5 Influencer Myths Busted
Myth #1:
Influencers can be your way to achieve scale for free
The Truth: Influencers are subject to the same algorithms that brands are. In fact, many influencers are treated the same as a business, so they may be reaching the same percentage of their “follower audience” that you are as a brand. True, their follower count may be higher than your brand’s but that’s no guarantee for high reach. If you’re looking for broad reach but in the tone and editorial voice of the influencer, consider white listing the post (investing ad dollars in the influencer’s post vs. reposting on your own channel).
Myth #2:
Influencers don’t require the same rigor as briefing your agency
The Truth: In some cases, influencers need more effort in briefing — unlike your agencies, they don’t work with your brand every day so don’t know all the considerations (legal, creative, etc.) that you do. This means detailed briefs for any guidelines are a must, but you should also be cautious because in most cases you are contracting them for their editorial voice, their creative eye, etc. You don’t want to go overboard with guidelines and restrictions, which is why it’s best to work collaboratively with your agency and have a kick off meeting with agency + influencer to discuss the vision for the project together.
Myth #3:
Only PR or media agencies can work with influencers
The Truth: Depending on the output and cost of the influencers, even creative agencies can contract them. For instance, if the purpose of an individual is only to capture content for brand owned channels, the creative agency may brief them because creatives will be closer to the brand guidelines the content should adhere to. In the most ideal case, however, all agencies will work together to coordinate influencers for a particular project.
Myth #4:
Content partners (I.e. Vice and Refinery 29) aren’t the same as influencers
The Truth: We work with publishing partners for many of the same reasons we work with influencers: they have clout and are culturally relevant and therefore have the ear and trust of a particular audience that we want to get in front of. So why wouldn’t they be the same? They need the same guidance as influencers and have the same editorial integrity that influencers posting on their channels will have.
Myth #5:
There’s only one way to use influencers
The Truth: Influencers can be used to achieve scale, but can also be used to capture content solely for use on your channel. These two uses are not mutually exclusive — the same person can be contracted to capture 2 assets — one for their channel, more in their own editorial voice and one for your brand’s channel, more in line with your brand guidelines.
