Matters of Influence: Week of 1/3/21

Influencer marketing news moves at the speed of social media. Every platform update, algorithm tweak, and current event makes a huge difference to the influencer marketer. We’ll help you keep up.

Featured headlines

Forbes Social Media Awards 2020: 16-Year-Old TikTok Star Charli D’Amelio Snags Person Of The Year (Forbes)

It comes as no surprise that TikTok cleaned up at the Forbes Social Media Awards for 2020. The platform won the Disruptive Innovator award, and featured in the “Forbes Forecast” for next year—however, the star was TikTok queen Charli D’Amelio, crowned the Person of the Year in Social Media. Since skyrocketing to stardom in 2020 and becoming the most-followed person on the platform, the top TikToker now works with brands like Prada, Morphe, and Hollister. Her story exemplifies the spirit of TikTok: anyone can be a creator, and everyone has the opportunity to rise to the top.

The 30 Best Creative Brand Moves of 2020 (AdAge)

While 2020 was a year full of surprises, swings, and misses, these brands made the most of the mess and created content that truly resonated with the public. Overall, themes of social good dominate the highlighted campaigns; in fact, five campaigns from this list (including Twitter, Uber, and Nike) were specifically dedicated to supporting racial equality. The other theme was partnerships with influencers, ranging from superstars like Eva Longoria to average Joes like TikTok’s Nathan Apodaca. Featured in two separate campaigns on this list, Travis Scott had partnerships with both McDonald’s and Fortnite—which both performed outstandingly well. Each was the first campaign of its kind for the brands, and like each other entry on this list, set an exceptionally high precedent for the future.

[INFOGRAPHIC] 7 Clever Tips to Develop Your Personal Brand & Win More Clients (Social Media Today)

A personal brand is a unique thing, and naturally, each one is different. Even though it may seem difficult to grow your own style and develop your unique brand strategy, achieving these goals comes down to a few essential steps. For example, finding your niche and target audience is the perfect place to start. Creating content and building your social media presence is the next step to developing your brand, and finally, networking and connecting with influencers aligns you with others who share your interests and values. Read more for specific tips, and advice from the experts.

Featured blog

There’s more to being a good influencer than what meets the eye. Whether you’re looking for one or looking to become one, understanding what makes a great influencer is the first step. We break down the qualities that set excellent creators apart from the rest, and explain the metrics that matter most to marketers. A combination of strong numbers with smart strategy makes an effective influencer—read more to learn how a dual approach to both sides of the equation can make your influencer marketing strategy the best it’s ever been.

Julius product spotlight

Vetting your potential influencer partners thoroughly is vital to maintain the integrity of the content they produce on your behalf. One of the best ways to get a gist of what branded output would be from the influencer can be found in their Brands Tab, and toggle over to the Posts View—this is where you can see all of their previous sponsored content, giving you an understanding of their capabilities and what they might be able to do for your brand. To get the most out of the Brands Tab, see this Help Center article.