The ideal influencer campaign timeline: Step-by-step breakdown
Influencer campaign timelines come in all shapes and sizes, but having a basic model to aim for is nice. This step-by-step timeline breakdown isn’t a hard and fast rule, but you can use it as a foundation for your influencer campaigns.
0. Strategy & goal setting (1–2 weeks)
Before reaching out to influencers, have your goals nailed down and know how you’ll achieve them. Objectives can range from raising awareness to generating leads to driving conversions.
You’ll also need to determine which key performance indicators (KPIs) to use to determine success. A campaign that boosts brand awareness should have KPIs linked to content reach, impressions, and views. However, you need the right people to get your message. Because of this, zeroing in on a target audience is also a key element that will help you decide which influencers to leverage for your business goals.
The platform you choose also makes a big difference in your results. For example, TikTok can introduce new audiences to your brand because of its potential virality. On the other hand, YouTube’s long-form video gives you more time to pitch your product and convert prospects.
1. Creator sourcing & vetting (1–2 weeks)
Find influencers who align with your target audience, message, and campaign goals. Consider your budget and decide if hiring one macro influencer with 250,000 followers beats five niche creators with 20,000 followers for the same price. To speed up onboarding, platforms like use data-driven insights to match your brand with effective influencers for your campaign.
After creating a short list of candidates, contact them to gauge their interest and availability. Ask questions to understand their aims, audience, and values to see if they fit the campaign. Send an influencer campaign proposal explaining the campaign objectives and possible ideas.
Once you’ve found a match, conduct negotiations and draft a contract. Your legal department should review all contracts before sending them out for creators to sign.
2. Briefing & creative alignment (1 week)
With your creators in mind, you can create clear influencer briefs. A brief should include your brand description, key messaging, and deliverables. State your campaign goals, like spreading awareness, encouraging engagement, or driving sales.
While allowing the influencers the creativity to be themselves is important, you’ll also want to set boundaries. This can protect your brand from reputation damage if they drop an offensive Instagram Reel and prevent arguments if they need to make revisions.
Once you complete the brief and send it out, hold a kickoff call with each creator involved. Allow them to ask questions and clarify any details to prevent misunderstandings.
3. Content production (1–3 weeks)
Production time will vary depending on the creator and the type of content, so plan appropriately. For instance, creating a Facebook post might take an hour or two, while a 15-minute product review for YouTube could take days. Speak with the influencers to understand how long it will take them to go from ideation to filming to editing.
Keep in mind that user-generated content (UGC) and sponsored content might require different timelines to complete, too. UGC is unpaid, organic content created by people who use a brand’s product or service, which brands then share on their own accounts as a way to spread authentic messaging. Sponsored content goes onto the influencer’s channel. Because sponsored content will appear on a channel outside the brand’s control, there are strict guidelines and more revisions.
4. Approval & revisions (3–5 days)
Based on feedback from the creators, assign deadlines for when they must submit the content. Taking advantage of an approval platform like , Notion, or Google Drive makes for a smooth workflow. These workspaces allow brands and creators to communicate, share content, leave feedback, and upload revisions quickly.
5. Go-live window (1 week)
With your completed content in stock, you’re now ready to publish it. Coordinate the posts around a key event like a product launch, promotion, or special event for maximum effect.
For best results, upload and schedule the content to a social media content calendar ahead of time. For example, ’s content calendar lets you visually organize your content across multiple platforms to take advantage of cross-channel amplification. With everything locked into the virtual calendar days in advance, you won’t need to worry about unexpected issues like connectivity problems or technical glitches.
6. Reporting & optimization (1–2 weeks post-launch)
Even after the content is out, there’s still work to do. In the weeks after the launch, you’ll need to monitor the progress of your campaign to optimize the results and gain insights that you can put toward the next one.
Keep track of influencer marketing KPIs like individual creator performance stats, engagement, and UTM data, which is text that you add to a link for better tracking. Platforms like ’s influencer analytics tool make data analysis and reporting second nature. Figure out what content exceeded expectations and then find ways to repurpose it to maximize value. The detailed analysis also gives accurate figures for ROI, which should influence future campaigns.
Want to bring this timeline to life? Book a Influence demo to see how we help you manage every step—from strategy to reporting—with ease.
