We have represented hundreds of brands in our wholesale business since 2008. I don’t remember when the influencer agencies popped up in 2008 they didn’t register with me but I’m sure they were out there.
IMO brands should own influencer marketing in house. I can dm big, big ppl
Bc we did not outsource it.
Bc of our biz our brands would ask for help with influencer and we would step in and help them. It was a bit hazy back then, but primarily based on blogs.
When Instagram came out even though we were old we all opened up accounts and started to learn to use it.
This is our influencer sop:
We have never paid anyone to post us in 16 years.
We officially started influencer marketing in-house in March or April of 2012. I was the point man. I hired two college kids to help part time. One is still with us today. The other is in fashion still and is highly placed now.
So we built a database in @ShowroomDelfina and contacted everyone through DMs. Long days but it paid off quickly, and we are still collecting today.
Don't pay to post. Some brands do it, but we always say it’s a bad idea.
Free product= low value product.
Paying to post it is begging, IMO. That type of traffic will come and go quickly. That type of influencer is like a herd of locusts. They will move on. Be disciplined. The world will pay you what you ask.
We will do 10-15% less then mid 8 figure gross this year.
My budget is 1k a month for free products; it goes to stars, models, and some big influencers. It’s spoken for months in advance.
We tested some affiliates last year, and I wasn’t thrilled. We’re about to relaunch a new program that is very tightly controlled. We’re only going to allow specific influencers in. Maybe ten tops.
We have had two influencers for close to four years now who have been posting us. They both have millions and millions of followers, and one of them is $25,000 for a story. She will post us several times a year……ask for nothing.
She allows us to repost these but not use them as ads bc contracts with her agency. She has massive deals with 9/10/11 figure brands. I first contacted her myself off a brand page in 2012. It’s been a good relationship.