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Hugo Boss is finding out for an investment reported to be worth up to seven figures. The fashion brand has signed a multi-year deal with the “exasperated everyman” (paywall) Khaby Lame—who has amassed a gargantuan 134 million social media followers for his […]","How much would a puzzled shrug on TikTok be worth to your brand? Hugo Boss is finding out for an...","\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How much would a puzzled shrug on TikTok be worth to your brand? Hugo Boss is finding out for an investment reported to be worth up to seven figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fashion brand has signed a multi-year deal with the “exasperated everyman” (paywall) Khaby Lame—who has amassed a gargantuan 134 million social media followers for his videos gently mocking internet “life hacks”—to be the face of its #BetheBOSS campaign. According to Miah Sullivan, senior VP of global marketing and brand communications at Boss, 20-year-old Lame “generated 6.6 billion impressions and 307 million social media engagements within six days” around the launch of a hoodie. The product was a 60,000 unit sell-out. “We had a huge response from him,” Sullivan told Vogue Business. “Every post is worth more than a Super Bowl ad in terms of impressions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to the upper atmosphere of the world of influencer marketing—where, at ground level, anyone with at least 1,000 engaged followers on Instagram or TikTok has a media kit pitching themselves to a brand as a nano-influencer in a niche. This is a world awash with posts tagged #influencer: 39,678,601 on Instagram today, and 4.4 million tagged #sponsored. It’s a thriving ecosystem expected to be worth $15 billion by the end of this year. If you’re a CMO—whether B2C or B2B—and influencer marketing isn’t part of your playbook yet, now is a good time to consider why.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"toc-1--an-insider-s-look-at-the-influencer-market\">An insider’s look at the influencer market\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How does an influencer influence their audience? The answer is by being a reliable source—either of entertainment or information on a given topic, but free of an overt sales pitch. It’s a content play, not an ad placement.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"881\" height=\"451\" src=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184558\u002Fsuccessful_influencers_are_creators_and_innovators.jpg\" alt=\"Image of a man in his 30s doing a presentation in front of a camera with a laptop in front of him. Overlaid on the left is Canto's menu of social icons you can easily share content to. On the right side of the image slightly overtop of the image is a menu of filters you can use to find the exact asset you need to share to your following. All overtop orange backdrop.\" class=\"wp-image-61452\" srcset=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184558\u002Fsuccessful_influencers_are_creators_and_innovators.jpg 881w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184558\u002Fsuccessful_influencers_are_creators_and_innovators-450x230.jpg 450w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184558\u002Fsuccessful_influencers_are_creators_and_innovators-768x393.jpg 768w\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"toc-2--the-most-successful-influencers-are-creators-and-innovators\">The most successful influencers are creators and innovators\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joanna Touqmatchi, the 31-year-old leader of the UK creative partnership team at TikTok, told Business Insider (paywall) that there are three traits she looks for when trying to identify the next viral sensation: “Are they passionate about their content? Are they adaptable to new trends? And do they post consistently?”\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This tells you that influencers need to be relentless innovators and restless creators focused on their platform and audience development—their priority is always going to be audience growth and engagement. So the challenge is less traditional product placement and more to understand how your brand will work in the content creator’s ever-evolving worldview. Where you win is that your brand becomes associated by proxy with emerging trends—even down to the way channels are used.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"toc-3--depth-not-breadth-matters\">Depth, not breadth, matters\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Touqmatchi talks about an influencer’s passion for their material, she touches on the most crucial aspect of brand-influencer partnerships: topical relevance. Unless you are working with a mega-influencer like Lame with a multi-million follower reach, brands are winning by working with micro-influencers who have a dedicated audience because of their knowledge and expertise in a particular field.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the B2B space, Adobe is an example of a company committed to working with micro-influencers—from illustrators to photographers to digital creators and educators—to build engagement across its range of software apps. One award-winning Adobe micro-influencer campaign in 2019 saw “21 million target customers … reached and the app … downloaded 105,333 times. The cost per download was less than $1 and seven times lower than the industry average.” The website building and hosting business Squarespace works with a range of influencers, including chef Gaby Melian and The Strology’s Kirah Tabourn. It’s the depth of authentic engagement with their audience that the influencers bring rather than the breadth of reach that proves to be of value to the brands.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"881\" height=\"451\" src=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184557\u002Fturning_advocates_into_influencers.png\" alt=\"Device screen with an arm holding a megaphone coming out of the screen with icons of social channels surrounding the megaphone all on orange backdrop.\" class=\"wp-image-61454\" srcset=\"\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184557\u002Fturning_advocates_into_influencers.png 881w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184557\u002Fturning_advocates_into_influencers-450x230.png 450w, \u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184557\u002Fturning_advocates_into_influencers-768x393.png 768w\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"toc-4--turning-advocates-into-influencers\">Turning advocates into influencers\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A number of brands have shown how to turn social fans into advocates and influencers through smart initiatives that draw people into deep engagement. Crayola and M&Ms were among the first brands to engage their target audience to help select product colors. But take a look at the #inmydenim challenge by fashion brand Guess. Just by inviting Tiktokkers to share clips of how they style themselves in their denim, they’ve clocked up more than 53.4 million views.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"toc-5--top-of-your-list-integrity-consistency-organization\">Top of your list: integrity, consistency, organization\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your challenge in working with influencers is always going to take three forms: integrity, consistency, and organization.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the influencer is focused on building their own audience and deepening that engagement, how do you ensure that the integrity of your own brand is preserved? Integrity and reputation are things you can’t outsource to a freelance content creator—and that will need to be understood from the start of the partnership.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second, is the quality going to be consistent if the influencer is always an experimenter at heart? Reviewing and understanding success metrics will be key, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, organization. The best influencers are experimenters. You need to make sure you can give them what they need when they need it. Think of it as a co-creation partnership, not a passive one.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But how do you really influence an influencer—genuinely, truly? It’s all about authenticity. It helps if they love your product.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003Cem>Originally published on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fastcompany.com\u002F90757977\u002Fearning-authentic-love-for-your-brand-winning-at-the-game-of-influencer-marketing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fast Company\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>",4,{"url":37,"url_md":38,"alt":39,"height":40,"width":41},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184558\u002Fwinning_at_the_game_of_influencer_marketing.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2022\u002F08\u002F19184558\u002Fwinning_at_the_game_of_influencer_marketing-450x263.jpg","Influencer marketing to her followers. She is hold up a peace sign and winking while bubbles of different followers are popping off of a phone she is holding and taking a video of herself. There are hearts and emojis coming off of the bubbles. Al overtop of a vibrant orange background.",701,1200,[43],{"id":44,"slug":44,"title":45,"path":46},"industry-insights","Industry insights","\u002Fpost-category\u002Findustry-insights\u002F",[48,55,62],{"featuredImage":49,"postId":50,"slug":51,"title":52,"description":53,"path":54},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2019\u002F08\u002F19194305\u002Funlocking-content-marketing-team-450x301.jpg",31205,"unlocking-the-potential-of-your-content-marketing-team","Unlocking the potential of your content marketing team","The biggest challenge facing content marketing isn’t creating better content; it’s how we manage that content in a way that helps teams work better together.","\u002Fblog\u002Funlocking-the-potential-of-your-content-marketing-team\u002F",{"featuredImage":56,"postId":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"description":60,"path":61},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2019\u002F01\u002F19193839\u002Fcreative-operations-15-450x337.jpg",17134,"creative-operations","Creative output: How to maximize results with stronger creative operations","Accelerate efficiency with a firm grasp of creative operations processes. Follow these techniques to make sure you're obtaining the best results.","\u002Fblog\u002Fcreative-operations\u002F",{"featuredImage":63,"postId":64,"slug":65,"title":66,"description":67,"path":68},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canto.com\u002Fcdn\u002Fen\u002F2019\u002F08\u002F19192313\u002Fmarketing-project-management-25-450x300.jpg",15680,"marketing-project-management","Marketing project management: A comprehensive guide to planning, executing, and scaling campaigns","Take advantage of marketing project management tech to give your team an edge. Power your next campaign with these new marketing project management ideas.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmarketing-project-management\u002F",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":70},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M9.175 10.825Q8 9.65 8 8t1.175-2.825T12 4t2.825 1.175T16 8t-1.175 2.825T12 12t-2.825-1.175M4 20v-2.8q0-.85.438-1.562T5.6 14.55q1.55-.775 3.15-1.162T12 13t3.25.388t3.15 1.162q.725.375 1.163 1.088T20 17.2V20zm2-2h12v-.8q0-.275-.137-.5t-.363-.35q-1.35-.675-2.725-1.012T12 15t-2.775.338T6.5 16.35q-.225.125-.363.35T6 17.2zm7.413-8.587Q14 8.825 14 8t-.587-1.412T12 6t-1.412.588T10 8t.588 1.413T12 10t1.413-.587M12 18\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":72},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 14q-.425 0-.712-.288T11 13t.288-.712T12 12t.713.288T13 13t-.288.713T12 14m-4.712-.288Q7 13.426 7 13t.288-.712T8 12t.713.288T9 13t-.288.713T8 14t-.712-.288M16 14q-.425 0-.712-.288T15 13t.288-.712T16 12t.713.288T17 13t-.288.713T16 14m-4 4q-.425 0-.712-.288T11 17t.288-.712T12 16t.713.288T13 17t-.288.713T12 18m-4.712-.288Q7 17.426 7 17t.288-.712T8 16t.713.288T9 17t-.288.713T8 18t-.712-.288M16 18q-.425 0-.712-.288T15 17t.288-.712T16 16t.713.288T17 17t-.288.713T16 18M5 22q-.825 0-1.412-.587T3 20V6q0-.825.588-1.412T5 4h1V2h2v2h8V2h2v2h1q.825 0 1.413.588T21 6v14q0 .825-.587 1.413T19 22zm0-2h14V10H5z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":74},"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 20a8 8 0 0 0 8-8a8 8 0 0 0-8-8a8 8 0 0 0-8 8a8 8 0 0 0 8 8m0-18a10 10 0 0 1 10 10a10 10 0 0 1-10 10C6.47 22 2 17.5 2 12A10 10 0 0 1 12 2m.5 5v5.25l4.5 2.67l-.75 1.23L11 13V7z\"\u002F>",1790139706673]