Types of influencers
- Small creators: a few thousand followers who know their audience well. They often cost less and get more replies for each post.
- Mid-size creators: a wider reach in one topic, such as food, fitness or home decor.
- Large creators and celebrities: very wide reach, higher fees, and a less personal feel.
- Local creators: people known in one city or area, useful for shops, restaurants and events.
There is no fixed follower number that divides these groups. Different agencies draw the lines in different places.
How a campaign usually runs
- Set one goal: sales, store visits, sign-ups or simple awareness.
- Find creators whose audience looks like your buyer. Look at their past posts and the comments, not just follower counts.
- Agree the work in writing: what they post, when, what you pay, and who owns the content.
- Give them a trackable link or coupon code.
- Check the results after the post and count what it brought.
A made-up example in rupees
Say a home-decor brand pays a creator ₹25,000 for two reels. The reels bring 600 clicks to the website, and 30 people order at an average of ₹1,200.
- Sales from the campaign: 30 × ₹1,200 = ₹36,000.
- Cost for each order: ₹25,000 ÷ 30 = about ₹833.
- If profit on one order is ₹400, the campaign lost money on first orders.
That does not mean it failed. Some of those buyers may order again, and the reels can be reused in ads. But the owner should know the sums before booking the next creator. This is a made-up example.
Rules to follow in India
ASCI, India's advertising self-regulator, has guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. If an influencer is paid or gets free products, the post must say so clearly, and the label should be easy to see without clicking or scrolling. ASCI lists #Ad among the accepted labels. Check the current text on the ASCI website before you publish.
Common mistakes
- Choosing creators by follower count alone.
- Not agreeing on content rights, so you cannot reuse the video in ads.
- Skipping the paid-post label.
- Giving the creator no brief, or too strict a script that sounds fake.
- Judging the result by likes instead of enquiries and orders.
For ideas on content made by real customers, read about UGC.
Related terms
- UGC: content made by customers or creators that looks like it came from a customer.
- CPM: the cost of showing your content to 1,000 people.
- ROAS: the sales you earn for each rupee spent on ads.
To plan creators together with ads and a clear budget, see our influencer marketing work.
Sources
- ASCI, Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media and ASCI Social FAQs (ascionline.in/social/faqs/), read 9 October 2026.
