How to Engage with an Influencer Effectively?

Key benefits: Why is an influencer collaboration important?

When you collaborate with influencers, you gain direct access to engaged, targeted audiences through voices they trust and choose to follow. 

Here's why influencer collaborations are important and growing in popularity:

• Finding your target audience: Influencer marketing platforms tell you the age, gender, location and interests of a creator's audience. This makes targeting precise segments easier. 
• Multiple collaboration options: Brands can work with creators in different ways and reuse content across their marketing mix. According to the Kolsquare State of Influencer Marketing report, sponsored posts are used by 61% of European marketers, content co-creation by 64%, and UGC in paid ads by 44%.
• Connecting with engaged audiences: Engagement rate is the top KPI, tracked by 70% of European marketers. That's because engagement shows that an influencer inspires their audience to act by liking, commenting, sharing and saving posts. Creators with high engagement rates have stronger communities, which are more likely to value their recommendations. 
• Growing budgets: Kolsquare's report found that 72% of European brands plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2026. The median annual spend across Europe already sits at €175K, with 11% of brands investing over €1M. This proves that brands value this channel. 
• Reaching audiences at every stage of the funnel: Brands can now create full-funnel customer journeys on one social media platform, or choose where influencer campaigns should fit into their marketing mix to make the biggest impact on sales.

How can you collaborate with influencers?

Brands can activate influencers in many different ways. Each type of campaign offers unique benefits, challenges, and fits within the marketing funnel. 

Product gifting and reviews: ideal for small businesses wanting high reach

A common entry point into influencer marketing is product gifting, which involves sending creators products in exchange for mentions in content. This brand awareness tactic generates authentic reviews and explanations that can make a product go viral at low costs.

The challenge is that many influencers receive more products than they can review, and without monetary compensation, they may not post about your product. It's also harder to control product and brand narratives. These issues may be why, according to Kolsquare's State of Influencer Marketing in Europe 2025, gifting campaigns are falling out of favour. They are now used by just 28% of marketers, who are currently shifting towards more structured, paid formats.

Sponsored posts: straightforward collaborations 

Sponsored posts, where brands pay influencers to create a specific piece of content, are a popular campaign type, with 61% of European marketers using them across all funnel stages. Brands benefit from the ability to plan and approve content in advance. That said, allowing influencers some creative freedom will keep content authentic. 

Content co-creation: brands and influencers share ideas

Marketers and creators can co-create content to develop ideas that fit both their brands. This collaborative approach has become the most popular activation format in Europe, used by 64% of marketers. It is the leading mid-funnel format across nearly every market, reflecting a broader shift towards more hands-on content creation. 

Brand ambassadors: long-term collabs build stronger recognition

Ambassador programs are long-term collaborations that make the influencer a face for the brand. Around 38% of European marketers use ambassador programs, with the UK showing the highest adoption at 48%. Brands investing in this model are prioritising long-term credibility building over one-off visibility.

Affiliate marketing and discount codes: low-risk activations

In affiliate models, the influencer promotes a product and earns a commission on sales generated, typically through a tracked link or unique discount code. Affiliate marketing, as a standalone strategy, is losing momentum: only 22% of marketers plan to increase affiliate spend in 2026, while 18% plan to cut it altogether.

UGC in paid ads: authentic, unpaid content becomes your ad

User-generated content (UGC) is increasingly being repurposed and amplified through paid channels. This hybrid approach combines the authenticity of gifted campaigns with the targeting precision of paid media. It is used by 44% of European marketers and is growing fastest in the UK and Spain, where data-driven approaches are most advanced. 

Events: top branding for hotel, travel, beauty and fashion brands

In-person and virtual events are used by 53% of European marketers, making them one of the more widely adopted formats. When running events, brands invite a group of creators to experience a destination or product launch together. It's particularly popular in beauty, cosmetics, and travel. Events work well for product launches and seasonal campaigns, where the shared experience generates a burst of simultaneous content across multiple creator channels.

How much does an influencer partnership cost?

Pricing in influencer marketing is not fixed. What a brand pays depends on a combination of factors.

The key factors that affect pricing are:

• Follower count: When taken alone, follower count is a vanity metric, but it can still provide useful guidance. Nano-influencers (1K–10K followers) and micro-influencers (10K-100K followers) cost significantly less than macro or mega creators, but often deliver stronger engagement rates relative to their audience size.
• Engagement rate: A creator with fewer but more active followers can be more valuable than one with a large but passive audience.
• Platform: Video content on YouTube and TikTok typically costs more than static posts, reflecting the production effort involved.
• Industry: High-demand niches such as beauty, fashion, and technology tend to command higher rates than narrower categories.
• Content type: The more effort a piece of content requires, the higher the fee. A direct-to-camera review, for example, typically costs less than a hand-drawn animated video featuring a product.
• Usage rights: Brands repurposing creator content in paid ads should expect to negotiate additional fees for those rights.
• Exclusivity: Asking a creator not to work with competitors during a campaign period will add a premium to the base rate.

Across Europe, fixed fees per post remain the dominant compensation model, used by 74% of marketers according to Kolsquare's State of Influencer Marketing in Europe 2025. Long-term contracts are used by 31% of marketers and commission-based models by 28%.

Detailed analysis of influencer pricing on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook 

Brands can use Kolsquare's Kolculator to get a data-driven starting point for budget planning on Instagram and TikTok. Across all platforms, we've run an analysis of budget per influencer. 

Kolsquare's data provides a rough idea of how much brands spend per creator. The median annual influencer marketing budget across Europe is €175K, and the most common activation volume is 11–49 influencers per year. Taking the midpoint of that range (30 influencers) gives an approximate spend of €5,800 per influencer per year.

That figure should be treated as an estimate. It is also worth noting that the report does not specify what respondents included in their budget figure. But this suggests that most brands are not paying out huge sums for each piece of content. 

That said, payments are rarely equal among creators. Most campaigns feature a mix of nano and micro-influencers alongside one or two higher-tier paid partnerships.

Brands seeking to understand how much to pay influencers can also use earned media value (EMV) as a guide. EMV estimates how much the reach and engagement from an influencer's post would have cost to generate using traditional marketing methods. Kolsquare's platform calculates EMV automatically for influencer content and allows you to track EMV for their past sponsored posts. This means you can assess the value of a potential partnership before you make an offer.

Let's look at how influencer costs vary by platform. 

Instagram

Instagram remains the most widely used platform for influencer marketing in Europe, with 93% of marketers running campaigns there. Rates vary significantly by tier. On the lower end, nano-influencers (1K–10K followers) typically charge between £10 and £100 per post. Micro-influencers (10K–50K followers) tend to cost between £100 and £500. Mid-tier creators (50K–500K followers) can command anywhere from £500 up to £5k, while macro and mega-influencers move into the $5K+ range with no real ceiling. Formats also affect pricing. A reel will typically cost more than a story from the same creator. 

TikTok

TikTok is the second-most popular platform, used by 79% of European marketers. Influencer pricing is less standardised than Instagram because rates are heavily influenced by virality potential and engagement rather than by follower count alone.
On the lower end, nano-influencers may charge around £50 per post, while micro-influencers can reach up to £1.5k. Mid-tier creators typically range up to £3k, while macro and mega-influencers can command £5k and above.

YouTube

YouTube is used by 69% of European marketers and commands higher rates than most platforms because of the production effort required for video content. Pricing also depends on the format, with a dedicated video about a brand costing considerably more than a mid-roll mention or a brief integration. 

Facebook

Facebook's role in influencer marketing has declined in recent years, though it remains in use across Europe, particularly for reaching older demographics. Rates on the platform vary by tier, from around £25 per post for nano-influencers on the lower end, up to £25K or more for mega-influencer content. Micro-influencers typically fall in the £250–£1.2k range per post.

Examples of partnerships with influencers

Here are some examples of these collaborations with UK influencers that had impressive results. 

Case study: Lush x Sanrio - three nano-influencers achieve 1.3M reach

Lush's collaboration with Sanrio, the Japanese brand behind Hello Kitty, Pompompurin and Gudetama, proves that social-friendly products make campaigns more effective.

The collection featured shower jellies and bath bars shaped like Sanrio characters. The products were visual, tactile and novel. That combination gave nano-influencers the opportunity to create quick, genuinely interesting content for their audiences. Lush worked with a roster of nano-influencers, including Ellen Noir (@ellen.noir, 5.19K followers, Instagram), Edith (@with.edith, 7.63K followers, Instagram), and Sarah Jamieson (@sarahjamiesonmua, 3.21K followers, Instagram). These creators generated a combined reach of over 1.3M and EMV of €224.8K.

Each creator took a different approach. Ellen Noir filmed a close-up unboxing reaction, with the product centred. Edith shot a video showcasing the full range of characters. Sarah Jamieson produced clear explainer content showing how the products work. 

All three posts carried clear #AD disclosure, and all three significantly outperformed what their follower counts would suggest. The results show that when the product is visually interesting and culturally relevant, nano-influencer content feels authentic and drives impact.

Case study: Scary Movie x Bemi Orojuogun - the power of engagement

When Paramount needed to promote Scary Movie's UK cinema release, they didn't book a celebrity. They partnered with Bemi Orojuogun (@omo.oroje, 424K followers, TikTok), a micro-influencer known across London for her selfie-mode street videos featuring buses.

What makes Orojuogun a strong option for collaboration? Kolsquare's platform flagged her audience quality score at 94 out of 100, indicating a genuine following. She also has high engagement rates of 14% on TikTok and 11% on Instagram.

The two videos showed a Scary Movie-branded double-decker bus in London, packed with Ghostface actors doing the Wazzup. The first video also featured Scary Movie actor Marlon Wayans. Orojuogun filmed the content in her usual style, with the selfie camera, on the street, with her in frame and zero production polish.

The results were highly positive. The first video generated €1.2M EMV and 13.6M views on TikTok. On Instagram, it generated €5.82M EMV, 31M views, and 26M reach, and the overall campaign had a huge 2.6K% engagement rate.

The campaign is a perfect example of how local influencers and alignment with the influencer's typical content can generate strong engagement and reach. 

Case study: Proper x hellodimeji - macro-influencer storytelling

Snack brand Proper partnered with Oladimeji Ajegbile (@hellodimeji, 446K followers on Instagram), an Edinburgh-based macro influencer whose signature content features him cycling with his son on the front of the bike.

Proper planned the content well by allowing Ajegbile to maintain his usual posting style. The sponsored content showed the father and son on a bike ride. When his son asks for snacks, Ajegbile reaches for a packet of Proper popcorn, which is clearly visible on screen. The son asks whether the popcorn tastes good, and his father says it does, but it's also high in fibre. Then his son asks what fibre is, and Ajegbile explains. The content feels like a natural, unscripted exchange, while also communicating the product's key message: that the popcorn tastes good and is good for you. 

The post clearly showed #ad at the start to comply with regulations. It generated 533K likes, 2.8K comments and 7K shares. The reel resulted in over €690K EMV and 2.9M reach. Proper's own comment, "Officially our cutest fibremaxxer", received 14K likes, allowing the brand to foster more positive sentiment.

Again, the product fit the creator's style. Here, the brand engaged viewers with a story rather than centring the product, showing that adjusting your approach for the product and influencer works best.

How do you find and contact influencers for my brand?

Contacting an influencer to start a partnership can seem daunting, but with a structured and personalised approach, you can establish effective communication that leads to successful collaboration.

Here is a simple and straightforward methodology for engaging in dialogue and running an effective campaign. 

1. Do your research thoroughly

Before reaching out, research the influencer carefully to confirm they are a good fit.

The right influencer will align on the following areas:

• Past collaborations: Check historical data on brands the influencer has worked with. This tells you whether they have experience in your sector and whether they have promoted competitors. This is especially important for ambassador programs where the audience associates the brand influencer more closely.
  
• Location: If you are targeting a specific region or market, prioritise influencers with an audience based there.
  
• Niche and community: Look for influencers who are active in your industry or complementary niche communities that your target audience already follows. For example, a knitwear brand might collaborate with a crafting influencer if their audiences overlap, so the audience isn't fatigued by similar recommendations.
  
• Engagement rate: The engagement rate tells you how actively interested an audience is in a creator.
  
• Earned media value (EMV): EMV helps you budget and understand how much value a collaboration is likely to generate.
  
• Audience demographics: Knowing where an influencer's audience is based, and who they are, helps you confirm they match your target market.
  
• Audience credibility: Are you reaching your target customers or fake followers? An audience credibility score will tell you.
  
• Content quality: Most influencer metrics can be automated, but assessing content quality requires you to evaluate the originality, authenticity, and approach of their content independently.

According to Kolsquare's Voices of the Creator Economy 2025 report, 47% of European creators rank shared values and ethical alignment as the top reason they choose brand partners. Ethics even rank ahead of compensation. This means that if you understand and share a creator's values, you can stand out.

2. Make first contact personal

When you write your first message, whether by email or DM, make it specific to the influencer. Don't send a generic, AI-generated message that feels impersonal. Instead, mention what you value about their work and explain clearly why you think a partnership would be mutually beneficial.

3. Present a clear, realistic offer

Be transparent about your offer, whether that is a free product, a flat fee, or a pay-by-commission arrangement. That way, influencers can quickly decide whether the collaboration suits them. You need to be realistic. Most influencers won't create a 20-second reel that shares specific brand messages for £50. According to Kolsquare's report, nearly three-quarters of creators report having experienced unrealistic demands from brands, and 71% say they have been offered deliverables that don't match the compensation. Setting clear, fair expectations from the start builds trust and avoids friction later.

4. Write a brief that leaves no room for ambiguity

An influencer brief should be concise but include all the information the creator needs to develop content. Most creators (64%) say they have been given unclear or constantly changing briefs during collaborations. Well-written briefs and influencer contracts help creators develop content that meets requirements the first time.

5. Give creative freedom

Invite the influencer to share their ideas on the collaboration and let them know you are open to their input. Creators know their audiences, and 66% cite excessive creative control or micromanagement as a recurring problem with brand partnerships. Treat the collaboration as a creative partnership that preserves the creator's unique voice and authenticity. After all, the creator has built their following through their content.

6. Pay on time

Brands must pay on time to build relationships with top influencers. 62% of creators say they have experienced late payments from brands. Detail your payment terms in the contract, and don't pay after the deadline. Many influencers rely on their social media income, and late payments can cause stress. 
Using an influencer marketing platform or agency to find influencers
Available for free download on our website, these templates are a great starting point for establishing successful and transparent partnerships with influencers, saving time and increasing your chances of getting a positive response.

Using an influencer marketing platform to find influencers and track campaigns

Collaborating with influencers requires a clear strategy and realistic expectations about what you can get for your budget.

Many brands struggle to find influencers and understand how much to pay them without data. Kolsquare is a data-driven solution that allows brands to evolve their influencer marketing strategies and implement authentic partnerships with content creators. On the platform, you can learn about influencers' past collaborations, engagement rates, audience credibility, EMV and audience demographics. From there, you can manage influencer outreach and track campaign progress on the same platform. 

Book a demo today.