Day one of the show was hosted by long-term friend of Talking Influence and The Influencer Marketing Show, Scott Guthrie, from the Influencer Marketing Lab. After each session, Scott chaired a Q&A with the speakers, taking a deep dive into their topic of discussion answering questions from the audience. If you want to watch Scott’s digest of day one, you can access the video of his closing comments to explore his key takeaways.
We kicked off the day with a discussion on ‘The future of influencer marketing; from engagement to eCommerce’ which featured speakers from global brands, Facebook, and Gymshark, as well as agency input from THE FIFTH and MediaCom. Exploring the trending themes and predictions within the influencer marketing industry, such as eCommerce, long-term relationships, and the rise of AR and VR, set the pace for the rest of the show sessions.
The rise of eCommerce
During the past year, eCommerce has really picked up due to the pandemic, with more and more brands and influencers jumping on the bandwagon. The discussion of how eCommerce is becoming integrated further into the influencer marketing industry was raised throughout the day.
Jenny Quigley-Jones from Digital Voices and Emma Little from MADE.COM discussed how YouTube can be utilised as a platform for promoting brand sales, and how brands can collaborate with YouTube content creators to execute this successfully.
Also focussing on how creators can use specific platforms to promote brand sales was Reena Rai from Pinterest, who delved into how the growth in the engagement of Pinterest content has enabled it to become the perfect platform to sell by leveraging existing influencer content. Pinterest is a visual search engine for inspiration, allowing consumers’ visions to come to life as they’re adding products to their shopping baskets.
Long term relationships could be the key to building trust
Influencer marketing is here to stay, lending as the perfect opportunity for brands to engage in long-term relationships with creators, and this is where trust and empathy come into play.
During the turbulent year we have faced since the pandemic, empathy and trust have become more important than ever. Whalar’s President (EMEA), Emma Harman, emphasised how human-to-human connection is a vital part of being alive, and how its the foundation upon which good influencer marketing is built. Long-term partnerships between brands and creators give us a sense of security, as we see authentic connections develop.
Focusing on long-term creator/brand relationships also leads us on to looking at some of the common influencer marketing mistakes, as discussed by Gayathri Nagarajan from Traackr. Gayathri shared how consistency is key when it comes to measuring the success of your influencer marketing campaign, naturally, results are easier to obtain when measuring a long-term contracted campaign as brands are able to compare and contrast from post to post.
We can’t forget TikTok…
As the past year has certainly been the year of short-form content booming and TikTok excelling, it is only right that we highlight a session on ‘How to harness the world’s most popular app for your brand’. Whalar’s Director of Client Services, Olivia Stephens, and TikTok’s Head of Creator Solutions, Julien Wettstein, discussed how now, for the first time, we have really been able to focus on the impact of TikTok.
Earlier in the day, we heard discussion about how YouTube acts as a place for in-depth, long form content, but contrary to this, the conversation surrounding how creators and brands can experiment and succeed with short-form content is rife.
Our speakers spoke about the virality of TikTok and how it is the perfect place to start or jump on a trend. The benefit of TikTok for brands is that if they search their name on the app, there is probably already content about them on there. Making it the perfect platform to utilise user-generated content, which we will delve into in greater detail during tomorrow’s sessions…
If you’re yet to purchase a ticket, but feel enticed by today’s roundup, tickets are available to purchase throughout the event – we still have two afternoons jam-packed with insightful sessions coming your way.
Purchasing a ticket during the event doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on the sessions streamed prior to your purchase. All sessions will be available via our video vault when the show is over, so ticket holders, keep an eye on your inbox…
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow for day two of the Influencer Marketing Show Global at 1 pm GMT!
