2019 Press Releases

LIA Insider Sits Down with Maddie Raedts

21 May 2019

LIA Insider sat down with  Maddie Raedts, Founder and CCO of IMA Amsterdam and Social Influencer Jury President to learn more about Social Influencer Marketing

1. What is the most important to know about engaging in a Social Influencer campaign?
I think the most important thing to note when it comes to engagement for an Influencer campaign is the need for authenticity. Recently, it’s become such a buzzword, yet the need for it is real and truly sits at the core of influencer marketing. If your influencer, brand or campaign isn’t authentic then the consumer isn’t going to buy into the product or service.
 
2. Are there any misconceptions that clients have on how to fully engage consumers using a Social Influencer campaign?
Occasionally, brands can come to us without a clear story and expect influencers to pose alongside their product. Influencer marketing just doesn’t work this way - there needs to be an authentic connection between the influencer and the brand - they need to have similar values that encourage the consumer to make sense of the brand partnership. The match between brand and person needs to be perfect, from there you can build an endless story.
 
Another thing that is hugely important is for brands to let go of creative control, when working with influencers on a campaign. Influencers are true content creators themselves, creatives at heart, and they know their own audiences best. Co-creation is the keyword here. Don’t be afraid to let go, that will give the best outcome and create the most impact. Let the influencer and their audience decide and make them feel like insiders and participators instead of just spectators.
 
3. Do you need a big budget to mount a Social Influencer campaign?
I wouldn’t say that you always need a big budget to launch an influencer campaign, however you need to think clearly about what your objectives are. If you want to go global for a mass audience, then yes sure. But if its single market and more niche, so its all about who do you want to reach? You can already have a massive impact with micro-influencers in a specific expertise that focuses on one single vertical if that is exactly who you are after. It’s all about the right strategy and finding that perfect influencer that matches your target audience.
 
4. Any other interesting insights you'd like to share?
Some 78 percent of brands implemented influencer marketing campaigns in 2017, up from 65 percent the previous year, according to a survey of 600 fashion industry professionals in Europe and the US by the data analytics provider Launchmetrics. Brands raised their budgets for influencer campaigns by between 3 and 6 percent last year — $2 billion was spent on influencer marketing overall, with fashion and beauty accounting for at least 40 percent — with product launches and events the most popular uses for the marketing tactic.
 
Nearly half said they preferred to work with micro-influencers — those with between 10,000 and 100,000 followers — rather than mega-influencers with hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers. Though micro-influencers reach fewer people, their audiences are more likely to buy the products they endorse, making them ideal for reaching niche markets, respondents said.

Instagram reigns supreme, with 36 percent of respondents saying it was their favorite platform for influencer campaigns, with marketers drawn to features like Instagram Stories and the ability to shop directly from posts. Facebook ran a distant second as the choice of 16 percent of respondents, while Snapchat declined to 6 percent, from 10 percent in 2016.