Karin Swanson, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Julius, a leading influencer marketing platform, will be presenting at Social Media Week Los Angeles on Thursday, June 13. This is the second Social Media Week panel for Julius this year, after Danny Palestine, Head of Product Marketing at Julius, led a panel at Social Media Week New York in May. There, he looked at the quantitative aspects of Julius' State of Influencers Report 2019, a survey-based research piece prepared in coordination with New York public relations and digital marketing agency, Lippe Taylor.

"As the influencer marketing industry has blossomed, there have been plenty of reports looking at how agencies and brand marketers are engaging with the practice," said Danny Palestine, Head of Product Marketing, Julius. "We wanted to provide the other side of the story and conducted an in-depth survey of 300 influencers. The crowd at Social Media Week New York was highly receptive of our findings.”

Key insights from the report include that 25 percent of respondents consider being an influencer a full-time job, 61 percent are looking to build long-term relationships with brands, and 80 percent consider it very important to be a fan of a brand to create sponsored content for that brand. Instagram also emerged as the king of social and digital platforms, leading the pack for platform notoriety, growth, engagement, and how it allows influencers to express themselves in an authentic way.

In Los Angeles, Karin will explore the qualitative results of the State of Influencers Report, diving into the advice influencers provided to marketers. Karin will host a panel discussion with three influencers to get their take on the advice of their fellow creators, as summarised in the ebook Five Dos and Don’ts of Working with Influencers.

"Influencers are a diverse group, but there are some common themes in the advice they have for marketers," says Karin, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Julius. "We learned how important it is for brand marketers to be good partners, offer a fair value exchange, communicate clearly, and respect an influencer's creativity. As the industry matures, the balance of power is evening out and best practices that serve all parties involved, including influencer followers, are starting to emerge."

Catch Karin’s Social Media Week presentation at The Broad Stage, Santa Monica, at 11:35am on Thursday, June 13.