Dan Stevenson on what years of running influencer budgets have taught him: influence over followers, relationships over transactions.
I've spent years running influencer budgets. Here's what actually works, across creator partnerships and paid amplification of creator content.
Influence, not followers
You don't win because someone has followers. You win because someone has influence.
Big audience ≠ buying intent
High views ≠ revenue
"Viral" ≠ sustainable growth
Data matters, just not always the data people obsess over
The best insights rarely come from vanity metrics alone. They come from understanding which creators consistently drive outcomes, organically, in partnerships, and when spend is put behind content. That skillset comes from years of internal experience and a deep understanding of what the insights actually show.
What became obvious
After years of spending and testing, a few things became clear:
- Niche creators > celebrity creators (more often than people expect)
- Repetition > one-off sponsorships
- Creator authenticity > perfect brand control
- Relationships > transactions: the best talent stays longer when you invest in the relationship, and in a competitive market that often means better outcomes and lower costs over time
- Purposeful recruitment > mass spending
- Long-term thinking > short-term box ticking
Why we work this way
Most of these lessons came from years on the brand side, managing real budgets, performance pressure and growth targets. It's why we approach influencer marketing differently: not as a campaign to execute, but as a growth lever built on experience, relationships and commercial outcomes. Many agencies simply haven't lived that first-hand.
Learn more about how we build creator-led acquisition programmes through our influencer marketing service.