How To Build an Influencer Program

When building out an influencer program from scratch, there are a few key components you should start with.

Target Audience: define who your target audience is (i.e. age range, location, personal demographics). You want to make sure that whoever you are choosing to work with, has this same audience. If their audience doesn't match, it won't matter how large their reach is, as your product will not resonate with them.

Budget: Influencer marketing is expensive, and if your strategy utilizes a number of people, it can add up really quickly. Make sure you have a set budget, and in initial conversations with potential talent, ask for their rates or media kit.

Strategy: Make sure you have a defined strategy going into each campaign. Different campaigns may have different objectives, so the strategy might not always be the same. Decide if you want to work with less influencers who have larger followings (exposure), or more influencers who have smaller followings (conversions).

Timeline: Before a campaign launches, there are lots of steps that need to be completed. Make sure you have outlined a timeline with internal deadlines, as well as deadlines for talent (i.e. submitting content for reviews, edits, and posting time)

The campaign process generally follows these steps from end to end

Campaign concept / ideation

Influencer research

Influencer outreach

Negotiations / contracting