Sway Group

It's been a whirlwind few weeks of press buzz over here! In case you missed the latest headlines, I've put together a highlight reel of our recent media features. Catch up on all things Sway Group and influencer marketing with this quick roundup.

This topic has come up a couple of times just in the past week, so I was curious to see what others think. Where do you find your best employees? AND what previous (non-professional) job do you think is the best indicator of success in a professional career? Some of my best employees/favorite colleagues were former babysitters or camp counselors! If someone is a great babysitter or counselor, I know that they are good at time management, they can successfully triage when in a stressful situation, they can deal with tough personalities (just ask Mr. Matthew Clay about that one), and they bring creativity to their work. When I see nanny, babysitter, or camp counselor on someone's resume, I take that as a VERY good sign. (including a very 80s picture of me at sleepaway camp just for fun)

Another week, another episode of The Art of Sway with me and Casey Benedict! (which is a good time to let you know that we are taking a break next week to accomodate some travel on both of our plates, but we will be back with a new episode on November 25th.) This week, we went back and forth on the value of influencer marketing. Should we be analyzing it based on reach or based on performance? Curious as to what we had to say? Check out the episode today (link in comments).

The holiday season is fast approaching, and we've teamed up with Forbes to bring you the ultimate guide on how brands can advance their influencer marketing strategy this year. In this must-read article, we explore whether it's essential to request exclusivity from influencers during their busiest time of year and dive deep into the power of authenticity in holiday campaigns. Get ready to take your brand's holiday marketing to the next level—read on for expert insights and actionable strategies that will make this season your brand’s best one yet.

Ahead of the upcoming presidential election, brands have?pushed for influencers to be apolitical?as well as?planned “dark periods”?where they’ll pause influencer marketing campaigns. That will likely be the new norm even after Election Day, but influencer marketing and agency execs believe it’ll usher in a new era of marketers getting to know the influencers they work with better rather than totally pausing the relationship all together. “Creators are only going to play an even bigger role in [the] future,” said Ryan Tristan Jin, vp at influencer marketing shop Obviously, adding that working with influencers and creators to address things like mental health, economic concerns or civic engagement can allow brands to continue to be present but avoid political bias. “Taking a backseat every single time [there’s an election], that may not be prepping your brand for the future.” In this piece by Kristina Monllos, we also speak to BRANDON SOLIS of Havas, Arianna Coxe of Barbarian, and Danielle Wiley of Sway Group. #influencermarketing #election2024

I think we can all acknowledge that it is nigh on impossible to think about anything other than the election today, so we decided to bring the spirit of voting over to The Art of Sway! First of all, our newest episode is out this morning. If you need a bit of distraction today, please do check it out. Casey and I talked about the difference between celebrities and influencers (is there one? listen to find out!). The link to the episode is in the comments. Second of all, let's vote! We have three options for you to choose for the topic of our next episode. What's your choice?

At Sway Group, we have been advising our clients to "go dark" and not have any influencers post content from Halloween through Election Day (with the understanding that Election Day might unfortunately stretch out beyond Tuesday, November 5). Have you all done the same? Or if you work at a brand, are you pausing new content yourself? So much work goes into the generation of content. Our perspective is that it is a waste to have it go live when attention is so clearly focused elsewhere.

We have a new Art of Sway episode for ya! This week Casey and I got INTO it about talent managers in the influencer marketing space. Are they offering value or not? What are the benefits and drawbacks? Check out the episode and please feel free to chime in here with your thoughts. (Link in comments).

The wait is over—The Art of Sway podcast is back! This season, I’m thrilled to be joined by my friend and new co-host, Casey Benedict. In this inaugural episode, join us as we share laughs about our unlikely friendship, tackle the hot-button issue of influencers in politics, and delve into the ever-evolving landscape of influencer marketing.

Today is the day! The first episode of the new season of The Art of Sway, co-hosted with Casey Benedict is live!! You can find it anywhere you stream your podcasts. One of the more interesting topics covered in this episode was the tension between allowing influencers creative freedom and meeting brand expectations. Tune in and see if you agree with our respective takes!