Influencer marketing 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.

Ask An Influencer: How Did Instagram Become Your Job? (Refinery29)

Refinery29 spoke to Eugenie Grey, an NYC-based photographer about her journey into influencer stardom. Highlights include how she got her start, her perspective on being an influencer, and predictions for the future. According to Eugenie, “An influencer is someone people look up to — someone who hopefully uses that privileged position for good.”

How supplement company Seed aims to bring authenticity to influencer marketing (Glossy)

Seed, a supplement company known for its line of “synbiotics,” created a curriculum of sorts for prospective influencer partners. “Seed University,” as it’s education platform is called, includes a series of videos to help teach influencers about the company’s wares and proposition. Their goal is to increase transparency and trust in a health and wellness space they perceive to be fraught with misinformation.

Insights to digest:

Don’t Scoff at Influencers. They’re Taking Over the World (New York Times):

Times writer Kevin Roose reflects on his week spent at VidCon, where he realized just how influential influencers can be. He argues that their cultural dominance is not only an inevitability, but something already in motion. He even goes so far as to say that, second only to Donald Trump, influencers might be the best at attracting consistent attention to themselves.

Influencers Seek Wall Street's Help to Manage Newfound Wealth (Business of Fashion): As the business of influence expands, and some of the most successful ones can draw seven figure salaries from their endorsement deals, wealth managers are eager to take them on as clients. As influencers professionalize, protecting their brand and their wealth will be just as important as creating new content.

On the horizon:

Indian Instagram Influencers Have 16 Million Fake Followers (Vice):

A report published by Swedish e-commerce start-up A Good Company found that a majority of influencers from India engage in some form of follower fraud, with follower fraud being loosely defined as anything from buying followers, to engaging in “influencer pods,” to simply having “fake” followers.

$22.3 Bn Influencer Marketing Platform Market - Global Forecast to 2024 (Research and Markets via PR Newswire):

According to a report by Research and Markets, the $5.5 million industry of influencer marketing platforms is expected to reach a $22.3 billion valuation by 2024. Companies like Julius are leading the charge in market growth, as consumer attitudes towards influencers shift. As influencer marketing grows in popularity, so will the platforms that enable brands to tap into it.

What’s Julius up to?

This week, we released our latest Ebook, Solving Marketers’ Biggest Challenge: Finding the Right Influencer for download. An influencer marketing campaign is bound to fall flat if you don’t have the right influencer speaking on your behalf. Download our ebook to discover how to find the best influencers for your brand.

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