Talent management agencies bet on small influencers as brands chase better returns

These agencies act as representatives for influencers, pitching them to brands, negotiating deals, and ensuring the best possible rates for their clients. In return, they typically take a commission — often around 20% of the fee paid by the brand.

While large-scale influencers with heavy brand interest tend to rely on such agencies for coordination and negotiation, mid-tier creators — with followings between 100,000 and 500,000 — are also increasingly signing with them to secure more collaborations and monetisation opportunities.

For nano (up to 10,000 followers) and micro influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers), the benefits can be even greater. Agencies not only connect them with brands but also help them capitalise on viral moments, refine their content strategies, and steadily grow into higher tiers of influence.

According to experts, small (micro and nano) creators with good engagement on their content can earn anywhere between ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 through brand deals.

Ayush Chaurasiya, a 16-year-old who first captured attention in March after a brief viral moment—thanks to his humorous mispronunciation of ‘croissant’ as ‘Prahsant’—was quickly noticed by the talent management agency Opraahfx. Today, with 97,700 followers, Chaurasiya is regularly partnering with brands and has already collaborated with names such as Britannia, Myntra, and Phillips.

“Creators in my follower range usually don’t get approached by agencies. But thanks to my viral reel, I got discovered. Being managed by an agency has lifted a huge burden off my shoulders — from handling brand negotiations to exploring new opportunities. It has also opened doors for scaling my content and collaborating with both brands and fellow creators — something I don’t think I could have managed on my own,” Chaurasiya said.

For Chaurasiya and the agency, it is a win–win arrangement. The agency works on a commission basis, so the more work they bring him, the more they earn. And with each brand deal they secure, he gets to grow his earnings, too.

“We launched our Creator Accelerator Program last year to identify emerging creators with strong growth potential,” said Pranav Panpalia, founder of Opraahfx.

“Under this initiative, we onboard smaller creators, provide them with training, manage their brand, and handle their PR to accelerate growth. Currently, we have over 500 such creators in the program. Since working closely with such talent demands more time, energy, and personalised guidance—depending on the services opted for—we typically charge a 25% commission, which is higher than the industry average,” he added.

In January, Viraj Sheth, CEO and cofounder of new media company Monk Entertainment, posted a reel announcing an onboarding opportunity for three emerging influencers. The video went viral, reaching six million views and attracting over 60,000 expressions of interest.

“While working with creators like Aastha Shah and Nancy Tyagi — both of whom we scouted early, around the 100,000-follower mark—we unlocked a playbook for spotting the right talent and growing them to a million+ followers,” Sheth said. “All our creators currently pay the same subscription rate as our established talent, but given the intense mentoring involved in an emerging creator, we may introduce a slab-based pricing model as we onboard more nano and micro creators.”

Big isn’t always better

For many agencies, grooming creators through their growth journey is more rewarding than managing those with mass followings but stagnant engagement.

“Brands are slowly moving away from influencers with over 5 million followers,” Sheth explained. “High rates, lower engagement, fake followers, and relevance issues reduce RoI. Smaller creators charge less, deliver more, and are where brands are putting their money—and companies like ours are following the lead.”

Prachi Popat, a design and art creator, who started creating content in March and has accumulated close to 50,000 followers got onboarded with an agency early on in her influencer journey.

“For me as a creative, I despise the back and forth of negotiating with brands. To figure out who’s serious, who’s willing to offer creative freedom, who has the budget etc. is very tedious work that on a daily basis takes away from the joy of creating,” she said.

The agency helps her brainstorm ideas for pitches and scope out different avenues to experiment with. “It also offers me the ability to work with other people and get diverse perspectives,” she added. She also points out that, as a creator, working alone all the time can get repetitive. Thus, having an agency on her side helps her expand her reach while having fun creating.

“Brands are shifting to micro-influencers for their hyper-local reach, precise targeting, and lower costs,” Puja Jurmania, director of content strategy and influencer marketing at DViO Digital, echoed the trend. “Social media’s age-agnostic nature allows access to niche audiences, while smaller creators feel more authentic. In Tier II and III markets, that authenticity quickly builds trust and loyalty.”

Shankar Prasad, cofounder of beauty brand Plum Goodness, said follower count is no longer the sole metric for selection. “Our decision-making on nano versus mega influencers is driven by brand fit and messaging authenticity. Our campaigns with smaller creators consistently deliver 30–70% higher engagement rates. They bring tighter communities and personalised storytelling, which convert better.”

L. Muralikrishnan, cofounder and chief marketing officer of food chain Wow! Momo Foods, noted a structural shift in brand collaborations. “We’re moving from one-off shoutouts to long-term, integrated partnerships—especially with nano influencers. The smaller the creator, the closer they are to their audience, which means higher engagement and RoI (return on investments).”

“We’re shifting to barter, commission, and shared-upside models where both parties benefit. For us, it’s about driving genuine actions—community building, CRM growth, or sales. Some of our best campaigns have come from influencers with under 20,000 followers.”

Importantly, platform algorithms now favour quality over clout. “Piyush Agrawal, cofounder of talent management firm CREATE, said, “If your content is strong, it gets pushed widely, even with a small follower base.

That can make anyone go viral overnight, giving agencies the chance to step in, sustain that momentum, and turn it into long-term income. Scouting talent early pays off—around 30% of our influencers have between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.”

The influencer marketing industry is projected to reach ₹3375 crore in 2026.