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If your influencer marketing strategy seems to flat-line and you’re looking for a way to maximize your campaign ROI, you’re on the right page.
Niche influencers can boost your visibility and reputation, leading potential customers straight to purchase.
But where can you find the best niche experts?
This article covers the step-by-step process of niche influencer discovery and outreach.
We’ll also discuss the ten best types of niche influencers and their best uses, with plenty of in-home case studies.
Keep reading ahead.
The term niche influencer is used interchangeably for very different types of influencers.
Unfortunately, marketing experts can’t agree on the concept:
A better definition would be this:
Niche influencers:
These features lead to tons of advantages, and that’s why we’ve helped our clients find them.
For example, inBeat worked with Soylent to create a niche influencer campaign.
The brand distributed their product lines based on specific influencer interests (outdoors, hiking, gaming, etc.)
This strategy skyrocketed their brand awareness in multiple niches, increasing online visibility and purchases with considerably lower customer acquisition costs.
Niche influencers have a slew of benefits that you can reap in your next micro-influencer campaign.
In fact, many of our clients did reap these benefits.
Niche social media influencers have a specialized audience that focuses on a very specific need.
By partnering with these niche influencers, you can address this unique pain point and, thus, become more memorable.
We helped many brands achieve this with niche influencers.
When you use these niche experts, you create a stronger association between your brand and the specific solution you offer, making your products the go-to choice for potential customers.
Our sister company, inBeat Agency, worked with Nordstrom x Wildfang to help them promote a non-binary clothing line.
Results: Our niche influencers helped us create 160 content assets, leading to a whopping 4.1 million impressions.
The sales were impressive, too.
Niche influencers have better user engagement rates because they:
These active and engaged followers are more likely to convert because they trust your niche influencer.
Niche creators have specialized knowledge of their focus topic.
This knowledge allows perfect influencers to create detailed, highly engaging, and quality content.
Macro-influencers with larger audiences or creators that address generic areas may not be aware of or skilled in discussing these niches.
This point matters because you can:
Niche influencers develop relationships with their followers.
This relationship increases the likelihood of creating brand loyalty and customer retention.
Basically, adding niche influencers to your social media marketing mix cuts your sales funnel short.
Remember: Your audience perceives these niche influencers as experts and friends.
UGC stats show that 90% of people base their purchasing decisions on advice from peers. And if your product is good, your newly gained customers will stay loyal to your brand.
Due to their smaller following size, these influencers can be easier (and often less expensive) to reach out to for partnerships or collaborations.
Saving these resources means you can reinvest them and ensure a successful influencer marketing campaign.
Insider tip: We always advise our clients to use niche influencer marketing for social listening.
This tactic gives you valuable insights into your audience.
These creators deeply understand their followers in terms of their:
You can use this feedback to improve future influencer marketing campaigns and your products.
Niche influencers offer a better opportunity for long-term collaborative posts.
Conversely, mainstream influencers have limited availability and increased workloads from larger deals.
And mega influencers also have higher rates, which may not be great for your long-term budget.
We promised you’d find 10 types of niche influencers in this article, so here they are.
We’ll also discuss their best uses and show you how we leveraged these niche creators for our own clients.
Let’s dive in!
Best for: Pet care products, animal health brands, pet insurance
The internet's love for pets is undeniable, and pet influencers take center stage in this affection.
Mila, a 6-year-old Collie/Husky/Aussie with a knack for performing tricks, has amassed a significant following on Instagram under the handle @TalkingDogMila.
Mila’s profile, managed by her owner, showcases her adventures, training sessions, and product recommendations, making her an ideal partner for brands in the pet industry seeking to connect with animal lovers.
Take this post, for example:
The post shows Mila’s followers a specific set of buttons that teaches dogs to communicate with their owners.
And here they are too, right in Mila’s bio:
Insider tip: You can always look at shoulder niches to gain a competitive edge.
At inBeat, we leveraged dog influencers to elevate the car dealership Dormani Group’s reputation.
Results: The 50 unique content assets led to 200,000 unique views and over 250% traffic increase month-over-month.
Best for: Music products, music companies, mental health-related brands, therapists
For example, some people are wary of singing in public.
This could be an excellent target audience if you have a music school or sell musical instruments.
Enter Canadian singer, songwriter, and teacher Lauren Halasz.
With 108,000 followers on Instagram, Lauren is a micro - influencer specializing in improv exercises for people who fear sounding bad in public concerts:
Creators like Lauren can help position your brand in profitable niches, giving you a significant advantage over your competitors.
That’s how your products and services become the obvious choice.
Best for: Travel products in specific niches (luxury, exotic, affordable)
Here’s self-titled “cheap holiday expert” Chelsea promoting the Amex Platinum card on Instagram.
Chelsea’s niche is people interested in cheap travel hacks.
In the clip above, she explains how she traveled to India and back in business class for just £395 by using points earned on the Amex Platinum card.
inBeat Agency also used travel influencers on TikTok to promote the travel app Hopper:
Results included slashed CPAs and ongoing genuine high-performing creatives that skyrocketed the app’s active users and in-app purchases.
Best for: Faith-based products
If you have a faith-based or spiritual product, influencers in specific niches can help you promote it.
For example, few people can discuss halal investing or offer affiliate codes to a niche app in this sector.
But this Pakistani Muslim med student can and does:
You can also notice the adjacent niches this influencer addresses: women, particularly Muslim women, who are interested in investing their money wisely.
Best for: Child-rearing products; mental health facilities
For example, TikTok creator Arc Warrior focuses on a niche topic in the parenting industry: helping kids recognize toxic mentors.
The comment section is a valuable treasure trove of information about this topic.
And if you partner with this creator, your audience is his audience.
inBeat Agency used momfluencers to promote child fashion brand DeuxParDeux’s new clothing lines:
Results: Our niche mom influencers created over 200 content assets that led to over 500 unique clients for Deux Par Deux, and 10,000+ new followers on social media.
Best for: Eco-friendly products, sustainability services, green technology
In the world of influencers, those who focus on sustainable living stand out for promoting an environmentally conscious lifestyle.
Take, for example, @Ecowithrada on social media.
Rada dedicates her platform to sharing tips on reducing waste, sustainable fashion, and eco-friendly home solutions.
With her guidance, followers learn how to make impactful changes in their daily lives, making her an invaluable asset for brands that align with sustainability goals.
Rada also discusses several eco-friendly products, from food to fashion, such as the sneakers below:
Best for: Educational apps, online courses, book publishers, academic institutions, online gaming brands
Educational influencers are pivotal in making learning accessible and engaging.
Griffin Johnsen, a historian with a knack for storytelling, transforms complex historical events into captivating narratives on his YouTube channel.
His unique approach not only educates but also entertains, making history appealing to a younger audience.
Brands looking to promote educational content, apps, or online games can leverage influencers like him to reach a dedicated and intellectually curious audience.
Best for: Fitness, wellness, chiropractors, medical cabinets, and mental health brands
For example, Arlette is a physical therapist and competitive athlete whose Instagram name is @ageupwell.
Arlette is not your average fitness influencer, she is a niche creator because she addresses the niche of people who want to age up well (notice the hashtags she uses, such as #over60exercise, #over50exercise, #over70exercise, and #geriatricphysicaltherapy.)
Best for: Video games, gaming equipment, e-sports brands, game development software
Gaming influencers have a vast and highly engaged audience, making them perfect for brands within the gaming industry.
Consider the case of the @ChileanRetrogamer, who specializes in retro gaming content.
His reviews, live streams, and nostalgic gameplay videos attract viewers interested in classic video games.
Partnering with influencers like Mark can help brands tap into the passionate community of retro and indie game enthusiasts.
At inBeat Agency, we helped the Greenpark app partner with micro-influencers in various niches to increase brand awareness and produce consistently high-performing content for their new app launch.
The app tripled its budget in just three weeks while keeping its CPIs the same.
Best for: Crafting supplies, DIY project kits, home decor brands
DIY and crafting influencers inspire creativity and offer practical solutions for home projects.
Emily Haufler, the face behind @HouseAndHens, shares innovative crafting ideas, tutorials, and product reviews with her audience.
Her focus on affordable and eco-friendly crafting makes her a go-to source for those looking to personalize their space or undertake creative projects.
Brands in the crafting industry can collaborate with influencers like Emily to showcase the versatility and fun of their products.
Now that you know what niche creators are and how they can help your company expand, let’s see where you can find your ideal influencer.
Look for influencers in smaller, more specialized communities and platforms such as Reddit or Quora.
Pro tip: Use community tools such as reputation scores (on Reddit) or leaderboards (on Quora) if available. These tools can help pinpoint influential members whose opinions matter most within the community.
Take this example: You’re a realtor interested in selling homes to divorced people.
How do you find a divorce lawyer influencer on Reddit and Quora?
Platforms like inBeat have in-depth targeting capabilities with advanced filters such as:
Pro tip: inBeat even helps you hide some keywords from your search.
And it’s much faster than scrolling through Reddit or Quora.
Let’s say you want to find a flight attendant to promote your airplane-friendly toolkit for kids.
After setting your filters and keywords, you can start browsing results:
Pro tip: These profiles feature engagement rates and the number of impressions so you can compare them quickly. However, this free fake follower checker shows you more in-depth information on each influencer.
Let’s test it for @colorfulbonvoyage:
Note how clear the stats appear, helping you quickly compare and decide between potential niche influencers.
This step is intuitive:
Let’s return to the previous example; you’re a realtor interested in selling homes to divorced people.
Here’s what Instagram shows:
And you can take your pick from all these creators.
Pro tips:
You can take this approach to find influencers that write about your specific topic/industry.
These are amazing resources for discovering knowledgeable creators you can’t otherwise locate.
For example, your best creators might:
Here’s the step-by-step process to increase the chances of a successful outreach:
You can get in touch with niche influencers in three ways:
Here’s what a potential outreach message can look like:
You can find more free templates in this piece, but let’s review the basic steps of successful business inquiries:
Once your niche creators agree to the job, remember to:
Of course, you’ll also have to monitor your influencer campaign, perform split testing and optimize your ad creatives.
High-quality influencer tracking software will considerably improve your results, maximizing your marketing efforts.
Let’s schedule a free strategy call if you need help starting on that path.
We’ll discuss your business objectives, and industry-specific pain points and help you find niche influencers that sell.
