Influencer marketing is at an all-time high. Last year, over 6 million sponsored posts were uploaded to Instagram alone and three-quarters of marketers increased their influencer budget. Why? Because social media influencers have thousands of loyal followers who trust their recommendations and brands can leverage this to target their ideal buyers. However, not all businesses have the expertise and resources to manage influencer campaigns in-house. This is where influencer agencies come in.
What does an influencer marketing agency do?
Unlike typical influencer platforms that simply provide access to a database of content creators for you to search through yourself, influencer agencies offer a fully managed service to simplify the process. This includes managing all communications between brands and influencers and creating a strategic plan of action based on your business values and goals.
Once an approach has been agreed, your influencer marketing agency will manage your campaign from start to finish. Your agency team will source suitable influencers, negotiate rates, set up contracts, produce creative briefs and guidelines, send out any product samples and review content before it is uploaded. They will also track your influencer campaign’s progress and report back to you on a regular basis.
Acting as a middleman between the two parties, the agency must also advocate for both the influencer and the brand. This may include making sure the business understands the value of their influencers and their need for creative freedom, while at the same time ensuring that all content fits the brand’s values, tone and objectives.
8 benefits of working with an influencer agency
Partnering with an influencer marketing agency offers numerous advantages for brands, especially when running influencer campaigns at scale or for achieving specific marketing objectives. Let’s take a look at a few of the biggest benefits:
Expertise and industry knowledge
Influencer marketing agencies bring a wealth of expertise and industry knowledge that can help your campaigns become more successful. Their ability to design targeted strategies means that every effort aligns closely with your brand’s specific goals and audience preferences.
By understanding the unique dynamics of different industries and consumer behaviour, agencies are experts at crafting campaigns that produce strong engagement and measurable results.
But that’s not all. By working with an agency, you’ll also be able to tap into their platform-specific insight. What works well on Instagram is different to TikTok and YouTube. Every platform has its own features, demographics and content trends. Agencies have the expertise to understand the differences, and advise you on what will be most effective for your campaign.
Whether it’s creating visually striking content for Instagram, producing engaging short-form videos for TikTok, or crafting compelling long-form storytelling on YouTube, they know how to make the most of each platform’s potential.
Plus, agencies are great at staying on top of industry trends and keeping up with the latest best practices. The digital landscape is constantly shifting, with new influencer formats, algorithms and consumer behaviours emerging regularly.
By staying informed and adaptable, agencies help your campaigns remain relevant and competitive. They make use of the latest innovations, such as Instagram Reels, TikTok challenges, or other trending formats, to keep your brand at the forefront of your audience’s attention.
2. Access to an established network
Outsourcing your influencer marketing to a specialist agency brings a host of advantages, from streamlined workflows and scalable campaign management to expert creative direction. Agencies act as an extension of your team, managing the complexities of influencer outreach and campaign execution while working to deliver your brand message effectively.
The benefits of working with an agency include access to curated influencer connections. Agencies have established relationships with a wide network of influencers across various niches and follower tiers, meaning they can easily identify the perfect match for your brand.
By pre-screening influencers for quality, engagement and past performances, agencies help you avoid the hassle of sorting through countless profiles yourself. Due to existing relationships, they can quickly find influencers whose audiences align authentically with your own.
At FYI, we have access to thousands of influencers in the UK and millions more worldwide, making it possible for us to find the ideal fit no matter your niche or platform. Through our experience, we provide valuable insights from previous campaigns to help you choose the best influencers for your strategy.
When searching for an influencer, it’s easy to be blinded by follower numbers. But we understand that bigger isn’t always better – partnering with micro-influencers who have smaller followings but higher engagement rates can often yield stronger results than collaborations with larger creators. So, if you’re still focusing on a huge follower count as a prerequisite, you need to think again!
Another major advantage of this approach is that influencers are much more likely to respond to requests from agencies they already have a good relationship with. Those with thousands of followers receive a barrage of emails from brands every day, and as a result, they are likely to miss your message amongst the clutter. But if they’ve worked well with the agency before, they’ll be more inclined to open their emails.
3. Time and resource efficiency
Outsourcing your influencer marketing to an agency offers an easy solution that maximises results. Agencies take on the heavy lifting, managing every stage of the campaign – from sourcing and vetting influencers to outreach, execution and detailed performance reporting.
But what really sets agencies apart is their ability to provide scalable management. Whether your campaign involves a handful of micro-influencers or a large-scale collaboration with creators across multiple platforms, an agency will handle the complexity of managing numerous partnerships simultaneously. This is especially beneficial if your brand is running a larger campaign, as it means that every detail is coordinated externally allowing you to focus on what you do best.
Creative direction is a key strength agencies bring to the table. Their expertise in conceptualising campaigns helps align influencer content with your brand’s messaging and goals. Agencies guide influencers on how to produce high-quality, on-brand content that resonates with your audience, helping your campaign stand out in a crowded digital landscape.
If your business is considering influencer marketing for the first time, agencies are an invaluable helping hand. Without experience in this area, you’ll need to learn about collaboration processes, industry rates and campaign planning while managing countless variables. This can often be an overwhelming and time-consuming task, especially for small marketing teams. But with an agency by your side, you can bypass this steep learning curve and trust the process to seasoned professionals.
At FYI, for instance, our digital marketing experts draw on years of influencer campaign experience to guide brands through every step and support influencers in delivering their best work. By outsourcing these tasks, you can focus on your core business operations while leaving the intricacies of influencer marketing in expert hands.
4. Data-driven decisions
A data-driven approach is key to maximising the success of any influencer marketing campaign, and agencies are experts at using insights that drive better results.
They provide comprehensive performance analytics, offering metrics like reach, engagement, and ROI so you can clearly see how your campaign is performing. By using data insights, agencies refine influencer selection and adjust campaign strategies. As a result, you can be sure every aspect of your marketing plan is optimised for success.
Additionally, agencies benchmark your campaigns against industry standards, helping you identify areas for improvement and giving you a clearer picture of where you stand in comparison to your competitors.
Having an experienced campaign team is key to successful campaign delivery and ultimately, your business’s bottom line. Without a strategic plan and structured approach in place, your content will soon become disorganised and ineffective. To prevent this, agencies will create clear publishing schedules to work to. This will ensure that your influencer knows exactly what’s needed and when, and that all posts are cohesive and complementary to get the best results.
In addition to this, at FYI, we go one step further. Our team will monitor all campaign activity using trackable links and make adjustments throughout as necessary. We’ll then compile the best-performing content from your influencer’s profile and use our Facebook advertising expertise to promote the posts on your brand’s social media pages. This is an affordable and effective way to amplify the content in order to reach as many of your target buyers as possible. In turn, you can expect to see more traffic and sales from social media.
5. Risk mitigation
Experienced in putting together influencer contracts? Clued up on the latest promotional content regulations? Well, in that case, you don’t need an influencer agency! However, if this isn’t your area of expertise, it’s best left to the professionals.
Agencies provide expert contractual support, guaranteeing that all agreements between you and your influencers are clear, comprehensive and legally sound. From specifying content deliverables and payment terms to defining usage rights, agencies craft contracts that leave no room for misunderstandings or loopholes. It means that both parties are on the same page, and protects your interests should any issues arise.
As well as handling contracts, agencies offer valuable compliance and legal guidance. They stay up-to-date on regulations for promotional content, such as ASA and CMA guidelines, keeping your campaigns compliant with the latest standards. By taking care of compliance, agencies minimise legal risks and prevent potential penalties that could arise from non-compliant posts.
Fraud detection is another critical area where agencies prove their value. Using advanced tools and industry insights, they identify influencers with fake followers, bot-driven accounts or suspicious engagement metrics. After all, you want to be sure that your influencers can deliver authentic results and that you’re not just wasting money.
If you’re not experienced in drafting contracts, understanding promotional content regulations or spotting fraudulent accounts, you should use an agency. Attempting to do it yourself can lead to costly mistakes, as you risk publishing content that’s ineffective, unprofessional or even against social media policies.
But when you work with an agency, you can rest assured that the contract between you and your influencer is watertight. There will be no loopholes that they can use later if things don’t go to plan. Agencies will also ensure that any content published fits your brand guidelines and campaign goals. In addition, they’ll check that posts adhere to social media best practices, so that your account doesn’t run into trouble. Otherwise, you may waste money on posts that won’t be approved or even get deactivated.
6. Cost-effective
When it comes to influencer marketing, working with an agency may seem like an added expense. But in the long run, it’s often an investment that proves to be highly cost-effective.
While agencies like FYI charge fees for our services, our expertise will help you avoid costly mistakes that can occur from doing it by yourself. From selecting the right influencers to running effective campaigns, an agency’s experience is invaluable in maximizing the return on your investment.
Agencies also bring the advantage of negotiating power. With established relationships across a wide network of influencers, they can often secure better rates than you might be able to achieve independently. For brands running bulk campaigns or long-term collaborations, these agency-negotiated deals can lead to significant savings, stretching your budget further without compromising on quality or reach.
By managing the process efficiently and leveraging their industry connections, agencies ensure that every pound spent on influencer marketing delivers measurable value, making them a smart choice for brands looking to achieve impactful results without overspending.
7. Brand safety and reputation management
You've spent years carefully cultivating your brand's image. The last thing you want is to partner with an influencer who does more harm than good.
The best agencies minimise this risk by thoroughly vetting influencers, checking their values, tone and past content fit perfectly with your brand. This careful screening helps you avoid potential PR issues that could arise from working with creators whose behaviour or messaging might not reflect well on your business.
In addition to preventative measures, agencies also offer crisis management support. Should any negative situation arise during a campaign – whether it’s a controversial post, public backlash or unforeseen event – they have the expertise to address the issue quickly and professionally. Their experience in navigating these challenges helps to protect your brand’s reputation from harm and maintains your trust with your audience.
With this proactive approach, you gain the peace of mind of knowing that your brand is looked after by a team that truly cares about you.
8. Long-term partnerships
Building long-term relationships with influencers can significantly amplify the success of your marketing efforts, and agencies are instrumental in fostering these connections. Through their established networks and ongoing collaborations, agencies create an environment where influencers feel valued and motivated to work with your brand again. These strong relationships pave the way for smoother, more efficient partnerships in future campaigns.
Agencies also provide valuable insights into how to nurture these relationships for lasting impact. For example, they can help you develop ambassador programmes or recurring collaborations with top-performing influencers. These long-term partnerships allow influencers to build deeper connections with your audience, improving authenticity and brand loyalty over time.
By building strong, long-term relationships with influencers, agencies optimise both your current campaigns and future influencer marketing success.
Looking to hire an influencer agency?
Whether you’re looking to grow your online community, promote a new product or even change your brand perception, we can help. At FYI, we have access to over 20 million content creators worldwide, all with proven results. From Instagram micro-influencers to TikTok superstars, we can help you find an influencer to suit your needs.
Ready to outsource your influencer marketing to our talented team? Send us a message via our website or call us on 01617310048, and we’ll take it from there.