How to run an Instagram influencer campaign: eight steps from brief to report

To run an Instagram influencer campaign, write one goal and one tracked action, split the creator budget by format, cast creators on audience data rather than follower counts, sign contracts that fix the disclosure label and ad rights, approve each post twice, publish in waves, put ad money behind the posts that perform and report cost per result at day 7 and day 30. Allow about five weeks for a micro-creator campaign. This is the how-to; our Instagram influencer marketing service page explains what each format is for.

The wider channel is covered in our complete guide to influencer marketing in India. If you are still deciding whether Instagram is the right place to start, read the best platform for influencer marketing in India first.

The five-week calendar

Step 1: fix one goal and one tracked action

A campaign with three goals gets judged on whichever number looks best. Choose one, and decide how you will see it.

Our guides to unique discount codes and UTM links show the setup.

Step 2: split the budget by format

Decide the split before you look at names, so a charismatic creator does not reshape the plan. These shares are our planning starting points, not benchmarks.

Use published asking prices from our rates guide: a Reel runs about ₹8,000 to ₹80,000 for micro creators and ₹50,000 to ₹3.5 lakh for mid-tier, and a Story set about ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 for micro. Usage rights add about 35%. Several things sit outside the creator budget: GST at 18 percent, which published rate guides treat as extra; TDS, which the brand deducts when it pays (see TDS 194R and GST on influencer payments); the agency's management fee; and ad media. One published guide says media for boosted posts typically runs two to four times the creator fee, so size that line separately. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Step 3: cast on audience data

Ask every creator for five things before you talk price.

Those ranges are indicative Indian benchmarks from published rate cards, so use them to compare a creator with their own tier. We shortlist creators at 70 or above on the 100-point Gully Score. For the method, see our influencer vetting checklist and how to read audience insights.

Step 4: put Instagram-specific terms in the contract

Beyond the usual clauses in our influencer contract guide, these are the lines Instagram campaigns need:

• Label. The Paid partnership label with the brand tagged, plus an on-screen "Ad" from the first frame. ASCI accepts a platform tool as a label and also sets placement and duration rules.
• Collab invite. If the post is a collab, the creator accepts the invite within 24 hours. See collab posts for brands.
• Ad permission. An ad code per post or account-level access, held for a stated number of days.
• Audio. Original audio or cleared music on any Reel you may boost. Meta's eligible-formats page says Reels with copyrighted music are not eligible as partnership ads unless the advertiser holds the rights.
• Live period. The post stays public for at least 30 days, and the caption is not edited after approval.
• Insights. Screenshots at 48 hours, day 7 and day 30.
• Rights and exclusivity. Platforms, window and competitor list. See usage rights.
• Revisions and replacement. Two rounds, and a clause for what happens if a creator goes silent.

Step 5: brief once, approve twice

Send a one-page brief: the product truth, the one claim that must land, claims to avoid, the code and link, the label and examples of good work. Then approve at two gates. The concept gate takes two to three days and checks the idea. The draft gate checks the finished video against this list:

Step 6: post in waves

Do not release everything at once. A single burst makes the feed look like an ad wall and leaves you unable to tell which creator sold.

Reply to purchase questions in the comments within two hours, and ask creators to pin the code. Meta's help page says the link sticker is available in organic Stories only, so keep the link out of the Reel caption and in the Story set. For Story sequences see link sticker campaigns.

Step 7: amplify with partnership ads

By day 5 to 7, rank posts by saves and shares per 1,000 reached. Pick the top three or four and check three things: your rights cover paid use, the creator has shared an ad code or account permission, and the format is eligible. Meta lists Reels of 15 minutes or less without copyrighted music and Stories of 60 seconds or less without an organic link sticker. Run each post as its own ad at equal spend and compare cost per click with your brand-made creatives. Write the stop rule first, for example pausing any ad that has spent twice your target cost per result without delivering one. Setup details are in our partnership ads guide, and the process is covered under creator ads and whitelisting.

Step 8: report at day 7 and day 30

Rank every creator on cost per result and rebook those under target. Our campaign report template and ROI guide show the layout.

When something goes wrong

To see the creators we would shortlist and what each format would cost for your brand, send us a brief. Siblings of this guide cover Reels vs YouTube Shorts, micro-influencer campaigns and what an Instagram package should include.