How to run an influencer campaign: step by step

An influencer campaign is one run of your strategy: specific creators, a product, a brief and dates. If you haven't fixed the goal, platform, tier and budget yet, do that first with our influencer marketing strategy playbook. This page is the execution, in the order it happens, with the TikTok specifics where they differ.

How to run an influencer campaign in 10 steps

1. Write down the goal and the one number

Sales, awareness, content or launch buzz. Pick one, then the number that proves it: cost per order, cost per 1,000 views, usable videos per dollar. Write it at the top of the campaign sheet. Every later call, from which creator to re-book to whether the campaign worked, goes back to it. The full list of metrics is in influencer marketing KPIs.

2. Build a long list

Aim for two to three times the creators you need. Search by niche, country and audience, then cut on the basics: posts in the last month, audience in your market, content that already fits your product. Our guide on how to find TikTok influencers covers the search itself.

3. Vet before you message

Check the last 12 posts, skipping pinned videos. Take median views, not the best post. Read comments for real questions. Look for past sponsored posts and compare them with organic ones from the same weeks. Our TikTok creator vetting checklist is the full routine. Vetting first saves you negotiating with creators you'll drop anyway.

4. Reach out with a clear offer

Short message, specific reason you picked them, what you're offering, and a clear ask. Ask for their rate and their analytics in the same thread: a screen recording of their audience tab and a recent post, not screenshots.

5. Send the brief, then the contract

The brief tells creators what you need without scripting them. The contract fixes payment, deliverables, dates, revisions, usage rights and exclusivity. Send the brief first so creators can say no to the concept before anyone signs. Use our influencer brief template and the influencer contract template.

6. Ship product and set up tracking

Ship early: creators need time to actually use the product. Before anything posts, set up a unique discount code and a tracked link per creator. You can't add tracking after a post is live.

7. Review drafts for facts, not taste

Approve claims, product details, the call to action and disclosure. Leave the hook, tone and edit alone. Creators know what their audience watches. A brand-written script reads like an ad, and people scroll past ads.

8. Go live with disclosure

Every paid or gifted post needs a clear disclosure. The FTC's Disclosures 101 for social media influencers says to disclose any material connection, free product included, in a way people will see. That means #ad up front, not buried in hashtags. On TikTok, creators also turn on the commercial content disclosure setting, which labels the post "Paid partnership" (as of October 2026).

9. Boost what works

Watch the first few days. When a post clearly beats the creator's median, put money behind it. On TikTok that's usually a Spark Ad: the creator generates an authorization code for the post and you run it as an ad from their account. On Instagram, partnership ads do a similar job. Either way, the usage window and fee belong in the contract, so agree them up front. More in influencer whitelisting.

10. Measure everyone on the same day

Pick check-in dates before launch, for example day 7 and day 30 after each post. On those dates, record views, clicks, orders on codes and links, and the creator's own analytics. Then rank creators on your one number. Codes and links undercount, because some buyers search for you later, so treat attributed sales as a floor.

Influencer campaign timeline

A typical first campaign, week by week:

Week	What happens	Done when
1	Goal, budget, long list	A list of creators to vet
2	Vetting and outreach	Rates and analytics back
3	Brief, negotiation, contracts	Contracts signed
3 to 4	Ship product, set up codes and links	Product delivered, tracking tested
4 to 5	Drafts and approval	All drafts approved
5 to 6	Posts go live, boost winners	Every post live and disclosed
6 to 8	Day-7 and day-30 check-ins, report	Creators ranked, re-book list made

The slow part is weeks one to three. That's why a second campaign with the same creators can run in half the time.

What's different about a TikTok influencer campaign?

• Views matter more than followers. TikTok shows posts to people who don't follow the creator, so follower count is a weak forecast. Price and pick on median views.
• Native beats polished. A post that looks like an ad gets treated like one. Give creators room to make it look like their other videos.
• Disclosure has a platform setting on top of #ad, covered in step 8.
• The best post is also your best ad. Spark Ads let you run a creator's post with their handle and comments intact, so plan the authorization in the contract.

Common influencer campaign mistakes

• Starting without a number. Then every result is a maybe.
• Picking on follower count. The median view count is the honest number.
• Shipping late. Rushed creators make rushed posts.
• Over-approving. Every "can you make it more like our ads?" costs views.
• No codes or links. You'll know views and nothing else.
• Judging on different days. A post with a month of views will always beat one with a week.

If you'd rather someone else ran steps 2 to 10, send us your brief: product, budget, a competitor and the niche. We shortlist creators by hand and send back the numbers.