Should you be working with influencers?

If you asked any member of the Irvin PR team what the ONE thing almost ALL of our clients are interested in is, they would respond emphatically with, “Influencers!” Working with influencers is no longer something reserved for multimillion-dollar brands. It is accessible, there are dozens in our community alone, and in a big way, these social media scholars make up a subsection of modern media. So, why do we work with influencers? Because it’s another great tool in our communication toolbox that helps us reach a target demographic.

What We Do

A common misconception is that influencer work is as simple as just DM’ing an account a promo code. Or as easy as sending them free stuff and hoping they post about it. A successful influencer campaign requires careful research, preparation, and execution just like any other initiative. And it requires transparency with your client.

At Irvin PR, we hand-select each individual influencer for each campaign, we map out every little detail, and we run every campaign through analytic software to make sure we don’t miss a thing. And we make sure that our clients understand two main things: #1, influencers are creatives. Don’t try to box them in. There’s a reason why they have thousands of strangers looking to them for advice, and the influencer knows how to communicate with their audience better than anyone else. And #2, this is their JOB. In most cases, paying an influencer is not optional anymore. Would you show up to your 9-5 if they didn’t pay you?

What We Look For

Pop quiz! Which is better: A. A lackluster post from an influencer with 100,000 followers B. An okay post from someone with 50,000 followers or C., An unbelievably passionate post from someone with 25,000? Have you ever heard that saying, quality over quantity? The answer is C.

When we look for influencers, we always take following, engagement, reach, and demographics into consideration. But there is one thing that probably outranks each of those 9 times out of 10—authenticity. If an influencer CARES about what they post, and CARES about what their following sees, the quality of your deliverable is going to be immeasurably better than someone who just copies and pastes the details from your initial email thread into a caption.

Why Relationships Matter

As PR professionals, the relationships we have historically given the most TLC to are with members of the traditional media. If you consider influencers part of the media (and you should), you have to nurture those relationships the same. Know influencers by their name and not just their @. Seek them out at events. They are our colleagues in this business of spreading the word, and it’s important that we make them feel like it. This enables honesty and open communication. Our influencers tell us when a campaign isn’t a good fit, and they tell us when something lights their fire. Both pieces of insight are equally important. Honesty leads to ambassadorships, long-term partnerships, and at the very minimum, incredibly authentic content.

So, should you be working with influencers? The answer is more than likely, yes.