How can you save money on influencer marketing?

One thing i found helpful is that we can choose automated platforms to look after Influencer’s numerical metrics like follower count, Engagement rate but this automated platforms are not capable of telling the quality of content. So, you need to do manual check up on each influencer so that the quality of content allign with the brand’s profile.

By focusing on partnering w/ Creators for Impact > Impressions. Creators that have real world impact tend to be smaller and community driven and don't receive a lot of brand partnership offers bc brands/agencies tend to focus on vanity metrics. Supporting the niche is more impactful than supporting the mainstream. A good ex of this - I partnered Taco Bell w/a young woman who had <7k followers. They wanted to better understand what Gen Z cares abt. While she's a micro Creator, at the age of 19 she organized the largest BLM march in the state of CA and over 50k people showed up. REAL WORLD IMPACT! The CEO of Taco Bell looked over at me and said where did you find this young woman! He then asked us to extend a partnership to her for Pepsico.

Using a mix of UGC, nano and micro influencers can be really effective. UGC are great for ecommerce because it's effectively creating the illusion of customers creating content so testimonial based videos that are more trusted by an audience. UGC are typically more affordable depending on what type of video it is, length of video and specific niche. For an ecommerce campaign on a budget, I'd suggest using multiple UGC creators on a platform such as TikTok to create a video on the product. Using those tools suggested plus tools like EndorseMe to manage a mass campaign can be great! Using UGC can really keep costs down! To find them, I'd suggest going on Facebook and joining all the UGC groups.

Don’t focus on number of followers but on its growth rate. Identify potential high-flyers - they may not have many followers but are cost-effective.

You can save money by identifying nano and micro-influencers within your niche. Seek out those who create high-quality content with the potential to go viral. Nowadays, even those with small accounts can achieve virality through TikToks, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

The most fair thing to do when working with influencers (when you want to save money) is to set a success fee. We then settle with our influencers based on the success they have delivered. In short, we share the profit. Then there is no question of overpaying, and the influencer will have extra motivation to contribute to a given promotion/campaign or sponsored post. However, fixed amounts are currently the most popular in B2B, as it is difficult to calculate the exact 'success fee'. I've encountered calculations based on generated leads or follower growth.

As a mid-tier influencer, the only times I accepted low payments or no cash payments at all were when brands offered me a substantial amount of their products instead. For example, when my usual rate per video was $300, a clothing brand proposed $500 worth of their products. Another time, an accessories brand offered me products worth $400 along with $100 in cash.

Como persona que ha estado en ambas caras de la moneda, reafirmo que la negociación es clave. Muy pocas son las veces en las que una cifra inicial se mantiene exacta y así queda reflejada en el contrato. Como cliente, es importante que seas honesto (dentro de lo posible) con el presupuesto y asumas que los influencers tienen un coste que probablemente, sea mayor del que te gustaría, pero que aún así, entiendas su trabajo y estés dispuesto a invertir ese dinero. Como influencer, está bien y es completamente lícito tener una tarifa, pero eso no debe ser todo lo que condicione si aceptas o no un trabajo de este tipo. De hecho, es preferible guiarse también por el producto y si este de verdad resuena con tu audiencia.

Let's be honest, negotiation is a skill. So many people are afraid to do it and that is the first mistake. Here are some key things to do as a brand/agency to set you up for success. #1 RULE: Do not ask creators for their rates or rate cards. DO NOT DO IT. #2 RULE: Always make sure you lead with the offer and put the first number out. Now to be clear, this needs to be on a negotiation call not an outreach email. Do not put offers in email it's lazy TBH. Build relationships and negotiate on a call. Be prepared with low and high budget, deliverables, usage, campaign details, etc. Make it a collaborative conversation to see if it is even a brand fit. Pro tip: negotiate fair. Efficient spending doesn't equal being cheap or insulting!!

Knowing what budget you have for influencers in general is step 1. The next step is then to determine, based on your available budget and the audience data of an influencer, what fee you can afford to pay them. For this, you need to forget about total followers and "popularity". This needs to be a strict and data-driven process. How many total followers does the influencer have in your target market? In your target age and gender demographic? Use this to calculate your qualified followers and engagement. From there you can make an informed decision about what fee you can pay, and whether it makes monetary sense.

When your goal is to get as much brand awareness as possible, go for big influencers and celebrities. On the other hand, when your goal is to get leads or boost sales, it's better to go with micro and mid-tier influencers.

Not having and not understanding your goals can cause you to spend 2, 3, 4x your budget. Going in and actually seeing what the ROI is and clearly define this with the campaign team (influencer included) can help you from burning through cash. By identifying these goals everyone can stay on track and are also able to provide a better picture on what the money can be effectively used for.

Setting goals that rely on your own effort is the most important part. By diversifying your goals into output and input categories, you'll bring more clarity to your strategy. Output goals might focus on the amount of content you need to publish, while input goals can include ROI, the number of users brought to your website, or an incremental increase in brand searches. This way, your strategy stays within your control, rather than relying on luck. Tracking every step of the funnel goes hand in hand with this approach. Use coupon codes, vanity URLs, and QR codes for initial tracking, and post-purchase surveys and Google Trends as the last resort to measure your efforts better.

To make the most of your influencer marketing budget, set clear goals and track your ROI. Establish what you want to achieve—like growing your audience or boosting sales. Then, keep a close eye on your campaign’s performance metrics. This approach helps you identify what’s working and what isn’t, allowing you to fine-tune your strategy and ensure your money is spent where it counts the most.

Quantitative metrics are important, but they only tell part of the story. Influencer marketing is a qualitative effort, where factors like brand affinity and audience sentiment play a critical role. While engagement, conversions, and traffic offer valuable insights, Looking at content authenticity, Reading comments, and even direct messages can reveal how deeply an influencer’s audience connects with your brand. By blending both quantitative and qualitative metrics, brands can gain a fuller picture of their Influencer campaign's impact, allowing them to make better, more effective creator decisions.

And ensure your influencer agreement has usage rights outlined! Do you need to tag them in every post? When will they deliver the media files? Can you edit the files or do they request you only share originals? An influencer relationship is a stellar way to increase brand awareness while receiving professional user-generated content. Just be sure you have all the details for delivery in writing!

If you are on a really tight budget, buy UGC (user-generated content) instead of influencer videos. You can get these for a fraction of the cost, and then spend the rest on boosting those videos through ads.

Influencer content is awesome, and I highly recommend utilising it on your own social media platforms, website, and ads. When you do so, please remember: ?? You must have the influencer's permission to do so, and have it in writing. Content licensing should be explicitly written within your contracts with the influencers you work with. ?? Don't expect a license for free; you will most likely find yourself paying for this, and it will probably have an expiry date. Always conduct thorough research into the results of the content you wish to license before making any licensing agreements.

Repurposing influencer content is a smart strategy to get the most out of your investment. Make sure your contracts allow flexible content usage, then use your creativity to repurpose it across different channels. For example, use influencer posts in email marketing to engage their audience. Embed their testimonials in paid ads to build credibility. Feature their quotes on landing pages to boost conversion rates. Share their content on social media to attract new followers. Each channel serves a unique purpose, whether it's driving recurring sales through targeted email campaigns or improving conversions on optimized landing pages.

Always ensure that you have agreed usage rights with the talent that you are working with! This is a really effective way to get great value for money, as you can repurpose strong creative content across owned social, web, email and even OOH, saving money on shoots. However, make sure this is agreed from the outset in the briefing and contract and creators are paid fairly for the extra value-add of the partnership.

I support this. When starting Penguin's Instagram, this was a key strategy we employed and partnered with indie brands to co-create products that we could give away to influencers and authors alike. This co-creation of a product led to organic reach from multiple channels, getting Penguin's IG account the eyeballs it needed!

Co-sponsoring a giveaway is a great strategy. Offering the chance to win multiple products can make the contest more appealing to the audience, leading to increased awareness and followers.

Conducting tests with various influencers and platforms is vital for campaign improvement, increased gains, and preventing audience fatigue. Investing in long-term partnerships can also be beneficial as they tend to be more cost-effective and yield better returns.

Paraphrasing from the popular adage, Influencer Marketing is not a sprint its a Marathon. Brands should think and plan for long term partnerships with Influencers rather than one of campaigns. The Long term partnerships can involve - A Series of Content Pieces - IPs that resonate their audience and the brand's purpose - Collaboration for Limited Edition Products

if you want to reduce influencer marketing costs, have a clear goal in mind. after that, Research your target audience. for example answer these questions clearly, What social platforms do they like? What kind of content do they want to see? What creators do they follow? then, Leverage nano and micro influencers. keep it in mind, It’s important to remember that the value of your influencer-generated content goes beyond just a single campaign.

Focus on nurturing enduring relationships with influencers. When you establish long-term partnerships, not only does this result in cost savings, but it also builds a deeper connection between your brand and the influencer's audience. This can enhance the authenticity of your campaigns and yield better returns on your influencer marketing investment over time.

Two things that may help you in working with a tight budget are: 1. Manually source creators and search for creators who are not associated with an agency. As there will be no agency fees, you will be able to find a cheaper deal and have greater negotiating advantage. 2. If the creator has relevant followers on other platforms, sign up for those as well. Negotiation based on the number of deliverables is more effective.

Influencer marketing stands out as one of the most versatile marketing channels available, covering aspects of awareness, consideration, and performance. Whatever your focus, you'll reap benefits across all 3 dimensions. It's cost-effective, essentially offering a 3-for-1 deal in terms of value. The beauty of influencer marketing lies in its ability to work with any product or service, as long as you target the right audience at the right time with the right approach. In every content vertical, there's a segment of the audience that will find your advertised product useful enough to consider or purchase it.

Collaborate with micro-influencers whose niche aligns perfectly with your buyer persona. Establish long-term partnerships by encouraging them to keep your link in their bio permanently. To incentivize these partnerships, consider offering revenue sharing on sales generated through their unique discount codes.