SmartSites vs Glean

Why brands look at these two agencies

When you start exploring influencer partners, it’s natural to weigh SmartSites against Glean to see which feels right. You’re usually trying to answer a few core questions before spending real money.

Most marketers want clarity on services, day‑to‑day collaboration, creator access, and how each partner measures success. You also want to know whether they fit your stage of growth and your internal team structure.

This is where a clear view of influencer marketing agencies really matters. You’re not just buying a campaign; you’re choosing people to represent your brand in front of someone else’s audience.

What each agency is known for

Both agencies operate in the broader world of digital promotion but show up differently when it comes to creators and content driven campaigns. Each has its own history, strengths, and brand perception.

SmartSites in plain language

SmartSites is widely recognized for paid media, search marketing, and creative work that drives leads or sales. When brands include influencers, they often want this activity plugged into a bigger performance strategy.

So SmartSites tends to appeal to companies that view influencer work as one more channel inside a full digital engine, rather than a standalone experiment.

Glean in plain language

Glean usually enters the conversation when teams want more focus on storytelling, social content, and creators who feel deeply aligned with their audience. Campaigns often lean into authenticity, niche communities, and long‑term creator relationships.

This means Glean often feels like a partner for brands obsessed with community and engagement, not just traffic or conversions.

SmartSites services and client fit

SmartSites is best understood as a performance driven agency that can fold influencer marketing into a wider digital play, rather than treating it as a separate world.

Core services you can expect

While offerings change over time, SmartSites typically focuses on:

• Campaign planning across search, paid social, and content
• Creative strategy and production for ads and landing pages
• Measurement, analytics, and ongoing optimization
• Cross channel testing, including creator led content in some cases

Influencer work, when present, usually fits inside this broader performance view instead of operating in isolation.

How SmartSites tends to run campaigns

Campaigns with SmartSites typically follow a structured path. They spend time understanding your goals, funnel, and numbers before talking about creators or content ideas.

They often focus on clear targets such as cost per lead, return on ad spend, or sales volume. Any creator activity is measured against those numbers.

This approach can feel reassuring if you live in spreadsheets and dashboards, and want influencer spend judged the same way as search or paid social.

Creator relationships and selection style

SmartSites generally leans on research, audience data, and alignment with your media plan. They’ll look for creators who fit your niche and can produce content that repurposes well in ads or landing pages.

Instead of building a visible “creator roster,” they often source talent based on each campaign’s goals. This can give you flexibility across industries and formats.

Typical client fit for SmartSites

SmartSites tends to work well for brands that:

• Care deeply about performance metrics and attribution
• Want one team handling multiple digital channels
• Plan to reuse influencer content in paid ads or email
• Operate in competitive spaces like ecommerce, SaaS, or lead generation

If you already run paid search or display and want creators added into that ecosystem, SmartSites can feel like a natural extension of your current setup.

Glean services and client fit

Glean generally positions itself closer to storytelling and community building, with strong attention to how creators talk about your brand in an organic, human way.

Core services you can expect

Depending on the latest offering, Glean usually focuses on:

• Influencer strategy around platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
• Creator sourcing, vetting, and contract management
• Campaign concepts built around narratives, trends, or social moments
• Reporting on reach, engagement, content quality, and learnings

The emphasis often leans toward resonance and brand fit, not just raw performance numbers.

How Glean tends to run campaigns

Glean usually starts by understanding your audience, tone of voice, and what makes your story worth sharing. They then match you with creators whose followers feel like a natural extension of your target customers.

Campaigns can look like waves of social posts, themed content drops, or partnership series rather than one off placements.

Creator relationships and selection style

Glean often builds deeper relationships with creators in specific niches. They might favor “right fit” over follower count, and pay attention to how comments and conversations show up under posts.

Because of this, creator selection can feel more curated and community driven, especially if you care about smaller, highly engaged audiences.

Typical client fit for Glean

Glean can be a strong match for brands that:

• Want to lean into social storytelling and authenticity
• Value community and conversation as much as traffic
• Operate in lifestyle, beauty, wellness, fashion, or creator‑centric niches
• Are open to long‑term relationships with a pool of recurring influencers

If you want your product woven into everyday life content instead of traditional ad formats, Glean’s style could feel more natural.

How their approaches feel different

On the surface, both agencies can run influencer focused work, but your experience as a client may feel quite different depending on which one you choose.

Performance lens versus storytelling lens

SmartSites tends to start with performance metrics and work backwards to creators. Glean usually begins with narrative and audience alignment, then shapes how results will be measured.

Neither is wrong. The better fit depends on whether your leadership team asks first about numbers or about brand perception.

Role of influencers inside your marketing mix

At SmartSites, creators are often one spoke in a wheel that also includes search, display, email, and conversion rate work. Influencer content may be repurposed heavily into ads.

At Glean, influencer work is usually the main focus. Other channels support or amplify it, but the heart of the plan lives on creator led social content.

Scale and structure of campaigns

SmartSites might encourage larger cross channel pushes, especially if you already spend significantly on media. Creators fit into targeted funnels with testing and retargeting.

Glean may structure campaigns around bursts of social buzz, seasonal moments, or steady ambassador programs that build recognition over time.

Reporting style and what gets highlighted

With SmartSites, you’re likely to see performance dashboards that line up creators beside ads, landing pages, and search terms. Metrics often center on cost, volume, and revenue.

With Glean, reporting may highlight reach, sentiment, content examples, and community response, alongside more traditional engagement metrics and tracked traffic where possible.

Pricing style and how budgets work

Because both are service based partners, you won’t see fixed “tool” pricing. Instead, budgets are built around scope, volume of work, and level of support.

How SmartSites often charges

SmartSites typically prefers clear scopes tied to media management and performance. You may see a mix of:

• Monthly retainers for strategy and account management
• Media management fees tied to ad spend or channels
• Creative production costs for assets and landing pages
• Influencer fees passed through when creators are involved

Influencer specific spend usually sits beside your broader media budget, which can help leadership compare impact across channels.

How Glean often charges

Glean’s pricing is usually built around campaign design and hands‑on creator work. You might encounter:

• Custom quotes for campaign planning and execution
• Management fees for sourcing, negotiations, and coordination
• Creator payments, usage rights, and production costs
• Optional ongoing retainers for recurring influencer activity

Budgets here are heavily influenced by the number of creators, content formats, and how long you want to reuse the content.

Factors that drive cost with either partner

Regardless of which agency you pick, certain factors nearly always move the budget up or down:

• How many influencers you want to activate
• Whether you prefer micro creators or larger names
• Platforms involved, especially video heavy ones like TikTok or YouTube
• Required content volume and editing needs
• Length of partnership and any exclusivity rules

You’ll usually discuss these early, so come prepared with a clear idea of your must‑haves versus nice‑to‑haves.

Key strengths and limitations

Every agency has trade‑offs. Understanding them upfront helps you decide where you’re comfortable making compromises.

Where SmartSites tends to shine

• Strong performance mindset, ideal for revenue driven teams
• Ability to connect influencer work with search and paid media
• Emphasis on testing, optimization, and clear metrics
• Useful for brands needing a single partner across channels

One common concern is whether this performance focus might make influencer content feel too much like ads.

Where SmartSites may feel limiting

• Storytelling and community building may feel secondary
• Smaller brands may find full cross channel retainers heavy
• Influencer campaigns could lean more transactional than relational

Where Glean tends to shine

• Strong attention to brand voice and authenticity
• Closer relationships with creators in specific niches
• Campaigns that feel native to platforms like TikTok or Instagram
• Good fit for lifestyle, culture, and community led brands

Brands sometimes worry that authentic storytelling may be harder to tie directly to revenue.

Where Glean may feel limiting

• Less emphasis on multi channel performance integration
• Reporting may focus more on engagement than hard financial KPIs
• May not replace a full digital team if you need search, display, and CRO

Who each agency is best for

It helps to think in terms of your size, goals, and how much of your marketing you want to outsource.

When SmartSites is usually the better fit

• Mid‑market or growth stage brands with existing ad budgets
• Teams under pressure to show cost per lead or return on ad spend
• Companies wanting one hub for paid search, paid social, and creators
• Brands planning to reuse creator content inside performance ads

If your leadership team views influencers mainly as another performance lever, SmartSites often maps neatly onto that mindset.

When Glean is usually the better fit

• Brands whose identity lives heavily on social platforms
• Founders who care deeply about voice, story, and visual style
• Companies focused on awareness, community, and cultural relevance
• Teams ready to nurture long‑term creative partnerships

If you want creator content that feels like organic word of mouth rather than a campaign layer on top of ads, Glean’s approach may resonate more.

When a platform alternative makes sense

Sometimes neither a fully performance driven agency nor a storytelling heavy partner is ideal. If you have internal capacity, a platform like Flinque can be a middle path.

What a platform like Flinque offers

Flinque is designed as a software based option rather than a done‑for‑you partner. Brands use it to:

• Discover and evaluate creators in their niche
• Manage outreach, briefs, and communication in one place
• Track content, performance, and deliverables internally
• Run influencer efforts without long agency retainers

This works best if you’re willing to handle strategy and relationships in house, but want a structured tool to keep everything organized.

When a platform may beat an agency

• You already have a marketing team with time to manage campaigns
• You prefer to build your own creator network over time
• You want more control and transparency over outreach and negotiations
• You’re testing influencer marketing with modest budgets

If this sounds like you, it can be worth piloting a platform led approach before committing to deeper agency partnerships.

FAQs

How do I decide between these two agencies?

Start by clarifying whether you prioritize measurable performance across channels or deeper social storytelling. Then look at internal capacity, budget, and how much of your marketing you want one partner to own.

Can I work with an agency and still use a platform?

Yes. Some brands use a platform for smaller tests or long tail creators while agencies handle flagship campaigns. Just set clear roles so creators don’t receive conflicting outreach.

How long should I test influencer marketing with either partner?

Plan at least several months, ideally across more than one activation. You’ll need time for creator selection, content production, optimization, and learning before judging long‑term fit.

Do I need a big budget to get value from influencers?

Not necessarily. Smaller budgets can still work when focused on micro creators and tight scopes. The key is aligning expectations and picking a partner comfortable with your current stage.

What should I prepare before talking to these agencies?

Have a clear sense of goals, target audience, non‑negotiable brand rules, rough budget range, and example creators or content you admire. This speeds up scoping and helps agencies deliver realistic plans.

Bringing it all together for your brand

Your choice comes down to how you define success and how integrated you want influencer marketing to be with the rest of your channels.

If you see creators as part of a performance machine, a partner like SmartSites usually aligns well. If you want social driven storytelling and niche communities, Glean’s style may feel closer to home.

For teams that prefer hands‑on control and lighter long‑term commitments, exploring a platform such as Flinque can offer a flexible starting point.

Whichever path you choose, push for clarity on goals, reporting, creator selection, and content rights before signing. That preparation will matter more than any single agency name.

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.