Every influencer marketing agency pitch sounds roughly the same: authentic content, vetted creators, end-to-end management, great results. The pitch decks are interchangeable. What isn't interchangeable is how the work actually gets done, and that only comes out when you ask specific questions.
These are the eight questions we'd ask if we were on the other side of the table. A good agency will answer every one of them plainly. If you get vague answers, that tells you something too.
1. How do you source and vet creators?
You want to hear a process, not a database size. “We have 50,000 creators” means nothing if none of them fit your category. Ask how creators are matched to your brand and audience, who reviews the shortlist, and whether you get to approve it before anyone is contracted. At minimum, you should see and sign off on every creator before outreach.
2. Who owns the content, and for how long?
This is the question most brands forget until it's too late. Ask what usage rights are included, for which channels, for how long, and whether paid amplification and whitelisting are included or extra. Buying rights after a post has performed well is always more expensive than negotiating them up front. In our campaigns, usage rights for organic and paid use are included for the duration of the engagement, with paid amplification and whitelisting agreed before the campaign starts.
3. How do you handle disclosure and compliance?
In Australia, paid influencer content has to be clearly disclosed under the AANA Code of Ethics, and the ACCC has become increasingly active on influencer transparency. Ask how the agency builds disclosure into contracts and briefs, whether they check it before content goes live, and what happens if a creator edits a caption after posting. We wrote a practical guide to AANA disclosure if you want the detail.
4. What exactly will you report on?
Ask to see a real report from a past campaign, not a template. Reach and impressions are table stakes. What you want to know is whether the agency reports in a way that connects to your goals, and whether they tell you which creators and formats worked so the next campaign gets better.
5. Do you run our ads?
There's no right answer, but you need to know. Some agencies bundle media buying; others, including us, are campaign management agencies that hand content and rights to your team or media agency. Bundled is simpler. Separated keeps incentives cleaner, because the people making the content aren't also marking their own homework on ad performance.
6. What's the minimum engagement?
One-off campaigns are fine for a launch, but if you're after ongoing results, short engagements rarely leave enough time to learn what resonates. Ask what the minimum commitment is and why. Our UGC packages start at three months for exactly that reason.
7. How long until the first content goes live?
Timelines tell you whether an agency has a real process. Vague answers like “it depends” are a warning sign. For reference, our influencer campaigns typically take 3–5 weeks from kickoff depending on talent contracting, seeding campaigns 3–4 weeks from brief approval to first content live, and UGC 4–6 weeks to the first deliverable.
8. Can you show me a case study with real numbers?
Not a logo wall. A specific campaign, with the brief, what was delivered and what happened. Ask what didn't work as well. Agencies that have run real campaigns have real stories, including the parts that went sideways. You can read ours on the case studies page.
A note on local agencies
If you're an Australian brand, it's worth asking whether the agency understands the local creator market and regulatory environment, not just the platforms. Creator rates, disclosure rules and audience behaviour all differ between Australia and the US. A Melbourne or Sydney agency isn't automatically better, but one that has run campaigns here will have fewer surprises.
Whichever agency you choose, the best sign is one that asks you as many questions as you ask them. If you'd like to put us through these eight, book a call.
