My 6 Takeaways of Brittany Hennessy's "Influencer Building Your Brand in the Age of Social Media"
I truly enjoyed reading the “Influencer, Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media" by Brittany Hennessy. I kept seeing it all over Instagram and naturally thought I had to read it. It’s interesting how I even came across buying it, I was at Target of course and felt the need to visit the book section, I look over to the bottom shelf and saw this little ray of light shine on the book. It was the last one and it was on sale. How could I pass it up?!
I thought this would be another book full of “fluff” and thankfully it proved my assumptions wrong. There are so many highlighted pages and written notes I made, so you know it’s good information! For those individuals and businesses seeking to understand what Influencer Marketing is, this book is for you. Keep reading to check out my 6 Takeaways!
1. Influencer Marketing is Misunderstood.
Brittany Hennessy states that influencer marketing leaves a bad taste in most people’s mouths, due to the misinformation spread about it. This is unfortunate because influencer marketing is only getting bigger and better. This type of marketing is allowing small and large brands to connect better with their audiences. Which leads me to my next point.
2. B.H. Goes into Depth of Your Audience and the Work Required at each stage of your Follower Growth.
Don’t commit hashtag abuse, 5-7 will get the “job done” or you’ll end up inviting the wrong people (those lovely spam hair pages) to your account. Which can distort your actual follower count.
Find your “why” (what are you passionate about enough to share the many aspects of what you love?) This is a great exercise to constantly update, as your views change and grow along with your passions.
I love how she points out that we all started with “Zero followers”, it’s a reality check that you have to put the work and effort into engaging with your audience.
On p. 63, I preach this to my clients, “Comments are the lifeblood of content creators”. If your audience is taking the time to comment of the work you just posted, it’s ideal to respond. By doing this, you’re conditioning your community to engage with you. Also another great point, try asking questions at the endof each post to truly engage with your audience, remember they are the backbone for why you’re an influencer.
3. Track the metrics that matter.
If you can bring more than being just a pretty face to the table, you'll have a higher chance of being booked and busy my friend.
Along with running your blog and staying engaged with your audience, it’s good business to track and understand your metrics. Google Analytics is your best friend, as it helps you understand the demographics of your followers, so you can create more content based on this data.
I also learned that there is an Engagement Formula, it’s [Likes + Comments]/ Followers @ time of post= engagement rate.
Other great resources to check out, influencermarketinghub.com and hyprbrands.com (free search & more detailed information on your audience p. 80)
4. This is Still Work, You Know?
Being a part-time & full-time influencer takes effort. This position is just like any other job and requires the same, if not more, professionalism in this industry.
Here are some important skills to have when working with brands so you can stay booked.
Know how to pose for a photographer, model experience isn’t required but since most brands have a schedule to shoot, it’s best to have this skill perfected.
Know how to speak on camera, you may have to work the red carpet from time-to-time and take direction well. (more on p. 82)