#eRetailerSummit18

Influencer Panel: Creating Authentic Content

Moderated by:Panel Members:

Bridget & CaseyThe DIY Playbook

Deborah ShearerFounder & CEO

Table + Dine

Lauren KelpStudio Alcott

Ryan DeChanceThe Grommet

Influencer Marketing &

Creating Authentic Content

+

Influencer Marketing &

Creating Authentic Content

Deborah ShearerBridget & Casey Lauren KelpRyan DeChance

The Panel

+ ◼ Deborah Shearer | Moderator

Founder, CEO, creative mind and merchandiser behind Table + Dine, a lifestyle studio creating content for brands in the home, housewares and tabletop.

◼ Two decades of experience in creative, website and editorial production.

◼ Background in retail, Internet Retailing, marketing and merchandising.

◼ Influencer building campaigns for clients’ brands.

◼ Industry Trend Expert

◼ Connect people to products.

◼ eRetailer Summit Advisory Council

+◼ Ryan DeChance

Director of Discovery at The Grommet

Identifies unique and innovative products across 16 consumer

categories for a partnership on The Grommet’s web platform.

Ryan sources, pitches, merchandises, negotiates and sets the

stage for each Maker and product to have the best possible

chance of success.

His personal favorites are everyday items that have been

thoughtfully re-designed and improved to solve a problem.

+◼ Bridget Matkovich & Casey Finn

Founders and two self-proclaimed do-it-yourself

rookies behind the popular home decor blog, The

DIY Playbook.

These best friends and Chicago natives share a

spin on home improvement with daily detailed

tutorials and DIY projects that are relatable,

attainable and fun! Their site has received

millions of page views since it began in 2013.

+◼ Lauren Kelp

The founder of Studio Alcott, a Chicago-based

boutique content creation agency for digital,

print, and editorial publications.

After a decade of blogging partnerships through

LaurenKelp.com with ELLE, Martha Stewart,

Starbucks, Nike, Kendall-Jackson…and many

others, Lauren utilizes her first-hand digital

influencer knowledge to help brands build

stronger content and better campaigns.

+

Influencer

Marketing◼ The Conversation

Creating authentic content through

Influencer Marketing.

Influencer marketing is booming, but being

a relatively new component to digital

marketing, organizations want to know

what it’s really all about, which is the

topic of today’s conversation with our

panel.

+ ◼ Influencers are the new Content Creators and Media Channels.

◼ They are individuals who have a following in a particular niche, which they engage with.

◼ Develop & distribute organic content that builds brand awareness, engagement and drives traffic.

◼ They have the power, reputation and voice to affect purchasing decisions.

◼ Influencers deliver brand messaging directly to a desired audience.

◼ Through their own spin and branding, they tell the story of how your products can and should naturally fit into their fans lives, without hard-selling.

What is an

Influencer?

+

6 Reasons To Invest In Influencer Marketing

Influencers:

◼ Have the attention, interest and trust of your customers and potential customers.

◼ They are actively engaged in conversation with their audience and community that adds authenticity.

◼ Can and do increase conversion rates.

◼ The hundreds of thousands social media influencers can help produce far more fresh and authentic content than an in-house team or agency.

◼ According to studies, Influencer marketing drives 8x’s more online engagement than branded content.

◼ Finally, social media influencers have the power, voice and ability to sway consumers about your product, service and purchasing decisions.

+ ◼ Connect with influencers who are passionate

about your brand, products, and talking about

your category for natural and organic content.

◼ Do your Social Media homework. Who’s who?

◼ Choose an authentic voice.

◼ Quality vs. Quantity - comments and

interactions are just as important as the

number of followers.

◼ Personality and personal style. Do they speak

your language and reach your audience?

◼ Understand their ability to contribute and

deliver the content you need.

◼ Discuss channel strengths and weaknesses.

◼ Talk strategy.

Identifying Partners

+

Establish Goals &

Expectations

◼ Set Clear Campaign Expectations & Goals and

length of campaign

◼ Discuss Brand Guidelines

◼ Fee’s & Compensation

◼ Product Compensation vs. Fee’s

◼ Terms, Deposits & Payment Schedule

◼ Channels Links in a blog post

+◼ Social Media Obligations

◼ Image Expectations – Quantity & Needs

◼ Deliverables

◼ Copyright

◼ Proper Credits

◼ Contracts

◼ Campaign & Contract Review

Establish Goals &

Expectations

+ ◼ Stay focused on the customer. What do they care about and what are they looking for?

◼ Provide value that interests the consumer without tuning them out by selling.

◼ People trust people. Offer relatable content.

◼ Be consistent in your voice.

◼ Build relationships and create conversation.

◼ Be real and yourself in your messaging. Your audience will sense inauthentic marketing.

◼ Bring your customer BTS. Let them get to know your company, headquarters and culture.

Creating Authentic

Content

+Tools To Provide

For Success

◼ Help to get to know the product.

◼ Share brand material - catalogs, product F&B’s.

◼ Review product samples.

◼ Think the long term; build long-term relationships

that are meaningful to both parties and become

recognizable to followers.

◼ Share inspiration prior to starting a project to

understand expectations.

◼ Create a shoot list.

◼ Work from your Marketing Calendar

◼ Understand & respect time involved.

+The biggest challenges most marketers face?

◼ Identifying the most relevant influencers to

their brand.

◼ Negotiating terms.

◼ Measuring ROI.

◼ Proving the value and ROI to company

executives.

◼ Budgeting.

Challenges

+

ROI

◼ Define your goals

◼ Build your strategy

◼ Set a timeline

◼ Generate content

◼ Create a dashboard to manage results

◼ Design a system to fit company needs.

◼ Collect & evaluate results on a regular basis.

◼ Share findings with your team

◼ Reinvest, reinvest

+ There’s no rule book written when it comes to

fees and these will vary based on your

campaign.

◼ First, have a budget in mind.

◼ Most Influencers or bloggers quote by project.

◼ Fee’s will also vary for various social media

channels, as well as blog posts.

◼ Discuss the possibility of a monthly retainer.

◼ Understand the work involved. Keep meeting

time, planning, shopping, styling, executing,

photography, editing, writing and sharing your

campaign in mind.

Fee’s:

What To Expect

+

Open Discussion

◼ What are the legalities of republishing

material – credits, ownership, copyrights?

◼ What are the standard practices of tagging

posts?

◼ What constitutes an authentic voice for their

brand?

◼ What are the best practices to finding

Influencers to fit your brand?

◼ What are some examples of Influencer

Campaign costs.