10 insights on influencer marketing

Some of the best eCommerce marketers we know let us in on a secret: they're all in on influencer marketing.

What companies have gained the most from this strategy? Brands with:

• Quality products: Influencers prefer to promote products they actually use—and strong word of mouth amplifies returns from campaigns.

• Physical products: They show well through video and photo, unlike non-physical products.

Below, 10 insights on how brands successfully use influencer marketing.

1. Seek relationships with fast-growing influencers.

Seek relationships with fast-growing influencers—especially for long-term partnerships.

For one, they'll likely charge less than inflated, slower-growth accounts.

And over time, they’ll get you in front of their rapidly growing audience.

2. Work with creators, not "influencers."

Creators are craftspeople—writers, photographers, artists, etc. They put more value into the content they create than legacy social media celebrities do.

Simply put, they care more about the quality of their craft than their follower count, which can mean more engagement and commerce.

3. Seek long-term relationships over one-off campaigns.

Brands that are repeatedly shown to an influencer's loyal following build deeper affinity over time.

Find influencers who want to be a true representative of your brand.

This leads to more consumer trust in the long run.

4. Start with nano and micro influencers.

Most startups should start with nano or micro influencers rather than macro influencers.

• Nano: ~10k followers or less
• Micro: ~10-100k
• Macro: 100k+

Why? As influencers grow, their audience becomes more diverse. It's harder to deliver personalized messages, so engagement and conversion often decline.

Influencers with smaller followings are more accessible and trusted than their celebrity counterparts. You’ll also get better targeting (higher conversion) for a lower fee since they have less reach.

5. Create campaigns aligned with your influencers' values.

Brands that win with influencer marketing figured something out:

They get a higher ROI when they create campaigns that make their influencers feel like they're promoting THEMSELVES. Here's how:

• Start small: Run giveaways with your influencers. Let them provide value (free product) to their audiences

• Then scale: Create products with your best, long-term influencers—they're brand ambassadors. Run a collaboration. Get them to invest in your brand.

6. Offer creative control.

Rather than providing word-for-word scripts, give influencers creative control over content.

Why?

1. The content needs to be authentic.
2. The influencer knows what resonates with their audience—their creativity and perspective can mean a better chance of going viral and getting good engagement.

7. Use a hybrid pricing model

Brands are tired of wasting money on campaigns that lack a clear return, so some are moving away from paying lump sums for creator posts.

Instead, they compensate influencers based on the conversions they drive—like an affiliate model.

It doesn't have to be one or the other, though. Try a hybrid approach:

• Pay some money upfront for the creator's content.
• Then ALSO pay a percentage of each sale that comes in through their affiliate link.

This can lead to long-term, win/win influencer partnerships.

8. Influencer marketing = designing a community

You’re working with humans, not dashboards.

Each influencer is a relationship. And your influencers represent your brand.

Put in the work to find the right influencers. Once you find great long-term influencer partners, incentivize them to activate other great influencers.

Here's how:

• Create a referral system for them to sign up other influencers.
• Give them a percentage of sales generated by influencers they activate.

9. Know when to "gift."

Gifting = sending influencers products for free.

This often works best for nano influencers, who usually aren't "full-time" influencers. If they like your product, ask them to post about it.

Brands get low-cost exposure since their cost is inventory (not cash).

10. Use a survey to improve attribution

Attribution is notoriously difficult in influencer marketing.

You can try to see how much traffic/sales come in through influencers' URL or discount code. But this doesn’t always tell the whole story—people will hear about you from an influencer but decide to purchase later.

... The workaround?

Add a post-purchase attribution survey. Figure out how many people first heard about you from an influencer.

Click/coupon data might show a low return on advertising spend (ROAS), but you might find that influencers are actually bringing in a high ROAS once survey data is accounted for.

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