Pay-Per-View Influencer Marketing: How It Works
In a pay-per-view influencer campaign, you budget for views rather than for posts. You agree a cost per view, lots of creators post about your brand on their own accounts, and what you pay is tied to the views the posts get, not to the number of posts.
Here's how it compares with paying per post, how a campaign runs from start to finish, and what to check before you choose it.
Paying Per Post vs Pricing Per View
| Paying per post | Pricing per view | |
|---|---|---|
| What you agree | A fee for each post | A cost per view for the whole campaign |
| How fees are set | By each creator's rates, or negotiation | From each creator's typical views, at your cost per view |
| Scale | A few creators, each agreed separately | Many creators at once, on the same rate |
| Fake views | Often only found after you’ve paid | Views can be checked before creators are paid (on Brief72, for 5 days) |
| Best for | Working with one particular creator | Reach, and lots of real voices at once |
These views come with something a brand's own ads can't give you: people seeing the video from a creator they follow, labelled as an ad. And if you own the videos afterwards, you can reuse the best ones in your own ads.
When you compare prices, compare like with like: views that have been checked for bots, on posts labelled as ads, from creators with audiences in the UK.
How a Campaign Works
Set a Budget
You choose a budget and agree a cost per view before the campaign starts. Your budget divided by your cost per view gives your target views.
Creators Apply
Creators who fit your brief apply. For each one, you see their profile and their predicted views, based on how their recent videos have done.
You Choose Who Takes Part
You approve the creators you want. Each creator's share of your budget comes from their predicted views and your cost per view.
Videos Are Checked Before They Go Live
Every video is checked against your brief and the UK advertising rules, then you approve it, ask for changes or turn it down.
Creators Post, and Views Are Checked
Creators post the approved videos on their own accounts, labelled as ads. Each post's views are checked for 5 days, and views we find to come from bots or fake engagement don't count.
Creators Are Paid Once Views Are Confirmed
Creators are only paid once their views are confirmed as real. Any budget you don't use is refunded.
That is how campaigns run on Brief72. Find out more about Brief72 for brands.
How Fake Views Are Kept Out
Paying for views only works if the views are real. Warning signs include sudden spikes, lots of views with almost no likes or comments, and viewers from places a creator doesn't usually reach.
On Brief72, every post's views are checked for its first 5 days, and creators are only paid once those views are confirmed as real. Creators faking views are removed and lose their pay, and our team reviews every creator's accounts before they can apply.
When It's the Right Choice
Pricing per view suits:
- Launches and awareness campaigns, where reach matters most.
- Consumer brands that want lots of people talking about them at once: food and drink, beauty, fashion, retail, e-commerce, entertainment, travel and apps.
- Brands that want plenty of real-looking videos to reuse in their own ads.
It's less suited to:
- Working with one particular creator, or a long-term ambassador.
- Long-form content, such as full YouTube reviews.
What Counts as a View
Each platform counts views in its own way, and most count a view as soon as a video starts playing. So agree up front which numbers count, and check them over several days rather than relying on a single screenshot.
Is pay-per-view influencer marketing cheaper than paying per post?
It depends on how posts perform. With a fixed fee you pay the same whether a post does well or not. Pricing per view ties what you pay to realistic view estimates, and checking views before creators are paid helps keep fake views out.
Can I choose which creators take part?
On Brief72, yes. Creators apply to your brief, and you see each one's profile and predicted views before you approve them.
Which platforms does it work on?
Brief72 campaigns run on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Are the posts labelled as ads?
Yes. Every post must be labelled as an ad at the start, with #ad or the platform’s paid partnership label, as UK advertising rules require, and we check every live post for the label before the creator is paid.
Who owns the videos?
On Brief72, you do, once your campaign is paid in full, so you can keep and reuse them. Check that any music in a video is cleared for wherever you reuse it.
