Influencer

by Brittany Hennessy

  If you’re wondering how to squad up, the key is to connect with bloggers whose work you admire. Attend events, send them a DM, and make the effort to connect. I cofounded CreatorsCollective for this very reason: to help aspiring influencers affordably connect with fellow influencers as well as the top editors, brands, and agents in the industry. There are other conferences like BlogHer, Create & Cultivate, Beautycon, and VidCon, but they cost a pretty penny, so be sure you connect with a lot of attendees so you don’t waste the opportunity or your money.

  Everything’s more fun when you do it with friends, and content creation is no different. Grab your squad and make some magic together.

  STAGE 5: 50,000 TO 100,000 FOLLOWERS

  At 50,000 you’re ready to start approaching brands for campaigns. More times than not, a brand will post your content on its social media channels and your content could be exposed to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of potential followers. We’ll talk about the best way to approach a brand in Chapter 4, but there are ways to get your content featured even if you’re not a part of an official campaign. Hashtags can help new followers find your content; they’re also a great way to get noticed by a brand. Maybelline asks followers to use “#mynyitlook” for a chance to be featured on their social channels, and Sephora uses “#sephorahaul.” There are smaller brands, especially those that sell online only or don’t have hundreds of stores, who rely on influencers to create content for them to post. It’s actually the job of a social media editor to look at these hashtags and find the best pieces of content, so it’s the perfect way for you to get discovered. But please remember to follow them as well. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing an influencer gush about how much they love a brand and then realizing they don’t even follow the brand’s social media accounts.

  Want to collaborate with an advertiser and gain followers? Offer to run a contest or a sweepstakes for them, but make sure you know the difference. People tend to use these words interchangeably, but they’re different. In a contest, each entry is viewed and judged to determine a winner based on some requirements. In a sweepstakes, a winner is chosen at random from all eligible participants. Ask your followers to tag a friend to share the prize or tag someone who would love the dress you’re wearing in a post for a chance to win one. The prizes don’t have to be extravagant. But they should be organic to your brand. If you’re a beauty blogger, give away the latest holiday palette from your favorite brand. Is your blog all about fashion on a budget? A gift card to T.J.Maxx or Marshalls would be perfect. Don’t give away items that any person on the Internet would love to win or you’ll just end up with a bunch of people who followed your handle to win an iPad but don’t really care about you or your content. Remember, increasing your followers is all well and good, but keeping them is most important. And the way to do that is by creating content that keeps them coming back for more.

  THE COMMUNITY IS IN THE COMMENTS

  We’ve covered content and hashtags and contests, but we cannot forget about comments. Comments are the lifeblood of content creators, and you should get your audience into the habit of commenting by asking them a question at the end of each post.

  If brands see that your comments section is a positive place where people are sharing tips with each other, it makes you a really good influencer for them to collaborate with. Anyone can double tap a photo. It takes actual time and effort to write a comment. That’s why I always shake my head when I see someone ask an influencer where she bought her bag or who makes her top and the commenter is met with radio silence.

  Responding to comments is just as important as planning out your content for the week and making sure your feed looks just right. In the beginning it might be easy to keep on top of all of them, but as you gain popularity it becomes increasingly difficult. When that happens, take a few hours each week to go through your comments and answer all the questions and like as many comments as you can. If it’s more than you can handle on your own, enlist a friend to help. If you take two seconds out of your day to interact with this follower, the odds that she will engage with future pieces of content shoots through the roof. Take care of your community and it will take care of you.

  INFLUENCER INSIGHT

  Answer as many comments as you can, until it becomes too much to handle. A small amount of comments can double quickly if you answer every person. By doing something that simple, you can double your engagement. It is so important to interact with your subscribers to build a relationship and a community.

  —@sonagasparian

  It’s great when you receive a lot of positive comments or constructive criticism, but what about the feedback from the mean girl who could win a prize for most passive-aggressive comment? It’s easy to scroll right past negative comments when you’re on someone else’s feed, but what do you do when those comments are about you? Many people say, “Ignore the haters,” but it’s easier said than done.

  EXPERT TIP

  One of the most common mistakes influencer talent can make is oversharing. Once you put something out there, you can’t take it back. I’m not saying not to be your true self and authentic to your brand, but some things should be kept personal or it could get to a point where you no longer have control.

  People will always have something to say about who you are and what you’re doing. Don’t feed into any of it. The more you ignore the online trolls and haters, the better off you’ll be. Do what you know well and you’ll succeed.

  —Rana Zand (@ranaburgundy), head of talent at Authentic Talent and Literary Management

  I came across a site that was so lame I will not even mention its name lest you check it out and give them page views. This site had a thread where you can praise an influencer and it had over 8,000 posts. I thought that was pretty cool until I saw there was also a thread where you could talk smack about an influencer, and it had 1,400,000 posts. Wait, what? Who are all of these people sitting around drinking cases of Haterade? Don’t they have something better to do? Spoiler alert: They do not.

  When you’re creating great content, you will amass an audience that is living vicariously through you, but you will also pick up quite a few followers who are jealous and want to tear you down. And the bigger your audience gets, the more of a target you become. Luckily, social networks have wised up and now let you turn off comments for a particular post, or block comments that have specific words in them. Use these features and don’t be afraid to delete hateful comments and block people. It’s what is best for your own sanity and the community you are building.

  Chances are your haters are just fans who can’t express themselves in a way that makes any logical sense because there’s a thin line between love and hate. When they make an appearance in your comments section, thank them for being an active member of your community and keep it moving. You don’t have time for this negativity. You have moves to make.

  BUYING FOLLOWERS AND LIKES

  I saved this for last because, although it shouldn’t need to be said, I am going to say it anyway. When it comes to buying followers and likes, don’t do it. But what about those sites that promise follows and likes from real people? Don’t do it. But what if I get a really good deal and a recommendation from a friend? Don’t do it, and that person is not your friend. But what about those sites that will comment on other people’s photos on my behalf? Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it.

  DON’T BE THAT GIRL

  I have a list of rising influencers that I keep an eye on. Their follower counts are small, but I know it’s only a matter of time before they’re players in the game because their content is really, really good. As soon as many of them hit 100k, I pounce and start pitching them for campaigns, and clients LOVE it when you show them people they’ve never seen before.

  But there was one girl who I had been following for months. During one of my check-ins I saw that she had jumped 30,000 followers and was almost at 100K. I was super excited for her. Surely someone had also discovered this
brilliant content creator and featured her on their site and that’s why she had this surge in followers. Wrong. I looked at her engagement and realized it was super low for someone who had as many followers as she did, so I looked at a growth chart. And lo and behold, over about two weeks, her follower count skyrocketed. It became obvious that she had paid for followers. Had she just waited a few more months she would have hit that number anyway, but she cheated the system. I noticed, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Needless to say, I didn’t reach out to her and I probably never will.

  You may or may not remember a little thing called the Instagram purge that happened in 2014. Instagram decided to remove all the fake accounts and bots, and celebrities and mega influencers alike had their follower counts decimated overnight. There’s no telling when the next purge will happen, and you don’t want to be like rapper Ma$e, who went from 1.6 million to 272,000 followers overnight. He was so embarrassed that he deleted his account. That won’t happen to you because you know better. Right? Right.

  If you are in this business for the right reasons, creating great content, and engaging with your audience, the followers will come. This isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Never forget that.

  INFLUENCER ICON

  SAZAN HENDRIX

  @sazan + sazan.me

  Sazan was one of my first big “gets” when I started working at Hearst. I had been following her for quite some time, but didn’t have the right campaign for her. When I needed a fashion blogger who could self-shoot monochromatic outfits for the holidays, I knew Sazan was my girl. She is lovely to work with and has one of the best squads on the Internet.

  ON STARTING YOUR BLOG . . .

  Before I started my blog I wish I asked myself these questions:

  • Am I willing to INVEST? (time, money, and energy)

  • Am I willing to RESEARCH? I’ve never been a good student, but blogging forced me to dedicate countless hours to research before hitting the “launch” button on my blogging career.

  • Can I COMMIT? Starting a blog comes with sacrifice. I quickly learned that I had to be willing to sacrifice my time and really commit the energy to my blog—especially in the beginning.

  ON LAUNCHING YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL . . .

  Launching my YouTube channel was seriously the best decision I made during a time in my blogging career when I felt like I wanted to offer more on a personal level. Vlogging is my favorite type of video. I create vlogs (whether it’s travel or personal) because I love that they’re REAL. They go beyond just fashion and beauty, and allow others to feel like they can know me on some level.

  ON YOUR INSTAGRAM PERSONA . . .

  My Instagram “persona” has definitely evolved from pretty flat lays to real-life candid moments. I’ve learned what works best for me (from a content standpoint); my followers enjoy the personality-filled moments the most. I try to post based on my mood and the season of life I’m in. Life is unpredictable, so really it’s impractical to strategize too far in advance; however, I do like to go through my camera roll and organize my IG feed and content through the UNUM app, which helps plan out my posts.

  ON GROWING UP ONLINE . . .

  I’m pretty much an open book (for the most part). The parts of my personal life I enjoy sharing are the highlight moments, or times when I feel like there’s something in my heart I need to share. I’ve shared the good, the bad, and the ugly with my audience, and I think there’s a level of respect and appreciation that I’ve gained by doing so. I believe it’s what sets me apart from other influencers. Negative comments used to get me down (I’m human!), but after a while I realized that it’s not me they have an issue with—it’s something within themselves that they are projecting onto others. I try to ignore it or kill it with kindness. :)

  ON BUILDING YOUR SQUAD . . .

  The blogging community is amazing—especially when you find girls in your profession who you can relate to on a personal level. I definitely think it’s important to have friends on the same/similar career path. You can help, encourage, motivate, and teach each other your ways! I don’t know where I’d be without my girls.

  ON STAYING AN INDEPENDENT . . .

  I quickly learned early on that an agent just wasn’t for me. I am super hands-on and have an amazing internal team that I’ve personally scouted and built. As of the past year, I brought on a personal manager, Barrett Wissman, who works closely with me and just a few other clients. My hairdresser is the one who introduced us, and ever since we’ve had him on board, he has taken my career to the next level. Thanks to him, we brainstormed and executed my second business venture, called the Bless Box. It’s really amazing when you find the right person who sees your vision and works just as hard as you to make it a reality.

  ON KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY . . .

  I can’t work with people who I don’t trust, so for me working with family was GOALS! Stevie (my husband), Brittany (my sister-in-law), and I noticed how well we all worked together and decided to really focus and take this business to some serious heights. We all know our roles and do such an amazing job owning that role. We all love our jobs, and truthfully, it’s a blessing being able to run a blogging business that can financially support us all full-time. We rarely fight, but when we disagree, we never let that come between our personal relationships with each other. Work is work and that’s how we look at it.

  ON GIVING BACK . . .

  I 100 percent believe that digital influencers have the platform, talent, and capabilities to create content that goes beyond our “brands.” It’s amazing how we can influence people in a positive way through the Internet and social media. When I launched Bless Box, my subscription beauty box, I always had a vision to take it a step further and launch the Bless Gives Back Initiative. I love people, and truthfully just felt like I could be doing more in my community to help others in need. I was amazed by all the love and support we received for the launch, and the highlight for me was getting to team up with Lauren Bushnell, one of my digital influencer besties, and surprise kids at Vista Del Mar [a treatment center for children with disabilities, located in Los Angeles] with a visit! It was such an amazing day.

  ON WOMEN DOMINATING INFLUENCER MARKETING . . .

  Who runs the world? GIRLS! As a girl boss, I think it’s really awesome that we’ve paved the way for young girls who want to get into this new industry. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can say: the more real I’ve been with my online persona, the more I’ve connected to women all around the world. My advice to young girls is to BE YOU. Embrace your quirky side or that special thing about you that makes you, well—YOU.

  ON HINDSIGHT BEING 20/20 . . .

  I wish someone had told me when I started that it’s okay to not have everything figured out in the beginning. I used to think I had to have it all mapped out. The truth is, you have to find comfort in discomfort in this space, knowing that it’s fast-paced and always changing. Change is good, and you can’t let it slow you down from your “end game” goal. Embrace change and all the growing pains that will come with it.

  PART 2

  Packaging Your Brand

  CHAPTER 3

  The Edge

  How do you stand out from the crowd?

  There are a lot of aspiring influencers, and if you want to work with the best brands you’ll need to stand out. Whether it’s understanding your audience engagement and demographics, possessing special skills, or producing high-quality content, the more you bring to the table, the higher your chance of being booked and being paid well.

  E IS FOR ENGAGEMENT

  The first question a brand will ask about an influencer is, “How many followers does she have?” The second question is, “What’s her engagement rate?” What they’re really asking is, of all of your followers, how many of them are actually liking and/or commenting on your content? Whether someone is clicking a heart or the thumbs up, sharing, retweeting, or taking the time to comment, this all means they are actively engaged and interested in wh
at you are posting. Each platform has its own system, but it all means the same thing: engagement!

  Here’s the formula to determine your engagement rate for a particular post.

  [Likes + Comments] ÷ Followers (at the time of the post) = Engagement Rate

  For a more holistic engagement rate, you can find the average number of likes and comments for a particular month, but I generally use the last ten posts. There are also plenty of websites that will calculate this for you for free like influencermarketinghub.com.

  A decent engagement rate is 1.5 percent to ~2.5 percent, but your goal should be to exceed 3 percent. Sometimes your overall engagement is important, but other times I might need a more targeted snapshot. For instance, I may just calculate the engagement on your Instagram videos. Or if you’re primarily a beauty influencer who also posts about style and travel, I might only look at the engagement on your beauty posts because that’s the main reason your audience follows you. But all other things being equal, I always book the influencer with the higher engagement because it shows the audience will actually respond to and interact with her content. And that’s the entire reason I am paying her.

  A/S/L

  After knowing your engagement rate, the next set of numbers to know are your audience demographics. The big three are age, sex, and location (A/S/L). Some things never change.

  1. Age. The age of an influencer doesn’t always dictate the age of the audience. If your content is bright, bubbly, and focused on DIY, your audience might be teenagers even if you’re thirty-five. On the flip side, if you’re a twenty-year-old mom blogging about raising twins, a majority of your audience will probably be much older than you are.