Trying to make an impact through influencer marketing but struggling with the complexity? An agency can help. The right partner firm will act as an extension of your marketing team, bringing fresh ideas and careful management that transform influencer talent output into masterful campaigns.

Whether you’re just starting your search or narrowing down a shortlist, this guide will help you find the best influencer marketing agency for your brand fast. No wasted budget – just great key opinion leadership.

Let’s get started!

What is Influencer Marketing, and Why Does it Matter

Influencer marketing is the process of activating influencers to promote a brand, product, or service on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

It’s a relatively new marketing channel, but its popularity has skyrocketed.

US brands are spending over $7 billion in 2024 – a threefold increase since 2019.

To understand why influencer marketing is growing, let’s look at some stats:

• 70% of the US population now uses social media platforms
• Users spend an average of 135 minutes per day on these platforms
• 49% of social media users rely on influencers during the buying journey
• 52% are happy to spend over $50 on a product an influencer recommended
• 8% of brands find influencer marketing effective

These numbers highlight the power of social media and influencers. With the average American spending almost 16 hours per week on social media, these platforms have become prime real estate for brands. After all, social media content builds awareness and shapes users’ opinions. It also guides their buying decisions.

Influencer marketing campaign example: Samuel Adams x Creo. It leverages influencers to promote alcohol-free beer, Just the Haze.

Check out the case study here.

 

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But there’s a challenge. The industry is maturing and is now highly competitive. Success hinges on launching original and effective campaigns–that’s where talent marketing agencies step in.

What Does an Influencer Marketing Agency Do?

Influencer marketing agencies bridge the gap between brands and influencers, helping brands deliver effective campaigns. Some provide end-to-end strategy (aka full-service), while others specialize in specific processes, such as brand-influencer matchmaking.

Top influencer marketing agencies typically offer:

• Campaign strategy and market analysis
• Influencer talent selection and relationship management
• Creative ideation and concept development
• Social media content production and overseeing
• Reporting and performance analysis

An agency may also have branches that assist with other marketing channels. This means brands can launch unified multi-channel campaigns with one agency.

6 Benefits of Working with an Influencer Marketing Agency (And One Downside)

The best influencer marketing agencies are strategic, creative, and data-driven. Let’s explore what they bring to the table and what brands should demand of their prospective partner firms.

1.   Save Time and Resources

Collaborating with influencers is time and resource-intensive, especially when following best practices. It requires time-consuming tasks like social listening, talent selection (especially challenging with large campaigns), and strategy development.

A top influencer marketing agency will streamline the entire process and take the pressure off your team. With set procedures and hands-on experience, agencies know how to get your campaign up and running efficiently. For example, they may have access to a database to match you with influencers quickly.

2.   Choose the Right Influencers for Your Campaign

It feels like it should be easy to choose influencers who can deliver excellent results. You just search key opinion leaders in your niche, then check their follower counts and content.

But these easy-to-grasp insights are often called “vanity metrics” and only reveal a part of the picture. Without additional data, you risk making poor decisions.

For example, fake or inactive followers could be inflating the influencer’s follower count, or recent collaborations with competitors might make your content come across as inauthentic.

In the worst-case scenario, you could align with a controversial influencer who risks brand safety and delivers a sucker punch to your reputation.

That’s why the best influencer marketing agencies thoroughly vet influencers, their content, and their history to acquire deep insights:

• Engagement rates
• Audience demographics
• Previous brand collaborations
• Comment sentiment
• Predicted earned media value from the collaboration
• Audience overlap (whether different influencers’ audiences feature the same users)

Agencies will mine these more impactful influencer metrics. They’ll deftly handle influencer relationships, including research, outreach, negotiation, talent management, and contracts.

3.   Develop Creative Influencer Marketing Strategies

Consumers view vast amounts of content every day, and you need your ad to stand out. But unlike TV or billboard ads, showy, high-production content rarely connects with audiences on this channel.

That’s because social media influencers forge connections through authenticity. The content must feel like a genuine endorsement and match the influencer’s usual style while also grabbing attention.

It’s a riddle. But a top influencer marketing agency will solve it.

Influencer marketing agency Creo’s proprietary audience explorer platform:

An agency should provide influencer insights tools like Creo’s Omni Audience Explorer that uncover the best ways to connect with your target audience. Simply create segments (for example, women in their 40s who own dogs and earn $100K+,) and Omni outputs their content consumption habits from its vast database. It tells you where and how to create content that fits your brand and resonates, enhancing brand safety.

They’ll also have the expertise to launch creative strategies that tap into trending tactics like TikTok challenges, pop-up events, and influencer-hosted giveaways that amplify engagement.

4.   Ensure Quality Control and Effective Campaign Management

Influencer campaigns require brands to juggle many influencer relationships, briefs, and content reviews. The complexity is often overwhelming, resulting in disorganization that harms productivity.

An agency will manage your campaign to ensure it runs smoothly and that content aligns with your company’s values and goals.

They’ll oversee content production and timelines, keeping the campaign cohesive, even when working with many key opinion leaders, micro influencers, and other social media content creators.

5.   Run a Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign

Many brands want to align their influencer marketing with other channels, such as non-influencer paid social media advertising. Cross-channel campaigns can give you a competitive edge as consumers now have longer buying cycles.

Jeb Blount, CEO of online sales training solution Sales Gravy, reported in his book Fanatical Prospecting that it now takes anywhere between one and 50 touches to inspire a purchase, depending on where the customer sits in the funnel.

Despite the benefits of multi-channel campaigns, 53% of brands find developing an effective strategy challenging.

An agency will handle your influencer campaign to add touchpoints without overburdening your team. Some also have teams that can run multiple branches of a multi-channel campaign.

6.   Deliver Value with Accurate Reporting

Many brands struggle to measure their influencer marketing campaign’s return on investment (ROI). They end up with tons of data that fails to convey any actual value.

For instance, reporting likes and impressions alone won’t help if the goal is to drive sales.

A top agency knows how to track and interpret data as well as measure influencer marketing KPIs effectively. They’ll design campaigns with data in mind, ensuring they can easily convey the results.

For example, if the goal is to boost sales, they’ll focus on tracking conversions through strategies like promo codes and unique links. These tactics link influencers and sales more directly.

Agencies also have the expertise to analyze advanced influencer marketing metrics, such as earned media value and brand sentiment, to provide a comprehensive campaign overview .

Downside: Lack of Control

Hiring an agency is an investment that should bring long-term value. However, the relationship requires trust and cooperation. If you pick the wrong agency, you lose a chunk of your budget and run a poor campaign. Scary, right? That’s why it’s essential to vet an agency thoroughly to ensure they can deliver.

You need to find an agency that acts as an expert extension of your marketing team. Here are six checks to help you find that perfect fit.

1.   Deep Understanding of your Brand, Industry, and Goals

Does the agency truly take the time to understand your business? Ok, they don’t need to know who does the morning coffee run! But an agency should show interest in your goals, voice, and values.

The best influencer marketing agency for you will also have experience in your industry. A stream of Fortune-500 brands on the landing page may be appealing (and it is a good sign), but it’s more important that they understand you.

2.   Impactful Creativity

Can the agency share examples of creative campaigns that delivered standout results?

Your content must be scroll-stopping. A top influencer marketing agency will bustle with creative people who spark ideas that grab attention, impact brand awareness, and improve sentiment.

3.   Data-Driven Approach

Does the influencer marketing agency back campaigns with data? Do they have access to an influencer database or KPI measurement dashboards?

Agencies should be upfront about their influencer selection and reporting processes. You want to be sure they run data-driven campaigns and do not rely on guesswork.

A user searching on influencer marketing agency Creo’s platform

1.   Great Track Record

What do previous clients think about their work? Check the online conversations around the agency. Helpful websites include G2 and Clutch. In addition, scan their website for testimonials and case studies.

2.   Full-Service or Specialized

Which influencer marketing process do you need help with?

A full-service agency will give you more support and help with the entire campaign. But if you’re looking for a specific skill, the best influencer marketing agency for you might specialize in just one area. It’s also helpful to find out how many people they will assign to work with you.

3.   Good Communication and Transparency

Do your preferred communication styles align?

First, think about tools. Do you prefer the convenience of video calls or the familiarity of in-person meetings? Which project management tools do your team use?

Next, look at how the influencer marketing company communicates. When asking questions about the agency, do you receive honest, realistic answers? Transparency is essential.

What makes Creo a top influencer marketing agency?

Here at Creo, we’re an agency open to your questions to ensure we’re the right fit.

Creo is a full-service influencer marketing agency with a global network of influencers. We have a creative and dedicated in-house team of specialists ready to help you.

Our campaigns have helped brands like Mountain Dew achieve 135M impressions and a 44% increase in positive sentiment (and here’s the .)

But we know there’s more to an agency than major brand partnerships, so here’s a bit more about us:

• Everything influencer marketing: Our end-to-end services can take you all the way from developing strategy to reporting.
• Advanced audience insights: The Omni Audience Explorer’s AI dives into audience data to give you key insights into how to connect with target markets.
• Creative ways to reach your goals: You’ll have access to the idea-filled brains of our creative experts. We take a human approach to develop campaigns that feel authentic.
• Extensive creator database: Gain in-depth data about influencers that ensure your influencer partnerships perfectly match your objectives.
• Campaign management platform: Manage all creator relationships and workflows within a single platform. This keeps communication simple and makes it easy for stakeholders to review campaigns.
• Integration with Omnicom Media Group: As part of Omnicom Media Group, OMG Creo can develop an integrated marketing campaign that reaches customers on multiple touchpoints.

Start working with an influencer marketing company and launching top campaigns

Don’t let the complexities of influencer marketing hold you back. With an agency like Creo, you can easily streamline the entire process and launch target-smashing campaigns.

Contact us today to get started on your new audience-dazzling influencer marketing campaign.