Do I Need an Influencer Management Agency? When to Join & When to Do It Alone
Being an influencer or creator can be demanding. Securing brand partnerships, planning content calendars, executing video shoots, editing, and more all fall on your shoulders. While the role certainly comes with many advantages, working solo isn’t for everyone. That’s where an influencer management agency steps in.
Just getting started in your creator career? Already a seasoned pro? No matter where you are on your journey, influencer agencies can help you navigate partnerships and contracts and can open other doors you didn’t know were possible.
Key Takeaways
- Influencer agencies handle the business side so creators can focus on the creative.
- Hiring an influencer agency comes with many benefits, including access to more opportunities and services, including in-house legal and accounting support.
- Agencies vary, so finding the right one is paramount.
What Does an Influencer Management Agency Do?
An influencer management agency handles the business side of creator careers, letting them do what they do best—create. From negotiating contracts to insights reports, joining an influencer agency can simplify your career.
Here’s what you can expect:
- Negotiate Partnerships: Influencer agencies represent influencers, negotiating contracts with brands to ensure the influencer’s interests are protected and they’re compensated fairly.
- Pitch Brands: Agencies facilitate partnerships between influencers and brands that align with the influencer’s image and audience interests. Collaborative marketing campaigns are more successful when things feel more natural.
- Strategic Guidance: Providing strategic advice on content creation, audience growth, and brand positions, creator agencies can help maximize engagement and reach.
- Invoices: A good agency will ensure you get paid for your work. They’ll do the invoicing and follow up for you, so it’s one less thing you need to worry about.
- Legal Services: Agencies can connect influencers with legal advice or have in-house lawyers. This advice can help influencers comply with regulations and ensure they’re fulfilling contractual obligations.
- Insight Reports: Track insights across all platforms you use to fully understand the impact of your campaigns.
Why Work with an Influencer Agency?
Working alone comes with benefits such as flexibility and autonomy, and you may find that without the need to consult an agency, decision-making is streamlined. With that said, for those seeking more support in their careers, hiring an influencer management agency is an easy choice. Here’s why:
Benefits of Hiring an Influencer Management Agency
- Professional Representation: Seasoned agencies bring a level of professional and industry expertise that’s crucial in negotiations. They’ll help you secure fair contracts and better deals with brands, leveraging their experience and relationships in the industry.
- Access to More Opportunities: Because agencies often have connections with larger brands, they give smaller influencers access to opportunities that might have been difficult to secure independently.
- Strategic Advice: Micro influencers, or those just starting out may benefit from guidance on content creation, audience engagement, and personal branding. Since agencies have expert knowledge of industry insights, they can help influencers stay relevant and grow effectively.
- Time Management: Managing negotiations, contracts, and collabs can be time-consuming. When agencies take on these tasks for you, you can focus more on content creation.
- Crisis Management: If public relations issues arise, agencies can help manage the situation, offering advice to help mitigate negative impact.
- Scaling Operations: As your career grows, an influencer management agency can help scale your operations, helping you increase content production or enter new markets.
- Access to Tools: Many agencies subscribe to tools that can help elevate your brand. From media kit generators like July to project management tools like Digitote, these resources keep everything organized and professional.
How To Choose the Right Influencer Management Agency
Google the words “influencer management agency” and you’ll see a list of seemingly endless results. So how do you go about finding the right one for your niche, needs, and preferences?
- Define Your Needs & Goals
You may already know what niche you fall into. If you don’t, it’s a good idea to at least identify the ones you’re participating in. Some influencer management agencies specialize in a certain niche like travel influencer marketing, while others are broader.
Setting clear goals about what you’d like to achieve is also important as it will help you determine if an agency can help you reach them. Whether it’s increasing your audience, securing higher-paying partnerships, or expanding into new markets, the more detailed you get, the better.
- Research Agencies
Find agencies that specialize in your niche or have worked with influencers similar to you. Check out their reviews, client lists, brand partnerships, and influencer marketing campaigns. Considering company size is also important. Boutique agencies are often a better fit for many as they have smaller rosters.
To recap, look out for:
- Agencies that specialize in your niche
- Reviews and testimonials
- Past brand partnerships and campaigns
- Company size
- Ask Questions
What questions should I ask an influencer management agency? We say, the more the better—just be sure to book a face-to-face meeting (virtual is ok) to truly understand their vibe. Some questions to ask include:
- What is your experience with influencers in my niche?
- What kinds of brands have you worked with and do you have any exclusive partnerships?
- What is the typical contract term, and what are the termination conditions?
- How do you handle brand partnerships and negotiations?
- How do you make commission on influencer marketing campaigns?
- Who will be my point of contact, and how often will we communicate?
- How do you support influencers in times of crisis?
- Can you help with content strategy and scheduling?
- Negotiate a Trial
If possible, ask for a trial period to get to know the company before you make any big decisions. Signing a short-term agreement allows you (and the company) to test the relationship to ensure it’s a good fit.
Find Your Dream Team
Looking for a trustworthy, reliable, and small but mighty influencer management agency? Get in touch with the expert team at MODERNSPEAK. Based in Calgary, Alberta, we represent a powerful roster of talented creators, specializing in travel, tech, and lifestyle industries across the U.S. and Canada.
Find out if we’re the right fit by emailing hello@modernspeak.co or calling 1-403-991-4988.
FAQ
How will I get hired as an influencer on your roster?
Once you’re part of the MODERNSPEAK team, we’ll help with profile building to help you craft a compelling media kit and refine your personal brand to ensure consistency. We’ll actively pitch your portfolio to brands that align with your image and values, and use our network to secure partnerships.
From there, we’ll handle inbound requests, deal negotiation, campaign management, post-campaign analysis, and continual promotion.
It's important to us that you find a great talent manager! We start our relationship with a 3-month trial period to ensure the arrangement is right for our creators and our team.
