At our most recent event, we hosted a panel of experts in influencer marketing:

• Regina Renee, Modere

• Alicia Underwood, Socially Inspired

• Jennifer Inglis, Elasticity

The panel was moderated by board member Posy Lou Henderson of Spry Digital.

Getting Started

Regina Renee is a St. Louis content creator and model, with a degree in digital marketing and photography. She loves to create social media content, marketing materials, and product commercials. She also runs an online e-commerce franchise that specializes in liquid collagen and anti-aging. 

She started organically through direct sales. She reached out to brands directly. She likes creating content that brands can post for themselves. During her start, she frequently posted and wanted people to like, know, and trust her. Being authentic and showing more than just the highlight reel of her life is how she has built her brand.

In her 12-year career, Alicia Underwood has founded more than three companies. She has been at the forefront of influencer marketing since before it was a thing. In its tenth year, her most recent integrated digital marketing business with Jen Singleton, Socially Inspired, has connected the world with more than 50 corporations and lifestyle brands.

Alicia started blogging and then went to work with an agency that opened up her experience to influencer marketing. With a background in traditional journalism and event management, Alicia combined her love of writing with bringing people together: some would argue the original social media. 

With over ten years of experience in digital marketing, Jennifer Inglis joined Elasticity in late 2021. Originally from California, she grew up living throughout the Middle East in countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt. Jennifer studied politics and received her Masters degree from the London School of Economics. She launched a fashion blog in 2009 and went on to become one of the first influencers in the UK, partnering with brands including American Express, eBay, London Fashion Week and Gap. Jennifer is passionate about the power of social media to reach audiences in meaningful ways. 

How do brands reach out to influencers?

Our panel was primarily focused on when and how to work with influencers from both an influencer and brand perspective. When reaching out to influencers, Alicia mentioned that Socially Inspired follows a manual process. They conduct a search, review the influencer’s followers, look for real engagement and authenticity, etc. They also look at the cost per impression (CPM) or comparable metrics based on their goals.

Jennifer mentioned campaigns she conducted for the state of Missouri regarding the opioid crisis and being infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy. To reach influencers for these very niche campaigns, they contacted doctors and pregnant women that were already sharing their pregnancies on social media. She also highlighted the importance of making your message specific to why you want to work with them, but don’t feel the need to share campaign details until you get into a conversation. Follow up if you do not hear back; they might have thought your message was spam or glossed over it.

Once a relationship is formed with a brand, how do you maintain it?

Regina mentioned the importance of learning about the brands you decide to work with and their business, “You have to care and keep the lines of communication open.” When maintaining a relationship with influencers, Jennifer highlighted Elasticity’s approach of following and engaging with influencer content outside of just when they are being leveraged for the brand.

Industry-specific Influencer Marketing

Jennifer said it best in stating that “Influencers exist, but they might look different in the B2B space. You have to get creative.” Alicia piggy-backed on this in stating that “It helps your program when you promote the content your influencer is posting.” Regina also chimed in, “No matter what industry you are operating in or whether it’s B2B or B2C, the important thing is finding people that are authentic and can speak authentically to what you need them to do.”

Specs and Requirements

When it comes to campaign specifications and requirements, Alicia and Jennifer both mentioned their use of Google Sheets to keep track of content being pushed out by influencers. They also mentioned the importance of having a template for both contracts and proposals.

When defining a budget, a long-term relationship with an influencer can help because you, as a brand, know what to expect. Consistency and longevity matter on the behalf of the influencer. They build trust with their audience as well as the brand they are working with.

Driving Results

Driving results can be a tough game in influencer marketing. According to Jennifer, it is hard to say what percentage of influencer marketing campaigns find success because outcomes are rarely attributable. Be realistic about what you can actually accomplish, which is often more awareness than, for example, conversion actions. If she had to guess, she thought about 75% of her campaigns have been successful.

Favorite platforms

Our panelists all had different platforms they enjoy using:

• Regina: TikTok and Instagram

• Alicia - LinkedIn

• Jennifer - Instagram

Thank you for joining us!

Stay informed about our upcoming events: http://smcstl.com/events