1. Decide what success means
Footfall for a new café, bookings for a studio, awareness for a launch — each needs a different kind of creator and content. Write down one primary objective before you contact anyone.
2. Choose fit over follower count
A creator whose audience is genuinely local and whose style suits your brand will usually do more for a neighbourhood business than a bigger account with a scattered audience. Ask creators for audience location and recent performance data from their own platform insights.
3. Agree the details in writing
- Deliverables: formats, number of posts, timelines.
- Usage rights: can you reuse the content in ads or on your website, and for how long?
- Approvals: how many rounds of feedback are included.
- Fees and what happens if a post is delayed.
4. Always disclose
In India, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines for influencer advertising and the government’s endorsement guidelines require paid or gifted collaborations to be clearly disclosed with labels such as “#ad”, “#collab” or “Sponsored”. Disclosure protects your brand’s credibility as much as the creator’s.
5. Measure honestly
Use what you can actually observe: unique offer codes, booking sources, link clicks and the creator’s shared insights. Avoid judging a campaign on a single vanity metric.
