What is influencer marketing and how do you get started?

What is an influencer?

An influencer is someone who has built a loyal audience on social media with their own content, and who therefore has a say in what that audience thinks and buys. The word comes from the verb to influence. Influencers often focus on one subject, such as cooking, fitness, fashion, parenting, tech or running a business. You will also hear the words creator or content creator more and more. They put the emphasis on what someone makes rather than on follower numbers.

In influencer marketing you pay an influencer, in money or in products, to talk about your brand. That might be in a post, a video, a story or a live stream. The difference from ordinary advertising is the messenger. It is not you saying how good your product is, but someone the audience already knows and trusts.

What does an influencer do?

• Create content. Photos, videos, stories or podcasts about a regular subject.
• Build an audience. Posting and replying regularly creates a group of followers who know and trust the creator.
• Work with brands. The influencer talks about a product or service, as clearly labelled advertising.

How does an influencer earn money?

Usually in one or more of these ways. With a fee for a paid partnership, with free products, with commission on each sale through their own link or code and with income from ads on the platform itself. A free product counts as payment too. So even then, it has to be clear that the post is an ad.

Types of influencer

Influencers are often grouped by the size of their audience. The boundaries differ from source to source, but the grouping helps when you choose.

• Nano and micro-influencers. A smaller audience, often highly engaged and centred on a specific subject or area. They feel like someone you know locally. Often the logical place for a small business to start.
• Macro-influencers. A large audience, so plenty of reach in a short time. The audience is broader and the bond with followers usually less personal.
• Celebrities and athletes. Huge reach and lots of attention, but also a substantial investment. Mainly of interest to large brands.
• Content creators for your own channels. Creators who make videos or photos for your account or your ads, without posting them themselves. You are mainly buying their craft and their recognisable style.

Bigger is not automatically better. A small creator whose audience matches yours closely often delivers more than a large account with hardly any of your customers among its followers.

Why influencer marketing works

• Trust. Followers already know the influencer. An honest recommendation therefore lands harder than an advert.
• A targeted audience. You reach people who are already interested in your subject.
• Content that works. Influencers know how to speak to their audience. With the right agreement, you can use their videos and photos yourself too.
• Visibility. A new brand or product can quickly become known among a group you would struggle to reach on your own.

It does not work when the partnership feels fake. An influencer who promotes everything loses the trust of their followers. And so do you.

Which platforms?

• Instagram. Photos, Reels and stories. Suits almost any consumer subject.
• TikTok. Short, fast-paced videos. Strong for discovery and for a younger audience.
• YouTube. Longer videos, such as reviews and explainers. People watch deliberately and for longer.
• LinkedIn. For business subjects. Here the influencers are professionals and business owners with a loyal network.
• Podcasts and newsletters. A recommendation from the host or writer feels very personal here.

Choose the platform where your customers are. Not the one everyone happens to be talking about.

Ads must be recognisable as ads

Wherever you work with influencers, advertising has to be recognisable as advertising. That applies even when the influencer only receives a free product, a discount or commission.

• Use a clear label, such as "ad" or "advert", at the start of the caption.
• Use the labels the platforms provide, such as the paid partnership label on Instagram.
• Say it in the video itself as well, not only in the description.

In the Netherlands, where we are based, the Dutch advertising code for social media and influencer marketing (opens in a new tab) sets these rules, whatever the number of followers. Influencers who earn money from video and have a large reach also fall under the Dutch Media Act and must register with the Dutch Media Authority. Since 2025 that applies to more influencers than before. In the UK, the ASA has published an influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads (opens in a new tab). As the advertiser, you share responsibility. So agree on the rules in your contract upfront.

Getting started in five steps

1. Set your goal and your audience

Do you want awareness, website traffic, sales or content for your own channels? And who do you want to reach? Your goal decides which influencer fits and how you measure.

2. Find the right influencer

Search by hashtags and subjects, and look within your own network. A suitable creator may already follow you. Look beyond follower numbers.

• Are real people responding, with real comments?
• Does the tone suit your brand?
• Does the influencer also work for your competitors?
• Is the audience in your region or country?

A sudden jump in followers or lots of empty comments can point to bought followers.

3. Make clear agreements

Send a personal message and explain why you are approaching this particular creator. Then put everything in writing. What will be made, when and on which platform? What is the fee? How will the ad be labelled? And may you use the content afterwards, for example in your ads?

4. Give the creator room

The influencer knows their own audience. Give a clear brief with your message and what is off limits, but leave the form to the creator. A script that feels like an advert won't work.

5. Measure and build on it

Give each influencer their own link with a UTM code or their own discount code. That way you can see what the partnership delivers in visitors, enquiries and sales. Does it work? Then build a longer partnership. A creator who mentions your brand regularly is more credible than a one-off post.

How we approach it

We start with your goal and your audience, then look for creators who genuinely fit. We help with the brief, the agreements and the advertising rules. And we measure what it delivers, so you know whether a follow-up makes sense. Read more about our Social media service. Just getting started with social media? Read 5 social media marketing best practices first.