Influencer management that feels genuine – and pays
Connect with your prospects in ways that feel far more genuine than ads. Social Sugar plans and manages influencer marketing, creator and UGC programmes for NZ and Australian brands – with brand safety and ROI tracking built in.
84+ brandstrust us to make social pay – since 2015
Why most influencer marketing doesn’t pay
If any of these sound familiar, you have an influencer strategy problem – not an influencer problem.
- Problem 01
The wrong people
Influencers are picked on follower counts, not on how well their audience matches your ideal customers.
- Problem 02
Off-brand content
Without clear briefs and approvals, posts drift from your positioning and brand safety becomes a gamble.
- Problem 03
No measurable return
With no tracking in place, influencer spend quickly becomes a cost with no measurable return.
How we make influencer marketing work
Authenticity – and a well-planned influencer strategy that fits your wider social plan, with the right people, a clear role and solid tracking.
- Plan
The right fit
- Influencer strategy for your social plan
- Recruitment profile from your personas
- Macro & micro influencer shortlists
- Execute
Managed for you
- Clear briefs, approvals & monitoring
- Co-ordinated with your social calendar
- Influencer platform at scale
- Track
Proven ROI
- Tracking in place before launch
- Results measured against agreed KPIs
- Best performers grown into ambassadors
What our clients say
The Sugar team is that rare breed of creative and digital marketing agency that focusses purely on what we need to get the result. From great brand strategy, through to detailed social strategy, brand identity design or simply day-to-day studio support – they simply fit in with what we need on a practical and flexible basis – with our best interests at heart.
Real influencer and UGC results
See all case studies →
Case study · Red Seal2000%+ reachInviting customers to share their own Red Seal moments lifted organic reach by over 2000% and cut production costs by 40% per post.
Read the case study
Case study · Hubbards ‘The Oatchelor’#1 in granolaA culture-led social idea and word of mouth took Hubbards to #1 in the granola category.
Read the case study
Your influencer programme in 3 steps
A clear path from our first chat to influencer activity you can measure.
Strategy and recruitment
We define where influencers fit your wider social strategy, build a recruitment profile from your ideal customer personas and shortlist the right people.
Brief and manage
We brief creators, approve and monitor their content, and co-ordinate their activity with your paid and organic calendar.
Track and grow
We track performance against agreed KPIs, report on what each partnership returns, and nurture the best performers into long-term ambassadors.
Want to see how influencers and creators could fit your plan?
Why brands choose Social Sugar
- 01
Social-ROI focus
We’re Australasia’s specialist social-ROI agency. Every strategy, post and campaign is judged on one thing – what it returns for your business.
- 02
A process proven since 2015
We’ve put 2,000+ campaigns to the test across 84 brands in 16 industries, refining the 10-Step full-funnel process behind every strategy.
- 03
Partnership terms
We build long-term partnerships, with twice the industry-average client tenure, and have pioneered payment-by-results and shared-risk models in New Zealand.
Influencer management FAQs
How much does influencer management cost?
Every influencer programme is scoped to your business, goals and the size of the programme, so we’ll give you a clear proposal after a free 30 min strategy chat. We’ve also pioneered payment-by-results and shared-risk partnerships in New Zealand – ask us whether one suits your business.
How long do I need to sign up for?
Influencer activity can be a single campaign or an ongoing ambassador programme as part of a wider partnership with our social media strategy and social media management teams. We agree the scope and term that suit you up front, and the first chat comes with no obligation.
How soon will I see results?
With tracking set up before launch, you can see how each partnership performs as it runs – then we build on the best performers over time. For Red Seal, customer-created content lifted organic reach by over 2000%.
Should I use macro or micro influencers?
It depends on your goals. Macro influencers deliver reach; micro influencers often deliver stronger engagement and trust with niche audiences. Most programmes benefit from a considered mix.
How do you find the right influencers?
We build a recruitment profile from the personas that represent your ideal customers, then create long and short lists of influencers who genuinely fit your brand.
How do you keep influencer content on-brand?
We set clear briefs and run an approval and monitoring process, so every post supports your brand positioning.
How do you measure influencer ROI?
We put tracking in place before launch, measure performance against agreed KPIs and use the results to decide who to keep working with.
What is UGC and how is it different?
User-generated content is created by real customers rather than paid influencers. It can be highly authentic and cost-effective – Red Seal cut production costs by 40% per post using it.
Make social media influencers work for your brand
Book a free 30 min strategy chat to explore how influencers and creators could fit your plan.