Cheap or Effective? Can Growing SMEs Afford Quality Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is often seen as a game reserved for big brands with even bigger budgets. But what about growing businesses with more modest, strategic budgets? Can they afford influencer marketing that delivers measurable results? The answer lies in choosing the right approach.

The answer isn’t a simple yes or no; it’s about choosing the right approach.

The Challenge with Traditional Agencies

There’s no shortage of influencer marketing agencies out there. Many promise big results, but when it comes to SMEs with limited budgets, the value delivered often falls short. Why?

• Limited influencers, limited content: Most agencies work on a percentage of the budget or as a markup on influencer fees. That model doesn’t scale well for SMEs. Managing 5 mid-sized influencers might be feasible, but what if the strategy calls for 50 smaller, niche influencers to truly drive performance? Agencies often skip that approach because managing a larger group takes more time and effort than their fee can cover.
• Generic strategies: Many lower-budget agencies lack the resources or expertise to deliver integrated, strategic campaigns. Instead, they’ll pull a few influencers from a static portfolio, ask them for content, and call it a day. Great content? Maybe. Results? Doubtful.
• Limited reusability: Many agencies restrict brands from directly re-engaging the influencers they worked with during a campaign. Want to collaborate again? It’ll cost you—through the agency, of course.

The end result? SMEs risk throwing their money out the window, often for campaigns that underdeliver.

DIY Influencer Marketing: The Hidden Risks

So, if agencies aren’t the answer for SMEs, should they just go the DIY route? On the surface, it seems logical: subscribe to a SaaS platform, find influencers, and manage campaigns yourself.

However, I’ve always advocated against brands or marketers subscribing to a SaaS influencer marketing platform and executing it themselves without being true experts in influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is a real speciality that requires real expertise. Executing without the right skill set and expertise may lead to some positive results, but surely not as good as if real experts had designed it. It will assuredly include significant operational and brand risks that might not materialise for a while—until they do.

The Solution: DIY with Expert Guidance

There is a middle ground that SMEs can embrace: do-it-yourself influencer marketing with the help of an expert consultant or advisor. Here’s how it works:

1. A Strategic Foundation: Instead of diving in blind, a consultant (like yours truly) will define a sound influencer marketing strategy. This includes creative approaches, influencer selection frameworks, and clear KPIs aligned with your overall marketing efforts.
2. The Right Tools & Templates: You get all the resources you need to run influencer campaigns effectively—contracts, playbooks, reporting templates, and step-by-step working procedures. These tools ensure you’re not reinventing the wheel every time.
3. Hands-On Supervision: While you manage the campaigns internally, the consultant provides supervision, guiding you through execution to ensure everything stays on track and aligned.

Why This Approach Works for SMEs

Eventually, this approach allows for much more flexibility, value, and better performance with a limited budget and remaining in control.

• More Influencers, Better Results: By managing campaigns in-house, SMEs aren’t limited by an agency’s profitability concerns. If the strategy calls for 50 nano-influencers instead of 5 mid-sized ones, you can execute it—maximising impact on your budget.
• Reusability: You own the playbook, templates, and influencer relationships. Once the framework is in place, you’re free to reuse these resources for future campaigns at no extra cost.
• Cost Efficiency: By combining your internal resources with external strategic expertise, you get the best of both worlds—big-brand strategies at SME budgets.
• Control and Flexibility: You remain in control of your campaigns and budgets while benefiting from expert guidance.

Of course, influencer marketing agencies still have tremendous value, especially for huge brands with incredible levels of complexity, layers of approval, coordination between agencies, strict reporting requirements, complex media strategies, and brand and reputation risk.

However, SMEs and startups that are much less complex in structure could still do influencer marketing and get significantly more value with some budget—which is, of course, still necessary, but much limited—provided that they get the right strategy, framework, resources, templates, and guidance.

SMEs Can Win at Influencer Marketing

While I’ve spent the past 11 years working with the largest brands and agencies, I’m also available to SMEs to help them establish the right efficient framework—one that is more straightforward and will bring significantly more value, adapt to their budget, and support their growth.

The key is expert guidance. With the right consultant by your side, you can confidently navigate the influencer marketing landscape, build campaigns that deliver real results, and set up a foundation for long-term success.

After all, influencer marketing should work for you, not against your bottom line.

If you’re an SME ready to explore this approach, let’s chat. It’s time to make influencer marketing work smarter, not harder.

#influencermarketing #creatoreconomy #ther2impact