Workbook - Real Lessons in Working with Digital Influencers

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Real Lessons in Working with Digital Influencers
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Presented by: Tara Hunt
Director, Audience Development, Totem
647-992-2951
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http://www.tarahunt.com
http://www.totem.tc
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@missrogue / @tctotem
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HASHTAGS: #IRMworkshop #sxswi2015
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Page of1 24#IRMWORKSHOPReal Lessons in Working with Influencers

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Table of Contents
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WHY
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Stats to arm you 3........................................................................................................................
ARTICLE: Why they matter 4........................................................................................................
ARTICLE: Five marketing lessons from Generation YouTube 7..................................................
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WHO
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Areas of influence 10......................................................................................................................
Current platforms 10.....................................................................................................................
The pyramid of influence 11...........................................................................................................
High Arousal vs Low Arousal Emotions 11....................................................................................
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WHERE
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Steps in finding the right influencer 12.........................................................................................
Audience awareness stages 12......................................................................................................
Best way to set up your influencer program: steps 13..................................................................
Figuring out your audience checklist + tools 14............................................................................
The rules of engagement 15..........................................................................................................
A list of tropes 16...........................................................................................................................
Influencer search tools 18.............................................................................................................
Influencer campaign platforms 18................................................................................................
The scorecard (narrowing your options) 19...................................................................................
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HOW
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Outreach checklist (kicking off) 20................................................................................................
Costs: what to expect 21................................................................................................................
What to negotiate for 21.................................................................................................................
Tips for creating contracts 22........................................................................................................
The Creative Process 23.................................................................................................................
Being clear with your goals 23.......................................................................................................
Measuring success 24 ....................................................................................................................

WHY work with digital influencers?
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SOME STATS:
On YouTube:
• there are >1 billion total users
• >90% of YouTube users are >18 years old
• >50% of YouTube users are >35 years old
• YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world
• The average $$ a YouTuber makes from ad revenue alone is $2,500/1 million views (ie.
Gangham Style estimated earnings = $5.6 million!)
• There are 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute
• 1/2 of YouTube views are on mobile devices
• >1 million channels in dozens of countries are earning revenue from the YouTube partner
program, thousands make over 6 ﬁgures/year
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On Vine:
• there are >40 million Vine users
• but >100 million people watch Vine videos each month
• 12 million Vines are shared to Twitter daily
• 25% of American mobile internet using teens visit Vine on a regular basis
• Vine celebs make between $1,000-$10,000/vine, depending on the follower count +
engagement levels.
• A branded Vine video is 4x more likely to be seen than a regular branded video
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On Snapchat:
• There are >100 million monthly active users on Snapchat
• 35% of American teens, 39% UK teens, and 38% Swedish teens are active Snapchat users
• 70% of Snapchat users are women
• 400 million Snaps are posted every day
• 71% of Snapchat users are under 25 years of age
• 1 billion Snapchat Stories are viewed each day
• It’s estimated the biggest Snapchat stars earn anywhere from $1,500/day to $100k/week
(through brand deals)
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On Instagram:
• Instagram has 300 million monthly active users
• Over 90% of people on Instagram are under 35 years old.
• 68% of Instagram users are women.
• “Only” 70 million daily uploads, but people are more selective when it comes to what they post
to Instagram. It’s curated.
• The average user spends 257 minutes/month on Instagram (WSJ)
• There are more than 35 million #selﬁes posted to Instagram 

ARTICLE: Why Digital Influencers Matter More Than Ever
by Tara Hunt, LinkedIN Influencer Column
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140904235542-3154163-building-a-strong-digital-
influencer-program-part-i-why?trk=mp-reader-card
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There has been a great deal of buzz lately about the new influencer. From Variety Magazine's
study that showed that YouTubers are more influential than traditional celebrities, as well as
their cover story this month featuring YouTubers Shane Dawson and Jenna Marbles 're-writing'
the rules of fame, to New York Magazine's exploration of what YouTube fame looks like, to Fast
Company's coverage of the YouTube's 'fame factory', everyone seems to be waking up to the idea
that online influencers are, well, influential.
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This is not a new phenomenon, but the numbers are finally big enough for the world to sit up
and take notice. To drive these numbers home, Jonathan Davids, founder of the influencer
collaboration tool Influicity, compiled some amazing statistics for me a few months back that
show a damning comparison between the digital influencer and the traditional influencer:
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But numbers alone aren't
the whole story. Influence,
as anyone who has ever
worked in this area
knows, is also about trust
and engagement. As I've
written before,
influencers have an
audience that trusts
them, but we can't simply
buy this trust. It also has
to be earned. It's not as
transactional as buying an
ad spot. Paying someone
with a large audience to
sell your product will only
work if their enthusiasm
is authentic and on-brand.
Old Skool Marketing Isn't Dead, But It's Definitely Not As Effective
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There has been a long history of tapping into influence, even pre-famous YouTubers. Some of
them are:
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A. Buying ad spots during popular programs. The data on how well this works has always
been a bit sketchy, but we do know that this is a pricey strategy and that many agree at the
declining effectiveness of this tactic.

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B. You could pay for product placement in popular programming (or celebrity sightings).
Product placement (or "Embedded Marketing") done effectively (meaning the product aligns
with the plot and audience expectations) can have wonderful outcomes. But it's a multi-
billion dollar business and if it isn't done right, it'll work against you.
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C. Through your own influence, you could target media influencers and celebrities to endorse
your product, through magazines or appearances. Otherwise known as Public Relations.
This area is still quite effective, but the influencer is changing as explained above (and many
PR agencies, the one I work for included, understand this and are leading the way).
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Advertising, embedded marketing, PR and celebrity spokespeople are still widely used tactics
for driving brand recognition and sales. Blending these tactics and adapting them for online
media has become pretty popular in the past few years, giving way to native advertising, search
engine marketing, retargeting, contextual advertising, guerrilla marketing, word of mouth
marketing, addressable media, and much more. I can't list everything here and I won't go into
the intricacies, but in my experience, these are all ways to adapt the traditional means of
interrupting an audience to the digital space. Still very push marketing.
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The owned/earned side been all about content marketing for the past few years - "pull, not push
marketing". Though some brands have really excelled at this (LuxyHair, RedBull, Samsung, etc),
most brands really struggle with it. Between not following the YouTube Brand Playbook, and the
increasing "pay to play" message on other social platforms, content marketing is so far out of
the traditional marketing wheelhouse that most brands have all but thrown in the towel. I still
see promise in content marketing, but you have to have heart and aptitude for it. And you need to
respect the new media.
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Which brings us back to this new digital influencer.
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I liken this breed of influencer to a little bit media, a little bit celebrity, a little bit entertainment
programming, a smattering of advertising, and a whole lot of word of mouth. The new influencer
truly does break the rules. She is authentic and crafted all at once (Just check out this
completely unedited episode of the Vlogbrothers - this stuff ain't 'off the cuff'). She is amateur
and professional at the same time. Her audience loves that she is just like they are. She's
accessible (sort of). She's just polished enough to inspire, but not too polished as to be
unattainable. Most of the time, she has no goal, no plans, no strategy...she just is and does. She
wakes up one day and says, "Holy crap, I have an audience. Now what do I do with them?"
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I find it fascinating and amazing. But where I see beautiful disruption, many see red.
"But They're Just a Bunch of Amateurs!"
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I have to admit it, I'm more than a little envious of people like Bethany Mota. She's 18, has over 7
million people subscribed to her YouTube channel alone, is estimated to make over $320,000/
year on YouTube advertising alone (I'm sure she doubles that in brand endorsements) and looks

like she has an insane amount of fun. When I was 18, I was working at a clothing store making
minimum wage and my boss was a jerk, so I hated it. I barely made enough to live with two
roommates and all I could afford for fun was cheap beer nights. Hell, 22 years later, I can't touch
Bethany's career!
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So I can definitely understand the rising resentment from the ranks of trained and experienced
professionals who have spent their lives building a reputation and paid more than their fair
share of dues. But resentment isn't going to get anyone very far, especially since everyone under
the age of 35 is listening to the Bethanys of the world.
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After working with so many influencers, I immediately inspired to dust off and start to post, but
after only a few weeks of this, I realized how much dang work these kids put into their content.
I'm not giving up yet, but I have a new found appreciation for what goes into building an audience
online. This isn't your Momma's blogosphere.
So What's a Marketer to Do?
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If you can't beat 'em and you can't join 'em (not without the energy of an 18-year old!), then
what? Well I say we welcome this new breed of influencer. She's your future boss. You need to
get into a position where you will be able to influence the influencers.
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I have great respect for Bethany and Gigi and Hanna and Jenna and Matthew andGrace and all of
the others who have built audiences online. There are 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube
every minute. Many of these YouTubers get hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of views every
week. Some of them every day. Brand videos without paid boosting tend to get fewer than 500
views in a lifetime.
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Getting a mention from one of the influencers will create brand recognition, sell products and
build trust for your brand. Building relationships with these influencers is key. Unfortunately, all
of the brands are dying to build relationships with them now, so money talks.
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And DON'T just focus on the top of the charts when it comes to influencers. DON'T just talk to
the popular kids. You never know who tomorrow's popular kid will be. DO start early and build
relationships with the up-and-comers before your competitors do. DO make it a two-way
conversation. DO learn to think like the influencer's audience. DON'T make it about you. That's
the opposite of thinking like the influencer's audience.
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But I'll go into more of the DO's and DON'Ts and HOWs in future columns. I'll also be covering
more than merely YouTube as I look at the WHO and WHERE. I'm looking forward to doing a deep
dive into the day-to-day and growth of a family of Viners - this one is near and dear to my heart
as the dad is around my age (it's possible!). And, of course, I'll continue to focus on the WHAT,
which means Digital Culture - without understanding the cultures that are driving this shift, you
will continue to stumble in this brave new age. 

ARTICLE: Five marketing lessons from Generation YouTube
by Nicola Kemp, 03.03.2015 - http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1335724/five-
marketing-lessons-generation-youtube
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YouTubers are no longer a secret trend confined to the bedrooms of teenagers; they’re a reality
of the media landscape
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However, traditional media’s obsession with the teen starlets of the YouTube Generation doesn’t
constitute a genuine understanding of this fast-maturing medium. It is a tension underlined by
the uncomfortable juxtaposition of Debrett’s – a relic of a bygone age – listing PewDiePie’s Felix
Kjellberg, Zoella, Alfie Deyes and Jamal Edwards in its list of the 500 most influential people in
the country.
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Kate Glover, head of UK accounts at StyleHaul, the biggest fashion and beauty network on
YouTube, says that brands need to shift their focus. "YouTubers are no longer a secret trend
confined to the bedrooms of teenagers; they’re a reality of the media landscape," she adds.
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It is a reality that increasingly demands marketers shift their focus to make better use of the
platform. Ruth Barton, managing director of creative content agency VCCP Kin, says: "With TV
consumption dropping to the floor more brands are investing in long-form content. YouTube is
evolving; pre-roll advertising is a transition phase. It is a massive mistake brands make to run
TV ads, when bespoke content that enhances existing content is a better strategy."
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Digital has fundamentally changed the very foundations of what constitutes influence, with
significant implications for brands. With this in mind, here are the five key marketing lessons
from Generation YouTube.
1: Embrace fame for the web generation
Derek Scobie, head of YouTube brand propositions, Northern and Central Europe at Google, says
that fame for the web generation has shifted. "How you become famous has changed; we sit
back and get broadcasted at less. I don’t think it’s unique to YouTube but there are many more
routes to fame. Essentially you can create your own programming guide and broadcast system,"
he adds.
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According to research from Tesco Mobile, almost 40% of 16- to 25-year-olds said they would
prefer to follow in the footsteps of professional bloggers, rather than make a living from being a
reality TV star (6%). Young consumers clearly see a phenomenal social-media imprint as the key
indicator of fame.
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Matthew Hook, managing director of Carat, Europe’s biggest media network, says that peer-to-
peer is a key trend. "Consumers want to see celebrities more as their peers. This is why you see
stars such as Rio Ferdinand having direct relationships with their fans."
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Ironically, although many of the new YouTube superstars achieve cut-through on the channel,
they actively seek out exposure on more traditional media channels. He points to fashion and
beauty vlogger Zoella as a case in point. "Arguably, she achieved mass-market fame through
having a printed book and a radio show," he adds.
2: Beware the Myth of the ‘Screenager’
While the focus on video is important, marketers must avoid believing that they are broadcasting
to an invisible army of teenagers who look at nothing but an ever-flickering screen.
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The average YouTube user spends five hours a week reading books and magazines and seven
hours a week listening to the radio. Indeed, far from being the sole preserve of teenage boys in
their bedrooms, 50% of YouTube’s audience are in fact over 35.
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Nor should marketers confuse the volume of focus on teen YouTube sensations with being an
accurate reflection of the diversity of the video platform’s content and audience. While
traditional media channels have defined demographic audiences, YouTube stars rise and fall
and, as such, marketers must address the platform as a constantly evolving ecosystem.
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"Vloggers are part of the rock-star paradigm and were, until recently, the sole preserve of the
younger audience – but things are changing. As brands have become more aware of vlogger
power, as with any other influencer, role model or talent, this talent has become more valuable
to brands and advertisers," explains Russ Lidstone, former chief executive of advertising agency
Havas.
3: Understand the Generation Gap
Influencers from Generation Y and Z have built huge audiences on YouTube, Vine and Instagram,
and brands have already started working with these teen media moguls. However, the rapid
growth of this online entertainment universe points to a widening gap between those ‘born on
the web’ and millennial and post-millennial audiences.
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According to trend consultancy Stylus, this constitutes "perhaps the first true generation gap
since the 1960s, a phenomenon which is driven by young consumers embracing their peers over
more traditional media voices".
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However, it is not only young consumers who are embracing peer-to-peer marketing. Courtney
Maywald, strategist at communications network Publicis Chemistry, says: "YouTube is the
second biggest search engine in the world. Ask your mum – if she’s online, she’s more than
likely watching stuff on YouTube, too. So while there are no superstar Granny YouTubers yet, it is
only a matter of time. We’re already witnessing the rise of the Major Mummy Vlogger, like Surrey
mum Anna Saccone, with two kids, six Maltese Terriers and 550,000 subscribers."
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In fact millennial mums have become a core consumer group on YouTube, with significant
implications for brands. Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard is launching a YouTube network
for mothers called Channel Mum.

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4: Flawed is the new flawless
The YouTube era’s emergence must be viewed as part of a broader shift toward transparency
and authenticity, which has significant implications for brands. This presents a twin challenge
for brands seeking to bask in the authentic glow of YouTube vloggers without alienating their
audience or damaging their credibility.
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Lidstone says YouTube celebrities work because their audience wants authentic perspective.
"The danger for the celebrity is that endorsements compromise their perceived objectivity,
which is at the root of what initially made them popular," he argues.
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Continued reliance on pre-roll advertising and the slick commercialised 30-second spot fails to
tap into the authenticity and immediacy the medium demands. To truly capitalise on this trend,
brands should invest in creating their own content or partnering vloggers.
5: Embrace video as a form of speech in its own right
We are in the middle of a step-change in communications. Just as previous generatioxns had to
learn how to use a landline, then the mobile phone and smartphone, today’s consumers are
adapting their communication to adopt images and video as a casual part of speech in their own
right. Using the phone as a channel to talk is in significant decline. After a decade and a half of
uninterrupted growth, the amount of time Britons spend on the phone went into decline in 2011
and has continued to drop. Today’s teens are more accustomed to image and text-based
communications, their understanding and use of visual communication flawless.
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Freegard says: "My generation uses YouTube in a different way. When we look for a recipe we
look for the text version as we don’t think we have time to watch a video. In contrast, younger
generation users want to watch the video and feel they don’t have time to read the text."
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She adds: "Video is nearer to how we naturally communicate. We were taught to consume words
by text but video offers a more human way to connect."
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In line with this, brands need to shift not just the platforms they use to reach consumers, but
reassess the tone, style and substance (or lack thereof) of their advertising messages.
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WHO are some of these influencers?
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A FEW AREAS OF INFLUENCE:
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A FEW PLATFORMS YOU’LL FIND THEM ON:
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GAMING DIY UNBOXING SKETCH COMEDY
VLOGGING ANIMATION MAKEUP PRANKS
FASHION & STYLE HOME DECOR MUSIC COMEDY
AUTOMOTIVE FOOD & COOKING TECHNOLOGY NEWS
TRAVEL SPORTS PARENTING PETS
TWITTER YOUTUBE VINE
SNAPCHAT INSTAGRAM BLOGS
FACEBOOK PINTEREST PODCASTS

THE PYRAMID OF INFLUENCE:
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HIGH AROUSAL VS. LOW AROUSAL EMOTIONS:
One of the reasons why inﬂuencers are so darn powerful is that they ooze in the high arousal
emotion arena with their content:
HIGH AROUSAL LOW AROUSAL
+
Awe, Joy, Love, Excitement, Humor, Hope,
Giddiness, Inspiration, Surprise (happy), Obsession
Contentment, Relaxation, Calmness, Satisfaction
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Fear, Distress, Anger, Anxiety, Disgust, Tension,
Frustration, Alarm, Annoyance
Depression, Sadness, Loss, Pity, Boredom, Gloom

FINDING THE RIGHT INFLUENCER
Finding the right inﬂuencer is crucial to the success of your campaign. There are a few tools
available and a process to help you pick the right one. Here are the steps:
1. Deﬁne your goals
2. Figure out your audience
3. Research the space
4. Narrow the options
5. Reach out
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DEFINING YOUR GOALS: AUDIENCE AWARENESS STAGES
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AWARE RESEARCH CONSIDERATION PURCHASE EXPERIENCE RETENTION ADVOCACY
“I’ve heard of
this brand”
“I’m researching
options in the
area”
“Is this brand
right for me?”
“I’m buying this
brand.”
“I’m using this
brand.”
“I will use this
brand again.”
“I’m OBSESSED
with this
brand.”
Audience action:
!Passive
consumption of
media.
Audience
action:
!Searching,
browsing +
asking friends.
Audience
action:
!Reading
reviews, asking
friends +
seeking
confirmation.
Audience
action:
Going to the
P.O.P. (online,
offline, mobile,
social)
Audience
action:
Using the
product or
service…
experience with
all of the touch
points of the
brand.
Audience
action:
Interacting with
other customers
(community),
social media
follows.
Audience action:
!Producing
content to sell
the brand to
others.
PERFECT FOR
IRM
PERFECT FOR
IRM
PERFECT FOR
IRM
NOT A
FUNCTION OF
IRM (though
IRM will drive
customers)
NOT A
FUNCTION OF
IRM
(consider using
great Hygiene
contenT)
TIE INTO IRM,
BUT NOT A
FUNCTION.
THIS IS WHERE
YOU BECOME AN
INFLUENCER
YOURSELF!
Aim for a Digital
Influencer who
has a large,
dedicated
audience that
matches your
target.
Any social
platform.
Aim for a large
number of
smaller
influencers who
will review your
product
favourably
against the
competition.
Searchable
platforms like
YouTube and
blogs work
best.
Aim for a large
number of
smaller
influencers who
will review your
product
HONESTLY
(hopefully
favourably!).
Searchable
platforms like
YouTube and
blogs work
best.
——-
Create your own
great how-to
videos. Respond
quickly to any
issues or praise
on social media.
Create a loyalty
program, create
social content
that speaks to
current
customers.
Reward those
who post
positively about
your brand.
Offer them
giveaways.
Promote them
on your
channels.

THE BEST WAY TO SET UP YOUR IRM PROGRAM:
MANUALLY
• Watch hours of YouTube Videos/Vines/follow popular people on Instagram
• Join interest communities and find out who influences them and the kind of content that they
love
• Build relationships with members of the community as well as influencers by:
• commenting on their content + interact on social platforms (not in a creepy way, but in a
helpful way)
• attending meetups and other events to meet them face to face. Offer up something
interesting.
• reach out to make an introduction before you need to work with anyone…to gauge interest
and establish a connection.
• keep track of birthdays and milestones. Send notes of congratulations.
• produce content yourself - BE a member of the community.
• Create a database of your touch points and relationships.
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WHY MANUALLY?
1. You’ll own the relationships
2. You’ll understand the community better (both your customer AND the influencer)
3. It saves you money in the long run
4. You’ll get a jump on emerging/up and coming influencers
5. You’ll learn some tricks of the trade (to apply to your own content)
6. It’s hella fun!
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I USE HIGHRISE:
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WHERE do I find them?
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FIGURING OUT YOUR AUDIENCE:
To understand who inﬂuences them, you need to know more about your audience:
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Who are they? (demographics)
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Where do they hang out online? (online behaviour)
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What are their interests? (psychographics)
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HINT: If you don’t already have data about your audience, take a look at data on your competition
or proxies. You won’t want to copy them, but you can learn from them.
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TOOLS FOR AUDIENCE RESEARCH:
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!
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TWTRLAND STATSOCIAL FACEBOOK INTEREST GRAPH
DATA
Twitter, Instagram -
demographics mostly
Over 60 different sources,
even beyond social -
demographics, online
behaviour + psychographics
Facebook Page Likes -
psychographics only (on FB)
PRICING $299/month $3000/month+ Free
STRENGTHS
It’s beautiful and inexpensive
and does multiple things.
It’s the Porsche of interest
data. Really fantastic
interface. Great analysis. I
drool.
It’s free
WEAKNESSES
The interest data and
demographics are limited.
It's spendy.
It's very very manual (a good
data pull is minimum 500
entries, and the analysis could
take >30 hours). It’s also
limited to Facebook.

THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
You don’t just walk up to an inﬂuencer and you are besties. Relationships take time. The
following are the stages of engagement…don’t jump to ‘TIGHT’ whatever you do! Even if you have
$$:
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EXERCISES:
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A. You are new at an ofﬁce and would like to get to know your colleagues better + win their
trust. Describe how you would do this.
!
B. You arrive at a friend’s party and your friend points out a woman across the room who
handles all of the hiring for a company you’ve been dying to work with. How you do you
approach her?
!
C. You are single and have a really gorgeous person in your class you are dying to ask out, but
he/she doesn’t even know you exist. Describe your strategy for getting to know him/her
better. 
AWARE INTERESTED INTERACTED ENGAGED TIGHT
“I’ve seen you around.” “I recognize you.” “I’ve checked you out.” “I’m hanging with you.” “You are the bomb.”
SCENARIOS:
!Sees a friend interact
with your page on their
FB feed.
!Heard a friend mention
you.
SCENARIOS:
!Has seen more than a
few friends mention you
or interact with you.
!Has heard positive
reviews.
SCENARIOS:
!Clicked on your feed.
Checks you out.
!Asks about you.
SCENARIOS:
!Likes your posts.
Comments. Tweets
back.
Used your product.
Came to your event.
SCENARIOS:
!Recommending you
publicly. Retweeting
you. Obsessed with you!
REALITY:
!Probably forgot your
name 5 seconds later.
REALITY:
!Growing more
interested, but still
apprehensive.
REALITY:
!Warming up to you. You
are no longer forgotten
in 5 seconds.
REALITY:
!You can start bringing
the influencers into the
inner circle. Start
talking business.
REALITY:
!This is the pinnacle.
YOUR MOVE:
!Keep interacting lightly
with the community.
Make good impressions.
YOUR MOVE:
!Approach very
cautiously…no sales.
Just introduce yourself.
YOUR MOVE:
!Now is the time to start
engaging in a
conversation. Listen
more than you talk.
Establish rapport.
YOUR MOVE:
!Don’t screw this up.
Treat the influencer
right. Get his/her
feedback. Relax.
YOUR MOVE:
!This is very very rare.
Make him/her feel
SUPER special. Insider/
VIP special.

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THE LIST OF TROPES:
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TROPE DESCRIPTION
THE MAKEUP TUTORIAL Pretty self-explanatory, Makeup Tutorials are step-by-step how-to’s on creating a look.
Kandee Johnson, Michelle Phan, Tamang Phan and Carli Bybel are some of the biggest in
this category.
WHAT’S IN MY [BAG, KIT,
ETC)
What’s in my _______ videos are video blogs that highlight the things that the YouTuber
carries around on a regular basis. It can be everything from handbag to camera bag to
suitcase…and beyond. There have been some funny parodies on these.
THE HAUL Hauls are video blogs that document what the YouTuber just purchased. Originally brushed
off as ‘stupid and shallow’ by critics, haul vloggers have grown to have some of the largest,
most dedicated audiences on YT.
LOOKBOOK Many fashion and style YouTubers will create a video lookbook of their outfits on a season
or a trend. Lots of demure poses.
THE TAG Tags are powerful because they spread through the community (they also exist on
Instagram as photo challenges). It’s ‘tag’ as in tag, you’re it! There are 361,000+ TMI Tag
videos
THE CHALLENGE Challenges are like Tags, but they are usually more physical in nature (and participated in
by the male creators more). There are 503,000 results for Cinnamon Challenge on YouTube.
Glozell’s is the most popular with 43million views!
OOTD Or…outfit of the day! Fashion and style YouTubers will annotate their outfit from head to toe
on a video.
GRWM Get ready with me! Usually based around an event, these videos are all about creating a
look from makeup to what the YouTuber is wearing.
THE ROUTINE Morning routine, nighttime routine, skincare routine, fitness routine…the YouTuber will go
through his or her daily ritual on video.
DIY DIY’s are how-to videos on recreating stuff you would normally buy in the store, but are
simple enough to do yourself. Of course, they are also how-to’s, but I always think that DIY’s
are the simpler brethren of How-To’s. Rarely do I see anyone build something
insurmountable (like a house).
Q&A Questions and answers. YouTubers will either pull questions from previous videos and social
posts or ask his or her fans to send them in before he/she makes the video.
PRANKING Prank channels are very popular on YouTube. Pranks range from simple to very elaborate
(like this one or like the Just For Laughs Gags pranks). The audience really loves being in on
the joke and watching the poor victims of the prank being tricked.

UNBOXING Unboxing videos are incredibly popular. Started with the tech set, it’s now the toddler crowd
that’s gotten involved. Sometimes called ‘toddler crack’, the toy unboxing channels are
some of the most subscribed to channels and have led to YouTube creating children’s tools
that access only these channels.
REVIEW Reviews can either be against competitive products or just about the product itself.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS This is a review, but without much use. These are SUPER useful for brand feedback.
YouTubers tend to give their first impressions completely honestly.
FAVES Usually done in months (July Faves!) or categories (Gadgets I can’t live without!), the
YouTuber will go through his or her list of favorites and say why and how they use them.
LISTS Before Buzzfeed video, there were many, many list YouTubers. Lists are usually in numbers
(10 things you didn’t know about blah) and are both entertaining and informative.
APARTMENT TOUR Fans love to see how the YouTubers live. It’s nothing like MTV Cribs. I actually love these,
too. They are pretty raw and show how focussed the YouTubers are on their channels (all
video equipment!)
HOW IT WORKS How it works is not only informative, but it’s very entertaining and is highly searchable on
YouTube. These videos are mostly scientific, but are sometimes just explorations in social
behaviour.
PLAY WITH ME Minecraft is one of the biggest gaming communities on YouTube, but there are many gamers
that post entire games or sections of their games and get hundreds of thousands of views.
Why? Well, why do we watch sports? Video games are the new pro sport for the next
generation.
DRAW MY LIFE This Tag cut across all communities and genres on YouTube and nearly every YouTube
celebrity has made one. They are wonderful ways to learn more about the YouTubers we
follow. They are made by telling their life stories (highlights, of course - with serious
issues) and drawing out the story.
TROPE DESCRIPTION

INFLUENCER SEARCH TOOLS
You can use some tools to help you ﬁnd inﬂuencers faster…if you need to speed it up! There are
more, but these are a few I’ve used and like…
!
INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN PLATFORMS
If you really really really want to cheat…and you don’t want to invest the time into building your
own network, you can always use these platforms…
BUZZSUMO TRAACKR LITTLE BIRD TWTRLAND GROUP HIGH
PLATFORMS Twitter/Blogs All Platforms All Platforms Twitter/Instagram Blogs
PRICING $299/month $1200+/month $500/month $99/month $625/user/month
STRENGTHS
You can search for
twitter influencers
contextually, not
just by their bio.
It’s very thorough
and digs deep into
various niches. It
also covers all
platforms nicely.
Cuts across all
platforms and goes
fairly deep. Nice
interface.
Great price and
really nice
interface.
Extensive database
of bloggers, easy to
use + you can
import and manage
your own
influencers.
WEAKNESSES
Doesn’t really look
at the new, more
visual platforms.
It’s the most
expensive on e of
the lot and you are
limited in your
searches.
Some interest
categories are
deeper than others.
Only covers Twitter
and Instagram
(moving into FB).
Light on YouTubers,
Viners and
Instagrammers.
Influicity Famebit Niche GrapeStory Mozaic
PITCH
The world’s first
Influencer
exchange and
activations
platform.
Find YouTube stars that
will endorse your brand
for as little as $100.
Great for putting
together Vine
campaigns.
Ran by Gary Vee,
connected with top
Viners and
Snapchatters.
Former Maker
Studios execs. They
focus more on the
creative and
production. Prices
not listed.
STRENGTHS
They’ve forged
relationships with
the MCNs and
managers to make
the haggling part
simple.
Really large network,
especially in women’s
products. Campaigns
are pretty self-serve,
but can also be custom.
Twitter acquired
these guys
recently.
Interesting things
should happen.
Jerome Jarre is on
the team. He knows
community better
than anyone.
Experience,
connections and
they understand
the space.
WEAKNESSES
Any middle-person
will make the
campaign a little
less awesome.
Any middle-person will
make the campaign a
little less awesome.
Because Twitter
acquired them,
they may only
cover Vine/Twitter.
Only focused on
mobile (Vine,
Instagram +
Snapchat)
Probably way more
expensive than it
should be.

THE SCORECARD
!
You can’t have ALL of the Inﬂuencers…it gets expensive and, some of them, frankly, don’t ﬁt your
brand. Here are the questions to help you narrow:
!
!
Some of these are subjective and you will have your own idea of a minimum score, but this will
help you pick your best partners on your program. 
Question SCALE
How well does the content the
Influencer posts align to what you are
thinking creatively for the campaign?
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
How well do the Influencer’s values
align with the brand?
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
Does the Influencer’s audience align
with the audience you need to reach for
the brand?
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
How engaged is the Influencer’s
audience?
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
Does the Influencer work too much
with other brands?
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
Is the influencer approachable about
working with brands?
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
How accessible is the influencer to
you? (meaning, can you sit with them
yourself or have a call to collaborate or
does the manager always have to be
the middle-person)
!
!
0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
TOTAL

HOW do we make this work?
!
THE KICKOFF CHECKLIST
Before you reach out with a proposal…have a proposal and understand that signing them up isn’t
as simple as “here is your contract!”. Here are your steps:
!
Have an NDA ready for signing when you reach out to the Influencer or his/her manager.
Once signed, set up a call.
On the call, go over the creative brief and goals for the campaign. You can present some of
your thinking for direction, but give the Influencer the creative keys. Also ask for quote -
but state your budget range as well.
Follow up call with summary of your conversation, key dates and request for interest in the
project and some top line ideas.
If the Influencer is interested, get his/her ideas for the project. NOTE: some Influencers
will not want to give away ideas up front, so you may have to sign a contract before you get
ideas.
Put the ideas in a deck and present them to the client (or internally if you are the client) to
get sign-off and set expectations. Prepare a contract and get sign-off on this as well.
NOTE: You may need to negotiate on the cost/ask at this point as well.
Once you have stakeholder sign-off, send the contract to the influencer. NOTE: this may
kick off another round of negotiations.
Once you get the signed contract back, countersign and send copies to all parties.
Set up the Influencer as a Vendor (if not done already) and open a Purchase Order. Send
PO number to Influencer for their records for billing. Make sure you talk to your Accounts
Payable department about payment terms and communicate these with the Influencer.
NOTE: in my experience, most Influencers won’t wait for 90 days to get paid. AND THEY
TALK. You don’t want a reputation for paying late so if you can get around this with your
accounting department, do!
!
!
!

WHO YOU’LL BE NEGOTIATING WITH:
• MCNs (Multi-Channel Networks): Above Average, Alloy, AwesomenessTV, Big Frame,
Collective, Maker Studios, Discovery, Curse, ForefrontTV, JETPAK, My Damn Channel,
Revision3, Rooster Teeth, Vevo, Fullscreen, Machinima, Style Haul, Kin Community, Wonderly…
and more
• Agents: Fashiolista, Socialyte, Melrose&Park, and hundreds more.
• Managers: Dads, Moms, Talent Managers, creepy opportunists
• Self-managed influencers: These are my faves…but they are few and far between now!
!
COSTS: WHAT TO EXPECT
WARNING! These are subject to change and are NOT standard. Influencers represented by Los
Angeles agents (many are) like Melrose & Park charge more and self-managed influencers
charge way less. But this is a bit of a benchmark so you know:
!
!
!
!
YOUTUBE VINE SNAPCHAT INSTAGRAM
INFLUENCER CPM/
follower
$30-60 $10-20 $10-50
no standard, but likely
$10-20/image
TRADITIONAL AD RATES $24.60/cpm/avg n/a $750,000/snap story
$500,000/buy-in right
now
Hiring someone with 1
million followers will
cost:
$30,000 - $60,000
$10,000-
$20,000/ vine
$10,000- $50,000/Snap varied
What you get
Creative
Production
Engaged Audience
Creative
Production
Engaged Audience
Creative
Production
Engaged Audience
Creative
Production
Engaged Audience
Views/CTRs
Big Frame boasts that
Digital Influencers get
20% CTR on YouTube
Branded Vines receive
400% more shares than
branded videos
No data, but Snapchat
reports incredible
engagement and some
influencers say this is
their strongest
platform.
With Instagram’s new
click + buy, this is going
to get interesting

WHAT TO NEGOTIATE FOR
You don’t want to be a cheapskate when it comes to these partnerships - the relationships are
worth a lot - but you can ask for extras that are mutually beneficial:
!
1. a Twitter or Instagram call-to-action (increasing engagement) to drive more impressions
from the fan base. Let the influencer create the call-to-action and hashtag, just ask that
your product be part of it.
!
2. a giveaway or a contest (this drives excellent engagement and Influencers love them as they
can give back to their fans). This can work well with a call-to-action.
!
3. a meetup or other brand-sponsored public appearance. By sponsoring the event, you give
the Influencer a forum to meet with his/her fans and you get some visibility for the audience.
!
TIPS FOR CREATING CONTRACTS
You can usually take a standard talent contract and adjust it to your needs, but there ARE some
unique things to think about when it comes to digital influencers. Here are your tips:
!
Be very detailed. In an addendum, put together the agreed upon campaign components.
Trust me, this will help!
List the number of revisions you want. Don’t be unreasonable. One is standard, two is
difficult as they are known for producing videos last minute. You should only be allowed to
revise the way the Influencer describes your product, not the creative. He/She should give
you enough time to give feedback. Be detailed (and reasonable) in that feedback, too.
If you want exclusivity or for them not to mention any other brands, expect to pay more.
Sometimes it will be to your advantage for them to mention competitors. It is more natural
to their audience.
Think about whether you want to include a clause where they don’t say anything negative
about other brands, either. You will be connected to the video and could be made liable or
slander.
Keep in mind that YouTube creators monetize their videos. You may want to include a
provision for them to turn off monetization for the sponsored video (YouTube actually
enforces this, but you should make it clear). Note that some MCNs are sticky about this
and will suggest you also buy up the ad inventory on these videos. That’s ‘double-dipping’.
Specify how long you want the content to live online - on Vine in particular, many
Influencers will delete a Vine post-campaign. This is also a good time to negotiate where
you can host and share the content as well.
A contract can make or break a relationship. Be firm, but fair.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The Influencer knows his/her own audience the best. Give him/her the creative brief + be clear
about the campaign goals and then let him/her bring you back a proposal.
!
You can be collaborative, but don’t dictate the creative. That won’t be received well (and it won’t
work).
!
HOW TO HANDLE APPROVALS
REPEATING MYSELF: The Influencer knows his/her audience the best. Don’t have an internal
committee looking at the video beforehand and giving feedback.
!
The approvals should be run by a person who can check if the verbiage/description of the
product is sound, the execution achieves the goals and there are no other conflicts.
!
BE CLEAR WITH YOUR GOALS
Provide a thorough creative brief and goals. Here are examples of clear/reasonable goals to ask
of the influencer vs. unclear/unreasonable goals (referring back to the Audience Awareness
Stages to understand what an IRM campaign can and should accomplish):
!
!
INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL GOALS
You can set impression, reach and audience goals internally, and you ARE leveraging the
Influencer audience to reach these goals, but the Influencer is paid for their creative, production
and audience, not for impressions.
!
You can tell the Influencer that you’d love to see their video reach a certain number (so would
they!) or for a certain number of people to participate in a hashtag, but there are multiple factors
(including that people tend to participate less in branded content) that could affect the
outcomes.
!
CLEAR/REASONABLE GOALS UNCLEAR/UNREASONABLE GOALS
Give away # of products. 500,000 giveaway entries.
Show how to use the product in an image. 100,000 hashtags.
Produce a video that integrates the benefits of the product. 250,000 views.
Maximize impressions of product review across social networks. 3 million impressions.

MEASURING SUCCESS
!
!
If done right, this WILL lead to sales and positive word of mouth beyond the Influencer content.
!
SOURCES:
• http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/rising-snapchat-stars-earn-100000-per-week/201806?
red=st
• http://nymag.com/news/features/internet-fame/
• http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/shane-dawson-jenna-marbles-internet-
fame-1201271428/
• http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/survey-youtube-stars-more-popular-than-mainstream-
celebs-among-u-s-teens-1201275245/
• http://traackr.com/
• http://www.statsocial.com/
• https://app.buzzsumo.com/account/plans
• http://twtrland.com/
• https://instagram.com/satiregram/
• http://digiday.com/publishers/future-digital-publishing-like-cable-tv/
• http://blog.hootsuite.com/everything-you-need-to-know-instagram-ads/#pagetop
• http://www.businessinsider.com/top-instagram-photographers-in-advertising-2013-3?op=1
• http://adage.com/article/digital/vine-users-team-brands-talent-agency/243773/
• http://tarahunt.com/2013/06/25/cant-buy-me-love-moving-too-fast-on-social-platforms/
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140904235542-3154163-building-a-strong-digital-
influencer-program-part-i-why?trk=mp-reader-card
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140910131613-3154163-building-a-strong-influencer-
program-part-ii-who?trk=mp-reader-card
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141103031425-3154163-digital-influencer-lessons-part-iii-
the-tropes?trk=mp-reader-card
• All photos credited, except those that are screenshots
• All stats come from the source (YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat)
OVERALL GOAL MEASURING SUCCESS
Increase awareness Social mentions, Impressions, Social Reach
Creating more authentic, positive reviews
Number of reviews on review sites, unbiased videos/posts
results in a search
Positive Feedback on your product/brand Thumbs up, shares, positive comments

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