What is influencer marketing?

Start small, measure it, then repeat what worked.

1. Set one goal, such as bookings, sales of a product or awareness in a new area.
2. Make a shortlist of creators whose followers match your customers, often by looking at who already posts about your area or niche.
3. Check each one: real engagement, comments from real people, the tone of their content and any past brand work.
4. Send a short, personal message explaining who you are, what you offer and why you chose them.
5. Agree the terms in writing: what they will post, when, payment or gifting, usage rights for your own channels, and the disclosure label.
6. Give each creator a unique link or code so you can track results.
7. Thank them, share their content with permission, and build ongoing relationships with the ones that worked.

Arrangements vary. The common ones are:

• Gifting: free product or a free visit, with no guarantee of a post.
• Flat fee: a set price for agreed posts or videos.
• Commission or affiliate: a share of each sale made through their link or code.
• Ambassador: an ongoing arrangement over several months.
• Content only: paying a creator to make photos or videos for your own accounts rather than theirs.

Paid and gifted posts must be clearly labelled as advertising. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission says creators should disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand, including free products, and should put the disclosure in the post itself where it's hard to miss, not only in a bio or buried among hashtags. It names "ad", "advertisement" and "sponsored" as clear labels and says a platform's built-in disclosure tool shouldn't be relied on alone.

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority, the Committees of Advertising Practice and the Competition and Markets Authority publish an influencers' guide on making clear that ads are ads. Other countries have their own rules, so check the advertising regulator where you and the creator are based. As the business, it is your job to ask for proper disclosure too.

Most disappointing campaigns trace back to a few avoidable errors.

• Choosing creators by follower count alone. Fake followers and low engagement are common.
• Scripting every word, so the post sounds like an advert and the creator's audience switches off.
• No written agreement about what will be posted, when and how you can reuse it.
• No tracking link or code, so you can't tell what worked.
• Forgetting disclosure.