Influencer Marketing: The Price for the Perfect Post

By: Ashley, Account Director

In the world of influencer marketing, one thing is certain –a creative, properly executed campaign with just the right influencers can work wonders for a client by increasing brand visibility, creating buzz and even generating sales.

Having an agency partner who can effectively build out a campaign is key. Working with an agency, such as 5W, specializing in influencers and social campaigns can help a brand pinpoint the most impactful message for a campaign. An agency partner will help to ensure the message is delivered properly, by identifying the right influencers and then working with those influencers on the perfect post for your brand’s message.

One “grey area” in the process of building an effective influencer marketing campaign can be determining pricing for posts– both when quoting a client and also when going out to the influencer with your “ask” and offer.

Keep in mind that there is no set-in-stone pricing guideline for influencers, as the industry is somewhat fragmented and influencer compensation is often dependent on the specific talent, services, exclusivity, etc. According to Henry Langer, Lead Account Manager at the influencer search platform HYPR, who was recently quoted in an article on influencer pricing on DIGIDAY, “Pricing influencer posts is part art, part science. [In some cases,] terms such as CPM (clicks per minute) and CPC (cost per click) don’t tend to apply.”

In a recent conversation, Brandon Lentino, Account Manager for HYPR, noted that influencer fees per post can range from hundreds to millions of dollars because of all the factors that go into it, including exclusivity, engagement rate, following size and usage rights.

It’s important to remember that no guideline is set in stone. Factors such as celebrity cache associated with the influencer’s name, payment terms, requirements for the post and more can always drive up an influencer’s fee. As a general rule of thumb, the more that’s required of an influencer, in regards to specifics for the post, designated hashtags, whether it’s a video vs. a photo, the more they will command in terms of a fee.

If your brand has something that’s of-value to the influencer, you can leverage that to cut some of the hard costs of an influencer deal – and often times, have the influencers wanting to work with your brand on a full-trade deal.

The best practice for determining the price of a post –when first approaching an influencer with your offer, be informed and speak from a place of confidence. Work hand in hand with your partner agency to determine a true understanding of the influencer’s audience, reach, engagement levels etc. Think outside the box, and leverage any “assets” the brand has that may be of-value to the influencer, to potentially work out a trade, or partial trade, deal. Work with your agency and approach the influencer with knowledge of what they can actually provide for you via their influence, and use this knowledge to support the compensation you are offering.