An insight into influencers.

In a world where social media reigns supreme, influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most exciting fields to work in. Far beyond perfectly curated posts and viral moments, working with influencers offers a front-row seat to a fusion of creativity, storytelling, and digital strategy.

We all follow a select handful or, if you’re like me, a longgggg list of influencers on social media channels to find out what’s new, what’s trending, places to go, restaurants to eat at (a personal favourite) etc. But before joining ilk, I hadn’t ever considered the processes behind all these fabulous brand deals.

The business side of things was so exciting to me as I started working on accounts such as BrewDog, UNCLE Living and White Cloth Hall.

Gaining a clear understanding of the brand and its audience is crucial in the first stages of a campaign. This means taking a deep dive into the brand’s values, voice, and goals. What are they trying to achieve? Who are they trying to reach? From these questions, a true focus on finding creators who align with the brand’s vision begins.

A lot of time is then spent on identifying influencers who don’t just match on paper but who genuinely resonate with their followers and value authenticity. In this stage, we look at metrics – engagement rates, follower demographics, content quality. Aside from the numbers we go beyond this and find content creators who have built a community with their audience. Authenticity is key, and finding influencers who are passionate about the brand’s industry makes all the difference.

At ilk, we take pride in building relationships, not just campaigns. When it comes to outreach, we view this as a time to foster and build long-term partnerships rather than a one-time transaction.

Recently, I’ve been a part of three super exciting events. Back in July the team took a trip down to London to celebrate the launch of BrewDog’s partnership with Disney, and promote their Deadpool vs Wolverine collaboration. Here we hosted an event filled with 145 guests, made up of journalists and influencers. The event resulted in a final reach of 2.7 million across channels – I think we smashed it, if I do say so myself!

Moving on into August, we supported the opening of White Cloth Hall here in Leeds, inviting down a range of foodies to try out the new dining hot spot. Since then, it has become one of the top food and drink destinations in Leeds, with endless coverage across socials – which was a main end goal for the team behind it all.

Even more recently, we pulled our vision together and hosted a fitness event with RYDE at UNCLE Leeds, a brand changing the game in the rental sector. The event was a time to welcome influencers into the residential complex for an exclusive viewing and a fun pilates class. We wanted to portray the feeling of community that UNCLE is passionate about and I think we did exactly that.

From finding authentic creators that resonate with a client’s target audience, to helping to pull together events for social, so far, working in influencer marketing has been a lot of fun. It’s a role that involves creativity, relationship-building, and quite a lot of free food – and gaining an insight into how it all comes together has been fascinating.

Working with influencers is about more than just creating content – it’s about fostering genuine connections between brands and their communities, and building a partnership that works for both brand and creator.