The campaign workflow feature is an essential tool to manage influencers throughout your collaborations.

The default workflow stages span the entire process of collaborating with influencers, from searching for potential candidates to reporting on influencers who have completed the campaign. 

Learn more about each one of the default workflow stages in the Workflow Stages section or the workflow overall in the article Campaign Workflow Basics.

This article describes the capabilities and tasks associated with the Candidates stage.

In this article:

• Candidates stage definition
• When to use the Candidates stage
• Stage-specific capabilities and tasks
• Adding influencers to the Candidates stage
• Promoting influencers past the Candidates stage
• Workflow phase
• Related message template
• Appearance to influencers

Candidates stage definition

The Candidates stage is designed to hold influencers who you may want to invite to your campaign but have not yet decided to contact.

When to use the Candidates stage

The Candidates stage is recommended any time you want to curate the influencers you choose to invite to a campaign. Add a wide group of influencers to the Candidates stage and narrow down the list again before sending invitations.

The Candidates stage can also be used if you wish to add influencers to a campaign ahead of time, then send the Invitation automatically as they are promoted to the Invited stage. 

We recommend skipping the Candidates stage to streamline the workflow whenever it it is not required for your process.

Stage-specific capabilities and tasks

The performance forecasting module is a useful tool during the Candidates phase, helping you visualize the performance potential of the influencers you have added. See Performance Forecasting for specific instructions and additional detail.

Something that differentiates stages in the Candidates phase from other workflow stages is the ability to add and move influencers from the Influencer Index who have not yet joined your Members database. Non-members cannot be promoted past the Candidates phase. If you are having trouble promoting influencers from the Candidates stage further in the workflow, check if they have opted in to work with you.

Adding influencers to the Candidates stage

When you add influencers to a new campaign, they are always added to the first stage enabled in the workflow. When the Candidates stage is enabled, it is the first default workflow stage. 

If you have added a custom workflow stage ahead of the Candidates stage, influencers will be added to that stage first and you will need to manually promote them to the Candidates stage.

There are several ways to add influencers to the Candidates stage of new campaigns.

• Add influencers from search results in the Influencers tab

  1. Open the Influencers tab of the main menu.
  2. Apply relevant filters or keywords to find influencers who meet your criteria.
  3. Use the Select All checkbox or the individual checkboxes next to each profile to select the desired influencers.
  4. Select the relevant campaign in the Add to Campaign menu in the upper-right corner.
  5. Click OK.
• Add influencers using the Search tab within a campaign

  1. Open the Search tab within the relevant campaign.
  2. Apply relevant filters or keywords to find influencers who meet your criteria.
  3. Use the Select All checkbox or the individual checkboxes next to each profile to select the desired influencers.
  4. Click OK in the upper-right corner, next to the Add to Campaign menu item.
• Add a specific influencer from their lightbox profile

  1. From anywhere in the platform, click on an influencer's profile image to view their lightbox profile.
  2. Click the ⋮ icon to open the details panel.
  3. Open the Actions tab.
  4. Select the relevant campaign in the Add to Campaigns field and hit enter.

Promoting influencers past the Candidates stage

Influencers are promoted to the next stage manually. To promote influencers out of the Candidates stage, select their profiles in the Workflow tab and click the Promote button that appears in the upper right corner.

Workflow phase

Stages are grouped into phases to reflect the status of influencers in the campaign at a higher level. The Candidates stage is grouped in the Candidates phase.

When an influencer is in the Candidates phase of the workflow, no content can be bound to their profile and incentives cannot be fulfilled. Influencers who have not opted into your program cannot be promoted past the Candidates phase of any campaign. 

See Comprehensive Workflow Logic for additional detail on workflow phases.

Related message template

There are no default message templates associated with the Candidates stage. In the recommended default workflow, there is no contact with influencers in the Candidates stage.

Appearance to influencers

When an influencer is in the Candidates stage of the campaign, that campaign is not displayed in the list of All Campaigns visible to them from the influencer campaign manager (ICM), if they already have a link to the ICM from a previous campaign.

See Influencer Campaign Manager Overview for additional detail on the ICM.