How do you stay authentic while engaging with influencers?

You need to do your homework before starting meaning that you need to have a clear understanding of your brand's identity. If that is unclear, creating content by engaging with influencers will be challenging if not impossible, because how can an influence know your brand's identity if you cannot express it clearly yourself?

Knowing your goals will determine who you work with and how you work with them. For example: - Need a keynote for an event - likely a pay to engage scenario (short-term) - Want input into product development - likely long-term scenario (based on relationships) - Are you engaging the best influencer to meet your goals? Do their followers align to your intended goals?

The #1 thing to always ask yourself as a marketer when working with a creator is "what kind of content would I see on my FYP or my IG feed that would make me want to buy something?!". Marketers get so caught up in the logistics, campaign briefs, and ridiculous creative guidelines.... let creators be themselves! If you did your research, let the influencer/ creator know your goals, and you genuinely believe this is the right partner to work with, why would you want to stifle them? The creator knows their audience the best, so do yourself a favor and leave the 20-page creative briefs at the door :).

Connecting with influencers can be a big help for your brand. But it's important to stay true to who you are, even when you work with others. First, you should know what you want and what your brand stands for. - What do you care about? Who likes your stuff? - What makes you special? Knowing these things helps you work with influencers who match your goals and values. This way, you can grow without losing your true self.

Staying authentic while engaging with influencers is like attending a masquerade ball without a mask. While everyone else might be in elaborate disguises, you're there in your true form. It's about understanding that collaboration with influencers is not a scripted play, but a conversation. Choose influencers whose values align with your brand, and don't be afraid to be yourself. Speak in your brand's genuine voice, not in buzzwords or salesy lingo. Remember, authenticity isn't a costume you put on; it's about being the same brand on social media as you are in real life. Dance on!

As you do your research also consider what your goals are and if the influencer you seek is aligned. If you’re launching a video series, podcast series and audio program, make sure the influencer has experience in these areas and their community is engaged through these mediums. And take the time to watch/tune into some of their events to make sure the style, voice, tone, etc is aligned to what you look for. A person won’t just change for a paid engagement. What you see is what you get.

Very good article. In the B2B world, influence is very different than in the B2C one. What brands require is a know-how, an experience that customers of the brand can relate to. Doing your research is essential because many people declare themselves influencers when actually their added value to the brand is minimum. Choose someone that will be more of a key opinion leader rather than an influencer. Your ROI will be optimized and customers will relate more to your brand

Honesty is the best policy. Period. If you want to work with an influencer, they need to want to work with you too and that starts from a place of trust. Trust is built on honesty and on ensuring that they can maintain their identity and creative control over their work while working with you.

Treat an influencer like you’d like to be treated. You wouldn’t appreciate if someone asked you today to write a blog for two days from now, or reach out to you to speak at an event next week. Lead time is important, same for an influencer. Plan in advance, allow time to share information, and properly prepare.

Getting help from influencers to promote your brand can be powerful, but it's not always easy. These tips can help: 1. Be honest and open. 2. Tell people that you're working with the influencer. 3. Follow the rules and be truthful with your audience. Also, respect the influencer's ideas and expertise. Don't try to control them or make them do things your way. Instead, explain your goals and trust them to do their job. Give them helpful feedback, show that you value them, and treat them as partners, not just tools. This way, you can work together and stay true to your values.

For brands, it might also be particularly helpful if the members from the content/social media team engage with the influencer’s audience to make it feel more human and put a face to the brand. Also, it’s critical to keep it conversational and not use the comment section as a sales pitch.

Many platforms have built features and tools that allow for measuring engagement within a community or from individual users. A platform may recognize top contributors or voices within a group run by an influencer, often with a publicly visible icon or by algorithmically prioritizing responses. Behind the scenes, platforms may offer influencers and their teams dashboards with advanced controls and analytics, including details on a per-user basis. Regular engagement with an influencer’s content can allow you to float to the top of an influencer’s notifications or inbox.

One way to do this is incorporate influencer content into your employee advocacy platform. Have a category for influencer content aligned to your business topics. It’s a nice way to give back, scaling the reach of their content and their visibility. A second way is to structure your community management program so there’s a pillar for influencers. Every day proactively engage with accounts and content of influencers and reciprocate back engaging with all notifications from them and their communities.

Start by thinking about what you want to achieve with influencers. Make sure it fits with your goals. Also, be careful about choosing influencers who match your values. After working together, look at how well it went. - Did you reach more people? - Did they engage with your brand? Did you make more sales? - What worked and what didn't? Learn from this experience to do better next time. So, while teaming up with influencers can be tricky, following these tips can help you stay true to your brand and do even better in the future.

Influencer disclosure requirements may apply when posting content as an influencer and also when engaging with content from an influencer to build your own brand. Keep in mind the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) endorsement guidelines when engaging with other influencers, especially if you have a financial or other incentive to doing so. For example, the FTC says any consumer reviews must include “clear and conspicuous” disclosure of material connections, ranging from joint marketing efforts to increase subscribers to being given access to an influencer’s course for free in exchange for social engagement. The latest update to the endorsement guidelines include expanded guidance applicable to recent changes across influencer businesses.

Don't look at a creator or influencer as just another ad unit to be developed, implemented and then ignored. Look at it as more of a Business Development style of partnership, and one that - in success - could last for months or even years. Longer term partnerships between creators, influencers and brands are the key to success on both sides of the equation. And keep in mind that if done right, you might someday actually hire that creator or influencer to run your creator partnership efforts in house. That, in the end, could be the biggest win of all.

At the end of the day, collaboration is key. But only when done with the right partners. Research is for sure a must as not all influencers/thought leaders will be a good fit. I get puzzled sometimes when I get approached for partnerships that do not fit me at all. When you have authenticity and integrity you turn those down. I believe in long term collaborations and understanding each brand as best as possible. In this fast paced world, we sometimes need to take a step back and truly understand what these collaborations are all about. What are the goals? Who are the right fit? As I always say, #TogetherWeAreStronger ??