How to Plan Influencer Marketing for 2027: A Guide for Brands
Updated on 13 November 2026
Plan your influencer marketing for 2027 around your goal: first decide what your campaigns should achieve, then choose platforms, creators and formats, and spread the budget across the whole year instead of betting everything on a single activation. Planning now, in autumn, secures in-demand creators and TV personalities for the key dates before their calendars fill up.
Why does it pay to plan for 2027 now?
Many companies allocate next year’s budgets in autumn. If you already know what influencer marketing should deliver at that point, you get your share – instead of working with whatever is left over in spring.
- In-demand creators plan ahead. Well-known creators and TV personalities in particular book their dates months in advance, especially around Easter, summer, Black Friday and Christmas.
- Good campaigns need lead time. Briefing, selection, contract, production and approvals take longer than many expect.
- Long-term is more credible. A creator who accompanies your brand for months is more convincing than a single post.
Step by step: how to plan your 2027 influencer year
- Set your goal. Do you want more awareness, more sales, content for your own channels or more trust? Each goal needs different creators, formats and metrics.
- Choose your audience and platforms. What matters is where your audience looks for information about products like yours. Which platform fits which purpose is explained in Instagram, TikTok or YouTube?
- Pick the right format. Influencer campaign, UGC or TV testimonial – the comparison below helps you decide.
- Select creators. Look for genuine closeness to the community and whether their values match your brand, not just the follower count. More on this in How to find influencers.
- Build an annual plan with focus periods. Mark your most important dates and plan backwards: when do you need to brief, produce and publish?
- Define metrics in advance. Decide before launch how you will measure success – reach, engagement, clicks, codes or sales. How to do it is shown in KPIs and reporting in influencer marketing.
Influencer, UGC or TV testimonial – which fits your brand?
The three formats are often confused, yet they deliver very different things. Many brands combine them over the course of the year.
| Influencer campaign | UGC | TV testimonial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Posts on the creator’s channel | Photos and videos for your own channels | A well-known face for your advertising |
| Where the content runs | On the creator’s channel, optionally also as an ad | On your side: social media, shop, ads | Wherever the usage rights allow: social media, ads, print, TV |
| Reach | Yes, the creator’s community | No, only via your channels and ads | Yes, through the person’s fame |
| Biggest strength | A recommendation with closeness and trust | Lots of authentic material for ads | Attention and credibility |
| A fit if you … | … want to reach new audiences | … constantly need content for ads and your shop | … want to position your brand strongly |
| Lead time | Medium | Short | Longer |
More on the individual formats: UGC marketing and Booking a celebrity testimonial.
How should you spread the budget across the year?
Instead of putting the entire budget into one big activation, a mix of a steady baseline and clear focus periods has proven effective:
- Baseline: One or more creators accompany your brand regularly throughout the year. This builds recognition.
- Focus periods: For product launches and seasonal peaks you deliberately add more creators or a well-known face.
- Test budget: A small share goes into new creators, platforms or formats. Whatever works, you scale up.
- Reuse content: Plan to run the best pieces as ads as well. Ideally, settle the rights for this in the contract right away – see Contract and briefing.
What the costs depend on in detail is explained in What does influencer marketing cost?
Which developments should you factor in for 2027?
- Partnerships instead of one-off posts: Brands increasingly rely on long-term collaboration with a few well-matched creators.
- One piece of content, several uses: Creator content no longer runs only organically, but also as ads, in the shop and in newsletters.
- Search happens on social media and in AI assistants: Many people search for products directly on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube, or ask an AI assistant. If your brand appears in creators’ genuine experiences there, you get found.
- Familiar faces for trust: TV personalities combine fame with credibility – especially for brands that want a clear position.
- Clear disclosure: Advertising must be clearly recognisable as advertising. What to watch out for is covered in Ad disclosure in influencer marketing.
Checklist for your planning kick-off
- Goals for 2027 written down
- Key dates and product launches in the calendar
- Audience and platforms defined
- Format chosen: influencer, UGC, testimonial or a combination
- Budget split across baseline, focus periods and tests
- Metrics and reporting defined
- Usage rights for reuse planned in
About W!
W! Influencer has been planning influencer campaigns for brands since 2017 – with creators from our network, our own talent management and TV personalities as testimonials. We help you plan your 2027 influencer year. You will receive a reply to your enquiry within 24 hours. Request a campaign
Sources
- Bitkom e.V.: survey on influencer marketing in retail – retailers with influencer experience invest an average of 7% of their advertising budget, and 64% consider smaller budgets successful too (in German): Press release, 14 Aug 2025
- BVDW e.V. (German Association for the Digital Economy): guide “Influencers in E-Commerce” – among other things, agree buy-outs for all channels in advance; networks of micro-influencers with comparatively low media budgets (in German): PDF, October 2025
Frequently asked questions
Ideally as soon as your budget for the new year is fixed – usually in autumn. For campaigns tied to fixed dates such as Easter, summer or Christmas, allow several months of lead time, and more for TV personalities.
It mainly depends on your goal, the creators’ reach, the number of content pieces and the usage rights. An overview of the cost factors can be found in What does influencer marketing cost?
In many cases, yes. When a creator accompanies your brand over a longer period, the recommendation is more credible and you build recognition. One-off activations are good for testing or for a short peak.
In an influencer campaign, the creator publishes on their own channel and brings their community along. With UGC, the creator produces content that you use on your own channels, in your shop and in ads – without reach through their community.
Not necessarily. An agency is worthwhile above all if you have little time, no creator network of your own or are planning larger campaigns. Help with the decision can be found in Influencer marketing in-house or with an agency?
Sandra Wrzosek is the founder and managing director of W! Influencer. Since 2017 she has been planning influencer campaigns for brands and represents creators and TV personalities in her own talent management.