From Pitfalls to Possibilities: Mastering the Art of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing isn’t easy.  

If there’s one buzzword that won’t stop buzzing, it’s influencer marketing. Going from a supporting tactic to a $24 billion industry, influencer marketing is slated to be the next billion-dollar opportunity for brands.  

Find creators (the community members who are driving the community creatively) and influencers (those with the reach and impact within the group) wisely who have shared values, and you’ll spark magical connections. Use them for their reach and follower count and you’ll not only fail, but the impact of this failure can be exponentially worse than your average easy-to-ignore standard piece of content and media.

So where do we go from here? Influencer marketing is here to stay, and the key to unlocking it in the most valuable ways for brands, influencers, creators, and consumers takes a three-pronged approach to win.

1. Demo-first marketing is dead – find influencers in key communities. Our internet identities are made up of communities and subcultures. Although I may be in the same media target as another millennial woman, 28-43, my carefully curated algorithm says otherwise. My world is filled with “Lord of the Rings” memes, iced coffee, camping, and cooking videos. Her world may be filled with makeup, fashion, takeout, and tea. We may look the same on paper, but to reach me, you need to know that you need to “Speak Friend to Enter.” If you didn’t know that that was a “Lord of the Rings” deep cut, that’s okay! You don’t live in that community. Every community has a shared language, unique rules of engagement and niche references that shape how we engage and it’s critical that brands understand these nuances before they show up with content. Brands can’t just show up without a shepherd. Find the key voices within your brand’s core communities that can influence and activate these niche audiences and communities. That may not be the influencer with the most followers but the truest influence. Look to partner with people who have great engagement, commentary, and brand alignment.  
2. Sharpen your role in the community – add or exchange value with influential voices. These are carefully curated communities that are actively trying to avoid your content. To show up in a meaningful way, you need a role. Sure, bringing credible voices helps, but what are you doing there? Are you solving a specific barrier that exists within the community? Are you enabling something? Are you bringing thought leadership? Are you providing access? Figure out your brand role and make it impactful. Find creators and influencers who have shared values and can help you tell these stories.  
3. Validate your influencers and communities with intelligence and data. Once you understand the nuances of the communities you’re trying to reach, validate them with data. At Digitas, we use Epsilon to size audiences, but also go beyond standard demos with buying behavior and unique purchase data to individuals. The more we can understand about the individual, the more impact we can have. And the easier we can find them in paid. Similarly, working with an AI-enabled platform like Influential allows us to identify key voices within these communities. Follower and interest alignment, community engagement and impact are all core to that selection process.  

The bottom line? Use influencers less as an afterthought and more as a network multiplier. Integrating influencers and creators into your overall marketing strategy can have a true networked effect where media, creativity, and platform all align to make magic for your brand.