Ask Ignited: Question 7

“Aligning the right talent with the right project.  There are hundreds of good influencers who are open to working with brands, but few of them are truly collaborative or good at working as good partners.”

— Eric Johnson, Founder/CEO

“Authenticity. Find influencers who actually like the product and would naturally use it anyway. Better to have less authentic influencers than a high volume of influencers who are only in it for the payments.”

— Timmothy Harsh, VP Strategy

“It needs to be authentic.  The influencer needs to have a vested interest in the product/service they are supporting instead of treating it as a one-off paid gig.  Consumers can easily tell when influencers are only doing something for money – and it’s a turnoff.”

— David Lock, VP Experiential + Business Development

“Aim for an Influencer which best fits your brand… Think “brand ambassador”. If you don’t see a natural fit between the Influencer and your brand, neither will consumers!”

— Annika Gomez, Media Intern

“You need to find trustworthy influencers. They have to be able to point out some flaws in your product before admitting that they love it. They can’t look like they’ve been paid to endorse your product.”

—Ron Graening, Sr. Production Artist

“Find out in the screening process if the influencer is excited about the product, believes in it, and will incorporate the product into the content. So much of the time influencers just shout out the product at the beginning or end of the content, and then moves into the content without any mention of the product again, which is entirely useless. Use of the product in the content is the most effective way for the consumer to recognize the product and see it in use.”

— Matt Steenstra, Assistant Media Planner