How to hire influencers: 7 steps

To hire influencers, decide what you want the videos to do, set a budget, choose the size of creator, find and check them, write a short brief, agree how they are paid, and track every post. You can do each step by hand, or use a campaign marketplace that does most of them for you. On Sound.me, one campaign from $250 brings many creators at once, and our team watches every video.

Launch campaign

Step 1. Decide what the videos are for

Pick one goal: more people who know your product, more app installs, more visits to your shop, or more videos using your sound. One goal makes the brief short and the results easy to read.

Step 2. Set a budget

A one-to-one deal is priced per post and negotiated with each influencer. A campaign marketplace is priced per budget. On Sound.me, budgets work out to about $6.60 per creator video. See What it costs to hire influencers.

Budget	Projected views	Creator videos
$250	~211K	~38
$500	~332K	~75
$1,000	~524K	~151
$1,500	~685K	~226

Worldwide, 7 days; the average of real completed Sound.me TikTok campaigns created since January 1, 2026. Results on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts may differ. Sound.me doesn't guarantee views, clicks or sales.

Step 3. Choose the size of creator

One large influencer gives you one post in front of one audience. Many small creators give you many different videos in the same week. See Micro vs macro influencers.

Step 4. Find and check creators

Look at the last ten videos, not the follower count. Check that views are steady, comments look like real people, and the content is clean. See How to find influencers for your brand. On Sound.me, creators apply to your campaign and our team matches and approves them, so you skip the search.

Step 5. Write a short brief

Say what to show, what to say, what to avoid, and link one example. See How to write a creator brief.

Step 6. Agree on payment and rules before anyone films

What will be posted, where and by when.
How long the post stays up. On Sound.me, creators keep each video up for at least 60 days.
What happens if the video doesn't follow the brief. On Sound.me it is declined and not paid, and that part of your budget goes back into your campaign.

Step 7. Track every post

Collect every link and write down views, likes, comments and shares. On Sound.me a live dashboard shows every video with those numbers, updated hourly.

The short way

Pick a platformTikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.
Paste a link to your sound and write your briefOr pick a style: creative freedom, lip sync, dance, transition or text on screen.
Set budget, run time and audience72 hours, 7 days or 14 days. Target by age, gender, language, creator size and location (worldwide, one of 24 countries, or a region).
Pay by cardFirst creator posts usually land the same day.

FAQ

How do I hire influencers with a small budget?

Hire many small creators through one campaign instead of one large influencer. On Sound.me the minimum is $250, or $100 for a first campaign during the flash sale in the 48 hours after sign-up.

Do I need a contract to hire influencers?

For a one-to-one deal, put what will be posted, when and for how much in writing. On Sound.me there is nothing to negotiate: creators apply under Sound.me's rules and you pay once per campaign by card.

Can I choose which influencers post?

Sound.me's team matches and approves creators. On TikTok campaigns of $100 or more you can also approve creators yourself, and you can add up to 3 example creators so Sound.me finds similar ones.

How long does it take?

By hand, finding and agreeing with each influencer takes days or weeks. On Sound.me, first creator posts usually land the same day the campaign goes live.

What can I promote?

Products, apps, shops, songs, films, series and games. Not allowed: money exchange, crypto, ICOs, NFTs, adult content, services similar to Sound.me and get-rich-quick schemes.