A healthy debate about the authenticity of blogger endorsements is currently surfacing amongst different factions of the influencer marketing community [A recent article on Mumbrella can be found here]. I think it’s important to acknowledge this is a marketing channel that’s rapidly evolving and we all have the opportunity to learn, grow and shape its future, together. The more data we can capture, analyse and share will no doubt help both brands and marketers to better define successful terms of engagement. As a marketing channel in its infancy, we cannot necessarily draw hard and fast conclusions about its success, but we can test and try new things to better understand how to harness its power. What we do know, is there are a number of important factors we should take into consideration when striving to achieve a successful influencer marketing campaign [you can read about this on our blog here]. These factors should be considered regardless of the type of influencer you’re looking to collaborate with.

I agree with Philippa Whitfield Pomeranz and Rebecca Buttrose, creators of Fashion Bloggers TV, that an enhanced profile does not necessarily jeopardise a blogger’s position as authentic and relatable but I think what will jeopardise their authenticity, is working with brands that are not aligned in terms of audience or failing to disclose to followers that a commercial relationship exists. One of the dangers of inflating our everyday bloggers to celebrity status is the risk they are then not able to maintain genuine relationships with their followers. Knowing how your audience responds (in terms of likes, follows, comments and sales conversions) does not equate to ‘knowing’ your followers. Keeping it ‘real’ means taking the time to get to know your audience and responding to comments, questions and feedback, either individually or collectively. Furthermore being clear with your followers about what is endorsed is also important, as it builds trust and further strengthens the relationship with them.

Bloggers are definitely smart and savvy business men and women. Whether intentional or otherwise, they are building small media empires that will become the future of digital advertising. The challenge will be how they balance their rapid growth while staying true to who they are and genuinely maintaining the engagement with their readers. In the evolution of their own brand and business, bloggers need to continually innovate and become more creative about how they work with brands. Many brands are looking for guidance about how best to work with bloggers. At Shopping Links we offer some ideas and suggestions of how bloggers and brands are able to collaborate, but the true value comes when a blogger and brand work together to create something special that will resonate well with their collective audience. I believe it all starts with audience. The most successful collaborations are created when the blogger’s audience is the right fit for the brand.

I firmly believe the most successful digital influencers of the future will be those that know their followers intimately. Like any brand or business, knowing your customer is critical. Who are they? How old are they? Where do they live? etc. At Shopping Links we recognise how important this information is and strive to help each and every blogger get to know their audience more intimately. We help them understand and present their data in a way that creates transparency and trust with brands. The result is a collaboration that is more likely to have a positive outcome for both the blogger and the brand. Testing here to see if we can edit using this tool.

Written by Kim Westwood, Founder and Managing Director of Shopping Links, a cost effective Influencer Marketing platform that connects bloggers with brands for the purpose of collaboration.