Choose the influencer whose audience looks like your customers, not the one with the most followers. Agree in writing on the content, dates and usage rights, require clear disclosure of the ad, and judge the collaboration by the orders and sales that came through the influencer's own link or code, not by views.
Step by step
- 1
Start with the audience
Ask the influencer for audience insights by country, city and age, and make sure they match your customer.
- 2
Check engagement quality
Read the comments: are they real questions or repeated generic phrases? Artificial engagement is a warning sign.
- 3
A written agreement
The number, format and dates of posts, content review before publishing, the right to use it in your ads and for how long, and any exclusivity with competitors.
- 4
Disclosure and local rules
Meta's policies require the paid partnership label on branded content on Instagram, TikTok offers a branded content setting, and check any advertising license the campaign's country requires.
- 5
A link or code for each influencer
A link with UTM parameters or a dedicated discount code shows exactly which orders and sales came from them.
Paying a large sum for one post by the best-known influencer is a gamble. Repeated work with smaller influencers close to your audience is easier to test and measure.
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