Influencer Marketing Strategy: A 5-Step Guide for 2026

In an era of rising acquisition costs and shrinking ad performance, authentic connection is the new growth engine. Today, influencer marketing delivers it—now driving product discovery more than ads, search, and even word-of-mouth, according to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

In industries where emotion drives decision-making, like beauty and skincare, fashion, and food and beverage, social media creators directly shape as much as 40% of purchases. Well-executed influencer campaigns can outperform traditional programs six times more efficiently, lifting sales by 20% in the first month.

This guide shows how to turn influencer marketing into a repeatable, measurable growth channel, covering everything from creator selection to performance tracking, with real examples of successful campaigns.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a partnership between a brand and a creator who has built trust with a specific audience. Instead of running ads through a platform, you tap into a person’s reach, tone, and credibility to tell your brand story—whether that’s through a single sponsored post, a long-term ambassadorship, or something in between.

An influencer acts as a brand ambassador—someone who’s built a following around a certain niche and shares products with their audience in exchange for payment, free products, or experiences. This approach blends authenticity with performance, driving both awareness and measurable engagement.

By extension, an influencer marketing strategy is your blueprint for how, why, and with whom you run creator campaigns—from influencer outreach to campaign execution and performance tracking.

Mejuri is one example of a brand finding success with this approach. The fine jewelry brand, founded by Noura Sakkijha in 2013, has grown largely through influencer partnerships. Mejuri builds their social presence through creator collaborations, and has successfully created an engaged community and thriving direct-to-consumer (DTC) business.

So why are leading ecommerce brands planning on doubling down in 2026? Let’s look at the market forces behind the shift.

Why influencer marketing is critical for ecommerce in 2026

The influencer space is now a multibillion-dollar engine, expected to surpass $33 billion in 2025 globally.

And marketers are following the momentum. Research from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) shows that 60% of marketers expect influencer marketing to grow in importance, while 54% planned to increase their budgets in 2025.

At the enterprise level, brands are shifting spend because influencer marketing delivers measurable return on investment (ROI). Earlier this year, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez told Barclays that it plans to spend 50% of its ad budget on influencers, with a goal of having at least one influencer in every ZIP code on the planet.

And when asked why the company is betting so heavily on creators, he didn’t talk about virality or vanity metrics. He talked about performance:

“The point is not if the returns are higher versus the past; the point is the returns [via influencers] are higher versus any alternative allocation of funds today—and versus any other option. They are higher returns.”

Here are the top benefits of partnering with influencers:

• Consumer trust: An influencer’s endorsement is a powerful form of social proof. In fact, 77% of people now prefer creator content over traditional brand ads.
• Expanded reach: Partnering with the right influencers allows ecommerce brands to connect with potential new shoppers more effectively than paid ads alone.
• High ROI: Industry data shows that brands earn an average of $6.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing. The top performers see returns of $20 or more, and 70% of businesses at least double their money.
• Authentic user-generated content (UGC): Influencers create highly authentic UGC that can be repurposed in a variety of marketing contexts. With approval from influencers, you can repackage their content and use it on your company’s social accounts—reducing the cost of in-house production.
• Improved SEO: Influencer collaborations can help generate high-quality backlinks and organic traffic that strengthens overall brand visibility. 

To capture that opportunity, brands need a structured influencer marketing strategy that connects goals, creator partnerships, and performance tracking.

How to build a high-impact influencer marketing strategy: A five-step guide

Step 1: Set clear goals and define your budget

Every strong influencer strategy starts with a clear sense of what you’re trying to achieve and how much you’re willing to spend to get there.

Begin by mapping campaign goals directly to your business priorities. Are you trying to boost brand awareness, reach new audience demographics, grow your social following, or drive direct conversions?

For example, you could work toward these goals:

• Drive awareness among Gen Z shoppers in major cities
• Increase DTC revenue by 20% in Q2
• Generate 50 or more high-quality backlinks to improve SEO rankings
• Build hype around a product launch through coordinated creator drops
• Capture authentic video testimonials for paid and organic channels

The more specific you are, the better—so “grow sales” is too vague. But “increase conversion rate by 15% for our bestselling bundle via Instagram Stories” is something you can build a campaign around.

Tie each goal to relevant key performance indicators (KPIs). These will help you understand the success of your influencer marketing campaigns and make data-driven decisions. 

Your influencer marketing KPIs will depend on the goals you’ve set. For example, if your goal is to raise brand awareness, track reach, impressions, profile visits, saves, or average engagement rate on Instagram or TikTok. For sales or conversion goals, track clicks, discount code usage, and attributed revenue.

Once your goals and budget are clear, focus shifts to finding the creators who can deliver them.

Step 2: Identify and vet the right influencer partners

“It’s vital to have a game plan for outreach, relationship management, and deliverables from both parties. My tip for ecommerce brands would be to start looking for influencers and creators that are already customers,” says Savannah Sanchez, a social media buyer. "Nothing is as authentic as someone who already knows and loves your products or services.” 

The influencers you select should:

• Align with your brand values, product offerings, vision, and mission
• Have a following that aligns with your target audience
• Maintain strong engagement and content quality

Once you know what you’re looking for, use UpPromote, which lets you search vetted creators by niche, location, follower count, and audience engagement. As you evaluate candidates, confirm expectations early—especially around influencer contracts, deliverables, and usage rights. Next, decide how those partnerships will be structured and compensated.

Step 3: Develop your influencer outreach and compensation model

Once you’ve identified the relevant influencers, the next step is figuring out how to approach them, and how compensation will work for both sides. There’s no one-size-fits-all model here, and increasingly, these relationships start from real interest, not just a transactional brief.

Start simple with influencer seeding

Send your product to a curated list of creators, with no obligation to post. If they like it, and post organically, that’s your signal of authentic interest. If not, you’ve still opened the door to a future relationship. 

Taylor Lagace, managing partner at influencer marketing agency Kynship, suggests investing 2% of revenue in seeding products to influencers.

1/ If you’re looking to build a PROFITABLE INFLUENCER program we’d recommend taking 2% of your top line revenue and dedicating it to seeding product to INFLUENCERS "No Strings Attached".

Let’s run through a hypothetical to see what this would entail and what it’d REAP. (THREAD) pic.twitter.com/EfM6jBNfyX

— Taylor Lagace (@TaylorLagace) June 30, 2021

Use flat-fee deals for structured campaigns like product launches

Agree on a defined scope (e.g., a Reel, carousel, or three Stories), and pay accordingly. This model gives you control over timing, output, and messaging. Rates vary depending on follower count, engagement, production quality, and usage rights. If you plan to reuse creator content in paid ads or email, expect to pay a licensing fee on top.

According to Impact, many brands now combine models, offering flat fees with 10%–20% commission on sales or signups to sweeten the deal.

Try affiliate partnerships for performance-based results

With this model, you only pay creators when they drive results, like sales, clicks, or signups. For creators, this structure can lead to higher lifetime earnings and stronger loyalty. This performance-based model keeps influencer partnerships measurable and scalable.

Lighten your load with influencer marketing platforms

Platforms like #paid and Aspire give you access to pre-vetted creator networks, manage administration like influencer contracts and payments, and help you track performance.

“At a minimum, influencer marketing platforms lighten your load and take work off your hands. But ideally, you want a platform that helps you find new audiences and generate new revenue,” explains Roger Figueredo, vice president of marketing at #paid.

They also simplify compensation. For example, Aspire’s Recommended Payment feature suggests fair rates based on creator metrics and historical brand spend, so you’re not guessing what to offer. 

And if none of those models feel like the right fit, you’ve still got options:

• Add a creator application form to your site to let influencers pitch you.
• Reach out to niche creators via DMs with a personal message.
• Use tools like Videowise to track organic UGC—some of your best promoters might already be posting without a contract.

Takeaway: When you structure outreach or compensation, know this: the range is wide. Shopify’s 2025 influencer pricing guide shows that nano-influencers might charge $10–$100 for a post, micro-influencers charge $500–$5,000, and mega-influencers far beyond.

Above all, remember this: “You’re not just paying an influencer to post about your product. You’re forming a relationship with a director, a producer, a filmer, the talent, the editor… but all as one person. View your work with creators as a partnership,” says Nik Sharma, founder of Sharma Brands.

Step 4: Co-create authentic content and manage the campaign

The goal is to produce authentic influencer content that feels natural in a creator’s feed and real to their audience. Think: unboxings, tutorials, product swaps, “this or that” formats, everyday-use videos.

Start with a simple brief that outlines:

• What the product is and why it matters
• Key messages or features to mention
• Must-haves such as discount codes, brand tags, or Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosures
• The format (e.g., 1 Reel + 3 Stories) and deadlines

But don’t over-direct. Consumers are increasingly immune to overly scripted #ad content. According to the 2025 Influencer Trust Index, the top factors that increase trust are:

1. Authentic reviews, even if they’re not 100% positive (79%)
2. Transparency and honesty about brand partnerships (71%)

The best results come when creators have room to express their perspective. Their voice earned their audience’s trust—your job is to fit into it. Bring the creator in early, co-create the brief, and invite ideas for content formats or angles that will resonate with their audience. 

While the content is live, monitor performance and continue to engage. Comment, reshare, and feature their work across your brand channels—the collaboration doesn’t end at posting.

Step 5: Measure ROI and scale your program

To accurately measure influencer ROI, account for all campaign costs: influencer fees, free products, production costs, paid media, tools, even agency support.

Then compare what you earned, whether that’s traffic, clicks, conversions, or direct revenue. The basic formula is this:

ROI = (Return − Investment) ÷ Investment × 100

For example, if you spent $10,000 on a campaign and generated $65,000 in tracked revenue, that’s a 550% ROI.

Influencer Marketing Hub recommends comparing cost per engagement (CPE) and cost per conversion (CPC) to identify which creators drive the highest efficiency. Often, micro-influencers with strong niche authority outperform larger accounts.

Pro tip: Shopify integrates with influencer and affiliate platforms such as Carro, Refersion, and Impact, all part of the Shopify Certified App Program. These tools let you track ROI per creator or campaign, attribute conversions to specific posts, set and automate payouts, spot high-performers worth scaling, and more.

For a detailed breakdown on influencer marketing ROI, read our full guide.

Once influencer ROI is benchmarked alongside paid and organic channels, the program earns its place in the growth stack.

Choosing the right influencer platform: Go where your audience buys

The most successful influencer collaborations follow the same principle: “Fish where your fish are.”

That means choosing the platform where your audience already hangs out, and backing that choice with performance data.

In HubSpot’s 2025 State of Marketing report, 28% of marketers said Facebook influencers delivered the highest ROI, followed by 22% on Instagram and 12% on YouTube. These results remind brands to track by platform, not just in aggregate.

Meanwhile, Hootsuite’s 2025 engagement benchmarks puts Instagram’s average engagement rate at 3.5% across industries—solid, but not unbeatable.

TikTok continues to dominate short-form content and influencer performance. A 2025 report by TikTok and Dentsu found a short-term ROI of 11.8%, and 75% of advertisers said TikTok influencers produced their highest returns compared to other social channels.

Still, your top-performing influencer platform depends on your audience. Facebook remains effective for community-led or older demographics, Instagram holds steady on engagement, and YouTube continues to lead for long-form trust and education-heavy content. For enterprise and B2B influencer marketing, LinkedIn is emerging as a key platform for expert-led creator partnerships and thought-leadership campaigns.

The best platform is the one that drives measurable conversions and authentic engagement for your brand. Whichever platform you choose, compliance applies across them all.

Staying compliant: A note on FTC guidelines and disclosures

Trust doesn’t stop at authenticity—compliance protects both brands and creators.

Under the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines, brands and influencers are required to be transparent about their relationships. That means clearly labeling sponsored posts with tags like #ad, #sponsored, or platform-native tools like Instagram’s “Paid partnership with _____” label.

And yes—free products count too. Even if no money changes hands, any material benefit must be disclosed. Here are some additional rules:

• Disclosures must not be buried in a sea of hashtags or hidden in the caption; they need to be obvious.
• If it’s a video, the FTC wants the disclosure to be onscreen and spoken out loud. 
• The FTC holds both the brand and the creator responsible. If a creator fails to disclose properly, and the brand doesn’t correct it, both parties are liable. Add disclosure language to your creator onboarding, contracts, and review workflows.
• Influencers can’t make claims like “this lotion cleared my eczema” or “best thing for anxiety” without scientific proof.

Read the FTC’s full suite of resources on Endorsements, Influencers, and Reviews to stay up to date.

Influencer marketing strategy examples from top Shopify brands

What does an effective influencer marketing strategy look like? These brands show how structured influencer programs drive measurable growth across industries.

1. Kopari Beauty

In 2024, Kopari stood out in prestige skincare for having one of the highest influencer-driven conversion rates. The brand grew into an eight-figure business, not by blitzing every creator, but by systematizing collaboration into ongoing content that compounds across channels.

Toral Patel, Kopari’s marketing lead, started by asking why people already loved the brand: what made them stay, tell friends, and post unsolicited photos. 

“Internally, what you think is a differentiator may not be what the creator community or your customers find to be the most compelling benefit about the product,” she says.

Kopari’s partnership with Ella Halikas, a curvy model and body-positivity advocate, was a standout success. They began with an intimate creator gathering, followed by a bigger pool party event in Los Angeles.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gabriella Athena Halikas (@ellahalikas)

The content kept working long after the event ended—across social, email, onsite visuals, and more. 

Catch Toral’s interview on Shopify Masters, where she breaks down how she picks creators, builds long-term partnerships, and creates content that performs beyond influencer circles.

2. Olipop

“People assume influencer marketing is all about cash deals,” says Steven Vigilante, Olipop’s director of strategic partnerships. “But some of our best partnerships started with a free sample and a conversation.” 

Olipop is a force. In their latest round, they raised $50 million in capital and were valued at $1.85 billion. But the real story is how much of that growth came from creator marketing. 

Olipop’s creator community now contributes 12% of total sales, with a 982% ROI through a hybrid model of product seeding plus performance commissions.

In 2025, Olipop turned fans into influencers by shipping VIP PR boxes packed with seasonal flavors and branded merch, then inviting them to Austin Motel’s “Time Travel” suites to film nostalgic, product-driven content.

Melanie Edwards, senior ecommerce and digital product manager at Olipop, says, “Make sure you partner with someone who has staying power. You want your influencer relationship to go the distance.”

3. Moonboon

Founder Marie Grew, a mother herself, started Moonboon with a simple mission: create functional, chemical-free sleep accessories made from sustainably sourced materials.

It’s their influencer strategy that helped the brand expand across Europe.

Moonboon partnered with over 300 creators across five key European markets. Instead of chasing mega-influencers, they invested in aligned ambassadors who truly believed in the product—many of whom were parents themselves. 

Using Shopify to streamline recruitment, gifting, and affiliate tracking, Moonboon achieved:

• More than $1 million in affiliate sales driven by key creators
• 10% of monthly net sales attributed to the Moonboon Ambassador Family
• An average ROI of 6.5x on influencer and creator activations

Robert V. S. Preuss, brand director says: “We are crazy about the simplicity of the tool and work on the platform daily. It is an incredible tool that helps us grow and scale our tactical lower funnel work with creators who are passionate about our brand and products.”

Now, 90% of Moonboon’s new creator partners apply organically through Shopify application forms embedded on the brand’s localized websites.

4. Snocks

Snocks started in 2016 selling socks on Amazon. When they spotted a gap in the market for stylish socks that matched sneakerhead energy, they went direct-to-consumer.

After migrating to Shopify Plus, Snocks saw sales surge within a year. The team used Shopify Scripts to bundle products creatively and boost average order value. 

But the real engine was—again—influencers.

Collaborating with German creators with one million or more followers, Snocks leaned on Shopify’s infrastructure to handle traffic spikes from creator campaigns. Influencers receive a custom link with a discount code, making purchasing seamless.

This paid partnership post using #snockscode shows how it works in practice: authentic content paired with clear calls to action and measurable results.

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A post shared by Sarah Fenkohl (@momoftwo_testet)

Start building your influencer marketing program

Is influencer marketing worth the hype that surrounds it? Absolutely.

From building trust to increasing your customer base, influencer marketing can deliver results equal to that of many different marketing channels combined. 

Influencer marketing has become a core growth channel—driving measurable ROI, stronger customer trust, and scalable creativity. Treat it with the same rigor as other performance channels to see compounding returns.

For help with building your influencer marketing strategy, check out our list of Shopify Certified App Partners, where you'll find the perfect marketing solutions for your business.