The Miner: Issue 13
Your weekly dose of OMG, LOL and WTF in influencer marketing by Brittany Hennessy
Hello beautiful people!
I have bad news. People are tired of influencers. And it’s not because they don’t want the latest in beauty products and travel itineraries. It’s because so many influencers wait until something is perfect to post it and then it all just seems so fake.
I recently signed up for Imperfect foods after seeing an unboxing with Brooklyn Decker come down my feed. I’ve always liked her, but I LOVED that in this video her nails were only done on one hand. ON ONE HAND? For #sponcon? Blasphemous! Maybe she did it on purpose, but I doubt it. I think she was busy, had content to create on a deadline, and gave viewers the real deal. Imperfect foods with imperfect nails? Perfect.
Constantly saying that “everyone has been asking me…” is the influencer equivalent of “people are saying” by he-who-shall-not-be-named. NO ONE ASKED YOU ANYTHING. Just say you had an idea and you wanted to share. Full disclosure I say this too, but people have actually asked me. I promise!
If you only read one article that I’ve linked (you read more than one right?) How Instagram Killed The It Girl should be it. A little taste:
“It Girls were once the trendsetters, but now they must personify already-approved trends in order to be desirable – their selfies merging with targeted advertisements as we mindlessly scroll.” Do you feel seen? Good.
Now I don’t think influencers should be the new versions of Paris, Nicole, Lindsay, and Tara, because they were a haute haute mess, but it would be AMAZING if so many of them didn’t have the same face, voice, and language. Hey guuuysssss. Welcome back! To myyyyy channel. Sigh.
This is my long-winded way of saying be yourself. People are already following that other girl.
Brittany
P.S. This is the last reminder that your favorite newsletter will switch to a paid model next week. If you’re not subscribed it will stop right here. But if you subscribe below by the 15th you’ll get 25% off forever and uninterrupted access to my gems.
Mood for 2020: if it don’t make dollars it don’t make sense. Now let’s get into this week’s edition of The Miner.
💎 Downtown NYC is looking for a summer “explorer-in-chief.” You’ll live rent free, and get paid to explore Manhattan. There’s no follower count minimum, but you must be over 21 so you can get your drank on. They’ll even cover your travel so apply and get ready to sublet your apartment. If you win, let me know!
💎 If you’re someone who likes to write or provide commentary on live events, Twitter is your jam. It’s also the bane of your existence because it’s where the trolls live. But that may change as the platform rolls out fleets. Viewers can only comment via DM and cannot reply to or retweet them. So essentially stories for Twitter.
💎 Influencers are changing up their #sponcon styles and announcing them like commercials. While we’ve yet to see how this impacts engagement, it will definitely keep the FTC from knocking on your door. And now a word from our sponsor…
💎 “When faced with a long to-do list, perfectionism would stop me from doing anything at all because I knew that there was no way I could do it all perfectly, and in my head, anything less than perfect would be a failure. And failure was terrifying. It was a really paralyzing thing.” This sounds like so many influencers I have coached but here’s a good article on unlearning perfectionism.
💎 New online privacy rules have left marketers a bit in the dark on how their audience perceives products and content. But the solution to this has been there all the long: influencers. Creators have first-party data that can be priceless to brands, if they know how to get it… and sell it. Thanks Roy Porter for the link.
💰When you become a business owner it can be tempting to pay yourself nothing and pour everything back into the company. It can be just as tempting to pay yourself the same salary you had in the corporate world, but leave little money for advertising and staff. Striking the right balance is difficult, but it can be done.
💰 Move over micro-influencers. Against all reasonable odds, the nano-influencer has prevailed. If you have at least 500 followers you’re eligible to make some money through branded content. If you’re not a BI Insider, you can check out Heartbeat here. I’m happy influencer marketing is shifting more towards storytelling. It’s why #creatorscollective exists. You guys are more than just your follower count.
💰 Meet Roger Wakefield, a plumber who just happens to be a Linkedin influencer. He posts how-to videos on plumbing, but also gives business advice. I’m sure he books clients because of his exposure, but he also was treated like a star at VidCon. If you can create content about business, don’t forget Linkedin. It’s a different audience than you’ll find on the other social channels, but that may be exactly who you are looking for.
💰 “Failure is not an option” is a popular saying that makes no sense. Sometimes a business just isn’t right and it will fail. That doesn’t mean YOU’RE a failure, it just means you need to take that knowledge and apply it to something else. Jamie Getto’s first business was destroyed before it even left the ground by circumstances beyond her control. But she credits what she learned to the success of her second business which raised $3.5 million dollars.
💰 This influencer moved 52,000 units of a beauty serum with a TikTok video. And you know she didn’t spend countless hours of her life scouting a location, shooting, and editing. You guys… TikTok is the truth. I’m going to post some videos. But they’re just going to be of me dancing so beware.
⚫ On Thursday afternoon the influencer community lost an OG when @marniethedog passed away. Her owner, Shirley Braha, wrote a touching tribute on Instagram and what really stood out to me was this line: “When I hear from people that Marnie has made them adopt their senior dogs it’s truly the most beautiful legacy she and I could hope to leave in this world.”
⚫ Over at the Hype House, which is pretty much the Real World for TikTok influencers, there is a legal battle between two members who decided to trademark the name around the same time. Most influencers trademark their names prematurely, but when there’s millions of followers involved, the claim to own a rising brand moves fast.
⚫ Why are tummy teas still a thing? The FTC just hit Teami (great name, horrible business) with a fine for claiming their tea can cure cancer. They also sent warning notices to celebs the company has worked with like Cardi B, Adrienne Bailon, and Jordin Sparks for failure to disclose. If you’ve ever wanted to read one of those letters you’re in luck. My favorite thing is that they are signed “Very truly yours.” You’re welcome.
⚫ Influencers are often dismissed as pretty women who take pictures or SAHMs with a little blog even when they are making mid six-figures. We all know this is ridiculous but Vickie Segar of Village Marketing and Village Studio put pen to paper and imagined what influencer marketing would look like if men were the face of the industry.
⚫ Between 3 Killed After Dry Ice Used for ‘Visual Effect’ at Instagram Influencer’s Party and TikToker 'almost dies' after getting stuck under frozen lake for viral video , I am over the internet. PLEASE STOP DOING DANGEROUS THINGS FOR THE GRAM. Thanks Bri Montgomery for the link.
That's it for this week's edition of The Miner. Don't forget to reply and tell me your thoughts or join the Carbon August facebook group and say hey!