Home Resources 5 things you need to know when working with influencers Campaign Integration 5 things you need to know when working with influencers Influencers across social platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are reaching cult-like status. And their influence over their dedicated tribes presents marketers with interesting ways of reaching their customers. Zip Co’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, and ADMA Advisory Board Member, Steve Brennen shares five things you need to do to boost your influencer marketing game. For the past 14 years, Steve Brennen has been at the helm of disruption. Leading marketing for brands like PayPal, Ebay, Uber and now Zip he is in his element when he can drive maximal growth in minimal time. “I'm really passionate about how I can help companies scale,” Steve says. “So, I spend a lot of time helping companies who've achieved product market fit go to mass adoption. I joined Zip with just over a million customers in 2019 and now we’re on 10 million globally.” ADMA students got a chance to learn about social influencer marketing from Steve during the March cohort of ADMA’s iconic Digital Marketing Certificate. As part of the 10-week certificate course, students get the opportunity to learn first-hand from the country’s top marketing leaders, like Steve, through a series of online lectures. In his session, Steve shared some case studies from his roles at Zip and Uber and walked students through the critical considerations when working with influencers. Here are his top tips. 1. Ask the right questions While you may be all over Emily Skye’s insta feed, your colleague might have no idea who she is. Before you invest all your time, energy and budget on trying to secure her for your next campaign, make sure you address the most important questions, Steve says. “One of the biggest challenges with social influencers is that tribes know them really well, but mass audiences don't. So, ask yourself things like: are they relevant? Are they on-brand? Who is their audience? How do people see them? What is their real recognition? How much do they charge?” This will help you make sure you get the right influencer(s) – and run more successful campaigns. 2. Don't put your influencers in one basket Steve also recommends using more than one influencer in your campaigns, with a mix of high profile and lesser-known influencers. “Having a mix [of influencers] is critical because they all play super different roles,” he says. For their Can I Zip it campaign, Zip used six social influencers, ranging from a big name like Nick Kyrgios to cult-favourite Flex Mami. “We were launching around the time of Wimbledon, so we thought if Nick does well, that’ll be brilliant. Flex was heading into the Big Brother house, so she was going to get high recognition.” 3. Build relationships Building a relationship with your influencers is really important, Steve says. “The best work will happen when you have a great relationship with them – and the worst will happen when you just pay them and hope they come through.” When it came to booking Nick, Zip took their time to not only develop a close relationship with the tennis star, but also to get him passionate about the brand. “We talked a lot to Nick about our mission, our purpose and our goal to create a next generation that is debt free. Larry one of our founders and CEO is very passionate about this and he often gets involved with building these relationships,” Steve explains. When your influencers believe in what you’re trying to achieve, they give you better, more authentic content. 4. Use insights to work out how and where you buy media One of the key insights for Uber’s ‘Tonight I’ll be eating…’ campaign was that people have a sense of voyeurism around what celebrities each at home. “When reporters asked Prince William and Kate whether they cook when they’re at Buckingham Palace, William said, ‘Hey, we actually enjoy curry’. That night curry orders went through the roof on UberEATS in the UK. William told the world he gets curry takeaway in Buckingham Palace, and everyone just thinks, oh, I’ll have a curry tonight.” And although Uber’s budgets are by no accounts small, booking big names like Kim Kardashian wouldn’t come cheap. So they had to be smart about how and where they bought media. “Research showed that more than 50% of people in Australia don't know what they are having for dinner by 5pm. So we actually have a sales opportunity every night. We bought every single piece of media we possibly could leading into the 5pm to 10pm spot.” 5. Worry less about ratios and more about your goals One of the big challenges for marketers is working out how much to spend on media, on production and the number of ads to shoot. Steve says in the new world, you need to focus less on ratios and more on what you’re trying to achieve. “Get rid of any ratio and just look at what is the job you need to do and what's the most effective way to do it. For Uber’s campaign, a significant proportion of the budget went on Kim K and the media spend was limited – for a good reason. Kim’s audience is over 300 million, so when she posts something about your brand on insta 10 million people are instantly aware of it.” Although the world of influencers and social can be tricky to navigate, Steve urges marketers never to give up on good ideas. “Great work never comes easily, so sometimes you just have to persevere and find your way through. It’ll be worth it in the end.” Set yourself up for success and learn from marketing masters like Steve through Australia’s most sought-after Digital Marketing Certificate. In this exclusive 10-week virtual course, the country’s top CMOs will become your personal mentors, helping you supercharge your digital marketing skills. Get practical insights, build a detailed digital marketing plan for your business and connect and network with peers and industry leaders. Don’t miss the next intake of DMC! Places are strictly limited, so register today. FIND OUT FIRST, STAY CONNECTED Sign up to receive ADMA newsletters, updates, trends, special offers, events, critical issues and more Job role*Agency Account Manager/ExecutiveAgency Account/Strategy DirectorCDOCEO / Managing DirectorClient Service / Sales ManagerClient Service/Sales DirectorCMO / CCO / Marketing DirectorCreative Director / HeadData Analyst / Scientist / EngineerDesigner/Copywriter/Creative ManagerEarly Career Data Analyst / Scientist / EngineerHead of Analytics / Analytics LeaderHead of Category/Customer Experience/InsightsHead of Marketing/BrandHead of ProductHR/Learning and Development ManagersIT Director/ManagerLegal/RegulatoryMarketing ConsultantMarketing Executive / CoordinatorMarketing Freelancer / ContractorProduct / Brand / Digital / Communication ManagerSenior Data Analyst / Scientist / EngineerSenior Marketing/Brand ManagerOther You may unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in the communication. View our Privacy Policy. Filter Resources Filter Courses Capability Capability Campaign Integration Compliance Customer Experience Marketing Technology Insights Learnings Brand Development Content Format Content Format Information sheet Member-only Press-release Article Blog Case Study Data Event Infographic Media Coverage Research Tool-kit Video Webinar Whitepaper Topics Topics CMO Spotlight Global Forum Global Forum 2023 Resource Compliance Resources CEO Blog Compliance Regulatory Content Copywriting Creative Data Data-driven Marketing Digital Campaigns Leadership Social Media Thought Leadership Article 24th Mar 2022 3 min Data Drivers: Marketing lessons from Formula One legend Mark Webber As it turns out, marketing and professional racing share a lot of similarities - they’re both fast paced, data-driven and always employing new technology to get the best results. Article 21st Mar 2022 3 min 5 tips to build a booming business from The Iconic’s Adam Jacobs. Adam Jacobs co-founded The Iconic and is a bona fide Australian retail celebrity. Ahead of his keynote address at ADMA’s Global Forum on March 29, he shares his secrets for success. Article 23rd Feb 2022 4 min 7 critical skills to stay relevant in digital marketing Given digital strategy, data and search are topping the digital trends for 2022, what are the most important skills you should focus on this year? Article 13th Dec 2021 3 mins Career Inspiration for the New Year: 5 Pieces of Advice from the Experts Now is the perfect time for Marketers to increase their influence within organisations and shape the changing role that data plays in meaningfully engaging with customers. Article 13th Dec 2021 Five reasons marketers must attend ADMA Global Forum 2022 Top global and local speakers, marketing trends unpacked and an unmissable networking opportunity are among the attractions of Australia’s best marketing conference in 2022. Article 26th Nov 2021 10 mins Marketers lack important data and MarTech skills Now is the perfect time for Marketers to increase their influence within organisations and shape the changing role that data plays in meaningfully engaging with customers. Load More
Article 24th Mar 2022 3 min Data Drivers: Marketing lessons from Formula One legend Mark Webber As it turns out, marketing and professional racing share a lot of similarities - they’re both fast paced, data-driven and always employing new technology to get the best results.
Article 21st Mar 2022 3 min 5 tips to build a booming business from The Iconic’s Adam Jacobs. Adam Jacobs co-founded The Iconic and is a bona fide Australian retail celebrity. Ahead of his keynote address at ADMA’s Global Forum on March 29, he shares his secrets for success.
Article 23rd Feb 2022 4 min 7 critical skills to stay relevant in digital marketing Given digital strategy, data and search are topping the digital trends for 2022, what are the most important skills you should focus on this year?
Article 13th Dec 2021 3 mins Career Inspiration for the New Year: 5 Pieces of Advice from the Experts Now is the perfect time for Marketers to increase their influence within organisations and shape the changing role that data plays in meaningfully engaging with customers.
Article 13th Dec 2021 Five reasons marketers must attend ADMA Global Forum 2022 Top global and local speakers, marketing trends unpacked and an unmissable networking opportunity are among the attractions of Australia’s best marketing conference in 2022.
Article 26th Nov 2021 10 mins Marketers lack important data and MarTech skills Now is the perfect time for Marketers to increase their influence within organisations and shape the changing role that data plays in meaningfully engaging with customers.