Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a strategy in which brands partner with creators who have engaged social audiences to promote products, paying through flat fees, free product, affiliate commissions, or a combination.
Rather than buying ads directly, brands enlist creators whose audiences already trust them. The creator produces content — a post, video, story, or livestream — that features or recommends the brand, lending it social proof and reach within a specific niche.
Payment models vary: a flat fee per deliverable, product gifting, affiliate commission on tracked sales, or a hybrid of fee plus commission. Affiliate-based influencer deals tie a portion of pay to performance, aligning the creator's earnings with the results they deliver.
See also
- Creator Economy
The creator economy is the ecosystem of independent creators — writers, video makers, streamers, and educators — who earn a living directly from their audiences and brand partnerships, supported by platforms and tools for content, monetization, and payments.
- Sponsored Post
A sponsored post is social or blog content a creator is paid to publish promoting a brand, which must be clearly disclosed as an ad under FTC and comparable rules.
- Brand Deal
A brand deal is a paid agreement between a brand and a creator to promote the brand's product, defined by deliverables, usage rights, exclusivity, timing, and a fee or commission.
- Influencer Affiliate (Hybrid)
An influencer affiliate blends influencer marketing with affiliate pay: a creator promotes a brand to their audience and earns commissions on tracked sales, often alongside or instead of a flat sponsorship fee.
- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model in which a business pays external partners a commission for each customer or sale they refer.
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