Thread by @ianrborthwick

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

I’ve sponsored an influencer with 15M followers that drove....9 purchasers.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.

👇👇👇

𝟏/ 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐯𝐬. 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

This is the hardest part of influencer marketing.

Followers, views, impressions don’t convert to purchasers linearly.

Here are my favorite signals of true influence....

𝟐/ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭

Good influencer marketing is personality-driven, not content-driven.

You watch because of the creator, not because of the content

Ignore...
-Faceless media brands
-Clickbait prank vids
-Highlight reels

𝟑/ 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Obvious. But community engagement is a great proxy for influence.

Rule of thumb:

• >20% engagement (likes + comments)

𝟒/ 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭

Goal: Find destination content, not scroll-through content.

Podcast & YouTube stand out.

If you listen to someone speak or to watch their life....that is true influence.

𝟓/ 𝐃𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 > 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞

Mistake I made. You pay a premium, and don’t get the results. Why?

Big names don’t equal influence.

Creators have built their audiences directly for years, this is their super power.

𝟔/ 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Influential creators can port their audience wherever they go.

Their audience simply cannot get enough of their content.

Example:

David Dobrik...a top YouTube, Podcast, Tiktok & Instagram

𝟕/ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲

Don’t look for viral videos, look for consistency.

Reason: You want an audience that always shows up.

𝟖/ 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬

Every great friend group has inside jokes.

It’s the same for great creators communities.

Just look in the comments of any David Dobrik, Mr Beast, Emma Chamberlain video.

For the record. I am a massive influencer marketing fan.

Worked with over 1k creators, 2.5 billion views, millions in revenue