As more brands start to realize the value of influencer marketing, one study found that 86% of marketers don’t know how much they should pay their influencers.
Though there are ballpark costs available as references — for instance, social media scheduler tool Later.com reported that 66% of brands usually pay influencers just under $250 for each post — that’s not always helpful when you consider the other variables at play: your influencer’s niche, the engagement they typically receive, the type of content you’re requesting, the length of your partnership, your industry, and so on.
That said, there’s a lot to consider before you connect with an influencer. (Pro tip: If you haven’t already, check out this 101 on influencer marketing.)
We’re here to help demystify the influencer landscape: Here are some ideas on how to approach paying influencers — check off the most relevant ones to your brand.
✅ Flat rate fee on a per post basis
✅ Flat rate fee on a per post basis + bonus payments for reaching previously agreed upon engagement rates
✅ Paying with a product or service (also known as bartering!)
✅ Affiliate programs — followers who use an influencer’s unique link to shop with your brand receive a percentage of their total sales
Influencers who purchase from you get their money refunded if X followers use their unique link to shop with you
✅ Brand ambassador programs — influencers are rewarded with store credit, discounts, or free products
Once you discuss payment and other content creation terms with your influencer, you’ll need to consider how to measure return on investment (ROI). After all, you don’t want to focus solely on vanity metrics — likes don’t mean anything if people aren’t clicking to visit your site. Instead, provide influencers with UTM codes to measure engagement and results accurately. So you know, AdRoll’s cross-channel performance dashboard can automatically create them for you, making the process easier than ever before.
Last updated on December 6th, 2021.