the 11 tools I use for influencer marketing

whoa! a tuesday send?! crazy. you’re getting two this week because i said so and because i definitely woke up last thursday morning and realized i never wrote a newsletter and i must hit my goal of 52 newsletters in a year.

anyway, how’s it going? happy may! working on anything fun? if so, let me know.

i spent the weekend binge watching baby reindeer (wtf), old re-runs of sex and the city, and selling the OC to numb my brain while eating my favorite salad in all of nyc, which is the kale salad from westville with chicken on top and a side of extra crispy sweet potato fries on the side. run on sentences are allowed over here. anyway, it’s the best kind of girl dinner.

a few months ago, i wrote a newsletter about my favorite tools that i rotate in my tech stacks when it comes to social media marketing and content creation, but i realized i never made one for influencer marketing.

being that spring and summer are poppin’ times for some brands (ex. beverage, seasonal items), that means that planning for creator campaigns is already underway or getting started.

so, today’s email is a quick hit list of tools i love to make my life easier whether you have money in the bank to invest or if you’re a team of one and just want to stay on top of things while ballin’ on a (very small) budget.

let’s hit the ground running, shall we?

BUT, BEFORE WE GET INTO IT

Today’s newsletter is not sponsored by a brand, but it’s brought to you by my weird love of making playlists for everything that I do. So, here’s the playlist that I am blasting through my headphones as I write every single word so feel free to turn it on while you scroll, too.

The Tech Stack for Working with Creators

When it comes to working with creators, you often hear the same names of platforms being brought up, but unfortunately, they also all have really steep price points that aren’t always worth it.

1. “Where Do I Find Influencers and Creators?”

• When it comes to sourcing creators, you can certainly use tools to access creators for hyperlocal campaigns or got broad awareness, but you can also roll up your sleeves and get into it yourself. I personally make the search bars and suggested creators buttons my best friends. Tiktok’s search functionality is pretty much google (no really, like read about SEO here) so I have been able to find amazing creators for local campaigns to support smaller retailers, get specific recipe content, etc.

  • For tools, there are a multitude. I have had my fair share of the GRINs and the Aspire’s of the world (both as a creator and being the brand), and it really depends on what your volume and efforts look like to have the systems work efficiently and for your investment.

When it comes to auditing and searching, I have crushed on HypeAuditor after using it for my work with Calirosa Tequila when running their paid influencer campaigns that resulted in some content like simple content to support their push into Target or for finding some bigger creators who had most oftheir audience across difference states, had a >90% of a female audience, like this. I also enjoy that a lot of these tool allow you to get lookalikes on a creator you enjoy, which can make the process just a bit easier.

I have also used CreatorIQ very briefly and similarly enjoy the process. I have mostly been using this for a project I am on where I help support their campaigns to get more whitelisted content from creators and more specific paid campaigns live around specific launches. CreatorIQ has been really great for vetting, list-building (and approvals internally), and taking a creator down the funnel until the content is live and tracking on the backend for us to see.

If you’re looking to get REALLLLY hyperlocal, I have heard things about Hummingbirds, but have yet to personally try it out. If you use it, would love to learn more about your experience!

Annnnd if you’re looking for more User Generated Content to use for ads, you could a tool like MiniSocial!

2. “How Should I Reach Out To Influencers? What Do I Say?”

• When it comes to doing outreach correctly, you can extend offers through some of these platforms, but more times than not, you do have to shoot your shot via email or DM.

  Depending on the goal, I usually DM for seedings or gifting product and e-mail for any bigger partnerships or discussions.

  Need some easy template structures? I wrote a quick layout here.

At the end of the day, speak like a human, not a robot. Be funny, be witty, add some personal touch. Let’s chill with the days of “Hi there! We love your content. My name is ______ and I work at ______. We would love to send you some product.”

3. “Ok, I started sending product out to influencers, but how can I track my efforts?”

Sick of missing content you’re missed in or want to track a gifting campaign?

Let me introduce you to Archive.I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten the message of “GAMECHANGER” or “WHERE HAS THIS BEEN” when introduce someone to it. The TLDR is Archive allows you to pretty much collect content while you sleep. At it’s core, it’s an Al-powered platform for social listening and UGC management. 

There’s literally nothing worse than asking a big creator to resend you content because you missed the tag on their Instagram Story. But, it also allows you to pair your list internally up against what content is coming in so that those who are in charge of large scale product seedings can help put data to their efforts, for those C-Suites that want and need it.

Otherwise, if you’re investing in a larger scale platform like GRIN, you can organized product-only content campaigns and get notified when someone goes “live”, but only when you used certain information from the brief or if they were connected properly to the platform.

4. “If I gave them a code or affiliate link, what is the best way to track an influencer’s sales?”

If you know me, you know the answer is Superfiliate. It’s what I use for all of Graza’s ambassador and influencer tracking needs.

Also, I just recently wrote a whole newsletter about ambassador programs and how I like to structure influencer programs (that include a commission structure). Many of found these two helpful in getting things up and running and making sure that their own dollars are going into the right deliverables needed to support their business vs. just seeing what sticks.

5. “How the heck do I stay organized with all of this?”

• Communication is so important, especially when you start paying creators and budgets start increasing. I love using apps like Loom to screen-record and talk through the content if something needs some explaining, feedback I want to deliver, or walking through a creative brief.

• When it comes to content storage, I am an Air stan. If you work with a lot of content creators for content production, influencers, etc, you need a centralized place to put all the pieces of content that you’re receiving. That’s where Air comes in. I can simply blast off a “content collection” form to 15 people and they can upload into it simply without me having to receive 10 WeTransfer links that expire, a random google drive link, and attachments in an email that take forever to download.

• Project management tools were the bane of my existence for so long, but over time, I started to like them. I personally use Asana for my own day to day, but most clients I work with are now on it and use it for cross-functional projects or just their individual workflows. I like using the “board” function to build a funnel for creators and what stage they are in so I can hold them accountable while giving the teams visibility into edits, final assets, etc.

  • When it comes to list building or a CRM, you guessed it, good ol’ Google Sheets.

BRAND OF THE WEEK: LMNT (AGAIN)

BOTW is when I pick a brand or product I love and tell you about it because it’s fun and we all need more sweet treats and beverages.

This week, the BOTW is LMNT. I have been a proud LMNT subscriber for months now as someone who is quite active and just loves the taste. I have one stick packet of their electrolytes every morning and afternoon.

However, I came home to a box from them that I was confused by. When I shook it, I heard a MOVING liquid and my heart rate increased as I thought “OMG A CANNED VERSION”. I ripped the box open on the floor of my lobby. Also, take this as a lesson in rewarding your subscribers with fun new products before everyone else, etc.

LMNT literally just launched their new sparkling electrolyte drinks and my gosh. They are perfect to throw in the fridge for a hot day, carry along to a class, and are not too sweet or too carbonated.

I think the grapefruit is my favorite or the new black cherry lime is also a vibe.

I cleared my pack of them in a few days, but I do plan on having these in my fridge.

Check them out here. Also, if you give their stick packs a try, the Raspberry and Watermelon are usually my go-to!

LOGGING OFF!

That’s this week’s first newsletter. I’ll see you later this week! If you have any specific questions around social media or creators, PLEASE hit the “reply” button and perhaps I’ll turn your questions into a full 1,700 word newsletter.

As always, if you have a co-worker, friend, family member, or anyone who would enjoy seeing this in their inbox, it would mean the world if you shared it. You can send this link to them: https://kendalldickieson.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Also, we are about 150 folks away from 1,000 (!!!!). I hate vanity metrics, but that just blows my mind. Thank you for letting me be inside of your inbox.

TTYL

-KD