This week, I traveled to Chicago for a meeting with client. I was free for the night, so I took the opportunity to attend a meetup organized by Amare Influence focused on influencer marketing in 2024.

Influencer marketing is completely new to me, I’ve never worked with social media influencers, only with bloggers and those are an old school breed. But as part of TheoryDigital, I’ve been working with real estate people as well as a consultancy in the import-export sector. Cosmetic exporters in particular are considering partnerships with US influencers.

You better dress the part

At the meetup, I noticed that many influencers were surprisingly hesitant to engage in conversation. So very different from the vibrant online personas we all know!

If there’s one thing I took away, it’s that when dealing with influencers, you need to look the part. I showed up in my regular clothes, and smart casual just wasn’t enough to convey that I was a marketer. People felt uncomfortable because they couldn’t immediately tell if I were an influencer or someone looking for influencers.

They couldn’t tell from the get go how to engage with me. Most influencer-hunting marketers at the event were dressed in classic black pants and blazers, while anything else seemed reserved for the influencers.

Such a very different experience than in the tech circles we usually frequent!

This experience highlighted the complexities of networking in the influencer space. It made me ponder how visual cues impact initial connections and what this means for authenticity in marketing.

As we continue to navigate this evolving landscape at TheoryDigital, insights like these are invaluable for understanding the dynamics at play.