Influencer DNA: Everything You Need to Know About Influencer Marketing

Are you a brand interested in influencer marketing? If not, you should be. Statistics show that today's creator economy is worth £100 billion, influencer marketing earns 11 times the ROI of a standard digital campaign, and a whopping 74% of people use social media to discover products and make purchasing decisions.

We caught up with Julian Slosse, Co-Founder of Influencer DNA - the matchmaking database for brands and influencers to collaborate. Influencer DNA were a key partner at our virtual tradeshow, Meet-Your-Match, and Julian hosted a workshop on influencer marketing. If you missed it, read on to learn more about their services, why you should be working with influencers and more...

Tell us about Influencer DNA - what does your platform do, how does it work and who would benefit most from using it?

IDNA helps small/medium brands to engage and activate audiences worldwide through top influencers. We develop and execute creative influencer marketing strategies to amplify your brand story at scale and reach millions of people.

Why should brands use Influencer DNA? What should brands look out for when choosing the right influencer?

It’s easy to waste hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of pounds on using outdated marketing techniques; the wrong channel, the wrong influencers or targeting the wrong buyer. Working with Influencer DNA ensures you know exactly who to target, why, and how. It all starts with giving brands the opportunity to find the influencer that really resonates with their brand. We do that by offering them 100+ data points of every single influencer on our platform. Whereas other platforms offer 5-15 data points.

9/10 times this is the main reason why collaborations between brands and influencers don’t work out. Nice content on instagram is not enough to start a collaboration with an influencer. You really need to get to know everything about your influencers to turn him/her into a brand ambassador.

What sort of results can brands expect from you?

We ensure that you reach the right influencers, which will result in increased sales, brand awareness and ultimately a seamless digital presence.

How can independent brands/small businesses benefit from using Influencer DNA? What’s the difference between using your service or going to an agency or directly managing teams?

Trust and authenticity are the main reasons why influencer marketing works. Consumers want to know that it’s not just money behind paid ads or an agency that only focuses on achieving KPIs and optimising ROI’s. They want to know that these influencers actually believe in the brand. Working with an agency can bring incredible results to a brand, but there’s always a middle man involved – it’s less personal. Brands need to move away from transactional collaborations with influencers and start focusing on finding brand advocates.

Can you share any success stories for beauty brands who have used your service?

IOOX Labs, a cosmetics company based in Spain, has been using IDNA for the last 6 months. In such a short period of time, they have increased their Instagram engagement with end-customers and their sales with an ROI of 6 on every euro spent.

Is your platform useful for creating long-lasting relationships with influencers, or one-off campaigns?

Our platform is useful both for creating long-lasting relationships with influencers and one-off campaigns. It all depends on the goal that you want to achieve. We will provide you with an unlimited list of influencers that match your requirements, and it’s up to you to use this list the way that it best suits your goal. We will always advise brands to focus on long term collaborations as they bring the best results.

Can influencers discover brands through the platform too?

Absolutely! Our platform is a matchmaker between brands and influencers.

What does the future of influencer marketing look like to you?

In the last few years, influencer marketing has become the hot new strategy for brands who are looking to expand their reach, increase brand awareness, and boost conversions. In fact, a whopping 93% of marketers now practice influencer marketing. And this tactic has proven to be so effective that, in 2020, 69.8% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget.

Alejandra and I have both worked at innovation agencies and are up to date with what the future looks like for companies. We see influencer marketing as the way to get real connections with customers and the key to survive in this fast-paced digital world.

Here are some numbers and statistics that I think are relevant and important to know, and hopefully they'll convince you to start using influencer marketing...

● $100 billion — Estimated size of today’s creator economy.
● TikTok reached 1 billion active users in September 2021, a rise of about 950 million users from January 2018.
● Today, more than 50 million people consider themselves a creator despite the creator economy only existing for about a decade.
● There are more than 30 million YouTube channels uploading 500 hours of content every minute.
● Children in the UK and US are 3 times more likely to aspire to be a professional YouTuber than astronaut.
● Charli D’Amelio earned $17.5 million in 2021, making her the highest-earning TikToker with 133 million followers. TikTok stars like her can charge up to half a million dollars for one sponsored post.
● 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends, family, and influencers
● 70% of teens trust influencers more than traditional celebrities
● Influencer marketing earns 11x the ROI of a standard digital campaign
● 74% of people use social media to discover products and make purchasing decisions