡️ #ad @Lovepop has the most gorgeous Harry Potter collection so you can surprise all the magical people in your life with a gift super unique and gorgeous, and full of the most beautiful little details! (the Hogwarts pop up card is a spot on model of the real thing!) ✨ Click the link in my bio to check out the cards and other festive decor! ✨ #lovepop #harrypotter #harrypotterfan #lovepopcards ♬ original sound – Mikaila
There’s an influencer for just about any fandom. But you’re most likely to find them making content for massive fictional universes like Harry Potter, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. These creators often work with companies that offer licensed merchandise like clothing and collectibles.
@pimpmycamel Things ive found exploring abandoned places part two 😳. #abandonedplaces #urbex #scarytiktok #urbanexploring ♬ original sound – Lallum the lumpy lion
Urban explorers discover the unknown in well-known places. They partner with the same companies that partner with traditional outdoor influencers but offer a twist to their content.
Crypto influencers are a subset of financial creators specializing in buying and trading on the blockchain. They generally partner with companies offering investment and trading services.
Your partners shouldn’t need much training on how to speak about your brand and promote your products. If you’ve selected creators aligned with your mission and values, they’ll already know how to deliver authentic messaging to their audience.
Follower count is important, but it isn’t everything when it comes to collaborating with niche influencers. Before securing the partnership, ensure your creator has solid engagement rate so you know they create content that resonates. Remember: The fewer followers they have, the higher their engagement rate should be.
Credibility makes an influencer’s audience trust them when they give product recommendations. Your creators must have expertise in their niche and be consistent with their advice and reviews.
To build an authentic brand, you have to partner with authentic influencers. Start by ensuring your creators came by their followers honestly—no bots and no influencer pods. From there, You have to make sure your creators actually use and believe in your products. Otherwise, their endorsements will fall flat.
This one might sound obvious, but your partners must create quality content. Even if they check all the other boxes above, your audience will scroll right past their posts if they aren’t visually appealing.
Joining online communities where your target audience is active will help you stay on top of what interests your consumers. Some of the community members might even be creating content relevant to your brand and product that you can leverage in your next campaign.
Industry-specific events are a great way to network and meet creators who might be a good fit for your brand.
No time to attend or host an event? No worries. Find some conferences in your industry, check out who’s speaking, and reach out if they seem like they’d be fit to partner with or if they have any leads.
Some popular creator-centric events include:
TBEX is one of the most popular events for travel brands and creatives. In its 12-year history, TBEX North America has attracted more than 18,000 attendees and over 1,400 speakers.
The Mobile World Conference in Barcelona is a go-to destination for anyone eager to network with brands and creators in the mobile space. This year’s conference featured industry executives and thought leaders discussing some of the hottest topics in tech.
The Tastemaker Conference in Chicago is geared toward food brands and creators but is a great event for anyone wanting to upgrade their overall content marketing game. This year’s event features more than 20 classes, workshops, panels, and keynotes on topics like SEO, business growth, content creation, and more.
Podcast Movement Evolutions aims to educate podcasters and podcast industry professionals looking to grow their shows and improve their skills. Past speakers have included Dan Carlin (Hardcore History), Audie Cornish (CNN Audio), Sarah Koenig (Serial), and many more.
Youth Marketing Strategy New York is a massive youth marketing event focused on helping brands better understand how to appeal to Gen Z consumers. This year’s event featured more than 80 speakers from popular Gen Z brands, as well as young people at the center of Gen Z lifestyle and fashion trends.
Hashtags are always a solid bet for finding creators posting content relevant to your industry. You can also use niche, location, and demographic-based hashtags like #StyleBlogger, #NYCStyle, and #GenZFashion to find more targeted potential partners.
Check out location tags on Instagram for local shops, restaurants, and hotspots if you’re looking for creators in a specific region. Avoid major tourist attractions, though, as many people visiting those locations are likely from out of town.
A huge list of potential creators is waiting for you in your podcast library. Open up your platform of choice and search for some shows related to your industry. You can start by looking into the host to see if they would make a good fit. From there, you can check out some of their past guests to see if any are worth reaching out to.
There is nothing wrong with asking your audience to offer some leads. Put out a social media post or poll asking them who they’d like to see wearing or repping your products. You might even put out a casting call to see if any of your followers are up to the challenge.
Your creators probably have friends who are also creators. So ask them to point you in the right direction. The new prospect will be eager to hear from you if you already have a great relationship with whoever referred them to you.
Be sure to do plenty of research on your creators before finalizing a partnership. Some good questions to ask yourself include:
You’ll need to provide your creators with detailed campaign briefs so everyone knows what is expected of them during the campaign.
A solid campaign brief should include:
Providing your creators with clear expectations and campaign briefs is critical. But you’ll still need to ensure you’re giving them the space to do what they do best: create.
Give your creators a bit of structure so their messaging stays on brand, but don’t put words in their mouths. After all, your creator knows their audience better than you do. And if you’ve done your homework before partnering with them, you should feel comfortable enough to step back and let them do their thing.
Don’t pigeonhole yourself to one type of niche influencer. For example, a sports and fitness brand would intuitively partner with athletes and weightlifters. But these brands could also collaborate with food influencers to show how a balanced diet can help them make gains and perform better.
You have a golden opportunity to get creative with your niche influencer partnerships. And by pulling from various industries that complement each other well, you can build campaigns with a little something for everyone.
Keep a close eye on how your campaigns perform down to the success of each individual influencer. Keeping tabs on how your partners perform will give you a much better idea of who will make the best long-term partnerships and which niches are most effective for reaching your target audience.
Strong relationships with your influencers are everything. To build those bonds, keep an open line of communication with everyone on your team. Reward your top performers with perks and incentives and keep them posted about future partnership opportunities. In other words, if you take care of your creators, they will take care of you.
Niche influencers are the perfect partners to help you reach your target audience and improve your marketing ROI. With hyper-targeted audiences and engaging content, these creators are powerful partners for brands in any industry.
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