Influencers: A Thread

An article on influencers in the Winnipeg Free Press (published Saturday, August 17) demonstrates what I’ve been saying for more than a year now. The bubble is going to burst, and soon. The word influencer today is fairly meaningless. When everyone says they’re an influencer—guess what? No one is. The shallow takes from a few of the self-declared influencers (!!) were uninformed and flat-out WRONG especially when it comes to what the industry looks like (e.g. diversity.) So my take, as someone who grew the first social media agency in this city best described by the following:

1. Any brands worth their weight are wise to the influencer game. Small businesses are vulnerable to fly-by-night influencers. They don’t have the deep pockets to pay $1,000 USD for a post (don’t get me started on that number as quoted in the article today.)

More on influencer fraud here: https://www.zdnet.com/…/fake-influencer-follower-fraud-to-…/

2. The influencer world is as diverse as the real world. There are people from every walk of life working in the industry to connect their audiences with brands they find value in. That no person of colour or anyone from the LGBTQ+ community was featured is not acceptable in 2019.

3. If you get a regular paycheque from an employer you are NOT making a livable income from your “Insta side hustle” and aren’t banking your mortgage or rent on a sponsored post. Get real. ??

4. Influencers have ruined a lot. Ask any restaurant owner ??

5. Influence is dead. Yes, I said it. (Have been saying it for well over a year.) But what there will always be demand for is professional, authentic, and relevant CONTENT. Content creators—and good ones—are where it’s at in 2019 and beyond.

6. On the agency side, I don’t care how care (and we advise clients on this) how many followers an “influencer” has. I’ve worked on campaigns where someone with 100K followers didn’t get one conversion yet the person with 2K followers got 125 conversions.

7. Currently any agency worth their salt is highly skeptical of “influencers” with more than 10K folllwers on Insta. The gaming of that platform is rampant and unpoliced. It’s Thunerdome. We look for nano and micro-influencers (content creators) who aren’t manipulating their follower count.

8. Content Creators Are The Future.

9. Content Creators are looking for long-term opportunities to produce for brands. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that’s balanced and has defined goals, deliverables, and brands pay well for this content.

10. If your business is banking on influencers you’ll be very disappointed. If you pursue relationships with content creators you’ll get better results especially long-term.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk ??????? How will you change how you work with content creators to to ensure your business goals are being met?