With over 2.7 billion active users, YouTube is the second most-used social media platform, making it an important channel for advertisers to promote their products and services. As the platform has rapidly grown, a new generation of YouTube influencers—from beauty vloggers to tech reviewers—has emerged, making it an invaluable tool for brands to reach large, engaged audiences through authentic, relatable content.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of organizing a successful YouTube influencer marketing campaign. We’ll combine insights with a real-world case study from one of our clients, showcasing key performance indicators (KPIs), statistics, free templates, and much more to help you craft a winning strategy.
Below are some other useful statistics for marketers and advertisers looking to expand their marketing efforts on YouTube:
Before we explain how to implement a YouTube influencer marketing campaign, we will start explaining some of the basis of YouTube influencer marketing first. If you prefer to skip to how to organize a YouTube influencer marketing campaign in combination with our case study, click here.
YouTube influencer marketing involves brands collaborating with popular YouTube creators to promote products or services through authentic and engaging content.
Influencers create videos that showcase, review, or incorporate a brand's offerings, leveraging their credibility and audience trust to drive brand awareness and conversions. This marketing strategy taps into the influencer's loyal fan base, making it an effective way to reach targeted demographics and achieve marketing goals through a powerful video platform.
These are some of the most important benefits and reasons your brand should implement a YouTube influencer marketing strategy:
Compared to other social media platforms e.g. Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat, YouTube offers long-form video content, which is ideal for more in-depth product reviews and how to use your product videos. This is key to engage customers who are doing research and looking for more information about your product or service.
Influencer collaborations on YouTube can enhance your brand's SEO by increasing backlinks, driving traffic, and improving your online presence. The more your brand is mentioned and linked in high-quality, relevant content, the better your search engine rankings and overall online visibility. As YouTube is owned by Google, its videos often rank in SERPs, which could lead to additional long-term traffic and exposure.
YouTube has over 2.7 billion active users, making it one of the largest platforms for reaching a global audience. By collaborating with influencers, brands can tap into this vast user base, ensuring their message reaches millions of potential customers.
YouTube influencers often have deeply engaged followers who trust their opinions. This trust translates into higher engagement rates, as audiences are more likely to like, comment, share, and act on the content, driving more meaningful interactions with your brand.
Influencers are known for creating authentic, relatable content that resonates with their audience. This authenticity helps brands convey their message in a way that feels genuine, increasing the likelihood of positive reception and trust from viewers.
YouTube influencers cater to specific niches, allowing brands to target particular demographics with precision. Whether you're aiming at a specific age group, interest, or geographic location, influencer partnerships can help you reach your ideal audience more effectively.
Compared to traditional advertising, YouTube influencer marketing can be more cost-effective, especially for smaller brands. You can work with micro or nano influencers who have a dedicated following, often at a fraction of the cost of larger advertising campaigns, while still achieving significant results.
There are also a lot of creative ways to improve your performance, as it essentially comes down to your negotiation skills. We will discuss some of these strategies later in this article.
Due to the evergreen type of content on YouTube, influencer marketing on YouTube provides ongoing visibility and impact long after the initial campaign. As viewers continue to discover and watch the content, your brand can enjoy long-term benefits, including sustained traffic, engagement, and sales.
Before we explain how to implement a successful YouTube influencer campaign, it is important to have a good understanding of what performance you can expect. What we explain here is rarely shared and is based on our experience having helped brands to partner with over 30K influencers over the past 7 years.
It is important to understand that influencer marketing follows a very strong power law distribution. We constantly refer to the 80/20 principle which is even more profound in which we see that around 5% of the influencers typically generate over 80% of the revenues. There are certain influencers that can generate a significant amount of sales while others aren’t.
Below is an example of one of our clients. The table shows the top 10 best-performing influencers out of 154 partnerships. Revenue is in USD.
Out of the 154 creators who published a video:
The reason the table shows the revenue in October and December is because the conversions come through over a longer period of time due to the evergreen nature of the content.
You can read more about this example in our $100K+ YouTube Influencer campaign case study here.
Based on what we explained in the previous section, you ideally want to keep your cost low in the early stages, where you first test which YouTube influencers are able to sell. Below are some tips on how you could reduce cost in these early stages when you try to identify the YouTubers who perform:
If the main objective is performance / conversions you ideally want to start with an affiliate & gifting campaign.
The answer is yes. Although the onboarding rate for gifting campaigns is lower compared to Instagram or TikTok, if communicated correctly, YouTube influencers do accept affiliate & gifting campaigns. We typically see an acceptance rate of around 10%. Below is an example of one of our clients’ campaigns where we achieved an 11% onboarding rate.
The reason you want to start with an affiliate & gifting campaign is that it allows you to keep your cost low in the beginning stage, where you are simply trying to identify the influencers who are able to sell.
IMPORTANT: The majority of the ROI comes from the influencers who perform well and the long-term relationship with these influencers.
One of the biggest reasons brands fail with influencer marketing is that they don’t understand the long-term impact of influencer marketing. Try to avoid looking at ROI based on the first video you receive but rather attach a lifetime value on your performing influencers.
If, for example a YouTuber sold $5K worth of products in their initial video, the main value comes from the fact that you now know that this influencer can sell around $5K in each video. If you then agree with this influencer to one video per month, you can expect around $60K in sales over the next 12 months ($5K X 12 months). In reality it will be even more as sales continue to increase over time with YouTube. We will explain this more in detail later in the article.
In summary, if you want to maximise ROI with YouTube influencer marketing, follow these steps:
Now let's take a look at how you can implement a successful YouTube influencer marketing campaign
Before you start it is important to clearly define your goal. Determine what you want to achieve—whether it's brand awareness, lead generation, sales, or engagement. A well-defined goal will guide your strategy and help you to structure your campaign to achieve this objective. Being specific about your objectives ensures that every action taken aligns with your desired outcome, maximizing your campaign's effectiveness.
In this article, we will mainly focus on performance-driven influencer marketing, where conversions are the primary objective. Throughout the article, we will also explain how you can structure your campaign more from a branding and top-of-funnel brand awareness perspective, but the main focus will revolve around maximizing conversions.
There are different ways to find the right YouTube influencers to partner with. Read more in detail on how to find YouTube influencers here.
If you want to save time and use more detailed search capabilities, an influencer marketing software can be helpful. With Influencer Hero, for example, you can use the following filters to find the right YouTube influencers to partner with:
The lookalike filter is especially useful to find the right YouTube influencers. Simply add in one ideal channel, and the AI will create a list of similar channels, making it easy to quickly find relevant influencers.
Below are some of the most important metrics each marketer should analyze when deciding which YouTube influencers to partner with.
To analyze these metrics you can use our free YouTube engagement rate calculator here.
Below are some additional things you should consider when deciding which influencers to partner with.
Ensure the influencer's content aligns with your brand values and message. Their audience should have an organic interest in what your brand offers.
Look for influencers who have a genuine connection with their audience. Authentic creators often have more trust and influence, leading to more impactful campaigns.
Review the influencer’s past brand collaborations. Check if they've worked with competitors or have over-promoted brands, which could lead to audience fatigue.
High-quality production values can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived. Choose influencers who consistently produce visually appealing and well-edited content.
Influencers who post regularly are more likely to maintain an engaged audience. Consistent content also means your campaign will reach more viewers over time.
Look for influencers who can create various content types, like tutorials, reviews, or vlogs. This versatility allows you to experiment with different formats within your campaign.
Ensure that the influencer’s audience demographics match your target market. Consider factors like age, location, and interests to ensure alignment with your campaign goals.
Now that you have decided which influencers you want to partner with, it is time to contact them.
How you structure your outreach email depends on the type of campaign you want to implement. In this example, we will show how we helped one of our clients implement a performance-driven YouTube influencer campaign.
We recommended the client start with an affiliate & gifting campaign to keep costs low and use the following outreach template.
SUBJECT: {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }} – ENTER YOUR BRAND NAME Partnership
Hi {{ firstname|default(influencer_handle) }},
{{personalized_sentence}}
My name is ENTER YOUR NAME and I’m from ENTER YOUR COMPANY NAME. We are ADD ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION ABOUT YOUR BRAND. We are looking for potential partnerships and we love the video content on your YouTube account {{influencer_handle}}!
It would be awesome if you could test our ENTER YOUR PRODUCT.
HIGHLIGHT YOUR USP AND YOUR PRODUCT IN ONE SENTENCE
I'm happy to send you one ENTER YOUR PRODUCT for you to test and share with your subscribers. We also offer a 20% commission or a discount code to give out to your subscribers. Please get back to me if you are interested in this opportunity.
Can I send you one of the ENTER YOUR PRODUCT?
Thanks!
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
Access all our A/B tested YouTube influencer communication templates (including outreach, follow-ups, negotiation, onboarding and relationship management templates) for free here.
How To Improve Your YouTube Influencer Outreach H4
With Influencer Hero, you can automate the personalization. Our AI will look at the last 3 videos on YouTube and create a personalized sentence based on this.
The easiest way to maximise your reply rates is: sending follow ups. The tips above will improve your reply rate as well, but simply using follow-ups will double your reply rates. We recommend 2-3 follow-ups.
Remember, influencers are busy. You are competing for their attention with thousands of fans and other brands. They might have missed your first email, so always make sure to use follow-ups.
With Influencer Hero, you can automate this process by creating automated drip campaigns. You can schedule the emails, and the system will automatically send out the outreach and follow-ups (if there is no reply).
If you use all the tips outlined in this article you can expect a reply rate of around 25 - 30%. In fact, we are typically able to achieve a reply rate of 30%+. Below is an example of a campaign we conducted for one of our clients.
The funnel looked as follows:
It is important to keep in mind that this campaign was an affiliate & gifting campaign hence the low onboarding rate and posting rate.
If you work with fixed payments, all metrics are higher, especially the onboarding rate.
Looking at the screenshot above, you might be asking yourself only 60% of the influencers posted isn’t this a waste?
It is indeed true that we sent out a free product to 242 YouTube influencers, out of which only 154 posted. First of all, this is primarily because it was an affiliate & gifting campaign. If you work with fixed payments, the numbers look completely different, which we will explain in a second.
The benefit of gifting & affiliate campaigns are lower costs the drawback is that you can’t force the influencer to post about you. The best thing you can do is to minimize the non posting rate.
Below are some tips to reduce the number of influencers who don’t end up posting.
Clearly state in your communication that you would like to offer a free product + affiliate in exchange for a post. Avoid keeping this vague, and don’t mention that they only have to post if they like the product.
This should be common sense, but by mentioning it can reduce the posting rate. Although this is not legally binding, it will help to reduce the non posting rate. Below is an example template we use for influencers who agree to join the campaign.
Hi {{firstname}},
Thank you so much for your response. We're glad you're interested in this collaboration.
For this first collaboration, you would receive an ENTER PRODUCT NAME to keep + ENTER % COMMISSION YOU OFFER commission and/or discount code in exchange for a YouTube video with your link & code.
If this trial video content goes well, you can expect us to make an offer based on your video performance which includes fixed payments or our brand ambassador program.
If this works for you, please provide your shipping details including your full name and contact number so I can send you our ENTER PRODUCT NAME.
Looking forward to your response :)
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
As you can see from the email we clearly state that we would like to receive a video in exchange for the free product and affiliate commission.
If you take 2-3 days to reply to the influencer email, the influencer will do the same and also take more time to post as they think it isn’t urgent. This might lead them to forget about it all together. Avoid this by replying to the influencer swiftly.
Same as with the response you want to make sure that the whole process is structured swiftly without delays. If you don’t have your inventory in order and the influencers need to wait 2 weeks after reaching out to them, it will give the impression that things aren’t urgent. This can lead to the influencer taking more time to create the video and lead to lower posting rates.
Most importantly, send reminders and follow-ups to check up on the influencer. Once your product has arrived, send an email to inform them that you saw that the product arrived. Then gently ask for a timeline when you expect the video.
It is important to avoid coming over as pushy, but you also want to avoid giving the impression that you aren’t on top of things, as this could lead to higher no-posting rates.
If you don’t receive a reply after you send out the product it could be a sign that the influencer won’t post. However, this doesn’t have to be the case; they might have simply missed your email. Make sure to send follow-ups. We typically send follow-up sequences of 5-6 emails. Using Influencer Hero, you can automate this process by using automated drip emails.
Although you are indeed losing money on the influencers who don’t end up posting, it all comes down to the average ROI of your campaign. Although your non-posting rate will be significantly lower or close to 0% if you work with fixed payments, the fixed payments will lead to higher costs which puts pressure on your ROI.
In fact this specific campaign was highly profitable for our client.
As you can see from the screenshot above, we achieved the following results:
To read about the exact ROI of this campaign access the full YouTube influencer case study here.
Now that we have clarified non-posting rates, let's get back to the campaign. We discussed how to maximize the reply rate of your outreach campaign, but it doesn't stop there. Once you contact your soon-to-be new YouTube partners, there are typically 3 outcomes.
We have prepared and A/B tested all templates for each scenario for you, which you can access here.
You reached out to a YouTube influencer, and they asked $5K for a 2-minute video inclusion. You might be thinking, how on earth can I work this way if I have a reduced budget? The answer is: negotiate.
Make sure to always negotiate with influencers. If you just accept the first price you are probably overpaying. We have had instances where we were able to negotiate a video inclusion down from $3K to $300.
Keep in mind of course, that you essentially in some way also get what you pay for, so if you negotiate the fee down aggressively, don’t expect a full-fledged 10 min video about your product. They will probably just mention your product. However, in the early stages, this is all you want (if you are running performance-driven influencer campaigns).
You want to know the data rather or not the YouTuber is able to sell or not. If they don’t sell a single item with a 1-minute product mention, they will probably not sell much more with a 5 - 10-minute video inclusion.
Access a full case study on how to negotiate with YouTube influencers here.
You can use the template below to negotiate with influencers if they ask for a higher budget.
Hi {{firstname}},
Thank you for your reply.
We completely understand that you don’t work on an affiliate basis. However, we hope you understand that the first video content is only to get a better understanding of the match towards the brand.
We work with a wide variety of different compensation packages which include fixed payments and long-term brand ambassador programs. We have been collaborating with creators for a few years now and from our experience, we know that the performance varies widely which is why we work with an initial video content in order for us to make a fair offer.
Based on the results of this initial video content we would be making you an offer that includes one or a combination of the before mentioned packages.
IF INITIAL OFFER IS INCREASED
Usually, we only send out the ENTER INITIAL PRODUCT OFFERED, however, because we value your work and accommodation, we'd love to offer ENTER UPDATED OFFER.
Please let me know if I can send you the ENTER UPDATED PRODUCT OFFER.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best,
ENTER YOUR NAME
Below are some important points and tips when negotiating with YouTube influencers:
If you are less dependent on direct response and the main objective of your YouTube influencer campaign is awareness things are a bit different. If impressions / video views are the main KPI you are judged on as a marketer, it can be helpful to work with fixed payments instead.
When negotiating with an influencer it is always important to understand that you get more if you pay more. You might think that you closed a deal on a low budget which can be great but the influencer might put less effort into the video which can in turn lead to less views.
When working on a branding campaign it can be more helpful to analyze the average views the influencers get on their videos and calculate your budget based on a target CPM you would like to achieve.
Let's take the YouTube influencer below.
Let’s use the following input:
Based on this input we use the formula:
Influencer Cost = (Target CPM / 1,000) X Average views per video
= ($20 / 1,000) X 477,485 = $9,550
Based on this calculation you would pay this YouTuber $9,550 for a sponsored video. For a conversion campaign this might not be ideal as you don’t know if the influencer will be able to sell the amount of products to get a decent ROI. For an awareness campaign, however this can be a feasible approach to achieve the impressions and views required for your campaign.
To implement a performance-driven YouTube influencer marketing campaign, tracking is crucial. As explained earlier, it is key to identify your top-performing YouTubers with which you want to build long-term partnerships. Below is how you can best track your YouTube influencer performance:
Affiliate links are a great way to track performance. Besides conversions, you are also able to track clicks. Influencers can add the affiliate link in their video description box. Affiliate links place a cookie in the browser of the prospective customer, enabling you to track the conversion even if the customer places the order at a later point.
TIP: Make sure to share your link, including “https” in the URL, with the influencer. Without it the link won’t be clickable, which could lead to reduced clicks and increasing the attribution of your marketing.
Ex:
X gymshark.com
Another way to track the performance of your YouTube influencers is to use personalized discount codes. Every time someone uses the voucher, you know that the influencer referred a sale.
With Influencer Hero, you can create custom affiliate links & discount codes directly from a centralized system allowing you to track and automatically payout all your influencers.
Once the influencer posts the video and you now know the performance it is crucial to nurture the relationships, especially with the ones that were able to sell a lot of products. This is where the majority of your ROI will come from.
Make sure to thank the influencer for the beautiful post and discuss how you can continue to work with the influencer. Go the extra mile with high-performing influencers.
For example, we use 1800 Flowers to send a bouquet of flowers with some chocolates to show our appreciation. The $80 you spend there is nothing if an influencer generates $10K+ in each video they mention your product.
With Influencer Hero, you can use relationship management overviews to make it easy to keep track of and manage relationships.
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Below are some important things to keep in mind when working with YouTube influencers.
Remember that the influencer needs to go to their studio, and get their equipment to create the video. The turnaround for this takes a lot longer compared to a casual Instagram story post which is made using a phone.
Because of the time it takes to create videos, YouTubers often create their videos in advance. Keep this in mind if you are organizing a last-minute campaign. On YouTube, it is crucial to start a couple of months ahead of your campaign to ensure that all creators can create the videos on time.
When working with YouTube influencers you can leverage various types of video content. Each type of content offers a unique way to engage your audience and achieve different marketing objectives. Here are some of the most popular types of YouTube influencer campaigns:
Unboxing videos showcase influencers opening a new product and sharing their first impressions. This format creates anticipation and excitement around a product, making it ideal for new launches or exclusive items. Audiences enjoy the genuine reactions and detailed product insights that come with unboxing videos.
Product reviews involve influencers providing an in-depth analysis of a product’s features, benefits, and drawbacks. These videos help potential customers make informed purchasing decisions and build trust by offering honest feedback. Reviews are particularly effective for tech gadgets, beauty products, and other items where functionality and quality are key considerations.
For example, Nathaniel Drew is a YouTuber known for its lifestyle videos. In most of his videos, he naturally mentions his sponsors without making a video about them.
Casual mentions are subtle endorsements where influencers briefly talk about a product or brand within the context of their regular content. This approach feels more organic and less like a direct advertisement, making it an effective strategy for soft-selling a product or maintaining a brand presence without overwhelming the audience.
Vlogging, or video blogging, involves influencers documenting their daily lives or specific experiences. Brands can integrate their products or services into these vlogs, allowing for a natural and authentic showcase. Vlogs are great for lifestyle, travel, and food brands, as they provide context and relatability.
These videos focus on educating the audience about how to use a product or achieve a particular outcome with it. Influencers often demonstrate the product in action, providing step-by-step instructions or tips. This format is highly effective for beauty products, DIY tools, tech gadgets, and other items that require user guidance.
Leveraging popular challenges or trends on YouTube can be an engaging way for brands to collaborate with influencers. By incorporating a product into a trending challenge or creating a unique branded challenge, brands can increase visibility and engagement. This approach is particularly effective for reaching younger audiences.
Giveaways and contests encourage audience participation and drive engagement. Influencers can promote a product by hosting a giveaway, where viewers have to follow the brand or complete certain actions to enter. This type of content not only boosts brand awareness but also grows the brand’s social media following and subscriber base.
Behind-the-scenes videos offer viewers a look at the production process or the inner workings of a brand. Influencers can provide tours, interviews, or backstage looks, which helps humanize the brand and build a deeper connection with the audience.
Brands can sponsor a series of videos or episodes that align with their target audience’s interests. This could be a multi-part series on a specific topic, with the brand subtly integrated into the content. This approach builds consistency and keeps the brand in front of the audience over a longer period.
Testimonial videos feature influencers sharing their personal experiences and stories about using a product or service. These videos are powerful because they combine authenticity with a narrative, helping to build emotional connections with viewers.
YouTube shorts was launched in 2021 to compete with other short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram reels. Since its launch, it has rapidly grown in popularity, and according to Google’s latest earnings call (Q1 2024), average daily views for YouTube shorts has reached over 70 billion (Source: Alphabet Investor Relations).
YouTube Shorts are short, vertical videos up to 60 seconds in length, designed for quick consumption and mobile viewing. These videos can feature music, text, filters, and other creative tools, making them perfect for creating engaging, snackable content.
YouTube typically recommends shorts on both the desktop app as well as the mobile app. Shorts can be recognized by their vertical mobile-friendly format.
YouTube Shorts are short, vertical videos up to 60 seconds long, optimized for quick, mobile-friendly viewing. In contrast, YouTube long-form videos can range from a few minutes to several hours, offering more in-depth content. Shorts are filmed in a vertical aspect ratio (9:16) with a resolution of up to 1080x1920 pixels, while long-form videos are typically horizontal (16:9) with resolutions ranging from 720p to 4K (3840x2160 pixels).
This year the average engagement rate on YouTube shorts was 5.91% which was higher than all the competitors for short-form video content. TikTok ranked 2nd with an average engagement rate of 5.75%, followed by Instagram reels (5.53%) and Facebook reels (2.07%).
Due to its popularity and high growth, YouTube shorts can be a great place to advertise your products or services through influencers.
The main difference between YouTube shorts and YouTube long-form video which is important for Influencer marketing, is the time it requires to shoot a video. As shorts can be created using a mobile phone it can be made casually without the need for much preparation while YouTube long form video often requires video editing and additional equipment.
Because of this, the cost of YouTube shorts is lower compared to traditional long-form video for influencer marketing.
The drawback is that YouTube rotates shorts reducing the long-term impact of your influencer marketing efforts. Below is an overview of benefits and drawbacks of both for influencer marketing.
YouTube influencer marketing has evolved into a powerful tool for brands seeking authentic connections with their audiences. By leveraging the creativity and reach of YouTube creators, businesses can amplify their message and build trust with potential customers. From identifying the right influencers to crafting compelling collaborations, each step in your YouTube influencer marketing strategy is crucial for success.
Remember, the key is to align your brand with influencers who genuinely resonate with your target audience. By focusing on transparency, consistency, and engagement, you can turn influencer partnerships into long-lasting relationships that drive both brand awareness and conversions.
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