Physicians often use social media as a powerful strategy for engaging patients, enhancing brand visibility, and driving practice growth. Some physicians are able to amass large audiences of followers, which in turn attracts requests for sponsorships or affiliates from companies seeking opportunities to leverage the influencer’s unique content to market their company’s product or service. If you follow any physician influencers on social media, chances are you’ve seen a hashtag or wording disclosing that their post is sponsored or contains an affiliate link. It’s always exciting to see members of our physician communities get offers for these marketing relationships, but when they post on the communities asking for guidance on rates after a company has asked them to provide them, responses can vary quite a bit. Below, we’ll cover what factors go into how much an advertiser is willing to pay, and things physicians should consider when setting their rates (and if they even want to engage in a partnership).
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What is influencer marketing, and why are so many physicians doing it?
Influencer marketing is a social media strategy where businesses pay individuals with large, engaged social media audiences to promote products and services. Influencer marketing works by leveraging the trust and rapport an influencer has built with their following, and it works shockingly well. Data shows that 45% of Gen Z and Millennial adults have bought products/services based on recommendations from social media influencers. As such, marketers are only expected to increase their investments into influencer content.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of physicians building their social media presences. The reasons for this can be multifold, and not every physician is looking to directly monetize their audience on social media. Many enjoy using social media to educate patients and/or the public, to market their private practice, promote a book they published, or gain paid speaking engagements.
However, others really enjoy the creative side of content creation and place their energy into creating thoughtful, engaging content that they hope will get lots of likes and shares which can be monetized. This may be with a small amount of fun side income or free stuff, but some physician influencers have millions of followers (or have very niche but valuable audiences), and are able to get major brand partnerships that pay quite well. While it’s far from passive income, it can eventually lead to scalable income streams that can become quite significant, and open up unique opportunities to monetize their brand in other ways.
Learn more about the physician influencer side gig.
What types of companies use physicians for influencer marketing, and how do they tend to reach out?
Many physician influencers tend to target their content to either other healthcare professionals or patients, but there’s no rules saying it can’t be both or that their content even needs to be healthcare related. As such, the companies that will approach them will vary widely based on where they see an opportunity to get the word out about their product or service. Classic types of brand partnerships for physician influencers may include health tech products, consumer products that are health related, clothing and other merchandise, or services that other physicians may want. Â
If you’re a physician influencer, you may find yourself being approached in different ways for brand partnerships. If you have a big following, you may even be approached by an agent or company that is willing to help secure sponsors or affiliates for you (for a cut). Typically, though, most of the physicians on our communities report getting a DM on Instagram or other social media platform, an email, or a form submission on their website inquiring about rates. Of course, there are other ways as well, such as at an in person event or through a mutual connection.
Do I want this influencer brand partnership?
This is probably the most important question you should ask yourself before going further. Having endorsements, affiliate partnerships, or sponsorships related to things you can’t stand behind, that your audience won’t enjoy or worse be upset about, or that otherwise are more trouble than they’re worth is a good way to do more harm than good. Start by asking yourself the following questions:
Do I want to be associated with this brand?
Will my following be excited about this partnership?
Do I have the time necessary to take this on?
Will this conflict with any of my other existing partnerships?
Is what I get out of this worth the effort when taking into consideration my physician income and my desired work life balance?
Are there any professional issues or concerns that may arise if I take this partnership on?
Assuming the answers to these questions lead you to decide that you want to take on a brand partnership, let’s move on to what to consider when setting your rates, and what goes into what you can charge.
10 factors to consider when setting your rates for posts and content as a physician influencer
If you haven’t deduced this by now, there’s no hard and fast algorithm for setting rates, as so many things go into what rates somebody will pay you, as well as what rates you’ll be willing to take. Ultimately supply and demand and your negotiating skills will dictate what you can get.
That said, different factors to consider when setting your rates as a physician influencer include:
Who your follower base is, and how valuable that niche is
Partners will want to know the demographics of your follower base, and it’s worth including that information on a media kit (if you have one) to sell them on the value of your audience and how likely it is to lead to conversions for their product or service. If they want to sell an expensive service, they’ll want your typical audience to be able to afford that service. If they sell homeschooling supplies, they’ll want to make sure your audience has a lot of homeschoolers in it, and so forth.Â
How many other people have a similar follower base
Importantly, your rates will be influenced by your competition in that niche. If a company wants to sell scrubs, they could have a number of influencers within various healthcare fields promote them, so chances are unless you’re a very famous influencer, you won’t have much leverage when they offer their rate. However, if they’re trying to sell a product related to something that you’re a key opinion leader in and have people that follow you specifically for knowledge about that product, you’re going to have a lot more leverage. As a general rule, the more niche your audience, the more your endorsement in that particular space is unique, and hopefully of value. Already as a physician, if you’re in a healthcare space, people will expect to pay more than someone in the general population (and hope that your endorsement will garner more trust), but you’ll want to bring those points up in negotiations to ensure you’re being paid for that expertise and trust.
What kind of content you’re creating, and where you’re posting
Different types of content require different levels of time and energy to create. Creating a video or hosting a podcast is a lot more effort than creating a post with one image. Therefore, you should make sure you discuss what type of content is expected, how much you’re expected to promote it, and where. Different platforms tend to have different rates depending on expected engagement and conversion rates as well.
Number of followers and engagement rates
Know that these two factors are not the same metric in the slightest, but are often discussed in the same breath. An influencer can have thousands of followers but very limited engagement just as an influencer with much fewer followers can have strong engagement that indicates higher brand loyalty and conversion rates. Ultimately each can be used as leverage, so make sure you include this information in your media kit and use it to your advantage in negotiations.
As a side note, if an influencer has a noticeably inflated amount of followers in comparison to their engagement, it may raise concern from advertisers that their followers aren’t true followers, so focus on building true brand evangelists rather than just increasing your follower count.
Goals of the campaign
What do they want from partnering with you? Do they want you to endorse something to give it legitimacy? If you’re being asked to put your brand or reputation on the line, or use your medical expertise, know your worth and ask for a rate that reflects the time you put into acquiring that brand and the knowledge, not just the time to create the content. And it goes without saying that you should believe in it if you’re going to put your name behind it.
Who the company is that’s looking to use you
You of course want to do your due diligence on who the company is and what they can afford to pay you before coming to the negotiation table. A startup that has raised multiple rounds of capital will be able to pay you more than someone just starting out. A company that is a well known brand name likely has a bigger budget (but may not be willing to spend it on you if they have lots of influencers begging them for free products that are willing to do it for cheaper).
How much content you are creating, the time will it take you to create the content, and how often you have to post it
What is the opportunity cost of engaging in this partnership? How many hours will you take to create the content? How many times are you going to post throughout the year? Is it the same content over and over, or are you creating unique content each time? These are all questions you should be asking before setting rates, and oftentimes, creating bundled packages like 3 Instagram stories and 1 podcast episode may allow you to upsell the package, without actually having to create additional content as the same content can be repurposed in multiple ways.
Revenue share options or ongoing royalties
A great way to get ongoing revenue or really amplify your earnings is to include a success fee in your arrangement. You may be willing to take less upfront (or even none, though we don’t like that arrangement as it’s possible you do all the work and get nothing) in hopes that your content will be amplified and result in lots of engagement that leads to compensation for you. For example, if there are KPIs or affiliate fees that are offered to you for certain results, this could result in much higher revenue. Make sure the affiliate terms, key performance indications (KPIs) that determine success, and other terms are clearly delineated in your contract. If you’re getting paid based on the number of clicks or sales, make sure there’s a way that you can track these things. This way, you won’t have to worry about lack of transparency being the reason that you don’t get paid more.Â
Exclusivity and usage rights
Oftentimes, a company may ask you for exclusivity, as they want to ensure that you won’t be promoting related or competing products as well. Be careful when pricing to account for the business that you can’t take as a result of this contract. Additionally, understand how they intend to use your content and for how long. If they want to still be able to use your face 10 years from now, factor that into the pricing. If they own the content and are allowed to use it in whatever context and form they’d like, be careful that you’re getting paid accordingly or have trailing revenue.
Many influencers have a standard contract or engagement template that they have drafted, but depending on the brand, they may insist on using their contract. These contracts can be long and complicated, with clauses that heavily favor the company. It will be very important to review your contract word for word, and utilize an attorney as necessary, as you don’t want to be affected by an overly burdensome exclusivity clause or other terms that you don’t like. For example, you may want to ensure that you have final approval of anything that goes out with your name on it if your material is repurposed. Â
How badly do you want to be associated with this brand, and when would you walk away?
Sometimes, you may have your own reasons why you really want to land this partnership, and may want to offer a more competitive rate to ensure that it comes to fruition. Perhaps it’s good for your brand to be associated with them, or perhaps you see landing them as a stepping stone to a larger partnership in some other capacity, either with them or someone else. Or, maybe you just really believe in them and are willing to go lower on your rates to help promote their product because you would’ve been promoting them regardless.Â
Alternatively, if you’re ambivalent about whether you get the deal or not, you may be willing to go big or go home, and leverage your ability to walk away from the bargaining table to hopefully land a better rate. If you’re not going to lose sleep over losing the partnership, a lot of influencers believe it’s better to bargain hard and have a few brand partnerships that pay better, versus having many that don’t pay as well. Work smarter, not harder!
What are typical rates influencers charge for posts on the major social media platforms?
While we said above that the number of followers you have can be supplanted as the major determinant of rates, in case you need a place to start when determining rates, or if you’re wondering if the offer you got is fair, there are some general industry rules of thumb that you may hear based on follower count. These include: Â
Nano-influencers (1K - 10K followers): These are micro-influencers with highly engaged communities. They often charge less but can provide strong personal connections and high engagement. Typical rates include: $10-$100 for Instagram posts, $5-$25 for TikTok posts, and $20-$200 for YouTube videos.Â
Micro-influencers (10K - 50K followers): Ideal for local campaigns, micro-influencers tend to have a loyal audience and provide an excellent balance of cost vs. impact. Typical rates include: $100-$500 for Instagram posts, $25-$125 for TikTok posts, and $200-$1000 for YouTube videos.
Macro-influencers (50K - 1M followers): These influencers have a wider reach and can provide great exposure. However, they typically require a larger budget and have less personal interaction with followers. Typical rates include: $5,000-$10,000 for Instagram posts, $1,250-$2,500 for TikTok posts, and $10,000-$20,000 for YouTube posts.Â
Celebrity or mega-influencers (1M+ followers): Often, these influencers can drive massive awareness, but they come with a hefty price tag and can be less effective in terms of deep engagement or driving conversions. Typical rates include: $10,000+ for Instagram posts, $2,500+ for TikTok posts, and $20,000+ for YouTube posts.Â
Your job as a negotiator is obviously to try and convince them that there is a reason they should pay you more than this (like the fact that you’re a physician and your word is hopefully more trustworthy when it comes to healthcare related products or services).Â
Other keys to success in influencer marketing
The key to a successful brand partnership is good faith between the parties that this is beneficial to both parties. As there will always be unexpected results or engagement for factors beyond your control, like a world news event that dominates the newsfeed on the day your content goes live, it’s important that there is understanding and the willingness to be flexible and pivot if necessary.
To some extent, you should also do your best to set some KPIs of what success looks like to the other party, as well as ensure that there are no misunderstandings about what was promised versus what was delivered. While you’ll want to add the disclaimer that you can’t guarantee the results, there should be good faith between the two parties that those metrics are achievable. Always err on the side of underpromising and overdelivering, as you want them to be happy! The best partnerships build off the original agreement for a nice long term relationship. Not to mention that it’s easier to keep working with one person than to continuously have to find new partners. Reputation matters a lot in this industry, and if other brands hear that you were hard to work with, your business will suffer long term, so don’t be short sighted in your charges to make more now at the expense of losing business later.
These can include things like:
Number of products or services sold
How many people engaged or interacted with your post in some form, whether that be likes, shares, comments, or clicks
How many leads were generated
How many people signed up on the company’s website for their newsletter
If they saw a spike in traffic after your mention
Feedback received
Ensure that the tracking for the KPIs is also transparent to you and that you’re not just taking the other party’s word for it, especially if there is a performance based component. This is often done through affiliate platforms, sharing regular reports, etc. You may also track the performance using referral codes specific to that influencer or emails that are sent to you every time a conversion occurs.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing has exploded over the last few years. It offers a unique opportunity for physicians to scale and leverage their brand to connect with potential patients, customers, or followers. Its effectiveness rests on the fact that it can often come across in a more authentic and engaging way than traditional marketing. The key to a successful campaign or long term partnership as a physician is not just in selecting the right partners, but also ensuring that both parties feel like the arrangement is fair and are happy with the results. Understanding what’s standard in the industry before offering your rates may encourage you to know your worth, and ask for it. When you feel valued, you’ll also enjoy the content making process more!
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