--- name: sales-influencer-marketing description: "Influencer marketing strategy across platforms — creator discovery, audience vetting, campaign tracking, ROI measurement, outreach, gifting, and affiliate programs. Covers platform comparison (Modash, influData, Creator.co, Hypefy, LTK, Influencity, Meltwater, Skeepers, Heepsy, CreatorIQ, NeoReach, Afluencer, Collabstr, Cloutboost, House of Marketers, Famesters, inBeat, HypeAuditor, Aspire, Influencer Hero, InstaJet, Open Influence, Viral Nation, trendHERO, Upfluence, GRIN, PlutoBa), discovery workflow (search, filters, lookalikes, audience analysis), vetting framework (fake followers, engagement authenticity, audience demographics), campaign setup and tracking (EMV, ROAS, CPM, sales attribution), creator outreach (email templates, negotiation, rate cards), product gifting and seeding, influencer affiliate programs, and creator payments. Use when unsure which influencer platform to pick, can't find the right creators for your niche, worried about fake followers or inflated metrics, campaign results aren't being tracked properly, creators aren't responding to outreach, or influencer spend isn't showing ROI. Do NOT use for platform-specific config (use /sales-modash, /sales-infludata, /sales-creatorco, /sales-hypefy, /sales-ltk, /sales-influencity, /sales-meltwater, /sales-brandwatch, /sales-skeepers, /sales-heepsy, /sales-creatoriq, /sales-neoreach, /sales-afluencer, /sales-collabstr, /sales-cloutboost, /sales-houseofmarketers, /sales-famesters, /sales-inbeat, /sales-hypeauditor, /sales-aspire, /sales-influencer-hero, /sales-instajet, /sales-openinfluence, /sales-viralnation, /sales-trendhero, /sales-upfluence, /sales-grin, or /sales-plutoba), TikTok marketing strategy (use /sales-tiktok-marketing), gaming influencer marketing strategy (use /sales-gaming-marketing), ad campaign strategy (use /sales-retargeting), or email marketing to subscribers (use /sales-email-marketing)." argument-hint: "[describe your influencer marketing question — e.g., 'how do I find micro-influencers for my skincare brand' or 'what metrics should I track for influencer campaigns']" license: MIT version: 1.0.0 tags: [sales, influencer-marketing, creator-discovery, campaign-tracking, strategy] --- # Influencer Marketing Strategy Helps the user plan and execute influencer marketing programs across platforms — from choosing the right tool and finding creators through vetting, outreach, campaign tracking, and ROI measurement. ## Step 1 — Gather context If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge. Ask the user: 1. **What do you need help with?** - A) Choosing an influencer marketing platform - B) Finding and discovering creators - C) Vetting influencers (fake followers, audience quality) - D) Outreach to creators (emails, DMs, negotiation) - E) Product gifting / seeding program - F) Campaign tracking and ROI measurement - G) Influencer affiliate program setup - H) Creator payments and contracts - I) Something else — describe it 2. **What's your business type?** - A) Ecommerce / Shopify store - B) DTC brand - C) SaaS / B2B - D) Agency managing multiple clients - E) Other — describe it 3. **What's your current setup?** - A) Starting from scratch — no influencer program yet - B) Manual process (spreadsheets, DMs, no tooling) - C) Already using a platform — which one? - D) Looking to switch platforms 4. **Budget and scale?** - A) Small (under $1K/mo, handful of creators) - B) Medium ($1K-5K/mo, 20-50 creators) - C) Large ($5K+/mo, 50+ creators) - D) Not sure yet **If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step.** Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end. ## Step 2 — Route or answer directly If the request maps to a platform-specific skill, route: - Modash setup, config, or features → `/sales-modash` - influData setup, config, or features → `/sales-infludata` - Creator.co setup, config, or features → `/sales-creatorco` - Hypefy setup, config, or features → `/sales-hypefy` - LTK setup, config, or features → `/sales-ltk` - Influencity setup, config, or features → `/sales-influencity` - Meltwater setup, config, or features → `/sales-meltwater` - Skeepers setup, config, or features → `/sales-skeepers` - Heepsy setup, config, or features → `/sales-heepsy` - CreatorIQ setup, config, or features → `/sales-creatoriq` - Afluencer setup, config, or features → `/sales-afluencer` - Collabstr setup, config, or features → `/sales-collabstr` - Cloutboost setup, config, or features → `/sales-cloutboost` - House of Marketers agency services → `/sales-houseofmarketers` - NeoReach setup, config, or features → `/sales-neoreach` - inBeat agency services or free toolkit → `/sales-inbeat` - Famesters agency services → `/sales-famesters` - Open Influence setup, config, or agency services → `/sales-openinfluence` - Viral Nation setup, CreatorOS, Secure, or agency services → `/sales-viralnation` - trendHERO setup, config, or features → `/sales-trendhero` - TikTok marketing strategy (organic, paid, content) → `/sales-tiktok-marketing` - Gaming influencer marketing strategy → `/sales-gaming-marketing` - HypeAuditor setup, config, or features → `/sales-hypeauditor` - Aspire setup, config, or features → `/sales-aspire` - Influencer Hero setup, config, or features → `/sales-influencer-hero` - Later Influence setup, config, or features → `/sales-later` - Sprout Social influencer features → `/sales-sproutsocial` - Upfluence setup, Live Capture, Jaice AI, affiliate/promo codes → `/sales-upfluence` - GRIN setup, config, or features → `/sales-grin` - PlutoBa vetting, PlutoBa Score, brand safety, rate benchmarks → `/sales-plutoba` - FansRevenue setup, creator monetization, or brand partnerships → `/sales-fansrevenue` - Affiliate program design (not influencer-specific) → `/sales-affiliate-program` - UGC galleries / shoppable content → `/sales-tagshop` - Ad campaign strategy → `/sales-retargeting` or `/sales-b2b-advertising` - Email marketing to subscribers → `/sales-email-marketing` Otherwise, answer directly from the strategy knowledge below. ## Step 3 — Influencer marketing strategy reference **Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for detailed platform comparison tables, discovery workflows, vetting frameworks, outreach best practices, rate benchmarks, gifting programs, campaign tracking, and affiliate program guidance. *You no longer need the platform guide details — focus on the user's specific situation.* ## Step 4 — Actionable guidance 1. **Platform recommendation** — which tool fits their needs, budget, and tech stack 2. **Discovery playbook** — step-by-step search and filtering strategy 3. **Vetting checklist** — ordered checks to efficiently qualify creators 4. **Outreach templates** — personalized email/DM drafts for their specific situation 5. **Campaign plan** — tracking setup, metrics, reporting cadence 6. **Program design** — gifting, affiliate, or hybrid program structure ## Gotchas *Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about pricing and platform capabilities that may change.* - **Fake follower rates are high across the industry.** ~37% of influencer followers are estimated to be fake or bot accounts (2025 data). Never skip the vetting step, even for creators who look legitimate at first glance. - **Response rates are low.** Expect 20-30% response rates on cold creator outreach. Build your shortlist at 3-5x your target number of creators. Personalization significantly improves response rates. - **Micro-influencers outperform macro for ROI.** Creators with 10K-100K followers consistently deliver higher engagement rates and better ROAS for ecommerce brands. Don't chase follower counts. - **Gifting ≠ guaranteed content.** No-strings gifting has a 30-50% post rate. If you need guaranteed posts, use paid partnerships or contracted gifting with clear deliverables. - **Platform databases overlap.** Modash, influData, and Creator.co all index public profiles from the same social platforms. The differentiation is in analytics depth, workflow tools, and integrations — not the raw creator database. - **API costs add up fast.** Both Modash and influData charge separately for API access. If you only need discovery + management, use the platform UI rather than paying for API access on top. - **Self-improving**: If you discover something not covered here, append it to `references/learnings.md` with today's date. ## Before recommending a specific platform skill This skill covers a strategy domain across many platforms. **Before pointing the user to any specific platform skill** (any `/sales-{platform}` listed in `## Related skills`, e.g., `/sales-mailshake`, `/sales-klaviyo`, `/sales-apollo`), read that platform skill's actual `SKILL.md` first. The 1-line description in `## Related skills` is enough to *identify* a candidate — it's not enough to *commit* to it or to write a prompt that invokes it well. **How to read it:** - If `~/.claude/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md` exists locally, `Read` it. - For `sales-*` skills, `WebFetch` directly from this repo: `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sales-skills/sales/main/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md` — e.g., for `sales-mailshake`: `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sales-skills/sales/main/skills/sales-mailshake/SKILL.md`. - For non-`sales-*` skills (third-party), look up `{org}/{repo}` in `~/.claude/skills/sales-do/references/skill-sources.md` if installed and fetch the same `skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md` path under that repo. **After reading,** ground your recommendation in something concrete from the SKILL.md (its scope, a sub-flow, its `argument-hint` shape, or a "Do NOT use for..." negative trigger). Align any generated invocation with the platform skill's `argument-hint`. If the platform skill turns out not to fit the user's situation, swap to another or handle the question here directly rather than recommending a poor fit. ## Related skills - `/sales-modash` — Modash platform help — discovery, tracking, Shopify gifting, payments, API - `/sales-infludata` — influData platform help — AI creator search, audience analysis, social listening - `/sales-creatorco` — Creator.co platform help — London AI agent, UGC rights, affiliate tracking - `/sales-hypefy` — Hypefy platform help — AI campaign automation, zero-subscription pricing, content review, payments - `/sales-ltk` — LTK platform help — creator commerce, Brand Platform, Connect campaigns, Ads, Boost, CTV - `/sales-influencity` — Influencity platform help — 200M+ creators, IRM, campaigns, Social Hub, Monitoring, Shopify gifting - `/sales-brandwatch` — Brandwatch platform help — Consumer Intelligence, Social Media Management, Influence (influencer module), API - `/sales-meltwater` — Meltwater platform help — media intelligence, social listening, influencer marketing, API - `/sales-skeepers` — Skeepers platform help — UGC suite (Verified Reviews, Influencer Marketing, Feedback Management, Brand Communities) - `/sales-heepsy` — Heepsy platform help — influencer discovery (11M+ profiles), analytics, campaigns, CRM, Shopify integration - `/sales-creatoriq` — CreatorIQ platform help — enterprise influencer OS, Creator Graph, SafeIQ, BenchmarkIQ, ExchangeIQ API - `/sales-afluencer` — Afluencer platform help — micro-influencer marketplace, Collab listings, Shopify gifting - `/sales-collabstr` — Collabstr platform help — influencer and UGC creator marketplace, escrow payments, campaign posting - `/sales-cloutboost` — Cloutboost platform help — gaming influencer discovery (1.5M+ creators), campaign management, retargeting, PR - `/sales-houseofmarketers` — House of Marketers platform help — TikTok-focused agency, influencer campaigns, paid ads, content creation - `/sales-neoreach` — NeoReach platform help — enterprise influencer marketing, 3M+ creators, AI discovery, fraud detection, IMV analytics, REST API - `/sales-inbeat` — inBeat platform help — creative growth agency (influencer, UGC, paid media, performance creative), free marketing toolkit - `/sales-famesters` — Famesters platform help — full-cycle influencer agency (gaming, fintech, iGaming, apps), BuzzGuru analytics - `/sales-hypeauditor` — HypeAuditor platform help — AI analytics, fraud detection (53 patterns), Discovery (223.6M+ profiles), Campaign Management, API - `/sales-aspire` — Aspire platform help — word-of-mouth commerce, product seeding, affiliate tracking, UGC, paid social - `/sales-influencer-hero` — Influencer Hero platform help — all-in-one influencer marketing, 200M+ profiles, automated outreach, CRM, affiliate tracking, product gifting, API - `/sales-instajet` — InstaJet.io platform help — Instagram Stories influencer marketplace, 10K+ vetted creators, escrow payments, managed service - `/sales-openinfluence` — Open Influence platform help — AI-powered influencer agency + SaaS, image recognition search, paid media amplification, Studio OI - `/sales-viralnation` — Viral Nation platform help — enterprise influencer agency + SaaS, CreatorOS campaign management, Secure AI brand safety, talent representation - `/sales-upfluence` — Upfluence platform help — influencer and affiliate marketing for ecommerce, Live Capture, Jaice AI, commission-free affiliate tracking - `/sales-grin` — GRIN platform help — creator management, discovery, gifting, affiliate hub, social listening, Gia AI agent - `/sales-trendhero` — trendHERO platform help — Instagram influencer analytics, 95M+ profiles, AQS fake follower detection, Ads Database, REST API - `/sales-tiktok-marketing` — TikTok marketing strategy — organic growth, paid ads, content creation, influencer strategy, algorithm - `/sales-gaming-marketing` — Gaming influencer marketing strategy — streamer partnerships, game launch campaigns, budget allocation - `/sales-later` — Later platform help — includes Later Influence (influencer discovery, campaigns, content review, Reporting API) - `/sales-sproutsocial` — Sprout Social platform help — includes Influencer Marketing module (Tagger acquisition) - `/sales-tagshop` — UGC video ads and shoppable galleries for ecommerce - `/sales-affiliate-program` — Affiliate and referral program design (strategy, not platform-specific) - `/sales-fansrevenue` — FansRevenue platform help — creator monetization through affiliate brand promotion, CrakRevenue network - `/sales-plutoba` — PlutoBa platform help — AI influencer vetting, fake follower detection, brand safety scoring, rate benchmarks - `/sales-zoomd` — Zoomd platform help — mobile UA with integrated CGC creator content production - `/sales-retargeting` — Retargeting campaign audiences from influencer content - `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do` ## Examples ### Example 1: Choose an influencer marketing platform **User says**: "I run a Shopify DTC brand and want to start working with influencers. Which platform should I use?" **Skill does**: 1. Asks about budget, scale, and priorities (discovery vs. outreach automation vs. analytics) 2. Compares Modash, influData, and Creator.co on relevant dimensions 3. Recommends Modash for Shopify-first brands wanting gifting + affiliate tracking in one workflow 4. Notes Creator.co if they want AI-automated outreach, influData if they need deep analytics **Result**: Clear platform recommendation with reasoning matched to their specific situation ### Example 2: Build a micro-influencer gifting program **User says**: "I want to send free products to 50 micro-influencers and track who posts about it" **Skill does**: 1. Designs the gifting program: product selection, no-strings vs. contracted, expectations 2. Walks through discovery workflow to find 150-250 candidates (3-5x target for response rates) 3. Provides outreach template for gifting offers 4. Sets up tracking: content monitoring, post rate tracking, EMV calculation 5. Recommends Modash for Shopify gifting automation or manual process for smaller budgets **Result**: Complete gifting program plan from discovery through tracking ### Example 3: Measure influencer campaign ROI **User says**: "I spent $10K on influencer campaigns last quarter — how do I know if it worked?" **Skill does**: 1. Identifies what tracking was in place (promo codes, UTMs, affiliate links, or none) 2. Calculates available metrics: ROAS from promo code sales, EMV from content reach, CPA 3. Benchmarks results against industry averages ($5.78 per $1 spent) 4. Recommends attribution setup for future campaigns to get better data 5. Suggests A/B testing creators and content types to optimize spend **Result**: ROI analysis with specific recommendations for improving measurement going forward ## Troubleshooting ### Low response rate on creator outreach **Symptom**: Sending outreach to 100+ creators but getting under 10% response **Cause**: Generic messaging, wrong creator-brand fit, or reaching non-opted-in creators who aren't expecting brand outreach **Solution**: Personalize every message (reference specific content), verify creator-brand alignment before outreach, try DMs in addition to email, and consider platforms with opt-in marketplaces (Creator.co) for higher response rates. Test different offer types (paid vs. gifting vs. affiliate). ### Can't tell if an influencer is worth the price **Symptom**: Creator is asking for $X but you're unsure if the audience quality justifies it **Cause**: Missing data on audience authenticity, demographics, and past performance **Solution**: Run through the full vetting framework: check fake follower %, audience demographics, engagement quality (not just rate), and ask the creator for their media kit with past campaign performance data. Compare their rate to the benchmarks in this guide. Propose a paid test (one post) before committing to a larger deal. ### Campaign ran but no measurable sales **Symptom**: Influencer posted, got engagement, but no sales showed up **Cause**: Missing attribution (no promo codes or tracking links), wrong audience fit, or content didn't drive purchase intent **Solution**: For future campaigns, always set up promo codes or affiliate links before content goes live. Add post-purchase surveys ("How did you hear about us?") to catch untracked conversions. Review whether the creator's audience matches your buyer persona — high engagement with the wrong audience won't convert.