Here’s a transcript from our recent Focus on Suppliers interview with Whoa, Wait. Walmart?’s Amanda Jerkins and Bethany Halford.
What Should Suppliers Do When Talking to Influencers?
Bethany: I would ask an influencer how they grew their audience. Was it an organically grown audience? Or was it paid-for growth? In addition, I would be making sure that the brand of the influencer aligns with the brand of the company.
What Makes Organic Traffic Such a Value Versus Paid Traffic?
Bethany: When an influencer has grown their audience organically the engagement tends to be a little bit better and they really know their audience.
What Are the Biggest Misconceptions About Influencer Marketing?
Amanda: A lot of the misconceptions that we come across are that we [Amanda and Bethany] just happened upon this job [running the blog]. We actually were very strategic in this business and have a lot of pride in that, in the work that we do. I would say that’s a misconception that it’s just a hobby or something fun that we do. We do have fun and we love it, but it’s a very strategic business for us.
How Do Suppliers Measure the Success of Influencer Marketing?
Bethany: Clients measure success in different ways. If we’re working with someone from the marketing department they’re probably looking for impression numbers or reach numbers or engagement numbers.
But if it’s someone from the sales department they’re usually looking for those sales numbers to go up. I think it just depends on the product that we’re promoting. If we’re promoting a $5 necklace the sales could immediately increase. But if we’re promoting a higher price point item, like a sofa or an armchair or something like that, it’s going to be a little bit of a slower increase.
You Also Have Your Own Apparel Line. How Do You Promote It?
Amanda: We actually put the same lens on when we were promoting our apparel line as we do for other clients. We’re thinking about our audience and how they want to see it. We do “how we styled it” posts. We really think about it in the same way that we work with our clients.
