𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡?

It’s like assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. Possible, but you might end up with a few extra pieces (or an upside-down shelf) 😅

Having braved this adventure at Asteri Beauty and Noon E-Commerce, I’ve gathered some top tips that kept me (mostly) sane:

☕ 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 ☕
You wouldn’t order a triple-shot, half-caf, soy latte for someone who loves black coffee. Dive deep into understanding your target audience before anything else. This will help you find influencers and KOLs within those circles.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 “𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞” 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼
Remember, influencers are humans (with better lighting). Building genuine relationships beats transactional emails every time. Take time to get to know them and how they operate. It’s about partnership, not just promotion

📊 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐏𝐒 📊
Guesswork is for game shows. Use analytics to guide your strategy, because “winging it” isn’t a strategy. From setting goals to measuring impact, let the numbers guide you.

💭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐢𝐠 💭
Pilot programs are a game-changer. In my first week at noon, I started with 30 micro-influencers and scaled to 1000+ in a year by testing different outreach strategies. They let you test ideas, learn what works, and scale up confidently.

🎨 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 🎨
The best campaigns often come from bold ideas. Don’t be afraid to pitch something unconventional (even if it makes your team go, “Wait, what?”)

💡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐲 💡
Jumping on every new platform or viral moment isn’t sustainable. Pick the trends that align with your goals and ignore the rest.

🥂 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐞 🥂
Collaborate across departments. Influencer marketing, PR, and social media go hand in hand. Your PR and social media folks might just have the missing puzzle piece.

🎯 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬 (𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲) 🎯
Whether it’s awareness, engagement, or sales, set clear goals upfront.
Bonus: It gives you a reason to celebrate when you hit them.

🌱 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 🌱
Align with influencers who share your brand values. Forced partnerships are like awkward first dates, everyone can tell

📝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧, 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭 📝
Not every campaign will be a blockbuster. And that’s okay. Analyze what didn’t work, tweak, and try again. Influencer marketing is always evolving, and so should your strategy

Building an influencer program from the ground up is a journey filled with memes, metrics, and the occasional mayhem. But hey, that’s what keeps it interesting! 😉