Brands That Invest in Creators Now Run Always-On Programs

Two years ago, the default for many brands was to buy influencer marketing one post at a time. A brand picked a creator, often by follower count or reach, and agreed a fee. It ran a code and moved on to the next name on the shortlist. Each deal was a separate negotiation with its own brief and fee. A second post, if any, depended on how the first one went or whether the campaign continued.

That model still exists, but most brands that invest in creators now run something ongoing. A creator stays on the roster for months, and their posts about a product build on each other. That raises questions about which creators earn a longer deal and what a brand should agree before the first post.

Most creator programs now run all year

Brands call the ongoing model always-on: creators keep working with a brand year-round, with seasonal pushes as one part of the mix. To see how common that has become, LTK and Northwestern University’s Retail Analytics Council ran a survey. It covered 209 senior marketing decision-makers, all at brands that invest in creator marketing.

Ninety-one percent run a program with an always-on component, and only 9% remain mostly campaign-based, meaning built around short pushes for a launch or sale.

Repeat exposure gives a recommendation time to land

A single sponsored post may sit in a feed between unrelated content, and followers often read it as an ad. A creator who mentions the same product across several months gives followers time to see it in use. They can ask questions in the comments and watch the opinion hold up.

For instance, prebiotic soda brand Poppi built a Coachella house for creator Alix Earle and her friends, and its branding ran through her content. Creators see the same effect.

Author and entrepreneur Hitha Palepu told a Fohr webinar panel: “I look at building long-term relations, not one-and-done campaigns.”

A brand can build that familiarity with only so many creators, so the choice of who to keep matters.

Why follower count no longer says enough

Not long ago, follower count was the way to judge how far a creator’s post would travel. Platforms have since changed how they decide what to show people.

TikTok says follower count is not a direct factor in what its For You feed recommends. Instagram head Adam Mosseri has named watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach as the signals that matter most. Reach now depends heavily on how viewers react to a post, so the community around a creator matters alongside its size.

Community fit decides which creators to keep

A creator a brand keeps for months needs a community that responds, so audience fit becomes a selection test. Favorite Daughter shows how that plays out. It began working with creators in August and had 25 of them go live on the morning of its National Daughters Day sale.

Co-founder Sara Foster described their audiences as smaller but engaged. The brand did $2 million in sales that day, up 100% from last year, thanks in part to its creators.

Before signing a creator, read recent posts and see how followers reply. Replies that point toward a purchase tend to look like this:

• Requests for a link, such as “link to this please?”
• Questions about the product, such as “is this durable?”
• Followers sharing their own experience

How to check a creator fits your brand

Strong followers and strong results with other brands are a good start, though they may not make a creator the best fit for yours. Brand fit begins with shared values, since a creator who already reflects what the brand stands for can present the product without forcing it.

Three questions help before signing. Does the creator’s content already reflect what the brand stands for? Does the tone sit naturally next to the product? Have they promoted a direct competitor recently?

Aerie shows the first question in practice. Its Realmakers Community debuted in late April 2026, built on a stance the brand has held since 2014, when it stopped retouching images. More than 10,000 creators applied within two weeks.

What to agree before the first post

A longer partnership needs a few basics in place:

1. The objective. Decide whether the partnership should drive launch awareness, sales, or steady content.
2. The length. Set a term with a review point where both sides decide whether to renew.
3. The freedom. Share the objective and product facts, then leave the creator room to use their own voice, since their community follows them for it.
4. The disclosure. Agree how the creator will label the partnership.

Which creators earn a longer deal, and on what terms?

Start with the creators your brand already works with. Score each on two points: whether the community acts on recommendations, and whether the values match the brand. Offer the two or three strongest a longer term with a review date, and decide then whether to extend.

One-off posts still suit launches with a fixed date, and a brand can use them to fill gaps around the creators it plans to keep.

A creator’s value builds with time. Because of that, the biggest decisions come before any content goes live. Choose creators whose communities respond and whose values match, then agree how long to work together.