Business Guide: Running Influencer Campaigns

Welcome to the complete guide on how to hire influencers for your marketing campaigns. This guide walks you through every step of running successful influencer campaigns on SocialBrandMatch, from setting up your business profile to measuring your return on investment. Whether you're new to influencer marketing or looking to optimize your strategy, this guide will help you connect with the right creators and achieve your marketing goals.

Create Your Business Profile

Your business profile is the foundation of your presence on SocialBrandMatch. A complete, professional profile helps creators understand your brand and increases the quality of applications you receive.

Start by navigating to your Business Dashboard and complete the following sections:

• Company Information: Add your company name, website, industry, and a compelling company description that showcases your brand's mission and values.
• Brand Guidelines: Upload your logo, define brand colors, and specify tone of voice. Clear brand guidelines help creators produce content that aligns with your brand identity.
• Target Audience: Define your ideal customer demographics, interests, and behaviors. This helps the platform match you with creators whose audiences align with your target market.
• Previous Campaigns: If applicable, showcase successful past campaigns or partnerships to build credibility with potential collaborators.

A well-crafted business profile not only attracts higher-quality applications but also establishes trust with creators, making them more likely to invest effort in your campaigns.

Create a Campaign

Creating an effective campaign is crucial for attracting the right influencers and achieving your marketing objectives. Head to Create Campaign to get started.

Campaign Essentials

• Campaign Title & Description: Write a clear, compelling title and detailed description that explains your campaign goals, desired content type, and key messages.
• Budget & Compensation: Set a realistic budget based on your goals and the creator tier you're targeting. Consider offering competitive rates to attract top talent. You can set fixed budgets or compensation ranges.
• Campaign Type: Choose from sponsored posts, product reviews, unboxing videos, brand ambassadorships, or custom collaborations. Each type serves different marketing objectives.
• Requirements: Specify follower count ranges, engagement rate minimums, content format (photos, videos, reels, stories), posting deadlines, and any mandatory hashtags or mentions.
• Target Audience: Define the creator's audience demographics, interests, and geographic location to ensure alignment with your target market.

Campaign Timeline

Set realistic timelines for each phase: application period, creator selection, content creation, review and revisions, and final posting dates. Build in buffer time for unexpected delays or revision requests.

Review Applications

Once your campaign goes live, you'll start receiving applications from interested creators. The review process is critical for selecting partners who will deliver the best results for your brand.

Understanding Match Scores

Each application includes an AI-powered match score that evaluates how well the creator aligns with your campaign requirements. The score considers factors like:

• Audience demographics match with your target market
• Content style alignment with your brand aesthetic
• Engagement rate and authenticity metrics
• Past campaign performance and reliability
• Niche relevance and expertise

Evaluating Creator Profiles

Beyond the match score, review each creator's profile in detail:

• Portfolio: Look at their previous brand collaborations and organic content to assess quality, creativity, and consistency.
• Engagement Metrics: Check likes, comments, shares, and save rates. High engagement often matters more than follower count.
• Audience Insights: Review demographic data, interests, and location to ensure their audience matches your target customers.
• Proposal Quality: Evaluate their campaign proposal for creativity, understanding of your brand, and alignment with your objectives.
• Reviews & Ratings: Check ratings from previous brand partnerships to gauge reliability and professionalism.

Selection Process

You can shortlist promising candidates, request additional information, or accept applications directly. Consider running test campaigns with new creators before committing to larger partnerships. It's often beneficial to work with a mix of micro-influencers and larger creators to maximize reach and engagement.

Payments & Escrow

SocialBrandMatch uses a secure escrow system to protect both businesses and creators throughout the payment process. Understanding how payments work ensures smooth transactions and builds trust with your creator partners.

How Escrow Works

1. Funds Deposit: When you accept a creator's application, you deposit the agreed compensation amount into escrow. These funds are held securely but not released to the creator yet.
2. Content Creation: The creator produces content according to your campaign brief and submits it for your review.
3. Review & Approval: You review the content and either approve it or request reasonable revisions within the agreed scope.
4. Payment Release: Once you approve the final content, funds are released from escrow to the creator automatically.

Commission Structure

SocialBrandMatch charges a service fee on each transaction to maintain the platform, provide customer support, and ensure payment security. The fee structure is transparent:

• Platform service fee: 10% of campaign budget
• Payment processing fee: Stripe standard rates apply
• No hidden fees or surprise charges

Payment Setup

Before creating campaigns, connect your Stripe account in Payment Settings. You'll need:

• Valid business information and tax ID
• Business bank account details
• Authorized signatory verification

SocialBrandMatch supports multiple payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, and ACH transfers for businesses in supported regions.

Measure Your ROI

Measuring return on investment is essential for understanding campaign effectiveness and optimizing your influencer marketing strategy. SocialBrandMatch provides comprehensive analytics to track performance.

Key Performance Metrics

• Reach & Impressions: Total number of unique users who saw the content and total views across all placements.
• Engagement Rate: Likes, comments, shares, and saves as a percentage of reach. Higher engagement indicates stronger audience connection.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of viewers who clicked on links to your website or landing pages.
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of clicks that resulted in desired actions (purchases, sign-ups, downloads).
• Cost Per Engagement (CPE): Total campaign cost divided by total engagements. Helps compare efficiency across campaigns.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Revenue generated divided by campaign cost. The ultimate measure of campaign profitability.

Tracking & Attribution

Use unique tracking links, promo codes, or UTM parameters for each creator to attribute sales and conversions accurately. SocialBrandMatch integrates with popular analytics platforms to help you track the customer journey from influencer content to conversion.

Engagement Reports

Creators submit engagement reports with screenshots and metrics from their social media analytics. Review these reports in your campaign dashboard to monitor performance in real-time and identify top-performing content and partnerships.

Calculating ROI

To calculate your influencer marketing ROI:

1. Add up all campaign costs (creator fees, platform fees, product costs)
2. Track revenue generated through attributed sales
3. Calculate: ROI = ((Revenue - Cost) / Cost) × 100

Don't forget to consider long-term benefits like brand awareness, social proof, and content that can be repurposed across your marketing channels. These may not show immediate ROI but provide lasting value.

Tips for Success

Based on successful campaigns run by businesses on SocialBrandMatch, here are proven best practices for maximizing your influencer marketing results:

Campaign Planning

• Start Small: Test with a few micro-influencers before scaling to larger campaigns. This helps you refine your approach with lower risk.
• Quality Over Quantity: A creator with 10,000 highly engaged followers often delivers better results than one with 100,000 passive followers.
• Authentic Alignment: Choose creators who genuinely align with your brand values. Authenticity resonates with audiences and drives better results.
• Clear Briefs: Provide detailed briefs but allow creative freedom. Creators know their audience best and produce better content when they can add their personal touch.

Creator Relationships

• Communicate Promptly: Quick responses to questions and feedback keep campaigns on track and show respect for creators' time.
• Build Long-Term Partnerships: The most successful brands develop ongoing relationships with creators rather than one-off campaigns. Brand ambassadors provide consistent messaging and deeper audience trust.
• Provide Resources: Send product samples, brand guidelines, and any assets creators need to produce high-quality content.
• Fair Compensation: Pay creators fairly for their work and expertise. Well-compensated creators are more motivated and produce better results.

Content Strategy

• Diverse Content Types: Mix posts, stories, reels, and videos to maximize reach across different audience segments and platforms.
• Repurpose Content: Get rights to use creator content on your own channels. User-generated content often outperforms brand-created content.
• Track Everything: Use unique codes and links for each creator to identify top performers and optimize future partnerships.
• A/B Testing: Test different messaging, offers, and content styles to learn what resonates best with your target audience.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Being too controlling about content creation process
• Focusing solely on follower count instead of engagement
• Setting unrealistic timelines or expectations
• Neglecting to track and analyze campaign performance
• Failing to build relationships beyond single transactions