Influencer marketing has reached a critical point in 2025, with major brands increasingly shifting their budgets toward creator partnerships, while smaller companies face escalating costs and competition. According to The Drum’s recent investigation, creator rates have increased by approximately 30% in just six months following Unilever’s pledge to allocate half of its annual advertising budget to influencer marketing.
The fast-moving consumer goods giant’s strategy has triggered a ripple effect across the industry. The Drum found that agencies are unanimously reporting increases in client spending and RFPs since Unilever’s announcement, with some clients doubling their seven-figure budgets. Meanwhile, EMARKETER’s latest report reveals U.S. brands are expected to spend $10.52 billion on sponsored content this year, with measurement challenges now representing the primary roadblock to continued budget growth.
This shift raises an urgent question for the creator economy: How can smaller and emerging brands still drive value from influencer marketing while larger companies move into the space?
To address this challenge, we collected insights from 47 industry experts – from agency leaders and brand executives to creators and marketplace founders – seeking practical strategies for companies without Unilever-sized budgets.
From leveraging micro-influencers and performance-based payment structures to building deeper, more authentic partnerships, these experts outline multiple paths forward for brands seeking to establish their presence in the competitive creator economy.
Small and emerging brands can tap into the power of influencer marketing with a curated strategy that activates strong creator partners in a mutually beneficial way. A UGC program can tap influencers to create effective social media content that the brand can use on its owned channels. An affiliate program allows a brand to activate influencers without as much upfront cost, with the creator encouraged to share engaging content in order to drive affiliate sales. Smaller brands can also build out strong relationships with key creators who can speak to a specific target audience and drive high engagement and sales. We also encourage smaller brands to get creative with their marketing, from developing unique creative briefs that naturally create excitement, to in-person events that bring the brand to life (like our turnkey BRANDEdit Experiences), to partnering with other like-minded brands for engaging collaborations that reach new audiences.
While some macro and celebrity talent have increased, many creators remain competitively priced. For smaller and emerging brands, the opportunity lies in playing to their unique advantages. Large advertisers often chase scale and CPMs, but smaller brands can focus on depth by building authentic connections within niche verticals and cultivating community trust. Their agility allows them to move quickly, secure talent early, and test new formats, collaborations, and even creator-led IP that resonates culturally. In many cases, this focused, authentic approach can rival the brand value and impact of larger campaigns.
Smaller and emerging brands can still thrive in influencer marketing by focusing on authenticity and “what feels right for the brand” rather than follower count. While larger companies may invest heavily in the space, smaller brands have the advantage of building meaningful partnerships with influencers who genuinely connect with their brand’s values. These brands are often in a critical growth phase, where expanding their audience is essential. Influencer marketing becomes a key tool in that effort. Rather than chasing numbers, they should prioritize creators whose content style, audience, and niche align with their brand. Influencers should speak about the brand in a way that feels natural within their usual content. A thoughtful, well-matched collaboration that may reach fewer people, but the right people, is often more impactful than a broad, less personal campaign. For example, Sky Organics, a new personal care brand, consistently partners with creators in the wellness space, with each collaboration feeling tailored and authentic. This intentionality builds trust, deepens connections, and drives long-term value.
When Unilever announced they’d dedicate half their ad spend to influencer marketing, it highlighted the growing importance of creators in advertising. But with that comes greater oversight of creator budgets is inevitable, and much of that spend will likely go toward paid media to amplify creator content – not directly to creators. For smaller brands, this might feel daunting, but you can still compete by being strategic: Work with an experienced agency – rates are evolving fast, and fair negotiation is key to maintaining strong creator relationships. Focus on Micro- and Nano-Creators – These smaller influencers drive higher engagement and conversions while being more cost-effective. Think Long-Term – Build deeper partnerships with creators for authentic, ongoing content. License UGC – Repurpose creator content across your paid and organic channels to maximize its impact. Creativity and smart execution remain the ultimate equalizers for smaller brands.
Smaller and emerging brands can still win by focusing on TikTok Shop’s affiliate space, where creators are rewarded transparently through commission-based earnings. Instead of paying large flat fees, challenger brands are activating thousands of micro-creators on 10% commission-only deals. This means creators earn when the brand earns, making the model both sustainable and scalable. We’re already seeing DTC challengers drive 6-7 figures in monthly revenue using this approach, without paying a single flat fee. By structuring clear promotions, bundles, and conversion-led offers, smaller brands can secure a strong presence in creators’ storefronts and drive consistent sales. The beauty of the affiliate model is that it creates a growth loop: as more creators sell, more content is produced and pushed into TikTok’s algorithm, expanding organic reach and sales. This levels the playing field and allows smaller brands to thrive despite rising influencer rates.
When a company like Unilever pours billions into influencers, some prices will jump. But smaller brands still have an edge. Big corporations move slowly and often over-script or overpay. Smaller brands can move fast … running reactive, always-on campaigns, backing creators who genuinely love the product, and building momentum in micro-communities. That kind of agility creates the sort of organic attention and momentum money alone can’t buy. In a market where everyone is spending more, speed and focus are the real equalisers.
Ultimately, smaller brands don’t need to outspend the giants – I think they can still win by leaning into what makes them nimble: building authentic partnerships with micro- and nano-influencers, focusing on long-term relationships instead of one-off ads, and exploring underpriced platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, or niche communities. Co-creating content, tapping user-generated creative for ads, and using performance-based deals keep budgets efficient while strengthening trust.
Smaller brands don’t need to outspend Unilever to compete – they need to out-simplify. The brands feeling the squeeze are over-engineering influencer marketing with complicated ROI formulas, bolt-on tactics, and shiny-object syndrome. Ironically, all of that dilutes impact and makes it harder to see what’s actually working. When you strip influencer marketing back to basics – choosing the right voices, aligning on expectations, and integrating their work into your broader marketing – you get far more value than by chasing every emerging trend or keeping up with the competition. Scaling comes from simplicity; never complexity. Do fewer things with more focus, and build a system where every activation strengthens the whole, not just one campaign.
As larger brands wake up to the power of influencer marketing, inevitably competition increases and there will be some “crowding out” of smaller brands with smaller budgets and less cache. To win, smaller brands need to lean into their unique advantages: the “why” behind their brands. Founder stories, sense of community with other brand creators, and generally look for extremely mission-aligned creators. Small brands can also innovate on economic structures and take risks on up-and-coming creators that they can grow with.
I personally disagree with the connection between Unilever’s mission and creator rate hikes made in that article. Over 200 million individuals identify as content creators globally, and the idea that one company could impact rates across the industry is a major stretch. Regardless, smaller brands do have a number of tactics they can deploy to have a competitive advantage including: 1) Focusing on niche audiences – riches are in the niches and while mega brands focus on creators who can speak to everyone, you can focus on creators who speak to your niches. 2) Lean into the brand’s story – Smaller brands tend to have rich founder stories, unique missions that people want to be part of, etc. Lean into that. 3) Go deeper with your creators – create limited edition products, have creators become advisors, provide stock for greater levels of support. You have levers you can pull that big brands cannot.
You don’t necessarily need bigger budgets to win at creator marketing, you just need a smarter, more strategic approach. Smaller brands can outmaneuver their deep-pocketed competitors by leaning into nano- and micro-creators, thinking differently about incentives (consider a revenue-share model or affiliate commissions vs. straight cash payments), surprising audiences with bold creator stunts vs. your typical one-off post, and doubling down on truly building community with creators.
Even as global giants like Unilever pour billions into influencer marketing, smaller and emerging brands hold a unique advantage: authenticity. Big budgets can buy reach, but they can’t replicate the human connection a founder or small team can create. For smaller brands, success comes from building genuine relationships with creators: inviting them into the brand story, asking for input, welcoming them to their store or studio, celebrating their content, and showing up as mutual ambassadors. These personal touches foster loyalty and advocacy that money can’t easily replicate. At the end of the day, creators want partnerships that feel real. By leaning into their humanity, founders can spark deeper trust and build communities around their brands, even in a space increasingly dominated by large advertisers.
The beauty of influencer marketing is that smaller brands can absolutely keep up! Media used to be totally centralized, but now creators have powerful sway with a small, focused audience. Smaller brands can create outsized impact by being strategic and smart about working with creators who are extremely aligned with their message and audience. It’s all about how focused you can be!
Influencer marketing is still going to be a cost-effective and efficient use of spend for smaller and emerging brands. The key is to partner with smaller mid-size trusted talent that have an engaged audience within their target market and utilize paid media to whitelist the content. This strategy allows brands to utilize more mid-tier and micro talent while still seeing the reach and conversions needed to impact their bottom line.
All brands can compete in this space. While creator rates are rising, smaller brands aren’t shut out. They’re simply pushed to be more tactical. For example, micro- and mid-tier creators often deliver stronger engagement and can be more cost-effective partners. Yes, creators with significant views or followers may be out of reach, but the right creators still exist to authentically amplify brand messaging. Ultimately, success comes from smart matchmaking and leaning into partnership value and price.
Large companies often lean on macro-influencers for reach, and there is value in that. But smaller and emerging brands don’t need to compete at that level to get results. Micro-influencers can deliver stronger engagement and deeper trust, so spreading budget across many of them can create the kind of momentum that drives both awareness and action. It’s not about choosing one over the other, it’s about being smart with where your brand sits and what you need to achieve. Launching RISER showed me how powerful it is when brands activate creators en masse. You get authentic voices, consistent content, and real connections with communities that matter. Whether working with one big name or hundreds of everyday creators, the focus should always be on influence that feels genuine and sparks conversation.
Bigger brands diving deep into creator marketing signals a fundamental shift in value derivation, likely a reaction to declining SEO effectiveness and other traditional tactics. For smaller brands, the opportunity lies in not hesitating while the market isn’t yet saturated. The real challenge isn’t competition, it’s ROI opacity. Value in influencer marketing remains murky, which holds many brands back. The key is finding ways to work with creators that provide clear confidence in value delivery and campaign-to-campaign improvement. This is precisely where we focus at Videreo: building and deploying lead magnets that create transparent data trails from awareness through consideration to conversion, with each stage carrying explicit value metrics. Smaller brands can compete by prioritizing measurement infrastructure over budget size, ensuring every creator partnership delivers trackable, scalable results that justify continued investment.
There are still countless creators eager to work with brands, often in exchange for gifted products or affordable fees. The key is to be creative in how you approach it. Make it public that you’re looking for creators and keep the process simple so they can join easily. Avoid relying solely on “opt-in” influencer platforms where inboxes are already flooded with brand requests. Go for platforms with bigger databases. Once you’ve built a relationship with one creator, ask them for referrals. Creators talk, and they’ll often connect you with others who are a good fit. The opportunity is still huge for smaller brands. It just takes a bit of initiative and resourcefulness.
Unilever’s bold investment in influencer marketing validates what many of us in the industry have long believed: creators are now at the center of brand growth. For smaller and emerging brands, rising creator rates shouldn’t be a barrier, but rather a push to be smarter. Value can still be unlocked by focusing on micro- and nano-influencers, where authenticity and engagement often outperform reach. It’s less about competing with large budgets and more about finding the right creators who can build genuine connections with niche audiences. By leveraging technology, data-driven matchmaking, and creative seeding strategies, smaller brands can achieve impact at scale without overspending. At BrandMe, we’ve seen firsthand that when campaigns are rooted in community and authenticity, even modest investments can outperform high-spend strategies. The opportunity for emerging brands is to stay agile, authentic, and hyper-focused on meaningful creator collaborations.
Even with rising costs from large brands, smaller companies can still succeed in influencer marketing. The key is to change focus from large-scale reach to authenticity and targeted engagement. Prioritize micro- and nano-influencers with niche, highly engaged audiences. This approach is more cost-effective and creates more genuine connections. Focus on building long-term partnerships with brand ambassadors who believe in the product. Leverage data to identify the right influencers and to measure ROI through performance-based tactics like affiliate links and unique discount codes.
Unilever’s increased investment in influencer marketing presents a challenge for smaller brands, but it also highlights new opportunities. To compete, smaller and emerging brands must be more strategic. Instead of chasing large, expensive creators, they should focus on a considered scouting process to find undiscovered micro-influencers. These creators often have more engaged, niche audiences and are more open to long-term partnerships that build genuine brand alignment. Platforms like TikTok Shop offer a way to manage costs, as brands can pay a reduced flat fee and provide a commission on sales, directly tying their investment to performance. Crucially, smaller brands can differentiate themselves by bringing influencers into the fold. By inviting creators to events and making them a true part of the brand-building process, they foster authentic relationships that big corporations can’t replicate.
Unilever’s decision highlights just how central influencer marketing has become, but that doesn’t mean smaller brands are shut out. In fact, emerging brands often have an edge: agility, authenticity, and the ability to create real community connections. While creator rates have risen, results don’t only come from top-tier names – micro- and nano-influencers consistently drive higher engagement and strong trust. Smaller brands should also lean into UGC strategies and creator-based assets: content designed by creators that can be repurposed across paid media, websites, and CRM. This approach extends the value of influencer partnerships well beyond a single post. The key is prioritizing authenticity and collaboration – working with creators who genuinely align with the brand’s story and leveraging their content across channels. Ultimately, influencer marketing isn’t about who spends the most; it’s about who uses creativity and community to build the strongest connections.
When corporate giants like Unilever start investing into marketing channels, it definitely shifts the landscape. Bigger budgets don’t automatically mean better results! Smaller brands can win by going deeper, not wider. While giants chase volume, smart smaller brands focus on nano-influencers with 1K-10K followers. These creators still charge just $10-$100 per post and often accept product-only deals. Smaller brands can win by emphasizing their “speed to market.” Smaller brands can differentiate with speed (i.e., can approve campaigns in hours while corporations take weeks), and position as the anti-corporate choice. Smaller brands can win by highlighting why engagement rate matters more than # of followers alone. Nano influencers can deliver up to four times higher than macro-influencers – with 7% of their engagements converting to actual sales, double that of larger influencers.
Even as major brands increase demand for influencer partnerships and the rates, smaller and emerging brands can still drive value by focusing on micro- and nano-influencers. At Plaiced’s Communify, we’ve seen that authenticity and alignment with community values often outperform raw reach. Smaller brands can win by co-creating content with creators who genuinely use their products, leveraging long-term partnerships, and tapping into niche private communities. It’s not about outspending, it’s about out connecting.
As influencer marketing matures and the biggest brands pour billions into the space, the real opportunity for emerging brands lies in leaning into micro- and nano-influencers. For example, NIL athletes, who remain significantly more affordable than traditional creators and deliver engagement rates five times the industry average, will help emerging brands to reach younger, highly engaged audiences. By focusing on these authentic voices, brands can stretch their budgets further while building deeper connections with their audiences.
Small brands are tailor-made for influencer marketing. Budget isn’t the limiting factor – there’s always a creator who fits. Think of it like fishing in a vast ocean: the right fish is out there if you search carefully. Blue Ocean thinking is key; demonstrating unique value and differentiation always pays off. Data points the way, but creativity opens doors. For smaller brands, the goal is creating long-term, win-win partnerships and growing alongside emerging influencers. Brand ambassadors, affiliate programs, hosted events, influencer-inspired product launches, PR gifts, fam trips, and testimonials are just some of the tools. When small brands combine agility, insight, and authentic storytelling, they forge genuine connections and turn influence into something that scales.
Despite the scale at which Unilever operates, I’d question any suggestion their strategy is pushing up rates. Putting aside the sheer size of the influencer marketing industry, I’d assume that Unilever is increasing spend significantly with UGC and micro-influencers. Their strategy was to have “local” influencers in every region. The same option is still open to smaller and emerging brands.
Smaller brands can absolutely still win in influencer marketing – it’s about playing smart, not big. Instead of competing with Unilever-sized budgets, build your own community of nano and micro creators. Turn them into genuine fans through consistent gifting, seeding, and even intimate local events where they feel part of the brand story. This approach creates authentic advocates who drive word-of-mouth and earned media long before you ever pay for a post. From there, you can identify the best-fit partners to grow into ambassadors, mixing in affiliate models to share revenue and track performance. It’s about investing in relationships early, nurturing loyalty, and scaling thoughtfully – small brands can be nimble in ways big companies simply can’t, and they should definitely be taking advantage of that!
Unilever pledged to put half of its annual ad spend into influencer marketing last fall, with some claiming creator rates have jumped 30% in just six months. How can smaller and emerging brands still drive value from influencer marketing while larger companies move into the space? Emerging brands can drive real value by partnering with niche creators and micro-influencers in their marketing initiatives. These partnerships are often more cost-effective, but just as importantly, they tend to deliver deep audience engagement. Smaller and emerging creators often have highly connected, loyal communities, which translates into more authentic and trusted brand collaborations. The dynamics of influencer marketing are changing. Today, there is room for everyone at the table. At Amaze, we’ve seen creators of all sizes build meaningful businesses through authentic brand relationships.
Big brands might be throwing huge budgets at influencer marketing, but smaller, emerging brands can still compete and win by focusing on authenticity and efficiency. While the big guys are still locked into flat-fee deals, affiliate and rev-share models give smaller brands a smarter way to scale. The real advantage? Leaning into niche communities where authentic connections matter more than mass reach. One of the best ways to do that is through affiliate gifting. It’s a simple but powerful way to spark real relationships with creators and inspire the kind of genuine product love that audiences trust. That’s exactly why we’re in beta with a new Collective Voice gifting portal on our platform. In fact, we recently fielded research asking creators what they value most in brand partners, and they ranked early product access and gifting at the top, followed closely by high commissions. So when you pair gifting with affiliate linking, those organic shoutouts turn into measurable sales. Creators earn through performance, and brands only pay when sales happen. Because influence today isn’t about spend – it’s about strategy, trust, and impact.
You don’t need Unilever’s budget to win in influencer marketing, you need focus. The most effective way to compete isn’t by outspending, but by out-strategizing. With influencer rates rising, some reporting 30% growth in just six months, clarity on KPIs is essential. For brand awareness, repetition across multiple voices often outperforms a single splashy partnership. Micro- and mid-tier creators deliver engagement rates 60–80% higher than top-tier talent while costing far less, making them a smart investment. Pairing those relationships with UGC partnerships and dark-posting through paid media allows brands to hyper-target audiences, amplify what works, and stretch budgets further. This strategy gives smaller brands the ability to reach broad audiences with creator-led content that feels authentic and credible. By combining diversified partnerships, efficient amplification, and creative agility, emerging brands can maintain an edge without needing enterprise-level spend.
While big brands inflate creator rates, smaller brands can still win by focusing on what larger companies often neglect: relationships and strategic execution. First, compete on terms, not just dollars. Pay creators on time, offer fair IP/rights agreements, and avoid exploitative exclusivity clauses that big brands often bury in 20+ page contracts for a handful of pieces of content. In an industry built on relationships, fair and ethical treatment becomes a competitive advantage. Second, leverage creator economics. Nano- and micro-creators usually have better conversion rates than big influencers. As creators grow, key metrics typically drop – making smaller creators more cost-effective. Third, structure longer-term partnerships to dilute costs per asset while building authentic brand relationships. Rather than competing for one-off posts with inflated budgets, invest in consistent collaborations that compound over time. Smart, smaller brands aren’t trying to outspend Unilever – they’re building deeper creator relationships that drive real results.
The influencer marketing landscape evolves quickly, meaning smaller brands need to be especially strategic. One of the smartest moves is leaning into mid-tier and micro-influencers. These creators often have highly engaged audiences and can deliver strong ROI, making them a cost-effective alternative to top-tier talent. Equally important is being disciplined about usage rights and exclusivity costs. Restricting a creator from working with other brands for a month can be unrealistic and unnecessarily expensive, especially if it doesn’t meaningfully boost performance. Instead, brands should define clear campaign priorities and only buy the exclusivity and usage rights that truly matter. Timelines are another hidden cost driver: campaigns with two-week turnarounds can cost 50 to 100% more than those planned six to eight weeks in advance. By planning ahead, prioritizing smaller creators, and being smart about exclusivity, emerging brands can still compete (and win!) as larger brands enter the space.
Smaller brands don’t need Unilever budgets to win in influencer marketing – their advantage is still with micro-creators. They’re more affordable, closer to their audience, and often deliver stronger trust and conversion. Emerging brands can stretch budgets by leaning into product seeding and experiences instead of heavy cash deals. A free product that fits naturally into a creator’s lifestyle, or an exclusive invite to something memorable, can be just as valuable as a check. The key is giving them true creative freedom – let them tell your story in their own voice. When creators feel ownership, the content resonates more, and that authenticity cuts through the noise bigger brands can’t always avoid.
Smaller and emerging brands can still capture value in influencer marketing by being more strategic with structure and partnerships. A hybrid model that mixes flat fees with performance-based components like affiliate is often more efficient than paying high flat rates. Asking for additional videos or deliverables can also bring the effective cost down. Micro-influencers are especially valuable because their audiences are niche and highly engaged, which often translates into stronger ROI. Finally, building long-term partnerships instead of one-off campaigns creates trust and consistency that benefits both the creator and the brand.
I believe there’s space for everyone in influencer marketing, whether for big-name brands or smaller ones. I’d suggest that small brands look to niche micro-influencers and measure success not by follower count, but by audience engagement. Follower count is no longer relevant – what matters most is engagement and the share of the brand’s target audience among an influencer’s followers. In this way, campaigns with influencers are more like targeting the exact audiences brands want rather than paying a premium for broad reach.
Smaller brands don’t need to compete dollar-for-dollar with the Unilevers of the world to win in influencer marketing. The key is to think differently about how creator content is used. Many brands treat influencer posts as one-offs when, in fact, by negotiating usage rights, brands can repurpose creator content across paid, owned, and earned channels, stretching budgets dramatically. Additionally, as generative AI platforms evolve, this same licensing approach allows brands to safely integrate creator likenesses and content into AI-driven campaigns at scale. The important caveat is that creators must be fairly compensated for any extended use. When done correctly, licensing turns influencer marketing from a one-off campaign into an asset that keeps delivering value long after the first post goes live.
Having worked with both big and emerging brands as a creator, I’ve noticed that smaller brands actually have a unique edge in influencer marketing. With larger companies, collaborations can feel transactional – they give me the brief, I give them a deliverable, done. But with smaller brands, there’s real room for influencers to help shape the brand’s vision and story. It feels more like we’re building something together, not that I’m just promoting a product. When creators are invited to be part of a brand’s journey and community, the partnership becomes more authentic and impactful. That’s how smaller and emerging brands can still drive real value from influencer marketing, even as bigger players move into the space.
Smaller brands can gain an edge by focusing on hidden, cost-effective influencers and loyal consumers who already champion their products. The biggest shift on social media today is that consumers and creators no longer always tag or mention brands. Instead, they showcase them quietly and authentically in visuals and casual conversations. This creates a massive blind spot: up to 70% of genuine brand advocacy goes undetected by traditional social listening and influencer tools that rely on hashtags and mentions. As a result, brands miss valuable nano- and micro-creators who are already using and sharing their products. By using AI visual and video recognition to detect brand content even when tags are missing, WeArisma empowers smaller brands to uncover hidden advocates and be hyper-targeted in their partnership choices ensuring emerging brands can compete and thrive.
We’ve seen a definite spike in interest from brands big and small over the past 3 months, curious about the potential of working with an AI Influencer. At PiXEL, we’re always keen to stress AI Influencers aren’t going to replace real influencers – but we do expect more big brands to leverage the technology and I expect we’ll see more virtual personas working alongside their human counterparts in brand campaigns. For smaller and emerging brands, AI Influencers do provide an interesting alternative. Aside from collabs being cheaper, a lot of what we hear is clients are frustrated with elements of the influencer industry, multiple agents, no transparency on pricing, and limitations on creative input. From all our experience working with the artists and developers behind AI Influencers and our work connecting them with brands, a lot of these barriers are removed. We’re really excited about where this space is heading right now – it’s a brand-new marketing channel that brands need to be considering.
When giants like Unilever double down on influencers, smaller brands can’t win by outspending. They win by outsmarting. Value isn’t only in follower count, it’s in product-audience fit. Niche creators with authentic engagement often deliver stronger ROI than macro names with inflated rates. In fact, big brands entering the space helps challengers too. It professionalizes influencer marketing, pushes standards up, and gives creators more income stability, which means they can dedicate more energy to branded work. Smaller brands then benefit from creators who are better equipped, more experienced, and often more selective in choosing partnerships that truly align. The big players set the trend; the smart challengers set the culture.
The creator economy is no longer an experiment, it is now being measured against the same ROI benchmarks as programmatic and traditional advertising. As creator fees escalate, even the largest brands are finding it harder to achieve sustainable returns, prompting a broad reassessment of influencer marketing strategies. For smaller brands, the smarter path forward is partnering with emerging creators. These creators typically offer more accessible pricing, bring authentic enthusiasm to their content, and often command highly engaged niche audiences. Their ability to adapt quickly to shifting platform algorithms gives them an edge in driving measurable results. The next wave of growth in influencer marketing will not come from chasing celebrity-level partnerships. It will come from forging ROI-driven collaborations that balance cost, engagement, and authenticity to ensure that creator partnerships deliver sustainable value.
Smaller brands can compete in influencer marketing by being smart about where and how they show up. Listing on TikTok Shop or Amazon makes products accessible, but the real unlock is the rise of AI-powered marketplaces that connect creators with the right products faster – often with better commission opportunities. That shifts discovery from who spends the most to who’s most relevant. Combined with smarter linking and attribution, it reduces friction from post to purchase and enables hybrid deals that mix fees with performance. For emerging brands, this blend of discoverability and efficiency stretches budgets and builds authentic, long-term creator partnerships – even as larger advertisers push rates higher.
Smaller brands don’t need to match big budgets to win with influencers. The key is tapping into micro- and nano-creators who deliver stronger engagement and authentic connections. By focusing on creativity, strong collaboration, and building real relationships, emerging brands can stand out while larger companies chase scale. It shows you don’t have to outspend when you can outsmart.
Smaller-spend brands aren’t competing with Unilever’s dollars – they’re competing with the realities that come with that kind of scale. Big budgets unlock reach, but they also bring complexity, longer timelines, and more guardrails. That leaves room for challengers to win by being braver: investing with creators shaping culture before they hit the mainstream, building rosters that act like true brand extensions, and showing up with personality over polish. Money matters, but speed, trust, and cultural proximity matter more, and that’s where challenger brands can stand out.
The best thing small brands can do to stay competitive is to offer more than money: plain and simple. Give them VALUE they can give to their shoppers: try-now, pay-later offers, deeper discounts, bundles offers, creator co-branded shopping UX. If you can get talent more excited to share your offer (versus the big corporate package) it will all fall in line. Creators themselves are also facing competition with the algorithm themselves. Anything you can do to help them solve their own audience engagement problems – better creates a sense of synergy and worthwhile monetary tradeoffs. Creators need to wholeheartedly believe that the offer you give them truly will pattern disrupt their audience, otherwise, they are just going to chase the biggest payouts they can possibly get.
Although larger companies continue to move into the influencer marketing space, there is still a large gap where smaller and emerging brands can sneak in. The key is a realistic, mapped-out strategy that’s rooted in both the influencer and brands’ data, niches, and goals. Smaller brands need to go beyond vanity metrics of a follower count. Emerging creators often have great, if not better, engagement than some of the top creators out there. They drive value with their tight-knit and loyal communities while still having affordable rates. Working with nano- or micro-creators allows brands to build long-term, successful partnerships, with the opportunity to grow alongside the creator’s audience. Equally important is maintaining strong relationships. Partnerships shouldn’t feel purely transactional. Creating a partnership that feels natural and personal only adds authority for both the creators and the brands. Finally, maximize impact by repurposing content. Did something work once? Chances are, it can work again. Adapt across platforms, turn it into website assets, or even amplify with paid ads. Repurposing extends the value and stretches the budget further. By teaming up with emerging creators and leaning into authenticity, smaller brands can turn smart partnerships into big results.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Influencer marketing has reached a critical point in 2025, with major brands increasingly shifting their budgets toward creator partnerships, while smaller companies face escalating costs and competition. According to The Drum’s recent investigation, creator rates have increased by approximately 30% in just six months following Unilever’s pledge to allocate half of its annual advertising budget to influencer marketing.
The fast-moving consumer goods giant’s strategy has triggered a ripple effect across the industry. The Drum found that agencies are unanimously reporting increases in client spending and RFPs since Unilever’s announcement, with some clients doubling their seven-figure budgets. Meanwhile, EMARKETER’s latest report reveals U.S. brands are expected to spend $10.52 billion on sponsored content this year, with measurement challenges now representing the primary roadblock to continued budget growth.
This shift raises an urgent question for the creator economy: How can smaller and emerging brands still drive value from influencer marketing while larger companies move into the space?
To address this challenge, we collected insights from 47 industry experts – from agency leaders and brand executives to creators and marketplace founders – seeking practical strategies for companies without Unilever-sized budgets.
From leveraging micro-influencers and performance-based payment structures to building deeper, more authentic partnerships, these experts outline multiple paths forward for brands seeking to establish their presence in the competitive creator economy.
Sarah Boyd, Co-CEO and CRO, The Digital Dept.
Small and emerging brands can tap into the power of influencer marketing with a curated strategy that activates strong creator partners in a mutually beneficial way. A UGC program can tap influencers to create effective social media content that the brand can use on its owned channels. An affiliate program allows a brand to activate influencers without as much upfront cost, with the creator encouraged to share engaging content in order to drive affiliate sales. Smaller brands can also build out strong relationships with key creators who can speak to a specific target audience and drive high engagement and sales. We also encourage smaller brands to get creative with their marketing, from developing unique creative briefs that naturally create excitement, to in-person events that bring the brand to life (like our turnkey BRANDEdit Experiences), to partnering with other like-minded brands for engaging collaborations that reach new audiences.
Melissa Wood, SVP of Brand Partnerships, Shorthand Studios
While some macro and celebrity talent have increased, many creators remain competitively priced. For smaller and emerging brands, the opportunity lies in playing to their unique advantages. Large advertisers often chase scale and CPMs, but smaller brands can focus on depth by building authentic connections within niche verticals and cultivating community trust. Their agility allows them to move quickly, secure talent early, and test new formats, collaborations, and even creator-led IP that resonates culturally. In many cases, this focused, authentic approach can rival the brand value and impact of larger campaigns.
Urvashi Ajmera, Associate Strategy Director, Barbarian
Smaller and emerging brands can still thrive in influencer marketing by focusing on authenticity and “what feels right for the brand” rather than follower count. While larger companies may invest heavily in the space, smaller brands have the advantage of building meaningful partnerships with influencers who genuinely connect with their brand’s values. These brands are often in a critical growth phase, where expanding their audience is essential. Influencer marketing becomes a key tool in that effort. Rather than chasing numbers, they should prioritize creators whose content style, audience, and niche align with their brand. Influencers should speak about the brand in a way that feels natural within their usual content. A thoughtful, well-matched collaboration that may reach fewer people, but the right people, is often more impactful than a broad, less personal campaign. For example, Sky Organics, a new personal care brand, consistently partners with creators in the wellness space, with each collaboration feeling tailored and authentic. This intentionality builds trust, deepens connections, and drives long-term value.
Paula Bruno, CEO, Intuition Media Group
When Unilever announced they’d dedicate half their ad spend to influencer marketing, it highlighted the growing importance of creators in advertising. But with that comes greater oversight of creator budgets is inevitable, and much of that spend will likely go toward paid media to amplify creator content – not directly to creators. For smaller brands, this might feel daunting, but you can still compete by being strategic: Work with an experienced agency – rates are evolving fast, and fair negotiation is key to maintaining strong creator relationships. Focus on Micro- and Nano-Creators – These smaller influencers drive higher engagement and conversions while being more cost-effective. Think Long-Term – Build deeper partnerships with creators for authentic, ongoing content. License UGC – Repurpose creator content across your paid and organic channels to maximize its impact. Creativity and smart execution remain the ultimate equalizers for smaller brands.
Joe Yates, CEO, Sommerce
Smaller and emerging brands can still win by focusing on TikTok Shop’s affiliate space, where creators are rewarded transparently through commission-based earnings. Instead of paying large flat fees, challenger brands are activating thousands of micro-creators on 10% commission-only deals. This means creators earn when the brand earns, making the model both sustainable and scalable. We’re already seeing DTC challengers drive 6-7 figures in monthly revenue using this approach, without paying a single flat fee. By structuring clear promotions, bundles, and conversion-led offers, smaller brands can secure a strong presence in creators’ storefronts and drive consistent sales. The beauty of the affiliate model is that it creates a growth loop: as more creators sell, more content is produced and pushed into TikTok’s algorithm, expanding organic reach and sales. This levels the playing field and allows smaller brands to thrive despite rising influencer rates.
Dev Karaca, Co-Founder and CEO, Kyra
When a company like Unilever pours billions into influencers, some prices will jump. But smaller brands still have an edge. Big corporations move slowly and often over-script or overpay. Smaller brands can move fast … running reactive, always-on campaigns, backing creators who genuinely love the product, and building momentum in micro-communities. That kind of agility creates the sort of organic attention and momentum money alone can’t buy. In a market where everyone is spending more, speed and focus are the real equalisers.
Sarah McNabb, CMO, GigaStar
Ultimately, smaller brands don’t need to outspend the giants – I think they can still win by leaning into what makes them nimble: building authentic partnerships with micro- and nano-influencers, focusing on long-term relationships instead of one-off ads, and exploring underpriced platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, or niche communities. Co-creating content, tapping user-generated creative for ads, and using performance-based deals keep budgets efficient while strengthening trust.
Casey Benedict, CEO & Founder, Maverick Mindshare
Smaller brands don’t need to outspend Unilever to compete – they need to out-simplify. The brands feeling the squeeze are over-engineering influencer marketing with complicated ROI formulas, bolt-on tactics, and shiny-object syndrome. Ironically, all of that dilutes impact and makes it harder to see what’s actually working. When you strip influencer marketing back to basics – choosing the right voices, aligning on expectations, and integrating their work into your broader marketing – you get far more value than by chasing every emerging trend or keeping up with the competition. Scaling comes from simplicity; never complexity. Do fewer things with more focus, and build a system where every activation strengthens the whole, not just one campaign.
Andy Cloyd, Co-Founder and CEO, SuperAffiliate
As larger brands wake up to the power of influencer marketing, inevitably competition increases and there will be some “crowding out” of smaller brands with smaller budgets and less cache. To win, smaller brands need to lean into their unique advantages: the “why” behind their brands. Founder stories, sense of community with other brand creators, and generally look for extremely mission-aligned creators. Small brands can also innovate on economic structures and take risks on up-and-coming creators that they can grow with.
Keith Bendes, CSO, Linqia
I personally disagree with the connection between Unilever’s mission and creator rate hikes made in that article. Over 200 million individuals identify as content creators globally, and the idea that one company could impact rates across the industry is a major stretch. Regardless, smaller brands do have a number of tactics they can deploy to have a competitive advantage including: 1) Focusing on niche audiences – riches are in the niches and while mega brands focus on creators who can speak to everyone, you can focus on creators who speak to your niches. 2) Lean into the brand’s story – Smaller brands tend to have rich founder stories, unique missions that people want to be part of, etc. Lean into that. 3) Go deeper with your creators – create limited edition products, have creators become advisors, provide stock for greater levels of support. You have levers you can pull that big brands cannot.
Maren Hamilton, Director of Global Brand & Community, Popfly
You don’t necessarily need bigger budgets to win at creator marketing, you just need a smarter, more strategic approach. Smaller brands can outmaneuver their deep-pocketed competitors by leaning into nano- and micro-creators, thinking differently about incentives (consider a revenue-share model or affiliate commissions vs. straight cash payments), surprising audiences with bold creator stunts vs. your typical one-off post, and doubling down on truly building community with creators.
Aurélie Sauthier, Co-Founder, Made In
Even as global giants like Unilever pour billions into influencer marketing, smaller and emerging brands hold a unique advantage: authenticity. Big budgets can buy reach, but they can’t replicate the human connection a founder or small team can create. For smaller brands, success comes from building genuine relationships with creators: inviting them into the brand story, asking for input, welcoming them to their store or studio, celebrating their content, and showing up as mutual ambassadors. These personal touches foster loyalty and advocacy that money can’t easily replicate. At the end of the day, creators want partnerships that feel real. By leaning into their humanity, founders can spark deeper trust and build communities around their brands, even in a space increasingly dominated by large advertisers.
Chelsie Hall, CEO, ViralMoment
The beauty of influencer marketing is that smaller brands can absolutely keep up! Media used to be totally centralized, but now creators have powerful sway with a small, focused audience. Smaller brands can create outsized impact by being strategic and smart about working with creators who are extremely aligned with their message and audience. It’s all about how focused you can be!
Jim Silver, CEO, FamFluence
Influencer marketing is still going to be a cost-effective and efficient use of spend for smaller and emerging brands. The key is to partner with smaller mid-size trusted talent that have an engaged audience within their target market and utilize paid media to whitelist the content. This strategy allows brands to utilize more mid-tier and micro talent while still seeing the reach and conversions needed to impact their bottom line.
Eddie Pietzak, Head of Digital, CESD
All brands can compete in this space. While creator rates are rising, smaller brands aren’t shut out. They’re simply pushed to be more tactical. For example, micro- and mid-tier creators often deliver stronger engagement and can be more cost-effective partners. Yes, creators with significant views or followers may be out of reach, but the right creators still exist to authentically amplify brand messaging. Ultimately, success comes from smart matchmaking and leaning into partnership value and price.
Felicity Grey, Founder and Managing Director, Theory Crew & RISER
Large companies often lean on macro-influencers for reach, and there is value in that. But smaller and emerging brands don’t need to compete at that level to get results. Micro-influencers can deliver stronger engagement and deeper trust, so spreading budget across many of them can create the kind of momentum that drives both awareness and action. It’s not about choosing one over the other, it’s about being smart with where your brand sits and what you need to achieve. Launching RISER showed me how powerful it is when brands activate creators en masse. You get authentic voices, consistent content, and real connections with communities that matter. Whether working with one big name or hundreds of everyday creators, the focus should always be on influence that feels genuine and sparks conversation.
Tony Carne, Co-Founder, Videreo
Bigger brands diving deep into creator marketing signals a fundamental shift in value derivation, likely a reaction to declining SEO effectiveness and other traditional tactics. For smaller brands, the opportunity lies in not hesitating while the market isn’t yet saturated. The real challenge isn’t competition, it’s ROI opacity. Value in influencer marketing remains murky, which holds many brands back. The key is finding ways to work with creators that provide clear confidence in value delivery and campaign-to-campaign improvement. This is precisely where we focus at Videreo: building and deploying lead magnets that create transparent data trails from awareness through consideration to conversion, with each stage carrying explicit value metrics. Smaller brands can compete by prioritizing measurement infrastructure over budget size, ensuring every creator partnership delivers trackable, scalable results that justify continued investment.
Jake Kitchiner, Co-Founder, ChannelCrawler
There are still countless creators eager to work with brands, often in exchange for gifted products or affordable fees. The key is to be creative in how you approach it. Make it public that you’re looking for creators and keep the process simple so they can join easily. Avoid relying solely on “opt-in” influencer platforms where inboxes are already flooded with brand requests. Go for platforms with bigger databases. Once you’ve built a relationship with one creator, ask them for referrals. Creators talk, and they’ll often connect you with others who are a good fit. The opportunity is still huge for smaller brands. It just takes a bit of initiative and resourcefulness.
Gerardo Sordo, CEO, BrandMe
Unilever’s bold investment in influencer marketing validates what many of us in the industry have long believed: creators are now at the center of brand growth. For smaller and emerging brands, rising creator rates shouldn’t be a barrier, but rather a push to be smarter. Value can still be unlocked by focusing on micro- and nano-influencers, where authenticity and engagement often outperform reach. It’s less about competing with large budgets and more about finding the right creators who can build genuine connections with niche audiences. By leveraging technology, data-driven matchmaking, and creative seeding strategies, smaller brands can achieve impact at scale without overspending. At BrandMe, we’ve seen firsthand that when campaigns are rooted in community and authenticity, even modest investments can outperform high-spend strategies. The opportunity for emerging brands is to stay agile, authentic, and hyper-focused on meaningful creator collaborations.
Fabio Soprano, Founder, Enclaverse
Even with rising costs from large brands, smaller companies can still succeed in influencer marketing. The key is to change focus from large-scale reach to authenticity and targeted engagement. Prioritize micro- and nano-influencers with niche, highly engaged audiences. This approach is more cost-effective and creates more genuine connections. Focus on building long-term partnerships with brand ambassadors who believe in the product. Leverage data to identify the right influencers and to measure ROI through performance-based tactics like affiliate links and unique discount codes.
Sam Royle, CEO and Co-Founder, SoSquared
Unilever’s increased investment in influencer marketing presents a challenge for smaller brands, but it also highlights new opportunities. To compete, smaller and emerging brands must be more strategic. Instead of chasing large, expensive creators, they should focus on a considered scouting process to find undiscovered micro-influencers. These creators often have more engaged, niche audiences and are more open to long-term partnerships that build genuine brand alignment. Platforms like TikTok Shop offer a way to manage costs, as brands can pay a reduced flat fee and provide a commission on sales, directly tying their investment to performance. Crucially, smaller brands can differentiate themselves by bringing influencers into the fold. By inviting creators to events and making them a true part of the brand-building process, they foster authentic relationships that big corporations can’t replicate.
Fabienne Fourquet, CEO and Co-Founder, 2btube
Unilever’s decision highlights just how central influencer marketing has become, but that doesn’t mean smaller brands are shut out. In fact, emerging brands often have an edge: agility, authenticity, and the ability to create real community connections. While creator rates have risen, results don’t only come from top-tier names – micro- and nano-influencers consistently drive higher engagement and strong trust. Smaller brands should also lean into UGC strategies and creator-based assets: content designed by creators that can be repurposed across paid media, websites, and CRM. This approach extends the value of influencer partnerships well beyond a single post. The key is prioritizing authenticity and collaboration – working with creators who genuinely align with the brand’s story and leveraging their content across channels. Ultimately, influencer marketing isn’t about who spends the most; it’s about who uses creativity and community to build the strongest connections.
Joycelyn David, Founder and CEO, AV Communications
When corporate giants like Unilever start investing into marketing channels, it definitely shifts the landscape. Bigger budgets don’t automatically mean better results! Smaller brands can win by going deeper, not wider. While giants chase volume, smart smaller brands focus on nano-influencers with 1K-10K followers. These creators still charge just $10-$100 per post and often accept product-only deals. Smaller brands can win by emphasizing their “speed to market.” Smaller brands can differentiate with speed (i.e., can approve campaigns in hours while corporations take weeks), and position as the anti-corporate choice. Smaller brands can win by highlighting why engagement rate matters more than # of followers alone. Nano influencers can deliver up to four times higher than macro-influencers – with 7% of their engagements converting to actual sales, double that of larger influencers.
Kaaveh Shoamanesh, Founder & CEO, Plaiced
Even as major brands increase demand for influencer partnerships and the rates, smaller and emerging brands can still drive value by focusing on micro- and nano-influencers. At Plaiced’s Communify, we’ve seen that authenticity and alignment with community values often outperform raw reach. Smaller brands can win by co-creating content with creators who genuinely use their products, leveraging long-term partnerships, and tapping into niche private communities. It’s not about outspending, it’s about out connecting.
Ayden Syal, Founder and CEO, MOGL
As influencer marketing matures and the biggest brands pour billions into the space, the real opportunity for emerging brands lies in leaning into micro- and nano-influencers. For example, NIL athletes, who remain significantly more affordable than traditional creators and deliver engagement rates five times the industry average, will help emerging brands to reach younger, highly engaged audiences. By focusing on these authentic voices, brands can stretch their budgets further while building deeper connections with their audiences.
Olgu Uysal, Managing Partner, OH Medya
Small brands are tailor-made for influencer marketing. Budget isn’t the limiting factor – there’s always a creator who fits. Think of it like fishing in a vast ocean: the right fish is out there if you search carefully. Blue Ocean thinking is key; demonstrating unique value and differentiation always pays off. Data points the way, but creativity opens doors. For smaller brands, the goal is creating long-term, win-win partnerships and growing alongside emerging influencers. Brand ambassadors, affiliate programs, hosted events, influencer-inspired product launches, PR gifts, fam trips, and testimonials are just some of the tools. When small brands combine agility, insight, and authentic storytelling, they forge genuine connections and turn influence into something that scales.
Charles Haynes, Founder, Ziggurat XYZ
Despite the scale at which Unilever operates, I’d question any suggestion their strategy is pushing up rates. Putting aside the sheer size of the influencer marketing industry, I’d assume that Unilever is increasing spend significantly with UGC and micro-influencers. Their strategy was to have “local” influencers in every region. The same option is still open to smaller and emerging brands.
Shirel Benji, Founder and CEO, Creator Origin
Smaller brands can absolutely still win in influencer marketing – it’s about playing smart, not big. Instead of competing with Unilever-sized budgets, build your own community of nano and micro creators. Turn them into genuine fans through consistent gifting, seeding, and even intimate local events where they feel part of the brand story. This approach creates authentic advocates who drive word-of-mouth and earned media long before you ever pay for a post. From there, you can identify the best-fit partners to grow into ambassadors, mixing in affiliate models to share revenue and track performance. It’s about investing in relationships early, nurturing loyalty, and scaling thoughtfully – small brands can be nimble in ways big companies simply can’t, and they should definitely be taking advantage of that!
Danielle Pederson, CMO, Amaze
Unilever pledged to put half of its annual ad spend into influencer marketing last fall, with some claiming creator rates have jumped 30% in just six months. How can smaller and emerging brands still drive value from influencer marketing while larger companies move into the space? Emerging brands can drive real value by partnering with niche creators and micro-influencers in their marketing initiatives. These partnerships are often more cost-effective, but just as importantly, they tend to deliver deep audience engagement. Smaller and emerging creators often have highly connected, loyal communities, which translates into more authentic and trusted brand collaborations. The dynamics of influencer marketing are changing. Today, there is room for everyone at the table. At Amaze, we’ve seen creators of all sizes build meaningful businesses through authentic brand relationships.
Clair Sidman, Vice President of Marketing, Collective Voice
Big brands might be throwing huge budgets at influencer marketing, but smaller, emerging brands can still compete and win by focusing on authenticity and efficiency. While the big guys are still locked into flat-fee deals, affiliate and rev-share models give smaller brands a smarter way to scale. The real advantage? Leaning into niche communities where authentic connections matter more than mass reach. One of the best ways to do that is through affiliate gifting. It’s a simple but powerful way to spark real relationships with creators and inspire the kind of genuine product love that audiences trust. That’s exactly why we’re in beta with a new Collective Voice gifting portal on our platform. In fact, we recently fielded research asking creators what they value most in brand partners, and they ranked early product access and gifting at the top, followed closely by high commissions. So when you pair gifting with affiliate linking, those organic shoutouts turn into measurable sales. Creators earn through performance, and brands only pay when sales happen. Because influence today isn’t about spend – it’s about strategy, trust, and impact.
Becca Bahrke, Founder, Illuminate Social
You don’t need Unilever’s budget to win in influencer marketing, you need focus. The most effective way to compete isn’t by outspending, but by out-strategizing. With influencer rates rising, some reporting 30% growth in just six months, clarity on KPIs is essential. For brand awareness, repetition across multiple voices often outperforms a single splashy partnership. Micro- and mid-tier creators deliver engagement rates 60–80% higher than top-tier talent while costing far less, making them a smart investment. Pairing those relationships with UGC partnerships and dark-posting through paid media allows brands to hyper-target audiences, amplify what works, and stretch budgets further. This strategy gives smaller brands the ability to reach broad audiences with creator-led content that feels authentic and credible. By combining diversified partnerships, efficient amplification, and creative agility, emerging brands can maintain an edge without needing enterprise-level spend.
Daniel Caldas, Founder, Caldas Ecom
While big brands inflate creator rates, smaller brands can still win by focusing on what larger companies often neglect: relationships and strategic execution. First, compete on terms, not just dollars. Pay creators on time, offer fair IP/rights agreements, and avoid exploitative exclusivity clauses that big brands often bury in 20+ page contracts for a handful of pieces of content. In an industry built on relationships, fair and ethical treatment becomes a competitive advantage. Second, leverage creator economics. Nano- and micro-creators usually have better conversion rates than big influencers. As creators grow, key metrics typically drop – making smaller creators more cost-effective. Third, structure longer-term partnerships to dilute costs per asset while building authentic brand relationships. Rather than competing for one-off posts with inflated budgets, invest in consistent collaborations that compound over time. Smart, smaller brands aren’t trying to outspend Unilever – they’re building deeper creator relationships that drive real results.
Sarah Gerrish, Senior Director of Creator & Influencer, Movers+Shakers
The influencer marketing landscape evolves quickly, meaning smaller brands need to be especially strategic. One of the smartest moves is leaning into mid-tier and micro-influencers. These creators often have highly engaged audiences and can deliver strong ROI, making them a cost-effective alternative to top-tier talent. Equally important is being disciplined about usage rights and exclusivity costs. Restricting a creator from working with other brands for a month can be unrealistic and unnecessarily expensive, especially if it doesn’t meaningfully boost performance. Instead, brands should define clear campaign priorities and only buy the exclusivity and usage rights that truly matter. Timelines are another hidden cost driver: campaigns with two-week turnarounds can cost 50 to 100% more than those planned six to eight weeks in advance. By planning ahead, prioritizing smaller creators, and being smart about exclusivity, emerging brands can still compete (and win!) as larger brands enter the space.
Dimitar Gougov, Chief Influence Officer and Partner, Mādin
Smaller brands don’t need Unilever budgets to win in influencer marketing – their advantage is still with micro-creators. They’re more affordable, closer to their audience, and often deliver stronger trust and conversion. Emerging brands can stretch budgets by leaning into product seeding and experiences instead of heavy cash deals. A free product that fits naturally into a creator’s lifestyle, or an exclusive invite to something memorable, can be just as valuable as a check. The key is giving them true creative freedom – let them tell your story in their own voice. When creators feel ownership, the content resonates more, and that authenticity cuts through the noise bigger brands can’t always avoid.
Dylan Huey, CEO, REACH
Smaller and emerging brands can still capture value in influencer marketing by being more strategic with structure and partnerships. A hybrid model that mixes flat fees with performance-based components like affiliate is often more efficient than paying high flat rates. Asking for additional videos or deliverables can also bring the effective cost down. Micro-influencers are especially valuable because their audiences are niche and highly engaged, which often translates into stronger ROI. Finally, building long-term partnerships instead of one-off campaigns creates trust and consistency that benefits both the creator and the brand.
Kate Andreeva, Head of Influencer & Talent Relations, HypeFactory
I believe there’s space for everyone in influencer marketing, whether for big-name brands or smaller ones. I’d suggest that small brands look to niche micro-influencers and measure success not by follower count, but by audience engagement. Follower count is no longer relevant – what matters most is engagement and the share of the brand’s target audience among an influencer’s followers. In this way, campaigns with influencers are more like targeting the exact audiences brands want rather than paying a premium for broad reach.
Benjamin Woollams, Founder and CEO, TrueRights
Smaller brands don’t need to compete dollar-for-dollar with the Unilevers of the world to win in influencer marketing. The key is to think differently about how creator content is used. Many brands treat influencer posts as one-offs when, in fact, by negotiating usage rights, brands can repurpose creator content across paid, owned, and earned channels, stretching budgets dramatically. Additionally, as generative AI platforms evolve, this same licensing approach allows brands to safely integrate creator likenesses and content into AI-driven campaigns at scale. The important caveat is that creators must be fairly compensated for any extended use. When done correctly, licensing turns influencer marketing from a one-off campaign into an asset that keeps delivering value long after the first post goes live.
Ovya Barani, Content Creator
Having worked with both big and emerging brands as a creator, I’ve noticed that smaller brands actually have a unique edge in influencer marketing. With larger companies, collaborations can feel transactional – they give me the brief, I give them a deliverable, done. But with smaller brands, there’s real room for influencers to help shape the brand’s vision and story. It feels more like we’re building something together, not that I’m just promoting a product. When creators are invited to be part of a brand’s journey and community, the partnership becomes more authentic and impactful. That’s how smaller and emerging brands can still drive real value from influencer marketing, even as bigger players move into the space.
Jenny Tsai, Founder and CEO, WeArisma
Smaller brands can gain an edge by focusing on hidden, cost-effective influencers and loyal consumers who already champion their products. The biggest shift on social media today is that consumers and creators no longer always tag or mention brands. Instead, they showcase them quietly and authentically in visuals and casual conversations. This creates a massive blind spot: up to 70% of genuine brand advocacy goes undetected by traditional social listening and influencer tools that rely on hashtags and mentions. As a result, brands miss valuable nano- and micro-creators who are already using and sharing their products. By using AI visual and video recognition to detect brand content even when tags are missing, WeArisma empowers smaller brands to uncover hidden advocates and be hyper-targeted in their partnership choices ensuring emerging brands can compete and thrive.
Lewis Davey, Founder, PiXEL
We’ve seen a definite spike in interest from brands big and small over the past 3 months, curious about the potential of working with an AI Influencer. At PiXEL, we’re always keen to stress AI Influencers aren’t going to replace real influencers – but we do expect more big brands to leverage the technology and I expect we’ll see more virtual personas working alongside their human counterparts in brand campaigns. For smaller and emerging brands, AI Influencers do provide an interesting alternative. Aside from collabs being cheaper, a lot of what we hear is clients are frustrated with elements of the influencer industry, multiple agents, no transparency on pricing, and limitations on creative input. From all our experience working with the artists and developers behind AI Influencers and our work connecting them with brands, a lot of these barriers are removed. We’re really excited about where this space is heading right now – it’s a brand-new marketing channel that brands need to be considering.
Patrik Wilkens, VP of Business Development, TheSoul Publishing
When giants like Unilever double down on influencers, smaller brands can’t win by outspending. They win by outsmarting. Value isn’t only in follower count, it’s in product-audience fit. Niche creators with authentic engagement often deliver stronger ROI than macro names with inflated rates. In fact, big brands entering the space helps challengers too. It professionalizes influencer marketing, pushes standards up, and gives creators more income stability, which means they can dedicate more energy to branded work. Smaller brands then benefit from creators who are better equipped, more experienced, and often more selective in choosing partnerships that truly align. The big players set the trend; the smart challengers set the culture.
Jason Yehuda Neuman, SVP of Influencer Marketing, PartnerCentric
The creator economy is no longer an experiment, it is now being measured against the same ROI benchmarks as programmatic and traditional advertising. As creator fees escalate, even the largest brands are finding it harder to achieve sustainable returns, prompting a broad reassessment of influencer marketing strategies. For smaller brands, the smarter path forward is partnering with emerging creators. These creators typically offer more accessible pricing, bring authentic enthusiasm to their content, and often command highly engaged niche audiences. Their ability to adapt quickly to shifting platform algorithms gives them an edge in driving measurable results. The next wave of growth in influencer marketing will not come from chasing celebrity-level partnerships. It will come from forging ROI-driven collaborations that balance cost, engagement, and authenticity to ensure that creator partnerships deliver sustainable value.
Brian Klais, CEO & Founder, URLgenius
Smaller brands can compete in influencer marketing by being smart about where and how they show up. Listing on TikTok Shop or Amazon makes products accessible, but the real unlock is the rise of AI-powered marketplaces that connect creators with the right products faster – often with better commission opportunities. That shifts discovery from who spends the most to who’s most relevant. Combined with smarter linking and attribution, it reduces friction from post to purchase and enables hybrid deals that mix fees with performance. For emerging brands, this blend of discoverability and efficiency stretches budgets and builds authentic, long-term creator partnerships – even as larger advertisers push rates higher.
Dominique Evans, Social Media Manager, Bald Creative Agency
Smaller brands don’t need to match big budgets to win with influencers. The key is tapping into micro- and nano-creators who deliver stronger engagement and authentic connections. By focusing on creativity, strong collaboration, and building real relationships, emerging brands can stand out while larger companies chase scale. It shows you don’t have to outspend when you can outsmart.
Abbey Bako, Director of Influencer Marketing, CYLNDR Studios
Smaller-spend brands aren’t competing with Unilever’s dollars – they’re competing with the realities that come with that kind of scale. Big budgets unlock reach, but they also bring complexity, longer timelines, and more guardrails. That leaves room for challengers to win by being braver: investing with creators shaping culture before they hit the mainstream, building rosters that act like true brand extensions, and showing up with personality over polish. Money matters, but speed, trust, and cultural proximity matter more, and that’s where challenger brands can stand out.
Kenyon Brown, Co-founder & CEO, CreatorCommerce
The best thing small brands can do to stay competitive is to offer more than money: plain and simple. Give them VALUE they can give to their shoppers: try-now, pay-later offers, deeper discounts, bundles offers, creator co-branded shopping UX. If you can get talent more excited to share your offer (versus the big corporate package) it will all fall in line. Creators themselves are also facing competition with the algorithm themselves. Anything you can do to help them solve their own audience engagement problems – better creates a sense of synergy and worthwhile monetary tradeoffs. Creators need to wholeheartedly believe that the offer you give them truly will pattern disrupt their audience, otherwise, they are just going to chase the biggest payouts they can possibly get.
Alex Caceres, U.S. Marketing, Metricool
Although larger companies continue to move into the influencer marketing space, there is still a large gap where smaller and emerging brands can sneak in. The key is a realistic, mapped-out strategy that’s rooted in both the influencer and brands’ data, niches, and goals. Smaller brands need to go beyond vanity metrics of a follower count. Emerging creators often have great, if not better, engagement than some of the top creators out there. They drive value with their tight-knit and loyal communities while still having affordable rates. Working with nano- or micro-creators allows brands to build long-term, successful partnerships, with the opportunity to grow alongside the creator’s audience. Equally important is maintaining strong relationships. Partnerships shouldn’t feel purely transactional. Creating a partnership that feels natural and personal only adds authority for both the creators and the brands. Finally, maximize impact by repurposing content. Did something work once? Chances are, it can work again. Adapt across platforms, turn it into website assets, or even amplify with paid ads. Repurposing extends the value and stretches the budget further. By teaming up with emerging creators and leaning into authenticity, smaller brands can turn smart partnerships into big results.
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