Paul Cazers, a digital talent agent at Creative Artists Agency (the agency that represents YouTube sensation Logan Paul), also stressed how important it was for marketers and brands to partner with digital influencers at this week’s ITP Live Conference
Cazers’ job is to bridge the gap between social media talent and traditional Hollywood. This includes securing lead roles for his clients to act in major feature films and acquiring high-level brand deals.
Throughout his talk, Cazers discussed how many brands understand the power of influencer marketing, but are uncertain how to tap into it.
“[Brands] know what the curve is, but they don’t know how to get there. They hear ‘Social Influencer’, ‘Digital’ . . . They know everybody is watching their cell phones instead of the television screen. But I don’t know that many have connected the dots in the most effective way yet.”
Although working with social media stars may differ from working with traditional celebrities, Cazers emphasized the power that young influencers have over their peers. He had a few word of advice for brands and marketers looking to start working with digital influencers. Here are his tips below.
If You Aren’t Already Working With Influencers, Start ASAP.
Cazers made it clear that if brands and marketers aren’t already working with digital influencers, they should start.
“You know television is compressing, the spends are compressing. It the same with print,” Cazers said. “You know people are on their phones. You can get the analytics and the data of a campaign that you do . . . You can see what the engagement was . . . You can measure [the ROI] almost immediately.”
Therefore, according to Cazers, tracking the success of a campaign with an influencer is easier and more accurate, than other forms of traditional marketing. Put succintly, it’s very much in a brand’s best interest to work with digital influencers.
Cazers talking with ITP Media Group Chairman at Sunday’s ITP Live Conference
Work With High- Level Influencers, That Have High Engagement From Their Audience.
Brands and marketers should focus on working with the best possible digital talent they can access. What does that mean, according to Cazers?
“Work with influencers that are winners,” he said. “I think a distracting number is the number of subscribers influencers have . . . particularly on Youtube. Because that’s always the biggest number.”
Subscriber engagement is more important than the number of followers an influencer may boast. Cazers also stressed that companies should seek out partnerships with influencers that have high rates of engagement from their audiences.
“Engagement is the total key,” Cazers said.
He explained how Logan Paul may not have as many followers as some other Youtubers, but he secures five times the amount of engagement in comparison.
If You Can’t Work with Logan Paul, Find An Influencer That Is Uploading Content Consistently.
Successful influencers of all levels upload quality content on a regular basis.
“The other secret to the people [that are] winning, is that they’re posting consistently. The audience gets used to seeing content, almost at a certain date and at a certain time,” Cazers said. “If I were a brand, that’s the kind of talent I would want to work with, because you have a continuous audience.”
According to Cazers, if a brand doesn’t have the scope to work with a superstar influencer like Logan Paul, they should focus on working with micro-influencers that upload content consistently.