So, you think you’re ready to build a creator program to rival some of the best the creator economy has to offer? Then the next step is finding a platform that can handle anything you can throw at it (and you’ll be throwing a lot at it).
There are five essential tools and features to lock down if you want to build and scale a world-class creator program. In this blog, we’ll dive into each of them and introduce you to some brands leveraging each to reach their full influencer marketing potential.
What you need to build the ultimate creator program
Don’t settle for just a few of these tools and features when planning the future of your creator program. You’ll need the full suite if you plan to take your efforts to the next level. Let’s talk about them:
1. Creator discovery and recruitment tools
First things first: You can’t build a world-class creator program without world-class creators. That means your influencer marketing software must have capabilities for finding and vetting potential creators.
Creator databases are the most common tool brands use to find creators. This can be a highly effective discovery method and one you should 100% explore. However, the best creator programs leverage multiple tools simultaneously to ensure their team flips over every possible rock.
Then, there is the consideration of active versus passive creator discovery. For example, hunting for creators via a search tool is an example of active recruitment.
On the other hand, many platforms offer tools such as customizable landing pages that allow creators to apply to work with their brand directly. This is a form of passive recruitment since the brand lets the creators come to them.
From there, you’ll need to ensure your creators are the right fit for your program.
Someone might look great on paper, but when you dig into the metrics, you discover they don’t quite have as strong of a connection with their audience as you hoped. The best creator discovery tools enable you to find creators and vet them to ensure they can deliver the most possible value for your brand.
Pro Tip: Already have some creators you love? Find more just like them with Creator and Audience Lookalike Tools.
What do you do when you have discovered and vetted a group of creators?
It’s time to reach out! But this is often much easier said than done when working with many creators simultaneously. That’s why most brands rely on email templates and sequencing to perform outreach at scale.
With email templates, you can create a customizable message that you can send out to every new recruit. If they don’t respond within a given time period, you can automate follow-up sequences to help keep yourself from losing the connection.
2. CRM and creator program management
Most brands start out managing their creator program with a simple spreadsheet. That works fine for a while, but as your program grows, you need a platform that can power your entire program end to end.
Let’s quickly break down everything the right platform can do to keep your content and creator relationships organized:
Easy onboarding
Let’s say we’ve already discovered our creators and they’ve agreed to collaborate. It’s time to set them up for success.
You need to make it as easy as possible for them to understand your brand, mission, deliverables, and everything else they need to know to succeed in your partnership. The right influencer marketing software provides you with these tools.
Organized content
The bigger and better your creator program, the more content you’ll have coming in. Without the right tools, it can be easy for that content to become scattered.
The influencer marketing software you choose should alert you when a creator posts and filter their content in an organized library. That way, you can easily find the exact piece of content you’re looking for when it comes time to repurpose it on your branded accounts or as paid ads.
Quick and easy payments
Ideally, the creators you choose for your program love your brand, use your products, and genuinely believe in both. However… at the end of the day, they really just want to get paid. So, don’t mess around!
Your influencer marketing platform should help you get your creators paid on time, every time. Otherwise, they might lose trust in your brand, which can kill your chances for a long-term partnership.
3. Analytics and ROI reporting
We’ve touched on it a little bit, but access to hard data is absolutely critical to running a world-class creator program. Otherwise, you’ll have no idea what’s working and what isn’t.
Creator data
Creator data begins during recruitment as you analyze creators’ engagement rates, audience demographics, and so forth. But that’s just the beginning.
You need to continue collecting data throughout your relationship with your creators. How does each sponsored post perform? What is the engagement rate on sponsored posts versus regular posts? What is the sentiment of their audience?
The answers to these questions and more are the only way you can determine which creators are fit for long-term collaborations. It’s also good to equip yourself with these numbers when you enter negotiations with your creators.
Campaign data
Your influencer marketing software should give you a real-time look at how your campaigns perform. Not only that, but you should also be able to view success benchmarks so you know how you’re progressing toward each goal you established at the beginning of your campaign.
Program data
Lastly, you should be able to zoom out and see the performance of your entire program. You probably have a boss who wants to know how the investment is paying off, right? Then, you’ll need a way to take that high-level data and generate reports that prove your success to key stakeholders.
4. Access to expert strategists
Agency versus software: It’s an age-old dilemma. After all, running a world-class creator program is hard work—even when you have all the tools you need to do it.
A lot of brands have a valid fear that if they outsource their influencer marketing efforts to an agency, they’ll lose control over the authenticity of their messaging or the direct relationships they’ve built with creators.
On the other hand, the thought of building and scaling a huge creator program is overwhelming if you don’t have a ton of prior experience.
Find a platform that offers you the best of both worlds. Look for those who have a team of in-house expert strategists. From there, you should be able to tap them in for as much or as little help as you need to build your program up to the level you want it.
5. The best possible creator experiences
You understand how important word of mouth is from customer to customer. But a lot of brands don’t realize how impactful word of mouth is from creator to creator.
Creators talk. And if you’re a brand with a reputation for being difficult or confusing to work with, it hurts your chances of landing the top-tier partnerships your creator program needs to reach its full potential.
After all, good creators are in high demand. Why would they waste time with a brand that doesn’t prioritize their experience?
With the right platform, you won’t have to worry about that. You can offer creators a seamless collaboration experience from beginning to end. This is what makes creators fall even more in love with your brand and want to work with you time and time again.
Examples of brands that built world-class creator programs
Now let’s talk about some of the brands out there that have already leveraged these five tools and features to build a world-class creator program:
Uber went from 0-750K followers in less than 1 year.
Uber is arguably the most successful ride-sharing company in the world. Its creator program also touches other areas of the business, including Uber Eats, Uber Business, and more.
The challenge
Uber hired Phil Rosario to build its TikTok presence from the ground up. Phil, a creator himself, got the ball rolling by creating his own content for the brand. From there, he slowly built a group of about five nano and micro creators to generate content on Uber’s behalf.
For Phil, it wasn’t about getting creators with a lot of followers—it was about those who aligned perfectly with the brand and created the type of content he knew would resonate with Uber’s diverse audience.
The solution
There were four things Phil needed from his influencer marketing platform to build the type of creator program a brand like Uber could be proud of:
- A way to run multiple campaigns simultaneously and tailor them to meet his specific program goals
- Flexible payment tiers so he could easily reward high-performing creators for a job well done
- A way to onboard his creators quickly and provide them with everything needed to create successful content
- A quick and easy payment workflow to keep his roster paid and happy
The results
In less than 1 year, Phil generated:
- 750K TikTok followers
- 35M+ organic video views
- 3.7M+ organic video likes
Get the full story: How one person built Uber’s thriving TikTok community from scratch
Rookie
Rookie is a small health and wellness supplement company. But don’t let its size fool you—their creator program can compete with the best of them.
The challenge
The brand’s one-person influencer marketing team (also known as Cheyanne Pettyjohn) is committed to building a community of brand advocates. However, that requires nurturing strong relationships with 50+ creators at a time—a tall task for just one person!
The solution
There are five must-haves for Cheyanne when it comes to her influencer marketing platform:
- A creator search function that enables her to filter through millions of profiles by age, demographics, success metrics, and more
- Email templates and follow-up sequences so she doesn’t have to spend all of her time doing manual outreach
- An easy way to keep track of her creators’ personal details and preferences to help build stronger relationships with them
- A streamlined workflow for generating affiliate links in bulk and distributing them to her creators
- A way to evaluate her creators’ performance and report that data to key stakeholders within the company
The results
Each month, Rookie’s creator program generates an average of:
- 1.4M+ impressions
- 222K+ video views
- $53+ in EMV for every $1 spent
Get the full story: How Rookie generates 5,000% ROI from its creator program
Stio
Stio is a premier outdoor apparel brand. They’ve had a ton of success from their affiliate marketing program run by Harlee Siegel. Harlee is the only end-user, but that doesn’t stop her from partnering with hundreds of creators simultaneously.
The challenge
Harlee started Sio’s program with spreadsheets and the same barebones tools most brands use in the beginning of their influencer marketing journey. However, the biggest challenge was finding creators—an endeavor Harlee said took her about 4-5 hours per day when she didn’t have the right platform.
The solution
Now that she has found the right influencer marketing software for her goals, there are five tools and features she can’t live without:
- A multi-channel recruitment solution that enables her to search for creators both actively and passively
- A way to build and manage multiple seasonal campaigns simultaneously
- Ecommerce integrations to streamline the product order and fulfillment process
- A way for her affiliate to send followers straight to a specific product page, increasing their chances of conversion
- A collaboration workflow that made every one of her creators feel like a VIP
The results
In less than two years, Harlee and Stio have generated:
- ~300 active creator partnerships per season
- 2+ hours saved per day on creator prospecting
- 8,000+ pieces of content generated
- 12.9M+ impressions
Get the full story: How a single end user recruits and manages a vast affiliate network
Key takeaway: There are 5 essential tools and features needed to build a top-tier creator program.
If you want to take your creator program to the next level, there are five tools and features you’ll need:
- A way to discover and recruit brand-aligned creators
- A CRM that can help you manage all of your creator relationships and content
- Reporting and analytics tools to give you a real-time look at the success of your creators, campaigns, and overall program
- A team of expert in-house strategists to help guide your program when and where you need it
- A workflow that facilitates the type of collaboration experiences that help creators fall even more in love with your brand
Get these five areas covered and the sky’s the limit for what you and your brand can accomplish.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
