Social & Influencer Marketing
Social Media Marketing
I believe in the power of a social media post, and that’s why I’m so passionate about it. Too often it’s an afterthought, which is wild given it’s your quickest point of contact with your audience. When I first stepped into the world of social media marketing, I was working at Bealls Retail Group. There wasn’t a dedicated plan or strategy around social. The posts were simply a copy-and-paste of the latest ad, which resulted in a grid that looked like this:
As you can imagine, follower counts were low, and engagement was even lower. (No shade to the person posting! She wasn’t a social media manager. They had the graphic designer handling it.) It was, literally, an afterthought. The brand had dipped its toe into the water of influencer marketing, but there were only four influencers posting twice per year. There simply wasn’t enough content — or really any at all — that worked on social media.
I quickly put together a proposal. It boiled down to this: Let me 1) work with our studio team to facilitate monthly social-dedicated photoshoots, and 2) bring influencer marketing in-house so we can stretch the budget further. More influencers = more social-friendly content. I also nurtured relationships with content creators and had many on a monthly retainer. Our content quickly started to look like this:
This resulted in a 265% increase in followers my first year. I also brought Bazaarvoice (FKA Curalate) onboard for a shoppable social experience, increasing revenue by $22.7K, with 90% of users coming from Like2Buy and curated shops being new customers.
Influencer Marketing
I’ve been on both sides of it, partnering with influencers in my time at Bealls Retail Group and KAY Jewelers, and working on the influencer side, creating content for the influencers themselves. My work with influencers, both on the brand side and influencer side, has given me a truly 360-degree view of the process and what it takes to make a partnership work.
On the brand side of things...
I’ve spent my career managing campaigns for national brands like KAY Jewelers and Bealls Retail Group, leading everything from high-profile celebrity activations to partnerships with macro influencers to UGC-focused projects with content creators. From sourcing and negotiating to contracting and briefing, I’ve seen influencer partnerships from the very start to the very finish, and it’s some of my favorite work I’ve ever done.
On the influencer side of things...
In addition to working for national brands, I’ve also worked on the influencer side, creating social content for and managing @LeanneBarlow’s and @MommaMandyBlog’s websites, blogs and weekly email newsletters. I viewed each post (e.g., “My Fall Favorites”) as an opportunity to develop full-funnel content strategies
My work with influencers, both on the brand side and influencer side, has given me a truly 360-degree view of the process and what it takes to make a partnership work.