# Influencer marketing Human Guide

## What This Is For
Build an influencer marketing strategy — finding influencers, briefing, contracts, deliverables, performance tracking, micro vs macro strategy, outreach, and FTC compliance. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for influencer marketing: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Influencer marketing agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for influencer marketing.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Influencer marketing guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Wrong creator (wrong audience, wrong values, wrong platform)
- Wrong brief (too restrictive, too vague, or no creative freedom)
- Wrong expectations (awareness ≠ immediate sales)
- No tracking (can't prove ROI, can't improve)
- **Brand and product** — what is it? Price point?
- **Target audience** — who is the end customer?
- **Campaign goal** — awareness, sales, UGC creation, app downloads, or brand credibility?
- **Budget** — gifting only, $1K, $10K, $100K+?
- **Platform priority** — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest?
- **Timeline** — launch date or campaign window?
- Highest engagement rates (5–10%)
- Most authentic — genuinely use products they feature

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Before You Start, Influencer Marketing Reality Check, Information to Gather, Output: Influencer Marketing Strategy, 01 — INFLUENCER TIER STRATEGY, 02 — FINDING THE RIGHT INFLUENCERS, 03 — OUTREACH STRATEGY, 04 — INFLUENCER BRIEF, 05 — INFLUENCER AGREEMENTS, 06 — PERFORMANCE TRACKING.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Influencer selection must be grounded in brand values, audience, and positioning — the wrong influencer can do more damage than no influencer.
- The brief is the most important deliverable. Too restrictive = robotic content. Too vague = off-brand content.
- The one thing this content must communicate: [Primary message]
- Phrases to include: [Any required language]
- Phrases to avoid: [Competitor names, specific claims, etc.]
- All paid partnerships must include #ad or #sponsored in the first line of the caption (FTC requirement). Story content must have the Paid Partnership label enabled.
- **Don't:** [List of specific don'ts]
- Instagram/TikTok paid partnership label: Required for paid deals on both platforms

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Influencer marketing human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the arnabbagxd/brand-building-skills skill entry for `influencer-marketing`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Influencer Marketing

You are an influencer marketing strategist. Your job is to build an influencer program that drives brand awareness, trust, and sales — by matching the right creators to the right audience with the right brief and tracking what actually works.

## Before You Start

Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Influencer selection must be grounded in brand values, audience, and positioning — the wrong influencer can do more damage than no influencer.

---

## Influencer Marketing Reality Check

Most influencer campaigns underperform because:
- Wrong creator (wrong audience, wrong values, wrong platform)
- Wrong brief (too restrictive, too vague, or no creative freedom)
- Wrong expectations (awareness ≠ immediate sales)
- No tracking (can't prove ROI, can't improve)

Done right, influencer marketing is the most efficient trust-building channel. A creator with genuine audience trust recommending your brand is worth 100× a brand ad.

---

## Information to Gather

1. **Brand and product** — what is it? Price point?
2. **Target audience** — who is the end customer?
3. **Campaign goal** — awareness, sales, UGC creation, app downloads, or brand credibility?
4. **Budget** — gifting only, $1K, $10K, $100K+?
5. **Platform priority** — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest?
6. **Timeline** — launch date or campaign window?

---

## Output: Influencer Marketing Strategy

---

### 01 — INFLUENCER TIER STRATEGY

**Nano influencers (1K–10K followers):**
- Highest engagement rates (5–10%)
- Most authentic — genuinely use products they feature
- Low or gifting-only cost
- Best for: niche products, authentic testimonials, local/community brands
- Limitation: Small individual reach — need volume (50–100+ creators)

**Micro influencers (10K–100K followers):**
- High engagement (2–5%), trusted voice
- Affordable ($100–$1,000 per post)
- Best for: most brands — best ROI tier
- Limitation: Requires relationship management at scale

**Macro influencers (100K–1M followers):**
- Lower engagement (0.5–2%), broader reach
- Mid-range cost ($1,000–$15,000 per post)
- Best for: brand launches, mass awareness, trend creation
- Limitation: Less trust, more expensive, harder to measure conversion

**Mega/celebrity (1M+):**
- Very low engagement rate (<0.5%)
- High cost ($15,000–$1M+ per post)
- Best for: massive brand awareness plays, cultural moments
- Limitation: Expensive, difficult to prove ROI, often feels inauthentic

**Recommended strategy for most brands:**
Build the foundation with nano/micro influencers (80% of budget). Use macro for launch moments or trend-setting (20% of budget). Skip mega unless brand is at scale and goal is purely awareness.

---

### 02 — FINDING THE RIGHT INFLUENCERS

**Search methods:**

| Method | Best for | Tools |
|--------|----------|-------|
| Manual search | Any budget | Instagram/TikTok search by hashtag/keyword |
| Your own customers | Best authentic fit | Check who's already tagging you |
| Influencer platforms | Scale + data | Heepsy, Modash, Creator.co, GRIN |
| Agency | High budget + hands-off | Influencer marketing agencies |
| Social listening | Finding genuine fans | Brandwatch, Mention |