Most small businesses look at influencer marketing and assume it’s out of reach.
They’re wrong.
“People assume influencer marketing is all about cash deals,” says Steven Vigilante, director of strategic partnerships at the soda brand Olipop. “But some of our best partnerships started with a free sample and a conversation.”
Today, Olipop is a force — recently valued at $1.85 billion, dominating the better-for-you soda category, and appearing in cultural moments like Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” music video. But the brand began as a small upstart, and Vigilante, who was there at the beginning, said it had to operate like any other scrappy startup.
From the very start, he said, influencer marketing was central to the brand’s strategy. Vigilante believes it’s more powerful than advertising, which often frustrates consumers. “I’m always trying to be in a piece of content that someone is electing to watch as opposed to interrupting content that someone is electing to watch.”
Here are three ways
1. Spending: Don’t Bet It All on One Influencer
A common mistake? Putting all your money into one big-name influencer.
“The smart move is to test across multiple influencers,” Vigilante says. “It’s better to learn what works through a variety of voices than to go all in on one person and hope for the best.”
Early on, Olipop spread its budget across 10 smaller influencers instead of one high-profile deal. They asked for engagement metrics before paying anyone, ensuring they partnered with the right people.
For small brands, this means:
Request data. Vigilante loves asking for screenshots of an influencer’s Instagram stories, because it’s a strong indicator of how engaged someone’s followers really are.
Ask around. When Vigilante travels, he often asks people (like bartenders or cashiers) who they follow on social and what podcasts they listen to. This gives him ideas for who to partner with.
Double down on what works. Relentlessly track outcomes, keep the partnerships that drive engagement, and cut the ones that don’t.
A smaller but engaged audience will always outperform a big audience that isn’t paying attention.
2. Gifting: The Most Underrated Marketing Hack
When Olipop was starting out, they had no budget for massive influencer deals. Instead, they focused on one of the oldest (and most effective) strategies in the book: gifting.
“We gifted product like crazy and tracked organic responses,” Vigilante says. “If someone posted about us on their own, that was our sign they could be a great brand partner.”
For small brands, gifting is a low-cost way to test influencer marketing:
- Offer free product in exchange for a post.
- Ask for engagement screenshots to gauge audience interest.
- Build relationships with influencers who genuinely love your brand.
Many influencers will promote products they believe in — without needing a big paycheck. Gifting helps you find those people.
3. Scaling: Use Platforms Instead of a Huge Team
One of the biggest challenges for small brands is scaling influencer and UGC efforts without hiring a massive team.
That’s why Olipop leans on a tech stack that manages all their influencer relationships for them.
Some of their favorite tools:
- Kale: Helps everyday customers turn into brand advocates by submitting UGC (user-generated content) in exchange for rewards.
- Hummingbirds: A network of micro-influencers (often moms in the Midwest) who create authentic content around brand partnerships.
- 98Strong: A powerful NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) platform that helps brands connect with college athletes for hyper-local marketing.
- Tribe Group: A platform to track influencer performance and manage collaborations at scale.
These platforms allow Olipop to turn everyday customers into brand advocates—without manually managing thousands of influencer campaigns.
Your small business can use them too.
Bottom Line: You Can Do This Now!
For small businesses looking to break through, the strategy isn’t complicated — just underused.
Follow Olipop’s playbook: blend into culture, test relentlessly, and let real fans do the talking.
When you do it right, people will notice your brand — and then make sure that everyone else does, too.
ADVERTISEMENT:
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