The Agency Partnership team attended an influencer marketing event this week, kindly hosted by Ketchum UK’s Jo-ann Robertson. Here are 5 points (oft overlooked, if not ground-breaking) that came up:

Data

It’s a critical component. It ensures you identify the right influencer for the target audience and prevents time and resources being wasted; particularly money (see more on this below). It’s very easy to identify an influencer with significant reach, but if their relevance to your audience is limited then it doesn’t matter if they are Kim Kardashian; it won’t mean value to the client. Using the right tools is important, but it’s the person driving them that matters!

Influencer motivations

Establishing a relationship with influencers is essential. It means that you can work together to build an authentic campaign that is valuable to both parties. Ultimately, they are the expert in their subject matter and engaging their audience, use their knowledge.

Money

It’s not all about it. Many influencers will be attracted by an experience, product or story, just as much as money – after all; they need content for their audiences. Creativity still counts more than dollar.

Traditional models don’t apply

Throw out the rule book. It’s not possible to think of influencer marketing through a paid or earned model. It’s a blend; it requires a new style of integrated approach to be successful.

Sector insight

Trust the influencer. They’re not just useful as a communications channel to your audience. Influencers can provide valuable audience insight, sometimes even more so than audience focus groups, because they are honest about what works from the data they live their lives by. Build relationships with your influencers and they can help you understand your audiences at a new level.