EBOOK
7 Steps to Negotiating
With Influencers
Table Of Contents
Intro 3
1. Determine Marketing Objectives and Campaign Budget 6
2. Research 8
3. Forming the Relationship 10
4. Determine the Value Your Brand Provides the Influencer 12
5. Make an offer and Set Expectations 14
6. Revise Collaboration Proposal 16
7. Follow-up 18
Conclusion 19
Intro
By now, it is no secret
that influencer marketing
has made it’s way into the
marketing strategies of both
large and small companies.
While high profile influencer
collaborations often make the news
for their seemingly outrageous price
tags, the reality is that the vast majority
of influencer marketing happens at a
much more reasonable cost. With a AspireIQ previously dove deeper into the common question that social media
wide variety of influencers eager to managers ask themselves, “how much should I pay for a sponsored Instagram
form partnerships with brands they post?” We found that Instagram posts cost on average $0.14 per engagement.
feel a personal connection to, it’s now However, there are several factors that both marketers and influencers must
more possible than ever for brands and consider when determining how much sponsored content should cost:
influencers of all types and sizes to form
mutually beneficial relationships. With
careful strategy and planning, any brand Posting requirements Quality of the content
can dramatically increase their reach
by utilizing influencer marketing on a
Engagement rate Value of free products given
reasonable budget.
Celebrity status
Because the influencer marketing
industry focuses heavily on relationships,
many influencers are willing to negotiate
their rate with brands who make an
effort to appeal to the human side of the
business. In fact, after viewing the data
from hundreds of collaborations, we
found that.
19%
The lack of a clear-cut formula when it of influencer
comes to the price of sponsored content
collaborations involve
some negotiation
can make the process of negotiating with regarding price and terms.
influencers overwhelming for any brand.
Social media manager of Greats, Kristin
Sword, stresses that,
This guide outlines seven steps that
“
brands can take when negotiating
Creating a successful influencer
program depends on “building true pricing with influencers in order to build
relationships and understanding long lasting relationships that have the
that influencers are a marketing potential to increase brand awareness,
channel, but they’re also people.” grow social follows and increase sales.
– Kristin Sword, Social media
manager of Greats
Step 1.
Objectives & Budget
Determine Marketing Objectives
and Campaign Budget
Determine marketing Having clear marketing objectives as
a first step helps brands determine
objectives and what type of influencers they should be
targeting, in addition to how much they
campaign budget should expect to spend on content fees.
Strong social media campaigns need If a brand’s end goal is to drive
anywhere from 10 to 20 influencers brand awareness, sending
to make a meaningful social impact. influencers free products
When planning an influencer campaign, and proposing shorter term
consider overall budget and key agreements may suffice as a
Beginning your Search
performance indicators first. Marketing starting point towards reaching
objectives can include goals such as these goals. On the other hand,
Brands should keep the industry
generating sales, boosting followers and if the campaign’s success is
standard in mind when beginning
brand awareness, or driving web traffic. determined by the amount of
the search for influencers. The
sales and conversions driven,
Consider the following questions: industry’s standard price per
brands may need to allocate more
Instagram post is around $0.14 per
money towards their campaign to
How will we measure engagement. So, if an influencer
1. invest in collaborating with higher
campaign success? receives about 1,000 “likes”
quality influencers with stricter
on their Instagram pictures on
terms in place.
What type of influencers average, brands should expect to
2.
do we want to work with? pay at least $140 per post.
3. What type of consumer Once a brands has determined a
are we planning to target? campaign budget and KPIs, they can
1,000 = $ 140
AVE R AG E AT LE AST
begin looking for influencers who are in LIK E S
line with their strategy.
Step 2.
Research
Influencers Who Align with your Brand
Research generally more willing to collaborate
and may charge lower rates!
Questions to Consider
• Does their personal brand align
With both campaign budget and
with your company’s identity?
marketing objectives in mind, do some
research to find a group of influencers Sourcing influencers for social • What brands have they worked
who can help meet your goals. campaigns by searching with previously?
through Instagram, Youtube
Consider more than just reach when • What type of content does well
and other networks for
looking for influencers. Do not discount on their social channels?
influencers can be a tedious
the power of influencers with a lower
and time consuming task. In • What is their target demographic?
follower count. The best value influencers
order to scale this process,
tend to be mid-tier (50k - 1250k audience) • Take the quality of their content,
consider using a third party
influencers with high engagement. frequency of posting and their
tool. In addition to CRM and
overall aesthetic into
Remember that each influencer has analytics tools, AspireIQ
consideration.
worked hard to build their unique provides brands with a
personal brand. That being said, start by highly filterable database of
assessing each influencer individually, influencers to collaborate with.
aside from their follower count or
engagement rate.
The question brands should be asking For example, the ability to make a quick
themselves is, would my product fit search for female influencers who have
organically on their feed? mentioned “coffee” on their social profiles
has the potential to cut hours out of the
If you are not sure where to begin,
research process each week.
search through your brand’s hashtag and
tagged pictures. Influencers who have
already used and loved your products are
Step 3.
Forming the Relationship
Forming the
relationship It is never too early to start a
relationship with an influencer.
If an influencer seems like
After a brand locates the perfect group a perfect fit for your brand’s
of influencers that align with their brand campaign but is obviously
brand story, the next step is to start over budget, reconsider why
building relationships. Directly reaching you want to work with them.
out to an influencer without a prior Is it because of their audience
relationship may not always lead to a size? Content type and quality?
professional collaboration. Personal brand? If the answer
is all of the above, consider
Follow a group of influencers that align
giving these influencers free
with your brand on social media. Mention
products to make them aware
them when you repost their content,
of your brand. Then, reach
and like and comment on their posts.
out at a later time when your
Influencers notice brands that interact
budget allows for an official
with them on social media, if they are
collaboration.
aware of a brand, they may be more
likely to partner with them in the future.
Step 4.
Determine the Value
Your Brand Provides the Influencer
Determine the
brands. They value exposure merchandise. Not only will
value your brand and building a following, as this allow influencers to
well as experience working choose products that they will
provides the with brands just as much genuinely enjoy, it gives them
as the opportunity to be the chance to explore your
influencer compensated for their content. website and get familiar with
Brands who offer to feature your brand as a whole.
The majority of influencers are influencer content on their
approached with collaboration offers social channels, website, or
by dozens of brands each month. other advertisements see an 3. Long-term Partnership
Furthermore, branded content takes increase in accepted proposals
if a brand already has a large Besides free product, the
time and effort to curate. Therefore,
following.` most valuable thing that
collaboration proposals should be
brands can offer an influencer
valuable to both parties. When a brand is a long-term partnership.
sends a collaboration proposal, they Multiple posts from the same
2. Send Free Product
should ensure that it includes value influencer generate higher
propositions that is equivalent to what Consider sending influencers ROI, seem more authentic,
they are asking for in return. There are free products to test out and long-term opportunities
multiple things that brands can offer before a collaboration. Brands are attractive to influencers
influencers instead of, or in addition to should take the time to send because of the potential for
monetary compensation. items that fit the influencer’s recurring revenue. Some
personality, style, and needs. If brands make the mistake of
you do not have the bandwidth offering one-time propositions
Feature Influencer Content to seed personalized gifts, and see less substantial results
1.
consider gifting influencers and ROI. Instead, position your
The majority of Influencers are with an allowance that they collaboration proposal as one
trying to build their personal can use towards your brand’s of many.
Step 5.
Make an offer
and Set Expectations
Make an offer and
set expectations As a rule of thumb during the
negotiation process, always leave
room to have a conversation
Imagine being offered a job with no
about terms and compensation.
job description or salary expectations
Both parties involved should feel
After identifying, interacting with, and
that they are gaining something
evaluating a group of influencers,
from the partnership.
brands should send direct collaboration
proposals with clear expectations. This
can help avoid some of the back-and-forth
that generally comes with generating
contracts.
In the initial collaboration proposal,
1. Explain why your brand wants
to work with them,
Outline your campaign
2.
objectives,
3. Clearly define your terms and
expectations,
4. And lastly, what your brand
provides in return.
Step 6.
Revise
Collaboration Proposal
Revise collaboration If a collaboration proposal is denied,
consider revising or scaling back terms.
influencers to engage with their
proposal Many times, influencers will charge less
audience. Because this form of
for these alternatives to dedicated posts:
content is only live for 24 hours,
influencers will generally charge
It is not uncommon for influencers to
less.
ask for additional compensation in some 1. Product Mention
cases. If your initial collaboration proposal
Dedicated posts mean that 4. Facebook, Tweet, or Blog
is denied, know how to leverage your
an influencer is asked to post Post Mention
resources. Consider offering additional
about one product exclusively. Generally, influencers do not
free product, offer a commission from
Alternatively, influencers have their largest following on
sales, or a long-term affiliate partnership.
generally charge less to Facebook or Twitter. Because
mention a product in their video of this, they may charge a lower
or Instagram picture along with fee to tweet or post a Facebook
other products. status about your brand.
In order to uphold your
company’s reputation, avoid 2. Usage Rights to Content 5. Giveaways
offering influencer’s payment
A less expensive option is to ask Influencers generally love giving
that is under their individual
an influencer to post only one back to their followers. Offering
CPE. Even if you cannot afford piece of content in addition to to sponsor a giveaway on the
an influencer’s rate now, you retaining the rights to additional influencer’s social channels
may want to work with them in photos from their shoot with generates brand awareness,
the future. The best business the intention of repurposing on and many influencers will
practice is to be transparent and owned channels. charge a lower rate or no
let an influencer know that you fee in exchange for hosting a
admire their work but that you 3. Snapchats/IG Stories sponsored giveaway on their
do not have the budget to work channels.
Both Snapchat and Instagram
with them at the current time.
stories are casual ways for
Step 7.
Follow-up
Maintain Relationships
Follow-up
At the end of any collaboration or
exchange, always maintain a relationship
and follow-up with influencers. Send
a personalized “thank you” to show
your appreciation. Taking the extra step
of telling them how well their content
performed in the campaign as well as
giving constructive criticism can go a
long way towards creating a long-term
relationship.
Influencers have large platforms and have
the ability to commend or criticize brands
to their audience. That being said, it is Conclusion
always best to end the interaction on a
positive note.
The process of sourcing
and managing long-term
relationships with influencers
can be tedious a time
consuming. Ensuring that
you have the tools in place
to manage every aspect of
the top of your funnel before
starting is crucial.
Who We Are
AspireIQ is the leading influencer platform for brands and creators. Our highly
filterable database, CRM tools, and analytics dashboard allow brands like HelloFresh,
Bareminerals and Calvin Klein to build, run, and track influencer programs at scale.
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