When you're meeting with an influencer marketing agency, one of the biggest questions you're prone to ask is "how long will it take to get this campaign up and running?" In the following post, you'll learn what standard influencer marketing timelines should look like as well as what variables you need to consider that could affect your desired start date.

Standard Influencer Marketing Timelines

At Carusele, as a general rule of thumb, we operate with a standard four-week prep time. This specifically means that from the day we get a signed contract to the time the first piece of content goes live, four weeks have passed. Again, this is just a general rule of thumb, but the nice part is it's quicker than a lot of other marketing tactics you'd you'd try to get up and running in a pinch.

Other Key Considerations

That said, every influencer marketing campaign is unique, and there are various things that could push out your launch date.

• Approvals - Does your brand need to approve everything? Every contract, every influencer, every piece of content? If so, factor in an additional two weeks.
• Trials - Does your influencer need to learn your product or experience your product before they post about it? We've executed a campaign for a vitamin company where influencers took the vitamins for 30 days prior to sharing their experiences. While not all campaigns require 30 days for this type of experience, you may need to add an additional week or two to your launch timeline.
• Travel - Do you want the influencer to travel somewhere? For destination brands or hotel brands, this will most likely be the case with any campaign you run. Take it easy on yourself and factor in at least two weeks, potentially longer, for these accommodations.
• Peak Periods - Is your campaign set to run during a peak season or event? This could be the most important variable of all. Consider the fact that it's currently August - but if you're looking to run a December holiday program, many influencers have already produced that content and have moved on. Another consideration would be an event like Fashion Week. Fashion Week is a time when tons of major fashion influencers are already booked and busy traveling. So, if you're looking at a peak period, you may want to triple the four-week rule and plan for at least 12 weeks. The sooner the better, especially for holiday programs, because then you'll also have a wider selection of really good influencers to choose from.

 
So again, four weeks is a good rule to start planning. Factor in longer all issues listed above and you'll be able to calculate how long it will take for you to get your influencer program up and running. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we'll help you plan your influencer marketing timelines.