As consumers put more trust in content Creators, brands like yours are flocking in droves to form strategic partnerships. Creators have dedicated audiences in their target industries that allow you to do more than you could alone, from tapping into new markets to boosting engagement.
But you need to find the right influencers to collaborate with before reaping the benefits of strategic campaigns. And if that has you seeing green, you aren’t alone. A key piece to successful partnerships is establishing competitive Creator rates. Get the most out of working with content Creators by understanding what goes into their pricing and how to agree on fair rates.
Understanding Creators as a Business
Content Creators are businesses, just like you. Brands pay for access to the carefully grown audiences they’ve nurtured over the years, with advertising placements and marketing tactics opening the door to exposure and profits.
Go deeper than the sale to propel the entire funnel
While dollars earned are important, earning them requires more than the flip of a switch. Creators use their expertise to meet consumers at every stage, effectively guiding them through the sales funnel.
Creator efforts may begin with generating awareness, helping your brand get discovered through tactics such as ads and connected TV. But consumers also get hung up during the consideration stage, sussing out their buying options. Creator videos and reviews can offer guidance and validate product benefits. When they’re finally ready to purchase, soon-to-be customers need the hard facts, opening opportunities for Creators to promote item benefits, costs, and purchase details on social media.
But again, it’s not just about the sale. Creators can stick by your side to foster retention by promoting loyalty programs and showcasing content in new places, such as in stores and on TV. And, hopefully, your Creator partners go beyond the sale, too, sharing your brand’s values and championing it in a show of advocacy that persuades and drives long-term customer engagement.
How Creators Determine Their Rates
With content as their livelihood, influencers take a deliberate approach to determining target Creator rates. Variables based on industry or products aside, a few factors are universal across the board:
Reach
Are they a big fish in the market or still ramping up? Creators know their share of voice matters to influence action, so they factor in the size of their audience, expected reach for content, and their average engagement rate to determine their price tag.
Production costs
As a business, content Creators have financial obligations to help them operate. These may include many of the same costs your brand has, such as overhead for payroll and website maintenance, but also tools and services to develop content. Extras such as premium social media accounts, editing software, and even professional photographers to shoot campaign content add up.
Demand
Buying behavior shifts month to month and throughout the year. Back-to-school season? Holiday rush? Content Creators are subject to this seasonality, which impacts demand and service prices. In fact, brands invest in more placements leading up to key seasons such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, adding a boatload of work to Creators’ plates. With such aggressive schedules, top Creators often charge a 10-20 percent premium during times of higher demand.
How Brands Can Rise to Meet the Best Creators
Want the strongest voices to amplify your brand? Competitive Creator rates impact your potential. Take the time to understand what your brand can spend on Creator partnerships. It may be largely influenced by your overall marketing budget, but other factors matter just as much. Take a measured approach to:
Align your goals with audience needs
Where do you fit into consumers’ lives? Do a bit of prework to make the most of your efforts. Determine how your brand can solve pain points, identifying your audience and ideal customers along the way. With this information, you can better determine the type of Creator audience to reach and social media platforms to use—as well as estimate the duration of a Creator collab.
Get to know the Creators
Ever meet someone and you know right away whether or not you “click” with them? Working with content Creators can be the same, but you can tip the scales in your favor to find a fit. Think about your brand’s values and look for like-minded Creators to represent your brand positively. But don’t stop there. Take the time to learn whether their audiences are the right fit, too, including their ages, locations, and genders.
Offer fair commission rates
The quality of your Creator partner sets the tone for success—and money talks. Generally speaking, higher commission rates are more competitive, helping your brand attract and retain the best influencers. Research shows that offering 13-15 percent is fair while up to 20 percent is exceptional.
Use these percentages as a baseline in conjunction with what you know about Creators to inform the rates your brand is comfortable paying. This means you may also factor in their performance, including:
- Follower growth and impressions that impact reach
- Prior engagement rates and content that achieved success
Creators know brands are on a budget, so many provide rate sheets defining their charges so you can assess their value. Shopify also offers a handy formula to determine the value of a Creator investment:
(Average views, likes, and comments from their last five content pieces) / (Influencer price)
When you go above and beyond for your influencer partners, they do for you, too. Creators who have a higher earning potential are more likely to organically link to your brand and go the extra mile. You can even sweeten the pot with affiliate commissions that incentivize Creators to share more about your brand with a percentage of your sales.
Establish Fair Creator Rates and Execute Campaigns with LTK
Determining fair Creator rates is a balancing act between what suits your brand and your new partners. Think about what they bring to the table and what your brand wants to achieve to compensate Creators fairly and set the stage for success.
LTK gives your brand a competitive edge by helping you determine commission rates. But that’s just the start. Our innovative brand influencer platform acts as your all-encompassing tool set to drive Creator marketing. Use LTK Match to select winning partnerships, manage and track campaign performance with LTK 360 reporting, and execute to excellence with a full catalog of tactics.
Ready to begin your content Creator marketing journey? Get started with LTK to turn your goals into results.
