One of the most frequently asked questions we get from companies is: ”how much does it cost to run an influencer marketing campaign?”. 

And every time we have to give them the disappointing, but true, answer: ”it depends”. 

There are a lot of factors determining the price tag of an influencer marketing campaign, and your objective, the product or service you are promoting and the audience you want to target with the campaign are only a few of them. 

On top of that you have to decide how much you are willing to invest in the channel (which might sound like the most obvious price determinant of all, but hear us out!). To quote one of the influencers we have worked with: ”The most expensive service you can buy from me is one publication”. In other words – doing one-offs is far more expensive than working more long-term with the same influencer.

And that is jut the tip of the iceberg. Some other factors that drive up the cost of an influencer marketing campaign include:

1️⃣ Heavy content Influencers do not only charge you for a spot in their feed, but also for the time it takes for them to produce the content. A high-quality YouTube video with lots of smooth transitions and special effects is a lot more time consuming to produce, and therefore also more expensive, than a single Instagram story sequence.

2️⃣ Mature target audience To reach a more mature target audience you typically have to collaborate with older influencers, which on average charge a higher rate than younger profiles.

3️⃣ Niched vertical If you are looking to collaborate with a very slim vertical of influencers that are coveted by many other brands it will, in accordance with the law of supply and demand, drive up the prices (finance and tech influencers for example are on average more expensive to collaborate with than the more common lifestyle and fashion influencers).

4️⃣ Controversial or complex product If your product or service is considered to be controversial or in any way difficult to understand, influencers will be hesitant to promoting it and as a result charge a higher price (this category of products/services includes online casinos, financial services, nicotine products etc.).

5️⃣ Fame over fortune It is not uncommon for companies to choose their influencers solely bases on who is currently the most popular one. A simple rule of thumb is: the more popular, the more expensive. 

To summarize... it is impossible to give a straight answer to the million dollar question asked by every single marketer: ”How much does influencer marketing cost?”. But make sure to keep an eye out for the cost drivers listed above in order to maintain (some) control over your spendings.