1. “A repeatable, standardized process can go a long way to making sure you have an effective and efficient campaign.” @jhcjr_ #DTCPOD
2. “Finding creators for your campaign is one of the most crucial steps to campaign success.” @jhcjr_ #DTCPOD
3. “It’s not enough to just include a checkmark that a creator is willing to join your campaign. Don’t forget things like shipping info, content rights, whitelisting, etc.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD
4. “You should ship your product immediately once you agree to terms with a creator.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD
5. “Don’t make your relationships with creators transactional. Focus on making long-term relationships that will benefit your brand.” @jhcjr_ #DTCOD

We Speak About:

• [01:20] What a standardized process can do for influencer campaigns 
• [02:10] How you can find creators and influencers
• [03:30] Treating your creator flow like a sales funnel
• [04:15] How to track and manage creators
• [07:00] The steps you need in your creator flow
• [09:30] How to negotiate the right way with creators
• [11:05] The importance of deadlines for creators
• [12:30] When you should pay creators

Today, Jamie Catanach, head of customer success for Trend, joins the show. Trend is the leading destination for brands looking to work with creators and produce high-quality content.

Have a strong plan in place with influencers and creators

A great process is key in any business activity. This is especially true for working with influencers and creators.

Executing a strong plan for creators starts with finding the right creators. You should have both inbound and outbound strategies to source creators and influencers.

Think of your creator flow as a sales funnel. You need to have different sources to your sales funnel and have your steps mapped out.

Once you decide to start working with creators, make sure you are tracking your partnerships. Use either Google Sheets or an AirTable. If you want a better way to track and manage creators, use Trend.

It’s important to stay organized in this process. Organization is more important the more creators you work with.

You need more steps than just a checkmark if a creator agrees to work with you

Just like a sales or marketing funnel, your creator flow should have steps too.

It isn’t enough to just mark that a creator or influencer has agreed to work with you.

You should also have space for shipping information, content rights, and deadlines for creators on your tracking document.

If you don’t want to track all of this on your own, Trend can help keep these steps organized for you.

If you are interested in whitelisting content (running ads through a creator’s account), make sure you ask for this upfront.

Whenever you are negotiating with creators and influencers, make sure your conversation is not just transactional. You want to build real relationships.

By building real relationships, you are building brand equity with creators. Brand equity with creators can lead to creators talking about your product without you paying later down the line.

Stay tuned as Jamie also covers how you should pay creators, and offers some tips to make relationships less transactional.

If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.