SmartSites vs Sway Group

Why brands look at different influencer marketing partners

When you’re trying to pick an influencer partner, two popular names that come up are SmartSites and Sway Group. Both can help match brands with creators, but they approach marketing and client service in very different ways.

The primary focus here is the keyword phrase influencer marketing agency choice. You likely want to know who understands your audience, who can actually move sales, and how much support you’ll get from each team.

What these agencies are known for

Both SmartSites and Sway Group work in digital marketing, but they occupy different corners of the space. That matters a lot when you’re deciding who should run your creator campaigns.

SmartSites in plain terms

SmartSites is widely known as a full service digital marketing agency. Its core strengths are website design, paid search, paid social, and search engine optimization, with influencer work usually woven into broader campaigns.

The team is used to thinking about traffic, conversions, landing pages, and performance metrics across channels. Influencer content can be one piece of a larger plan focused on leads and revenue.

Sway Group in plain terms

Sway Group is best known as a dedicated influencer marketing agency. They focus on connecting brands with niche creators across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and blogs, plus handling content production from start to finish.

They lean heavily into vetting creators, managing outreach, shaping storylines, and measuring impact on awareness and brand sentiment. Performance can include traffic and sales, but story and fit are front and center.

SmartSites in more detail

SmartSites is often the pick for brands looking for one partner to handle most of their digital marketing, with influencer activity plugged into a broader strategy.

Key services you can expect

SmartSites usually offers services such as:

• Website design and development
• Search engine optimization and content
• Google and Bing advertising
• Paid social campaigns on major platforms
• Conversion tracking and analytics
• Influencer and creator campaigns tied to performance goals

Rather than selling influencer work alone, they tend to bundle it with landing pages, ads, and tracking to close the loop from content to sale.

How SmartSites tends to run campaigns

Campaigns from this team usually start with clear performance goals. They often ask about cost per lead, return on ad spend, or target revenue before picking channels and creators.

Influencers can be part of a wider push that combines paid ads, email flows, and onsite changes. That’s helpful if you want one team watching the full journey from scroll to checkout.

Creator relationships and style of content

Because SmartSites is a broader digital agency, creator relationships are typically practical and goal driven. They look for influencers who can not only tell a story but also send quality traffic and conversions.

You may see them repurpose creator content as ad creative, social proof on landing pages, or assets in retargeting campaigns, stretching the value of each collaboration.

Typical SmartSites client fit

Brands that choose SmartSites often have one of these goals:

• Increase online sales with better websites and ads
• Combine SEO, paid media, and influencer efforts
• Work with a single partner instead of many agencies
• Track results down to revenue and cost per acquisition

The best fit is usually a brand ready to invest in integrated campaigns, not just one off influencer posts.

Sway Group in more detail

Sway Group focuses primarily on building, managing, and scaling influencer programs for brands of all sizes, from household names to growing startups.

Key influencer services from Sway Group

Sway Group commonly provides:

• Influencer identification and vetting
• Creative campaign concepts and briefs
• Contracting, compliance, and legal oversight
• Content production and revisions
• Campaign management and communication
• Performance reporting and insights

They tend to specialize in both large scale activations and niche, targeted programs across parenting, lifestyle, beauty, food, and more.

How Sway Group tends to run campaigns

Sway Group usually starts with your audience and brand story. They look at who you want to reach, what those people care about, and which creators they already trust.

From there, they put together creator lists, pitch concepts, and coordinate content calendars. The team monitors posts, keeps creators on brief, and pushes for authentic storytelling that still meets brand needs.

Creator relationships and style of content

Sway Group places strong emphasis on their creator network and long term relationships. They build a pool of influencers they know well and can match by tone, values, and audience.

The content itself is typically lifestyle first, polished, and rooted in personal stories or everyday moments where the brand fits in naturally.

Typical Sway Group client fit

Brands that choose Sway Group often:

• Want a dedicated influencer partner, not a generalist shop
• Care deeply about brand fit and storytelling
• Need help managing many creators at once
• Value campaign level reporting over daily performance dashboards

This agency usually fits teams that view influencers as a core brand channel, not a small test.

How the two agencies really differ

When you put these two choices side by side, the biggest differences show up in focus, scale, and how campaigns are measured.

Focus: integrated marketing versus pure influencer

SmartSites treats influencer work as one lever within a bigger digital plan. That’s appealing if you need everything from SEO to ads built around your creator content.

Sway Group, on the other hand, lives and breathes influencer marketing. Every part of their process is tuned for creator partnerships, not broader media buying.

Scale and complexity of campaigns

SmartSites is comfortable weaving a few creators into performance driven funnels, with tight tracking and testing. Campaigns often lean into what will convert best.

Sway Group is used to running both large scale ambassador programs and smaller, niche pushes, but with a heavier focus on storytelling and community.

Client experience and communication style

With SmartSites, you may work with account managers who oversee several channels at once. You get bigger picture digital insights, not just creator feedback.

With Sway Group, most of your touchpoints relate directly to influencers: casting, creative ideas, content review, and results from each wave of posts.

Measurement and success metrics

SmartSites often emphasizes metrics like leads, revenue, and cost per action. They may adjust creators and content based on data from your analytics stack.

Sway Group leans into reach, engagement, content quality, and fit with your brand voice, while still reporting on clicks, traffic, and other bottom line signals where possible.

Pricing approach and how work is scoped

Neither agency publishes strict price lists because campaigns are heavily customized. Instead, they usually build quotes based on scope, timeline, and level of service.

How SmartSites usually charges

SmartSites often structures pricing around overall marketing services, not just influencers. You might see:

• Monthly retainers for SEO and paid media
• Project fees for website builds or redesigns
• Campaign budgets that include creator fees and management

Influencer costs are typically folded into a broader package, alongside media spend and creative work.

How Sway Group usually charges

Sway Group generally prices based on influencer only work. Common elements include:

• Campaign management and strategy fees
• Influencer payments and usage rights
• Production support if content is more complex

Budgets scale with the number of creators, content pieces, platforms, and length of program.

What tends to drive cost for both

For both agencies, your final quote will be driven by factors like:

• Number of influencers and follower ranges
• Type of content (short form, long form, video, blog)
• Usage rights and whitelisting for paid ads
• Timeline and seasonality
• Reporting depth and ongoing optimization needs

Expect to share your goals, timing, and rough budget upfront so they can shape a realistic plan.

Strengths and limitations to keep in mind

Every agency has trade offs. Understanding those makes it easier to pick the right partner for your specific goals and constraints.

Where SmartSites often shines

SmartSites’ biggest strength is its ability to see the whole digital picture. If you want influencers, email flows, search ads, and landing pages aligned, one integrated team can be efficient.

They are also well suited to brands that care about lifetime value, recurring revenue, and sophisticated tracking setup from day one.

Where SmartSites may fall short

Because influencer work is one piece of a larger service mix, you may not get the same depth of creator network as with a specialist shop.

Some brands worry that influencers could feel like an add on rather than the main focus of the team’s creative energy.

Where Sway Group often shines

Sway Group’s strength lies in its deep creator relationships and experience navigating brand fit. They are comfortable handling everything from early outreach to final content approvals.

They’re also strong at managing many moving parts when you’re working with dozens or hundreds of influencers at once.

Where Sway Group may fall short

Because they are focused on creators, you’ll likely still need other partners for paid search, site optimization, or technical tracking support.

If your main priority is hard performance metrics across all channels, you may need internal teams or extra vendors to fill those gaps.

Who each agency is best suited for

Instead of asking which partner is better in the abstract, it’s more helpful to ask which is better for you based on stage, goals, and how hands on you want to be.

SmartSites is usually a good fit if you

• Want one team to run website, ads, SEO, and influencers together
• Have clear revenue targets and need tight tracking
• Plan to invest steadily in digital marketing, not just a single campaign
• Prefer data heavy reporting with conversion level insights

Sway Group is usually a good fit if you

• See influencer work as a core brand channel
• Need help finding and managing the right creators at scale
• Value storytelling, community, and brand fit above all
• Already handle other digital channels or use separate partners

Think about whether you want an influencer specialist or a broader marketing partner who also handles creators.

When a platform like Flinque might be better

Not every brand actually needs a full service agency. Sometimes a self directed platform can be a better match for your team and budget.

What a platform alternative looks like

Tools such as Flinque give brands direct access to creator discovery, outreach, and campaign workflows without hiring a traditional agency.

You keep more control, set your own budgets with creators, and manage campaigns in house, using the software to keep everything organized and measurable.

When a platform may make more sense

• You have internal marketing staff with time to manage creators
• You prefer to test many smaller campaigns before scaling
• You want to avoid ongoing agency retainers
• You like transparent, platform based workflows and data access

If you enjoy being hands on and want to learn influencer marketing from the inside, a platform route can be attractive.

FAQs

How do I decide between SmartSites and Sway Group?

Pick based on whether you need a full digital marketing partner or a dedicated influencer specialist. If you want integrated ads, SEO, and site work, SmartSites may fit. If you mainly need expert creator management, Sway Group is likely closer to what you need.

Can I work with both agencies at once?

Yes, some brands use one group for influencer campaigns and another for paid media or website work. This adds coordination overhead but can give you deep expertise in each area if you have enough internal bandwidth to manage multiple partners.

Do I need a big budget to work with these agencies?

Both typically focus on custom campaigns, which usually require meaningful budgets. You don’t need enterprise level spend, but you should expect to fund quality creator fees plus management costs, not just small product giftings or one off posts.

Are influencer campaigns better than paid ads?

They serve different purposes. Influencers are strong for trust, storytelling, and social proof, while paid ads excel at controlled testing and scale. Many brands see the best results when creators drive attention and ads capture and convert that interest efficiently.

When should I choose a platform instead of an agency?

Choose a platform if you want to stay hands on, test ideas quickly, and keep fixed fees lower. It’s ideal when you have internal staff to manage outreach and approvals, and you’re comfortable making campaign decisions without a full service team.

Conclusion and how to decide

Your choice between these partners should start with your goals, your budget, and how involved you want to be in day to day campaign work.

If you need a single partner to handle your website, ads, and influencers while tracking performance tightly, SmartSites is likely closer to what you’re looking for.

If your priority is deep creator partnerships, thoughtful casting, and strong storytelling at scale, Sway Group is probably the better match.

If you’re more interested in controlling everything in house and avoiding ongoing retainers, an influencer platform like Flinque can be a smart middle route.

Clarify your must haves, nice to haves, and budget limits, then have open conversations with each option to see who understands your brand best.

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.