Micro influencers are popping up all over Boston, sharing details of their days, favorite restaurants and workout routines to their online followers.
Micro influencers are content creators who have small followings — typically fewer than 100,000 people and usually fewer than 10,000, according to the e-commerce company Shopify. Many have specific niches or types of content they produce, like food, fitness or fashion.
With more people starting channels every day, it’s virtually impossible to figure out how many influencers are out there. Most of them are on the more popular social media apps TikTok and YouTube, but others are also using smaller social media apps such as Beli or Strava. Some do it as a hobby, but some turn it into a full-time job, making money off of sponsorships and advertisements. One micro influencer found her roommate off of TikTok, posting a video about moving to Boston. She had tons of direct messages from people reaching out, needing roommates.
“You just never know that one [direct message] that could turn into a lifelong friend and a place to live,” said Christina Pinto, a 23-year-old micro influencer.
Abbie DeCamp, an associate teaching professor at Northeastern University who specializes in internet culture, said Boston has an outsized influencer culture thanks to the sheer volume of young people, restaurants and cultural institutions here.
Many of those who make content about food use Beli, an app started by Harvard alums that lets users rate and compare restaurants. Meanwhile, many fitness influencers use Strava, an app that records details about users’ runs — times, distances and paces. Both apps allow followers to add photos and comments on posts.
These apps are adding to the economy too. In Massachusetts, TikTok contributed $610 million to the GDP and generated around $140 million in federal, state and local tax revenue in the state, according to TikTok.
It is these interactions — logging scores or leaving comments – that help communities form, DeCamp said.
“Anywhere there’s a community, there are going to be people that have more social power in that community,” DeCamp said. “At the highest levels of that social power, that’s where we start to call people influencers.”
The lifestyle influencer
Chloe Jensen, 26, is sick of people calling Boston “boring.” She set out to prove them wrong with her TikTok account, where she makes videos for her nearly 10,000 followers romanticizing Boston by recording her weekends, making fashion guides and offering tips for rainy-day activities.
Jensen, who works in biotech, uses her 45-minute commute to edit content. On the way home, she answers emails about brand deals. Her weekends are spent filming. Balancing her job with her craft is tough, she said, but she’s eaten her way through Boston and even partnered with the Red Sox a few times to spotlight their new jerseys.
“We’re going to see a big shift from our traditional advertising media forums,” Jensen said. “Especially in cities like Boston, leaning into the micro influencer network is such an effective and affordable way to get the word out and hype around your business or product.”
The fitness influencer
Madelyn Grube, 24, has been posting on TikTok for six years. Two years ago she switched to making solely fitness content, which is when her videos started to gain traction. She now has over 2,000 followers. She makes videos centered around training for running, with lots of her content centered on marathon training.
“By just focusing on one thing that I was passionate about, it was authentic to me,” said Grube, who works as a business system analyst. “It was something I truly enjoyed doing.”
She’s maintained a community of Boston runners, some of whom follow her on Strava. She’s hesitant to expand her Strava following because of privacy concerns, so she keeps it to a closer group.
The foodie
In 2017, Kimmy Chen began posting on Yelp. In 2021, she switched to Instagram. In 2024, TikTok. Then came Beli.
The 23-year-old food content creator balances school, work and social media. She enjoys posting about food and has logged a new restaurant on Beli every week for two and a half years. Chen has over 4,000 followers on both Instagram and TikTok, and said it’s important for her to support small family-owned businesses.
“Having my food account sparks a different sort of passion and interest of mine in a different capacity,” Chen said. “I definitely do see myself doing it long term.”
The financial analyst’s days
Joe Maselli, 23, who works in finance, started posting to TikTok in February. His content focuses on his daily routines and financial habits. He said he wants to show his 1,000-plus followers how to live a balanced life.
Some of his videos show his morning routine – what he eats, his workout and the start to his day. His family owns an ice cream shop, and he films himself making sundaes, cleaning tables and working the register.
“[It’s] parts of my life that are exciting, boring, that I want to share with the world and maybe inspire people to get up earlier, save more money or just try something new,” Maselli said.
The newbie
After moving to Boston six months ago and ending her relationship with an ex-boyfriend, Christina Pinto decided to go all in on TikTok, where she has over 3,000 followers.
Coming from a small town in Pennsylvania, Pinto didn’t know a soul in Boston. She wanted to showcase her “type B, very chaotic, not perfect” life.
“There are so many influencers on the app that showcase such a perfect life, and it just never resonated with me,” Pinto said.
She said she intentionally posts “rage bait videos” — that are intended to make people angry, such as a video where she parks in a handicapped spot — in order to boost her engagement.
“If you want to grow yourself and get your name out there, I found the easiest way to do it, and I’m not afraid to do it,” Pinto said.
This story is part of a partnership between WBUR and the Boston University Department of Journalism.