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For growth-stage companies, influencer marketing doesn’t have to require a celebrity-sized budget. Micro- and nano-influencers still possess something that many of the most famous online creators can no longer lay claim to: deeply trusted and personal relationships with highly relevant audiences.
With smaller influencers’ ability to outperform bigger names in terms of ROI in some cases, growth-stage brands are turning micro- and nano-influencer partnerships into scalable holiday campaigns. Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council shared examples of how growing companies can make influencer marketing work for them this holiday season.
1. Use Creator Content As Paid Ad Creative
Micro-creators deliver high engagement, but managing dozens of individual relationships is operationally heavy and rarely yields a true ROI on small budgets. Growth-stage brands win by using creator content as ad creative rather than relying on organic reach alone. License high-performing assets from a targeted group of micro-creators and run them through paid social channels to scale results. – Danielle Wiley, Sway Group
2. Pair Product Seeding With Paid UGC
A smart strategy is to combine product seeding with paid user-generated content. Pick 15 or more micro- and nano-creators who fit the brand, pay them a modest fee for authentic holiday content and give them creative freedom. Then repurpose the strongest videos across paid social, email and your site. This turns authentic reviews into a scalable content engine. – Ismael El Qudsi, SocialPubli
3. Build A Scalable Content Engine
Don’t think of influencers as advertising. Think of them as a scalable content engine. Instead of paying one creator $25,000 for a single post, work with 20 to 30 micro-creators who genuinely fit your customer. Let them create authentic content you can repurpose across Meta, TikTok, email, your website and organic social. Often, the value of the content itself outlasts the initial campaign. – Andre Hale, OPTYO
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4. Prioritize Audience Trust Over Follower Count
For growth-stage companies, influencer marketing is less about follower count and more about reaching the right audience with authentic messaging. Micro- and nano-influencers can drive stronger engagement because their communities trust their recommendations. With compelling creative, even modest campaigns can gain significant traction and go viral. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising
5. See If Creators Are Planning Holiday Gift Guides
Research micro- and nano-influencers in your niche, build a targeted list and reach out with personalized pitches explaining why your product fits their audience. For the holidays, ask if they’re planning gift guides or seasonal roundups and offer products for consideration. A well-matched product could earn inclusion as a gift or stocking stuffer. – Bernard May, National Positions
7. Turn Credible Niche Voices Into Proof
Don’t spend the holiday budget on one big name. Find 10 to 20 smaller creators who genuinely fit the product or service and give them a simple challenge: to show how they would gift, use or recommend it in real life. Then amplify the content and creators that actually drive engagement or sales. For a growth-stage brand, the goal isn’t to borrow fame. It’s turning credible niche voices into proof that real people choose you. – Lars Voedisch, PRecious Communications
8. Give Creators Unique Links To Share Tailored Offers
Choose micro-influencers for audience relevance, not follower count. For example, a growth-stage payments platform targeting small and midsize businesses could partner with small-business creators to show how they prepare for the holiday sales rush. Each influencer could share practical tips and a tailored offer through a unique link, giving the company credible access to business owners and a clear way to measure engagement and conversions. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.
9. Treat Creators As A Portfolio Of Measurable Experiments
Treat creators like a portfolio, not a sponsorship. A specialty-food brand could pair 12 nano-creators with distinct holiday gift bundles, paying a modest fee plus commission and securing paid-media rights. Test organically, then amplify only the winners through partnership ads. Measure new-customer contribution margin after fees, discounts and media, not likes. This creates many credible experiments without betting the season on one personality. – Aaron Domino, Onimod Global
10. Start With People Already Talking About Your Brand
Start with the people already talking about your brand, or even similar brands, organically. Then look for micro-influencers within different communities who have real followings that actually trust them. I’d take 20 smaller creators who genuinely love the product over one huge name any day. That trust is what actually gets people to buy. – Bryanne DeGoede, BLND Public Relations
11. Let Nano-Influencers Use Products Long Before Posting
A small skincare client gave five nano-influencers actual products to use for a month before asking for a single post. By the time the content went live, it did not read as an ad; it read as someone genuinely telling their group chat about something they liked. Holiday season rewards that head start. – Tessar Napitupulu, Arfadia
12. Track Sales With Unique Bundles And Landing Pages
A growth-stage brand can win with micro-influencers by focusing on relevance, not reach. For the holidays, I’d identify 10 to 20 creators whose audiences closely match the ideal customer, give each a unique offer or bundle and track results by code or landing page. One strong creator driving real purchases can be more valuable than a celebrity generating broad awareness. – Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team
13. Create Genuine Partnerships With Influencers
Don’t just hire influencers—treat them as true partners. Influence them with good experiences. Show up as a human, consistent brand with clear standards and real care for the relationship. The vibe they get from working with you directly will travel further than any brief or paid post. That authenticity is what their audience actually feels and trusts. – Goran Paun, ArtVersion
14. Find Nano-Creators Your Ideal Customers Already Know
Small companies should focus less on follower count and more on trust. Partner with micro- and nano-creators who already have deep relationships with your ideal customers. For example, a brand can identify 10 niche creators, provide a unique holiday experience or product story, and let them create authentic content. The goal isn’t just reach—it’s building community-driven conversations that turn attention into action. – Sun Yi, Night Owls
