Influencer Marketing Factory vs SmartSites

Why brands look at different influencer agencies

When you compare The Influencer Marketing Factory with SmartSites, you are really weighing two very different ways to grow with creators and social media. Both work with brands that want more visibility online, but they focus on different strengths.

Most marketers want clarity on three things: what each team actually does day to day, how hands-on they are, and which one will feel like the better fit for their goals, budget, and internal resources.

What creator growth strategy means here

The short phrase that captures this topic is creator growth strategy agencies. Both companies help brands grow using creators and digital channels, but they plug into your marketing in very different ways.

Instead of software dashboards or self-serve tools, you are mainly choosing a partner that will run campaigns, manage talent, and shape your online presence with more human support.

What each team is known for

At a high level, The Influencer Marketing Factory is known for running influencer-first campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other social platforms. They typically manage everything from scouting creators to tracking results.

SmartSites is widely known as a digital marketing agency that blends website design, SEO, paid ads, and sometimes influencer outreach. Influencer collaborations are usually one part of a broader online growth plan.

So one leans deeply into creator work across major social networks. The other leans into full digital marketing, with creators as a supporting piece rather than the entire focus.

Inside The Influencer Marketing Factory

The Influencer Marketing Factory is centered on creators and social platforms. Their team is built around sourcing, vetting, and working with influencers across different niches and audience sizes.

Services they usually provide

While service menus change over time, this kind of specialist agency commonly offers:

• Influencer discovery and vetting on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch
• End-to-end campaign planning and creative concepts
• Contract negotiation and compliance with ad rules
• Content review and approvals with your brand team
• Campaign reporting, including reach and engagement tracking
• Sometimes user-generated content (UGC) creation and whitelisting

Most of the work focuses on linking your product or service with creators who fit your audience, then guiding them to produce content that feels natural and still meets your goals.

How they tend to run campaigns

Campaigns with a specialist agency like this usually start with a discovery call, where they learn about your brand identity, target audience, and budget comfort zone.

From there, the usual steps are:

• Building a creator shortlist that fits your audience and style
• Aligning with you on content ideas, formats, and key talking points
• Outreach to creators, negotiating fees and deliverables
• Coordinating product shipping or access and creative guidelines
• Monitoring content as it goes live and requesting edits if needed
• Collecting results and preparing performance summaries

The process is often very white-glove, especially for brands new to influencer work or those that want to avoid day-to-day outreach and creator management.

Creator relationships and network depth

Because this type of agency focuses on social creators, they usually maintain ongoing relationships with influencers across verticals like beauty, gaming, fashion, fitness, finance, and consumer tech.

Some creators may work with them across many brands. Others may be new faces discovered for your specific needs. The value is in knowing who is reliable, brand-safe, and worth the rates they charge.

Typical client fit

Brands that often lean toward a specialist influencer team include:

• Consumer brands wanting fast awareness on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube
• Ecommerce stores looking for creator-driven sales or discount code activity
• Apps or platforms chasing downloads and sign-ups via creators
• Marketing teams that are stretched thin and need full support

These clients usually want social buzz, hooks that feel native to each platform, and measurable impact across views, clicks, or conversions.

Inside SmartSites

SmartSites is better known as a broader digital marketing partner. Influencer work, when offered, usually plugs into larger programs that include search, ads, and website performance.

Services they usually provide

Their core strengths tend to be:

• Website design, development, and optimization
• Search engine optimization (SEO) for long-term organic traffic
• Pay-per-click (PPC) ad management on Google and social platforms
• Conversion-focused landing pages and analytics setup
• Ongoing digital strategy across channels

Influencer activity, when part of the mix, usually works alongside these channels, helping push traffic to well-optimized pages and funnels they have built or improved.

How they tend to run campaigns

Because SmartSites is a full-service digital firm, engagement normally starts with a broad look at your online presence, including website health, search visibility, and paid media potential.

If influencers are included, they are often tied closely to:

• Landing pages designed to convert social visitors
• Retargeting ads for people who saw or clicked creator content
• Search campaigns aligned with topics creators talk about
• Analytics setups that track the full customer journey

The feel here is more like an integrated marketing partner than a pure creator shop. Influencers are helpers in a deeper digital system.

Creator relationships and focus level

A digital-first agency may not position itself as having the same depth of creator relationships as a specialty shop, but it can still coordinate outreach and campaigns.

Often, they will:

• Identify creators who can drive traffic to core landing pages
• Align content themes with search and ad campaigns
• Focus more on performance metrics than on influencer culture trends

This can be especially useful for brands that care deeply about how creator traffic converts into paying customers, rather than just social buzz.

Typical client fit

Companies that often feel at home with SmartSites include:

• Local or regional service businesses wanting more leads and calls
• B2B or niche brands needing a strong website plus steady traffic
• Ecommerce brands who depend heavily on search and paid ads
• Teams that want one main partner across most digital channels

These clients usually want a serious focus on long-term traffic, measurement, and revenue, with creators as one of several pieces in the puzzle.

How their approaches feel different

On the surface, you might see two agencies that both touch influencer work. In practice, the experience and focus are quite different.

The Influencer Marketing Factory leans hard into creator culture, trends, and platform-native storytelling. SmartSites leans into the full digital ecosystem, with influencers as part of a broader traffic and conversion picture.

Creative style versus channel balance

With a specialist creator agency, you can expect more energy spent on:

• Picking formats that feel native to TikTok, Reels, or Shorts
• Working closely with influencers on hooks and concepts
• Testing content styles that drive engagement within the apps

With a digital agency, you can expect more focus on:

• Ensuring traffic from creators lands on high-converting pages
• Aligning timing with paid campaigns and SEO pushes
• Tracking how influencer traffic behaves compared with other channels

Depth of influencer services

The specialist team tends to go deeper on:

• Influencer sourcing, negotiation, and relationship management
• Platform-specific best practices and trend waves
• Longer-term ambassador or creator programs

A digital-first shop tends to go deeper on:

• Website performance, speed, and usability
• Organic and paid search economics
• Attribution, tracking, and multi-channel reporting

Your choice depends on whether you need deep creator know-how, or a team that covers almost every digital touchpoint with influencer work as a complement.

Pricing approach and how work usually starts

Neither agency sells simple, one-size-fits-all packs the way software tools do. Fees usually depend on your goals, scope, and how many channels they manage for you.

How influencer-focused campaigns are priced

When you hire a specialist influencer agency, you are typically paying for:

• Agency management fees or retainers
• Creator fees for content production and usage rights
• Sometimes paid boosting of creator content as ads
• Reporting and strategy refinement over time

Budgets vary widely by creator size and deliverables, from small micro-influencer test projects to large, multi-platform pushes.

How broader digital programs are priced

With a full digital partner like SmartSites, your budget normally covers:

• Website design or improvements
• Monthly SEO or PPC management
• Advertising spend on Google or social networks
• Any influencer outreach layered on top

Costs often scale based on the complexity of your site, how competitive your market is, and how aggressive you want to be with paid ads.

What usually influences cost the most

For both teams, common cost drivers include:

• How many creators or campaigns you want to run
• How many markets or countries you want to target
• How deeply they handle strategy and creative direction
• Length of engagement, from short tests to ongoing retainers

You will almost always need a custom quote after sharing details about your objectives, timelines, and internal capacity.

Main strengths and where each may fall short

Every agency choice involves trade-offs. Knowing these upfront helps you set realistic expectations.

Where a specialist influencer agency stands out

• Deep understanding of social platforms and their cultures
• Closer relationships with creators and talent managers
• Faster adaptation to new trends, formats, and memes
• Better suited for brands whose main push is social buzz

A common concern is whether this focus might leave gaps in website and search performance if no other partner is involved.

Where a specialist may feel limited

• Less emphasis on deep SEO or technical website work
• May rely on your team or partners for landing page improvements
• Reporting can feel campaign-specific rather than channel-wide

Where a full digital agency stands out

• Strong website, SEO, and paid media capabilities
• Better visibility across the full customer journey
• One main partner for many online channels
• Useful for brands that see influencers as one growth lever

Where a full digital agency may feel limited

• Influencer outreach may not be as deep or specialized
• Less focus on creator culture and social-first storytelling
• Can feel more formal and less plugged into creator communities

Understanding these trade-offs helps you decide whether you need the sharpest edge in creator work or a more balanced digital presence.

Who each agency is best for

The best fit depends on your goals, your internal skills, and how central creators are to your marketing plans.

When a specialist creator agency is usually the better fit

• You want TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube to be major growth engines.
• You lack time or expertise to manage creators and content.
• You care more about authentic creator storytelling than channel mix.
• You already have decent website and search support elsewhere.

When a broader digital agency is usually the better fit

• You need serious help with your website, SEO, or paid ads.
• You want one main digital partner rather than many small ones.
• You see influencers as helpful, but not your main channel.
• You value detailed tracking across search, ads, and social.

Questions to ask yourself before choosing

• Is my biggest pain point creator content or website performance?
• Do I have anyone in-house who understands influencers well?
• How important is long-term organic traffic compared with social spikes?
• Do I prefer one specialist per channel or a single digital partner?

Your honest answers will usually make the right direction much clearer.

When a platform like Flinque might be better

Agencies are not the only way to work with influencers. If you have a smaller budget or a hands-on team, a platform-based option like Flinque can make more sense.

Flinque is built as a platform, not an agency. It lets brands discover creators, manage outreach, and track campaigns more directly, without full-service retainers.

Why marketers consider a platform option

• You want more control over which creators you work with.
• You already have a marketing team who can manage conversations.
• You need to stretch every dollar and avoid large agency fees.
• You prefer experimenting and learning in-house over time.

This path suits brands that see influencer work as a long-term skill to build internally, rather than something to fully outsource.

FAQs

Is one agency clearly better for influencer work?

The influencer-focused team is usually stronger for deep creator campaigns, while the digital agency is stronger when influencers are one part of a larger online growth plan. The “better” choice depends on whether creator content or full digital coverage matters more.

Can I work with both a creator agency and a digital agency?

Yes, many brands do. One partner can handle creators and social content, while another manages your website, SEO, and ads. Just make sure responsibilities are clear and both sides share data so you get a complete view of performance.

How long does it take to see results from influencer campaigns?

You can see reach and engagement within days of content going live. Sales or sign-up impact might take a few weeks, especially if you are testing different creators and formats. Longer-term partnerships usually bring more stable results.

Do I need a big budget to work with creators?

Not always. You can start with a modest budget by partnering with micro-influencers or running limited test campaigns. The key is being realistic about reach and setting clear goals so you can learn from smaller experiments before scaling up.

Should I choose an agency or manage influencers myself?

If you lack time, contacts, or experience, an agency can shorten the learning curve. If you have a hands-on team and want to build internal skills, a platform like Flinque or direct outreach may work. Your choice depends on capacity and comfort level.

Helping you choose with confidence

Choosing between a specialist creator partner and a broader digital agency comes down to your priorities. If social-first storytelling and creator culture are your focus, a specialist team usually makes sense.

If you need strong website, search, and ads with influencers folded in, a full digital partner may be the better fit. In both cases, be clear about goals, budgets, and how you define success.

For some brands, a hybrid path works best: an influencer agency for creator depth, a digital firm for broader performance, or a platform like Flinque when you want to keep more control in-house.

Disclaimer

All information on this page is collected from publicly available sources, third party search engines, AI powered tools and general online research. We do not claim ownership of any external data and accuracy may vary. This content is for informational purposes only.