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The three most overlooked trends from ‘the godfather of influencer marketing’

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By Audrey Kemp, LA Reporter

October 17, 2022 | 5 min read

The most powerful influencers in a community aren’t the most obvious, but it’s in a marketer’s best interest to find out who will mesh best with their brand, says Coltrane Curtis of Team Epiphany.

david's head with a megaphone

True influencers spearhead culture in a community, according to Curtis / Credit: Adobe Stock

Coltrane Curtis is known by his peers as the “godfather of influencer marketing,” having started one of the first modern influencer agencies, Team Epiphany, before the social media boom in 2004. Today, Team Epiphany works with blue-chip clients including Apple, Audi, Coca-Cola and HBO. The Drum caught up with Curtis to find out who true influencers are, and how they can help marketers build consumer trust. Here are his three biggest tips:

1. Don’t simply pay influencers to amplify. Work with them on something they care about

First and foremost, influencers are passionate people. Brands often pay influencers to talk about a product or service and forget to get to know them as people.

“Rather than paying an influencer solely to amplify, co-create something with them, and then amplify whatever content you created together,” says Curtis. “In general, people who are influential in a space don’t post what they’re influential for – they’re posting things that foster engagement and a follower count. It is the marketer’s job to unearth an influencer’s passion points and use them to their advantage. What comes of it is a more unique and meaningful output. That’s the craft that’s lost in today’s influencer marketing.”

2. Recognize that the most influential people in a community may not be celebrities

The best brand collaborators are those who are pushing culture forward, driving trends and shaping communities – but those people may not even be on social media, nor might they have the highest follower counts. Take Chris Gibbs, the owner of streetwear brand Union Los Angeles, for example. “Working with celebrities may not help you. In fact, it may hurt you,” says Curtis. “The biggest challenge of working with a creator with a high follower count is that you have no idea what their audience looks like. How are you going to make engaging content if you don’t know who they are?”

In order to identify those people, brands must first “take a deep breath and dig deep,” he says. “Take time to identify which communities you’re looking to be a part of. The people who are the connectors are the people driving the energy within that community. That person won’t make themselves the most visible. Some of the most influential people in the world choose not to publish everything about their lives and their whereabouts on social media. Find the people who are trusted, and work with them to have a dialogue about reaching your desired consumers.”

3. Understand a community’s nuances in order to build trust

By having a dialogue with a trusted figure, brands can create more informed strategies that truly resonate with subsets of consumers, for more authentic content builds trust. “Help them help you integrate real cadence into your campaigns,” he says. “The tonality of copy is very important, and as social communities pop up, brands must become experts in them. As we say here, ‘If you take something off the shelf from culture, put something back of equal or greater value.’

“The best place to harness influencers is where they’re experts in. What lies below? Those trends are where you start building insights, trend reports, culture maps and your strategy. Strategic collaborators set your brand up for success in perpetuity, year after year.”

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