Reviews
Part of How to assess micro influencer marketing reviews
When to use micro influencer marketing agency reviews
Use micro influencer marketing agency reviews for shortlists, renewals or new providers. Find UK review sources and assess dates, evidence and scoring.
What to take away
- Agency reviews are a screening tool. Use them to shorten a long provider list, not to choose a winner.
- Check the review's date and its published weightings before you read a single score.
- Write your own pass or fail test first, naming the criteria your campaign depends on.
- A review verifies published evidence about a company. It cannot verify employment status, contract terms or how your account will be run.
Use this scoring frame for micro influencer marketing agency reviews: set campaign-specific pass/fail criteria, then check each review's date, evidence and published weightings.
Write your pass or fail test before you open a review
Do this first. It takes twenty minutes and it stops someone else's scorecard from setting your priorities.
- List the criteria your campaign depends on, such as dated disclosure examples, a named creator contact and payment terms.
- Mark each criterion as pass or fail. Everything else becomes optional.
- Decide what evidence would satisfy each criterion, and who should supply it.
- Compare the review's published weightings with your list. A mismatch means the ranking was built for a different buyer.
When to use a review
More than five providers and no time to speak to all?
Use a review to shortlist
Speak to providers directly
Use a review when reducing a longlist before inviting providers to pitch, before renewing or expanding an agency relationship, or when considering an unfamiliar provider for a first campaign. A review earns its place when you have more than five possible providers and no time to speak to all of them. If it does not explain how providers were scored, treat it as opinion rather than evidence.
Start with client-review platforms such as Trustpilot, Clutch and Google Reviews. Check agency names there, then inspect whether reviewers describe a micro-influencer campaign and when the review was posted.
The Drum, Campaign and Influencer Marketing Hub can help you find agency coverage or lists, but do not treat an editorial list as a customer-review score. For example, search for reviews of agencies such as Socially Powerful or GOAT; these names are search examples, not recommendations.
For standards context, consult ASA/CAP and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA); ISBA, the IPA and IAB UK are industry bodies, not independent agency-review platforms.
Check the review's date and published weightings
The Advertising Standards Authority refreshed its influencer guidance and widened its webinar programme during 2025. A scorecard written before that date may test disclosure against an older rulebook.
2025 guidance refresh
- 2025ASA refreshes influencer guidance
- 2025ASA widens webinar schedule
- Before 2025Scorecard may be outdated
- UndatedTreat ranking as provisional
Ask when the reviewer last read the code, and which version of the rules the criteria tested. A review that names the rulebook version does more work than one that lists scores without a source.
The Advertising Standards Authority runs free compliance webinars, including influencer topics, which are useful for pressure-testing a claim: CAP Webinars - ASA | CAP. Treat the schedule as training, not as approval.
There is no universal weighting for agency reviews. Rankings also hide their weightings. One buyer wants disclosure paperwork, another wants creator vetting. If the weighting is not published, you cannot tell whether the winner suits your brief. Treat an undated ranking as provisional.
What a review can verify, and what it cannot
| Evidence a review can check | What it cannot settle |
|---|---|
| Published terms, disclosure templates and the date each was captured | Whether a named creator is self employed under your engagement terms |
| Registered details and filing history | How the provider will staff and run your account |
| The version of the advertising rules a scorecard tested against | Whether the chosen disclosure wording works in your sector |
| The measurement approach a provider states | Your results, your attribution and your budget fit |
The non-broadcast code is what a regulator applies. Point your provider questions at it: Advertising codes - ASA | CAP.
Our guide to the micro influencer marketing advertising rules sets out the wider context. For choosing a review, check whether it distinguishes the agency's work from duties that remain with the brand.
No review can tell you whether a named creator is self employed under your engagement terms. That is a status question with tax and National Insurance consequences. Start with Employment status: Overview - GOV.UK if you need to work it out.
Nor can a review test performance on your account. No campaigns were run and no dashboards were inspected for this article. Every figure here is illustrative, including a team paying £400 a month for coordination support.
Example: what a dated disclosure entry looks like
A usable review shows its working. A dated entry for one provider carries five fields:
A dated disclosure entry
- The provider name and the campaign it relates to.
- The exact disclosure wording, such as the word "Ad" placed before the fold.
- The platform, the post URL and the date it was captured.
- The version of the CAP code the wording was checked against.
- Whether the vendor supplied the entry or an independent reviewer did.
Score each criterion against evidence, note the date it was captured, and compare the review's published weightings with your own priorities. The linked Micro influencer marketing review methodology offers further detail.
Common questions
Do agency reviews replace legal or tax advice?
No. They cover published evidence about providers. Employment status, contracts and tax treatment stay your responsibility.
How old can a review be before it is unsafe to rely on?
There is no fixed cut-off. Ask when the criteria were last checked against the CAP code, then re-verify the disclosure points yourself.
Should a review score compliance separately from creativity?
Yes. Mixing the two hides which provider can keep a campaign inside the rules. Score disclosure duties on their own line.
What should I ask a provider after reading a review?
Ask for dated examples of disclosure wording, the measurement approach and who holds the creator relationship. Then check the answers against the code.
