Never Underestimate the Influencer Impact

by Robert McEvily

Lauren Zupkus of CBS Interactive, who directs TV Guide's social media, was just in our office last week, and I caught a little of her conversation with Tania. "What do you think most marketers on social need to learn to do differently?" Tania asked. "How are they messing up?" Some answers in the video...



I caught up with Lauren afterward and asked a couple of questions of my own...

R: Who are your social media heroes?

L: My social media "heroes" vary because some are just personal heroes that keep me laughing and others are actually out there using their audience for good. I think someone who does a great job of both is @DaShareZ0ne on Twitter. It's run anonymously, has a niche, oddball sense of humor and usually posts memes about hating work and begrudgingly taking care of his friend Jeremy's iguana, but whoever the genius(es?) behind the count are, regularly encourage their followers to donate to organizations such as Planned Parenthood and EndHomelessness.org.

R: How would you describe the effect Influencers have had on marketing?

L: I think people underestimate just how impactful influencer marketing is for businesses. It's become so massive that laws had to be put in place so that people like Kylie Jenner must explicitly state that one of their posts for any given product, be it Fit Tea or gummi bears that make your hair grow, is an "#ad." But marketers have to be strategic about how they choose their influencers and whether the influencer truly resonates with the product they're pushing, or it will come across as disingenuous and a sheer money grab for the influencer.

Meet Lauren on May 3rd in Times Square when she offers her social media strategies and advice at our inaugural INTERACT Summit. Use promo code YTUBE53 to save 15% when you register!

@laurenzup 
IG: @laurenzup