Answering the Essential Influencer Marketing Questions

Influencer marketing is an essential piece of any robust, successful marketing strategy. Many social shoppers choose brands to follow and products to purchase based on the influencer posts they see online. Our 2025 Trust in Influencer Marketing report found that 79% of respondents said they had purchased a product after seeing an influencer use it. Influencers of all sizes can impact your brand’s promotions significantly. Setting up your influencer campaigns for success means asking the right questions. Whether you’re working with influencers directly or an influencer marketing agency, you’ll want to know the answers to essential influencer marketing questions.

Common questions about influencer marketing

Here are some common questions about influencer marketing: 

What is influencer marketing, and how does it work?

Influencer marketing involves collaborating with social media content creators to authentically showcase your brand through engaging campaigns tailored to their audiences. Campaigns can range from providing influencers with free products to try out, to orchestrating full-scale partnerships where influencers promote your product across multiple platforms. These efforts depend on your budget and goals. To ensure campaigns are both impactful and aligned with your brand identity, IZEA’s Managed Services team offers expert guidance, streamlining the process for maximum success.

How do you measure success in influencer marketing?

Measuring success in an influencer campaign depends on your specific objectives. Key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor include engagement metrics such as comments, likes, and shares, as well as follower growth, link clicks, and conversion rates. These metrics provide valuable insights into how well the campaign resonates with the target audience and drives desired actions.

What are the best platforms for influencer marketing?
IZEA’s Trust in Influencer Marketing report offers valuable insights on the best platforms to reach specific audiences through influencer marketing. A key finding is that consumers prefer influencer content over traditional ads on any social media platform, with 77% of respondents finding it more compelling than ads written by marketing professionals.

Since 2022, TikTok and Instagram have emerged as leading platforms for product research, while reliance on recommendations from friends and family has decreased.

For people over the age of 30, Facebook was the top platform used, with 92% of respondents saying they regularly use it. The next most used platforms for ages 30-60 are YouTube (77%), Instagram (64%) and TikTok (43%). 

The most-used platform among 18-to-29-year-olds in our survey was YouTube, with 82% of them using it regularly. The next most used platforms for ages 18-29 are Instagram (73%), Facebook (69%) and TikTok (58%). 

The findings highlight that the best platform for influencer campaigns depends on your target audience’s age and behavior. Here’s what this means for platform selection in influencer marketing:

• TikTok and Instagram for product research: These platforms are ideal for reaching consumers actively researching products, especially younger audiences. Their rise as go-to platforms suggests campaigns here can effectively influence purchase decisions.
• Facebook for older audiences (30+): With high usage among people over 30, Facebook remains a key platform for campaigns targeting older demographics, offering a broad reach and familiarity.
• YouTube for cross-demographic appeal: As the most-used platform among 18-29-year-olds and a major platform for those 30+, YouTube is versatile for influencer campaigns that blend video storytelling with product promotion.
• Content trust across platforms: Consumers trust creator-generated content over traditional ads regardless of platform, making any of these channels effective if paired with the right influencer and audience alignment.

The choice of platform should align with the target demographic, campaign goals, and the type of content that resonates most with the audience.

How much should I budget for influencer campaigns?
This is entirely up to your company based on what is important to you. The market is expected to reach $24 billion in 2024, so influencer marketing is not the strategy to skimp out on. However, every brand’s budget is different, and there are so many sizes and types of influencers that it’s possible to find someone to work with within your budget. Many nano- and micro-influencers offer great value, especially when combined with paid ads.

Key questions to ask an influencer marketing agency

Finding an agency that has your back and fully understands your brand’s goals, values and preferences is of utmost importance for a successful campaign. If you’re looking to work with an influencer marketing agency to take some of the responsibility off of your plate, here are some questions that brands should ask agencies to make sure you’re finding the best fit. 

Can you share case studies of past influencer campaigns?
This will help you see what they deem a successful campaign. 

How often do you report on ROI and campaign performance?
These metrics are imperative to make sure they’re tracking what you want to see.

What industries/verticals do you specialize in?
This question will help you decide if they align with your brand.

Do you offer end-to-end campaign management or specific services à la carte?

Knowing their service scope will help you decide if they fit your resource needs and in-house capabilities.

What trends or strategies do you see shaping the future of influencer marketing in our industry?

This allows you to gauge their expertise and understanding of your sector’s evolving landscape.

Questions to ask influencers before collaborating

Here’s a list of essential questions to discuss with influencers before beginning your partnership:

Can you share examples of your past brand partnerships?
This question provides insight into their previous brand partnerships, highlighting their success and how well their audience engaged with the content.

Can you share audience engagement insights?
Seeing audience engagement will help you understand if the influencer you’re working with has a connected community. 

Have you worked with competitors?
Understanding whether the influencer has worked with competitors can help you assess potential conflicts of interest and determine if their audience aligns with your brand’s goals.

What are your audience demographics?
Understanding demographics is important to ensure that they fit within the community you’re hoping to reach. 

Questions influencers should ask brands

Here are a few questions creators might have for brands:

• What is the primary goal of this campaign?
• Can you outline the creative and content expectations?
• What are the timelines, and how will approvals work?
• Will I have the creative freedom to maintain my voice?
• What is the budget for collaboration? 
• Who will be my primary contact and what’s the best way to stay connected to them?

FAQs on campaign management and execution

When it comes to campaign management and execution, you might have a few lingering questions. These could stem from inquiries raised by influencers or marketing agencies, or they might be uncertainties you have as a brand navigating the process.

How are influencer contracts and content rights managed?
Navigating influencer contracts can be complex, especially when ensuring compliance with guidelines and laws. It’s crucial to draft clear contracts and have your legal team review them thoroughly before finalizing.

Partnering with IZEA’s full-service team simplifies this process. We handle contract negotiations and management on your behalf, ensuring that all agreements align with industry standards and protect your brand’s interests. From securing content rights to finalizing payment terms, our team takes care of the details so you can focus on campaign strategy and results.

What are common pitfalls in influencer marketing?
Working with influencer marketing experts can help avoid potential pitfalls:

• Choosing the wrong influencers: Collaborating with influencers who don’t align with your brand values or target audience can result in ineffective campaigns.
• Failing to establish clear goals: Without defined objectives or KPIs, measuring success and ROI becomes difficult.
• Ignoring authenticity: Overly promotional or inauthentic content can erode trust with audiences.
• Overlooking legal and regulatory compliance: Failure to disclose sponsorships or adhere to FTC guidelines can lead to fines or reputational damage.
• Mismanaging contracts and content rights: Vague agreements or unclear ownership of content can create disputes.
• Underestimating resource requirements: Managing influencer relationships, approvals, and performance tracking can be time-intensive without proper support.
• Focusing on vanity metrics: Prioritizing likes and followers over engagement, conversions, or other meaningful KPIs may not lead to real business impact.
• Neglecting long-term relationships: Treating influencer partnerships as one-off campaigns can limit the potential for lasting brand loyalty and deeper connections with audiences.

What are the benefits of influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing offers several key advantages:

• Cost-effective advertising: Influencers can help your brand reduce ad spend by providing a more affordable alternative to traditional paid ads.
• Boosted SEO and brand visibility: Collaborations with influencers can enhance your brand’s SEO, increase awareness, and improve overall sentiment.
• Access to a targeted audience: Influencers help you connect with an engaged and relevant audience that aligns with your brand.
• Valuable customer feedback: Influencers can facilitate direct communication with customers or potential customers, providing valuable insights.
• Cross-platform reach: Influencers enable you to tap into various demographics across multiple social media platforms within a single campaign.

Asking the right questions for success

Asking the right questions is crucial for both brands and influencers when launching an influencer marketing campaign. Clear communication from the start ensures that both parties are aligned, helping to streamline the process and set the stage for a successful campaign. Proactively addressing key topics helps foster strong, long-lasting partnerships that can extend beyond a single campaign.