Types of creator partnerships for influencer programs

When you start building an influencer marketing program, one of the most crucial decisions you'll make as a marketer is deciding what creator partnerships are best going to serve your brand’s goals.

As the creator economy has diversified, so has the ways that brands can collaborate with creators on content—and reward them for their efforts. Today, there’s a broad range of partnership options to suit different business goals and budgets. To build a successful influencer program, you’ll need to understand what partnerships are available and how to scale and integrate these into your program.

In this chapter, we’re diving into the different creator partnerships that influencer marketers can leverage when building programs, and the pros and cons, and the best place for you to start.

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First up: What is a creator partnership in influencer marketing?

Creator partnerships make influencer marketing programs possible. Without talented creatives cultivating engaged audiences who trust their recommendations, influencer marketing as we know it wouldn’t exist (and neither would our jobs, for that matter!) Effective creator partnerships go beyond advertising and product placements; they integrate a brand's messaging seamlessly into the creator's style of content, providing value and entertainment to their audience while achieving certain objectives for the brand.

Partnerships can range from collaborations with micro-influencers with highly niche followings, to high-budget, omnichannel activations with massive creators—and everything in between.

But as Molly Savage explains, the creator economy is currently undergoing a rapid shift away from the high follower ‘celebrity’ influencers, in favor of niche creators with highly engaged audiences:

“Brands are starting to pivot the types of relationships they're having with creators. They're not just looking for the largest influencer or somebody with a million plus followers. They're looking to build meaningful long -term partnerships with creators who really understand the brand, whose audience is a good fit for the product they're talking about.”

Molly Savage, Omnichannel Growth Marketing Leader at Bobabam.

This means the type of programs available to influencer marketers are more diverse and flexible than ever before. Even if you’re at a small brand and your influencer program is in its early stages, you have a lot of options available to achieve your goals.

Let’s dive in!

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The types of creator partnerships you can explore

Affiliate programs

Affiliate programs are one of the most accessible ways for brands to begin partnering with creators. This will usually target a brand’s existing customer base, as these creators are already enthusiastic about your products and have a lot of incentive to engage, as Lauren from Dreamland Baby shares about their own program:

"All of these affiliates are commission based. They are our customers, so they are very excited about our product and they're sharing about us every single day. We offer them a discount that they can share with their audience via a link."

Lauren Maxwell, Director of Influencer Marketing at Dreamland Baby.

So, how do affiliate programs work in influencer marketing?

In affiliate programs, influencers earn a commission or discounts on sales generated through their unique discount code or link to share with their audience on social channels. Commissions and discounts incentivize affiliates to promote the brand. Affiliate programs may also be tiered, with higher commission rates unlocked as influencers hit higher revenue targets.

Affiliate programs are an excellent starting point for brands who are new to building influencer programs because they are low risk; you’re only paying creators when they deliver results. In sum, affiliate programs offer a great testing ground for trying out new social media channels and different types of content to see what resonates the resonate most with your audience.

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Ambassador programs

Unlike affiliate programs, ambassadors are not sourced from existing customers and are very much creator-first. These influencers have an ongoing relationship with your brand, and are chosen because they embody your values and aesthetics while sharing an aligned audience.

As we talked about in the previous chapter, ambassador programs are less about driving conversions, and more about generating brand awareness and engagement in relevant niches. Most importantly, ambassadors should have a well-developed social media presence and feel very comfortable creating authentic, values-driven content, as Lauren explains:

“They may have a little bit more followers, a higher engagement rate. Maybe they have a blog, they might have TikTok, they might have YouTube. We ask them to share on every channel, and then we give them more opportunities with a higher commission.”

Lauren Maxwell, Director of Influencer Marketing at Dreamland Baby.

Building a successful ambassador program relies on creating a strong sense of community among your creators. Unlike affiliate programs, where you want as many creators in the funnel as possible, ambassadors are a more select group. You don’t just want  an ambassador to be educated about your products, but also understand how their experiences and storytelling fit into your larger brand narrative.

(For more on building strong creator relationships, check out the dedicated chapter!)

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Don’t forget about program tiers!

Tiers add another layer of complexity to managing affiliate and ambassador programs, but are a sophisticated way to incentivize creator performance.

How do tiers work in influencer affiliate or ambassador programs? Tiered programs reward influencers for driving revenue with higher commission rates or benefits. Tiers help to gamify a creator program and incentivize influencers to remain active promoters of your product. Perks in higher program tiers can include everything from higher commission to early access to new products or bonus payouts for hitting a certain amount of referral revenue.

Colleen describes how their tiered ambassador program works at ClearSTEM:

"We do it in a tier three structure. So when you first get into the program, you're going to be in tier one, you get 10% commission. Once you've hit $2,500 in sales, you move on to tier two. In tier two, we provide you with a 15% commission. And then we cap out at $5,000 in sales. When you hit tier three, that's when you'll hit 20% commission."

Colleen Kelley, Director of Influencer Marketing & Brand Partnerships at ClearSTEM

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Paid partnerships

Paid partnerships sit at the top of the pyramid in your influencer marketing strategy. In this arrangement, creators are paid a flat fee upfront and don’t necessarily have any performance requirements.

So, what are the benefits of paid partnerships in influencer marketing? Because the creator is guaranteed compensation for posting, brands have a lot more control over the content and the messaging for a campaign. For the same reason, paid partnerships are generally easier to negotiate for usage rights for ads and whitelisting.

However, paid campaigns are a serious commitment and can take up a big chunk of your program budget. Typically, these are reserved for well-developed influencer programs where marketers have the budget to book higher-profile influencers with larger followings. These  partnerships should always be carefully considered, especially if they require buy-in from the Head of Marketing or C-suite, as outlined here by Lydia:

“So I think it's running models of how much you think you're gonna sell, how many people are gonna see it. Then we can evaluate the numbers and be like, okay, is this a well spent risk?”

Lydia Lee, Chief Executive Officer at For The Clout

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Leveraging user-generated content (UGC) creators

Although not a formal influencer program per say, maintaining relationships with dedicated UGC creators is another type of creator partnership that’s gaining traction, thanks to the growing popularity of paid media and whitelisting in influencer marketing.

So, how can user-generated content (UGC) be used in influencer programs?

Influencer marketers can partner with UGC creators to generate content specifically for use in paid media efforts, without the creator necessarily posting it on their own platforms. Combining UGC content with paid media enables brands to target specific demographics, retarget customers, and even reach new audiences who align with your ideal audience. As Sarah highlights:

"I love utilizing UGC creators throughout an entire marketing program and having creators that are completely dedicated to sending me content on a regular cadence. I'm not super worried about them posting it on their own channels, but I am worried about the quality and making sure that it's up to my brand's par so I can get consistent content coming in to use in digital marketing, whitelisting, email marketing—all of the good stuff!"

Sarah Crow, Head of Creator Success at Superfiliate.

When using UGC content in this way, it’s essential to establish clear guidelines for how the content is going to be used and what the whitelisting rights are. For more info, check out our dedicated chapters on the use of paid media in influencer partnerships.

Next steps: Building out a multi-faceted influencer program

Once you’ve gotten started with one type of creator partnership and found a formula that works, you can start looking that where you could expand your efforts into different partnerships or channels. Lauren summarizes this approach:

"I think it's really important to be able to work with every single creator on every channel. So whether you want to work with YouTube or TikTok or Instagram, podcasts, there's so many different ways that you can work with creators and just create a really robust partnership and influencer channel within your brand and your company."

Lauren Maxwell,  Director of Influencer Marketing at Dreamland Baby.

For example, affiliate and ambassador programs provide a strong foundation as you build out your influencer marketing efforts. You can then start bringing UGC creators into the mix to ensure a steady supply of quality, on-brand content that you can repurpose for whitelisting and paid media. Upfront paid partnerships are the biggest risk, but open up opportunities for more ambitious collaborations later on.

Your ideal mix of creator partnerships will depend on the overall goals for your influencer program, and for your brand as a whole. As your program scales, it’s important to keep testing and adjusting your mix based on the results. Remember: No matter what the type of partnership you select, the key to success is ALWAYS leveraging the creator's connection to their audience and incorporating authentic storytelling.

We’ve reached the end of the introduction section! Now, you have a good grounding in what types of creator partnerships exist and the role they play in your overall marketing strategy. Next, we’re moving onto how to build out those programs—and this starts with sourcing and vetting appropriate creators to partner with.

What are the different types of influencer partnerships?

Influencer partnerships or programs can be separated into a few main types:

• Affiliate programs. Commission-based partnerships where influencers (often customers) earn a percentage of sales they generate for a brand.
• Ambassador programs. Influencers with a higher profile who embody the brand's values and aesthetics, used to promote brand awareness and storytelling.
• Paid partnerships. Brands pay influencers upfront to create and post content.
• UGC partnerships. Influencers create content for the brand to use as part of various marketing efforts, without necessarily posting it themselves

Note that there may be crossovers between program types. For example, in paid partnerships, creators may still receive performance-based commission in addition to an upfront fee. A brand may also negotiate with an ambassador or affiliate to receive whitelisting rights to use their content in paid media campaigns.

What is the difference between affiliate and ambassador programs?

In affiliate programs, creators are not paid upfront for posting content. Their compensation is commission-based and focused on driving conversions. Affiliates are commonly pulled from your existing customer base, as these are fans of your brand and who enjoy talking about your products. Ambassadors are typically creators with higher followings who deeply embody a brand’s values and are used to increase brand awareness in particular cities or regions.

What are some best practices for building long-term creator partnerships?

When working with influencers, it’s important to focus on creators whose audience aligns with your target customer, rather than just the influencers with the largest followings. Instead of approaching partnerships on a per-post basis, commit to working with creators over a longer period of time and provide support through educational resources and growth opportunities to really cultivate that trusted relationship.