Influencer marketing
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing where a brand works with creators who have a following on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or other platforms, so the creator presents the brand’s product to their audience. The creator might review it, use it in a video, run a giveaway or share a discount code.
Deals range from sending free product (gifting) to paid sponsored posts, long-term brand ambassador programmes and affiliate commissions. Most brands work with many smaller creators rather than one celebrity, because smaller audiences tend to be more focused and more engaged.
Why influencer marketing matters
People trust recommendations from someone they already follow more than they trust ads. A creator who explains why they use a product can reach a niche audience a brand would struggle to find on its own, and the content often keeps working long after it is posted.
It also works for small budgets. A startup can begin with a handful of micro influencers in its niche, measure what sells, and grow from there.
How to start influencer marketing
- Write down who your customer is and which topics they follow (cooking, home espresso, budget travel…).
- Search each platform for creators in those topics, and shortlist the ones whose audience matches yours.
- Check each creator’s engagement rate, average views and how often they post, not just follower count.
- Send a short, personal influencer outreach message that mentions a recent post of theirs.
- Agree deliverables, usage rights, payment and disclosure in writing.
- Track results with unique links or promo codes and keep working with the creators who sell.
Influencer marketing FAQ
How much does influencer marketing cost?
It depends on the platform, the creator’s audience and what you ask for. Many small creators accept free product or a modest fee; large creators charge much more. Ask each creator for their rate card and compare it with their average views rather than their follower count.
Is influencer marketing worth it for a small business?
Often, yes, if you pick creators whose audience actually matches your customers. Start small with a few micro or nano creators, track sales with codes or links, and only scale what works.
Related marketing terms
Influencer outreach is finding creators who fit your brand and contacting them with a clear, personal proposal to work together.
A micro influencer is a creator with a mid-sized following, usually between about 10,000 and 100,000 followers, in a focused niche.
Engagement rate measures how much an audience interacts with posts: likes, comments and shares divided by followers or views, as a percentage.
A sponsored post is content a creator publishes because a brand paid or gave them something for it, and it must be disclosed as an ad.
UGC, user-generated content, is content about a brand made by customers or creators rather than the brand: reviews, photos, videos and posts.
The creator economy is the market of independent creators earning from audiences through brand deals, subscriptions, ads, products and tips.