Are influencers the new media? Here’s how PR agencies work with social influencers.
Love them, hate them or not even sure what they are, social influencers are everywhere you look in modern society.
They fill column inches, star on prime time television and dominate Instagram feeds. The attention they command is staggering, seeing thousands of interactions on anything they touch. Where they go, people want to follow, where they are seen, people want to be seen. Working with them is often a sure-fire way of getting word out there in a rapid and powerful way.
I started out in PR in 2013, back then my first ever task at the agency where I interned was to source fashion bloggers to attend the opening a new shop. This was really my first introduction into the world of social influencers and I was able to witness firsthand just how they worked and the results generated.
It was actually back in 2013 when I discovered my favourite influencer of all time, In The Frow. Back then, she was by day known as Victoria Magrath, a pink haired fashion lecturer by day at the University of Manchester and by night a social media powerhouse who was making waves on the fashion and beauty scene. I was hooked. I would watch her Youtube videos religiously, filling my online shopping basket with whatever she recommended, wanting to go to the places she went, wishing I could afford her baby pink Givenchy Antigona.
This was a turning point for me in my knowledge of influencers, having subconsciously experienced their power. I made it my mission from that day onwards to harness opportunities for my clients to work with them, essentially influencer matchmaking.
Today, influencers are a global industry with agencies dedicated to managing them. The UK is home to some of the most prolific in the world, including Zoella, Tanya Burr, Joe Sugg, Sarah Ashcroft, Megan Ellaby…the list is endless! It makes total sense to me, working in communications, that we use them to amplify our clients, seeing a global reach from just one post.
A great example of the power of social media comes from the recent launch of Dakota Manchester, the brand new luxury hotel bringing a touch of Mayfair to the city. We hosted an exclusive influencer takeover in the hotel, four days before it officially opened. This involved inviting 30 prolific influencers to come and stay overnight, dining in the restaurant and participating in various activities, including chocolate tasting and skin consultations with Kiehl’s.
Within four hours of the event starting, the Dakota Manchester social media account had grown by 500 followers – the awareness generated by them was absolutely staggering.
The week following the Dakota Manchester launch, we had In The Frow come and stay at the hotel – her post and stories once again generated huge interest and we were able to offer her followers and exclusive 15% off when using a special code. This will also allow us to track in a very real way the power she has.
Living and working in Manchester has allowed me to become great friends with the influencers based here. We’ve established a great rapport and love working with them. I’ve become known as the Mother of Influencers in the agency due to my close connections with them!
We’re also lucky to have worked with some incredible brands and their influencers, including Boohoo, Missguided and Pretty Little Thing. They have stayed in our hotels, dined in our restaurants and enjoyed countless events. These close connections mean our clients receive incredible social amplification on a regular basis.
It’s not just UK influencers we’ve had the pleasure to work with, we have also facilitated some incredible international influencers at our Manchester, Amsterdam and Ibiza venues.
Today we live in an incredibly fast-paced digital world, we are led by what is visually appealing to us. Go on Instagram and I have no doubt you’ll see something that catches your eye. Its a platform powerhouse and those with big follower numbers are currently ruling the world. As a specialist communications agency, it is key we work with those who are able to help us generate huge attention for our clients. I’ve become known as the ‘Mother of Influencers’, with one of my main focuses being to identify relevant influencer opportunities. PR has changed rapidly since I started out and as a communications professional, it is vital we move with the times and seize opportunities when they present themselves – I am loving riding the influencer wave and seeing where it takes us – I have no doubt it will continue.