How to make better marketing with online creators

Cut through the hype

Cut through the hype

Done in the right way, influencer marketing is a creative supercharger. It's an opportunity for brands to create real, authentic experiences for their audience. Yet, there's a lot of confusion that results in gimmicky campaigns or weak impact.

Tired of the BS? Yeah, us too. Everyone’s got something to say so we’ve stripped away the confusion with clarity and simplicity. CUT THROUGH THE HYPE describes what the key to successful influencer campaigns is – *spoiler* it's integration.

We take you on a whistle-stop tour of the history of influencer marketing, where you can learn from the very best in the industry with examples of outstanding marketing from brands. Discover how you can work with online creators to produce authentic content your audience will love. Find out how to integrate influencers with the rest of your marketing for better marketing and better results, and listen closely as we cover challenges such as proving ROI, getting buy-in, avoiding brand harm, and more.

Get your copy here.

Here’s a summary of what it’s all about and just some of the top book reviews.

Creators are Culture

There’s no such thing as an influencer.

That’s the first thing you need to know about influencer marketing. None of the talent worth working with would be happy to wear that label. To their management agencies, their fans, their collaborators, they are – creators. As marketers we need to see them as the people who create content and nurture a community. When we work with them, we aren’t buying *influence*. Rather the opportunity to work with a deeply talented creative partner – the proof of which is an engaged and loyal audience.

Reset your attitude in this way and it will have an immediate impact on your campaign planning. You’ll create content that will delight your audience and delve deeper into other networks and communities.

Here are the key takeaways:

1. Respect. The. Talent: And make sure everyone else does. The nature of online creator audiences is that they are niche. Someone who is massively important and influential with your target market could be someone you or your client has never heard of.

2. Co-create, don’t dictate: Accept that the digital talent you’re working with understands the audience better than you. Write a brief of course, but let your collaborators know their creative input is wanted and needed. Remember, when it comes to creating compelling branded content, you have to have a common purpose with the audience. And even with all the data about your audience in the world, digital talent will still have valid insight.

3. Start with the end in mind: Part of respecting the brilliant creative is building an integrated plan and customer journey around it, which will encourage an audience to become customers. If you plan it and build it, you can measure that journey and there will be no mystery about ROI.

4. No ROI data is a failure of planning: Return on investment is so often cited as an issue by clients who have tried influencer marketing but not continued. Almost always the root cause is that all of the energy went into exciting creative without a thought to the onward customer journey.

5. Don’t let it happen in a silo: Integrated Influencer Marketing is all about ensuring you have data-led insights that fuel the creative and planning processes. Paid media, SEO expertise and solid audience data must unite. And then during the execution stage strong e-commerce and CRO support will turn the attention into sales.

Don’t just take our word for it, look at the glowing reviews.

"A great evaluation of where we are NOW with influencer marketing, also a practical and useful framework for getting it right. 5 stars!"

Neil Perkin

Director, Only Dead Fish

"A great read for all marketers that are struggling to find a results-focused method to make better influencer marketing. Brilliant book!"

Alessio Gianni

Global Director of Digital & Content Marketing, Barilla

"Brilliant Noise know their stuff when it comes to influencer marketing. This book lays out their method, which at EDF, we know first-hand can create magical results. We've used this method to create our hugely successful digital campaign. Couldn't recommend the book enough"

Katharine Baker

Senior Manager, Brand and Marketing Communications, EDF

About the Authors

Stephanie Joy Hubbard, Senior content consultant and Influencer lead

Stephanie is a senior content consultant, and the influencer marketing lead at Brilliant Noise. Before that, she was the marketing manager for a startup social media app – building a marketing strategy for growing the app based around influencers.

She also worked as the EU head of retail marketing and communication for American Apparel, where she headed up influencer outreach (as well as wearing a lot of spandex). Steph’s obsessed with social media, storytelling and fashion. Even better if all at once.

Antony Mayfield, CEO of Brilliant Noise

Antony is CEO and co-founder of Brilliant Noise, a strategic digital agency with clients including Asahi, Barilla, Nestlé, Universal Pictures and EDF. He also serves as the chair of Lighthouse Arts, an arts and culture agency that connects new developments in art, technology and society.

Antony has written several books on digital, business, and culture including Me and My Web Shadow, which was published internationally by Bloomsbury. He has never been one for wearing much spandex, if we’re honest.

For more information on how to purchase Cut through the hype (and a sneak peek inside!), visit Amazon.