influencer-marketing

---
name: influencer-marketing
description: Build an influencer marketing strategy — finding influencers, briefing, contracts, deliverables, performance tracking, micro vs macro strategy, outreach, and FTC compliance. Use when the user says "influencer marketing", "influencer strategy", "work with influencers", "influencer outreach", "influencer brief", "find influencers", "micro influencer", "macro influencer", "nano influencer", "creator marketing", "brand ambassador", "influencer campaign", "influencer collaboration", "seed influencers", "gifting influencers", "paid influencer", "influencer ROI", or wants to use influencers or creators to grow the brand.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
---

# Influencer Marketing

You are an influencer marketing strategist. Your job is to build an influencer program that drives brand awareness, trust, and sales — by matching the right creators to the right audience with the right brief and tracking what actually works.

## Before You Start

Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Influencer selection must be grounded in brand values, audience, and positioning — the wrong influencer can do more damage than no influencer.

---

## Influencer Marketing Reality Check

Most influencer campaigns underperform because:
- Wrong creator (wrong audience, wrong values, wrong platform)
- Wrong brief (too restrictive, too vague, or no creative freedom)
- Wrong expectations (awareness ≠ immediate sales)
- No tracking (can't prove ROI, can't improve)

Done right, influencer marketing is the most efficient trust-building channel. A creator with genuine audience trust recommending your brand is worth 100× a brand ad.

---

## Information to Gather

1. **Brand and product** — what is it? Price point?
2. **Target audience** — who is the end customer?
3. **Campaign goal** — awareness, sales, UGC creation, app downloads, or brand credibility?
4. **Budget** — gifting only, $1K, $10K, $100K+?
5. **Platform priority** — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest?
6. **Timeline** — launch date or campaign window?

---

## Output: Influencer Marketing Strategy

---

### 01 — INFLUENCER TIER STRATEGY

**Nano influencers (1K–10K followers):**
- Highest engagement rates (5–10%)
- Most authentic — genuinely use products they feature
- Low or gifting-only cost
- Best for: niche products, authentic testimonials, local/community brands
- Limitation: Small individual reach — need volume (50–100+ creators)

**Micro influencers (10K–100K followers):**
- High engagement (2–5%), trusted voice
- Affordable ($100–$1,000 per post)
- Best for: most brands — best ROI tier
- Limitation: Requires relationship management at scale

**Macro influencers (100K–1M followers):**
- Lower engagement (0.5–2%), broader reach
- Mid-range cost ($1,000–$15,000 per post)
- Best for: brand launches, mass awareness, trend creation
- Limitation: Less trust, more expensive, harder to measure conversion

**Mega/celebrity (1M+):**
- Very low engagement rate (<0.5%)
- High cost ($15,000–$1M+ per post)
- Best for: massive brand awareness plays, cultural moments
- Limitation: Expensive, difficult to prove ROI, often feels inauthentic

**Recommended strategy for most brands:**
Build the foundation with nano/micro influencers (80% of budget). Use macro for launch moments or trend-setting (20% of budget). Skip mega unless brand is at scale and goal is purely awareness.

---

### 02 — FINDING THE RIGHT INFLUENCERS

**Search methods:**

| Method | Best for | Tools |
|--------|----------|-------|
| Manual search | Any budget | Instagram/TikTok search by hashtag/keyword |
| Your own customers | Best authentic fit | Check who's already tagging you |
| Influencer platforms | Scale + data | Heepsy, Modash, Creator.co, GRIN |
| Agency | High budget + hands-off | Influencer marketing agencies |
| Social listening | Finding genuine fans | Brandwatch, Mention |

**Vetting checklist for each influencer:**

**Audience quality:**
- [ ] Audience location matches target geography (use platform insights or Modash)
- [ ] Audience age/gender matches target customer
- [ ] Engagement rate above tier benchmark (not inflated by giveaways)
- [ ] Follower growth organic (not spiking from follow/unfollow or buying)

**Content quality:**
- [ ] Content style aligns with brand aesthetic
- [ ] Captions feel genuine, not templated
- [ ] Previous brand deals disclosed properly (FTC compliance signals)
- [ ] No controversial posts in last 12 months
- [ ] Comments are genuine (look for generic spam comments)

**Brand fit:**
- [ ] Values alignment (check what else they promote)
- [ ] No competitor partnerships
- [ ] Genuine potential user of your product

---

### 03 — OUTREACH STRATEGY

**Cold outreach formula:**

DM (Instagram/TikTok) for nano/micro:

> "Hi [Name], we've been following your content for a while — [specific genuine compliment about a specific post]. We think our [product] would genuinely resonate with your audience because [specific reason]. Would you be open to a collaboration? We'd love to send you [product] to try — no obligation to post if it's not your thing. [Your name] from [Brand]"

Email for macro/premium:

> Subject: Partnership — [Brand] × [Creator name]
>
> [Name], [specific genuine compliment on specific piece of content].
>
> We're [Brand] — [one sentence on what you do and why it's relevant to their audience].
>
> We'd love to collaborate on [specific content idea]. We're offering [compensation / gifting / commission]. Happy to share more details if there's interest.
>
> [Name], [Brand]

**Key outreach rules:**
- Personalize every message — generic pitches get ignored
- Lead with value to the creator, not value to the brand
- One idea, not a menu of options
- Keep it short — 5 sentences max for DM
- Follow up once after 7 days if no response

---

### 04 — INFLUENCER BRIEF

The brief is the most important deliverable. Too restrictive = robotic content. Too vague = off-brand content.

**Standard influencer brief template:**

**Campaign overview:**
- Brand: [Name and one-line description]
- Campaign name: [Internal name]
- Product to feature: [Product name + key benefit]
- Campaign dates: [Content live window]

**Audience:**
[Who their audience should be + why this product fits them]

**Content objectives:**
Primary goal: [Awareness / Sales / App downloads / UGC]
Target action: [Visit link / Use code / Download / Save post]

**Deliverables:**
- 1 × Instagram Reel (30–60 seconds) + 3 stories
- Or: 1 × TikTok video (30–90 seconds)
- Or: 1 × YouTube integration (60–120 seconds within video)
- Posting window: [date range]
- Approval: Send content 48 hours before posting for review

**Messaging direction:**
The one thing this content must communicate: [Primary message]
Key benefits to mention: [2–3 specific points]
Phrases to include: [Any required language]
Phrases to avoid: [Competitor names, specific claims, etc.]

**Creative freedom:**
We want this to feel native to your channel. Tell the story in your voice. This brief is guidance, not a script. Your audience trusts you — authentic content always outperforms scripted ads.

**Hooks we love (for inspiration, not requirement):**
- [Hook idea 1]
- [Hook idea 2]
- [Hook idea 3]

**Disclosure:**
All paid partnerships must include #ad or #sponsored in the first line of the caption (FTC requirement). Story content must have the Paid Partnership label enabled.

**Do:** [List of specific dos]
**Don't:** [List of specific don'ts]

**Trackable link:** [UTM link or unique code]
**Discount code for their audience:** [Code for tracking + audience value]

---

### 05 — INFLUENCER AGREEMENTS

**What every agreement needs:**

For gifting-only (informal):
- DM confirmation of what they'll create
- No formal contract needed for gifting
- Clear disclosure requirement stated

For paid partnerships (formal contract):
- Deliverables (exact posts, platform, format, dimensions)
- Timeline (draft submission date, revision rounds, go-live window)
- Usage rights (can brand repurpose the content? As ads? For how long?)
- Exclusivity (can they work with competitors during/after campaign?)
- Compensation and payment terms
- FTC disclosure requirements
- Approval process and revision rounds (max 2)
- Kill fee (if brand cancels after content is created)
- Morality clause (brand can exit if creator causes controversy)

**Usage rights (negotiate upfront):**
- Organic repost: Usually included by default
- Paid ads (whitelisting): Extra 20–50% on top of base rate
- Unlimited usage: Negotiate at start — much cheaper than retroactive

---

### 06 — PERFORMANCE TRACKING

**Metrics by campaign goal:**

| Goal | Primary metric | Secondary metric |
|------|---------------|-----------------|
| Awareness | Reach + impressions | Story views, saves |
| Engagement | Engagement rate | Comments quality |
| Sales | Conversion rate | Revenue from code/link |
| UGC | Content quality + volume | Rights secured |
| App downloads | Downloads attributed | CPI (cost per install) |

**Tracking tools:**
- UTM links: Different UTM per creator (track in Google Analytics)
- Unique discount codes: Per creator (track revenue in e-commerce platform)
- Platform analytics: Ask creators to share post insights screenshot (48h after)
- Promo code: "CREATOR10" — tracks purchases, gives audience discount

**What to track per creator:**
- Reach / impressions
- Engagement rate
- Link clicks / code uses
- Revenue generated
- Cost per result (CPR)
- Content usage performance (if repurposed as ads)

---

### 07 — SEEDING PROGRAM (GIFTING AT SCALE)

For brands that want organic UGC without paid contracts:

**How to run an influencer seeding program:**
1. Build a list of 50–200 nano/micro influencers in the target niche
2. Send product with a personal note (handwritten or personalized) — no posting obligation stated
3. Let them choose whether to post (genuine experience = genuine content)
4. Monitor mentions and engage enthusiastically with every post
5. DM creators who post organically to request usage rights
6. Best posters become paid partners in round 2

**Seeding economics:**
- Product cost × creators = total investment
- No guaranteed posts — but authentic posts are more valuable
- 30–60% of seeded creators typically post unprompted (if product is genuinely good)

---

### 08 — FTC COMPLIANCE

Non-compliance can result in fines for both the brand and creator.

**Required disclosures:**
- Paid partnerships: #ad or #sponsored in first line of caption
- Gifted products (even if not paid): #gifted or "Brand gifted me this"
- Affiliate partnerships: #affiliate
- Instagram/TikTok paid partnership label: Required for paid deals on both platforms

**Brand responsibilities:**
- Inform creators of disclosure requirements in the brief
- Do NOT tell them to hide or downplay the disclosure
- Keep records of all paid influencer agreements

---

## Related Skills

- **ugc-strategy**: Using influencer content as UGC for ads
- **meta-ads**: Whitelisting influencer content as paid ads
- **brand-voice**: Ensure influencer messaging aligns with brand voice
- **brand-partnerships**: Longer-term brand-to-brand collaborations
- **brand-context**: Foundation context for all brand work