One time I had an interview for one of the larger North American agencies that manage online influencers, despite them knowing very well that I am an “influencer” and them having a policy that they do not hire influencers. Fun fact, I have interviewed at pretty much all of the top agencies but never felt like any were the right fit for me. Personally, I think that this policy gives off “dated” vibes. I’ve been working in influencer marketing for a long time, a very long time. I have experience as an influencer/creator, talent manager, agency director and on the brand side of things. A brand is going to pick an influencer (or creator) because of their content, their brand alignment or because they want them based on their personal taste, following count or whatever factor they’re set on. This agency was pretty set on their way of thinking and didn’t like the idea of having someone who does brand deals working on their talent management team because of a conflict of interest.
On the flip side, many influencer talent agencies have influencers on staff and their talent roster is okay with that. If I am managing mommy bloggers and personally am not a parent, it’s unlikely the brand is going to want to work with me. It’s also unlikely your employee is going to be pitching themselves instead of their roster – again, a conversation worth having with your employees. A little bit of flexibility goes a long way for employees. I mean, they could just go work for another talent agency and make money from their personal brand and from their job.. right? Retaining your staff is a lot cheaper than hiring.
As a person.. a human.. a whatever.. I think it’s important that we do not let working for someone else hold us back from building our own personal brands. If you want to make money, you need to be influential. If you are influential, you will make money. Using employee and founder stories in marketing is not a new trend, but it’s something more and more companies are tapping into on social media because it works. I’ll use myself for example — more than 90% of my new business comes from my personal brand (not directly to my company!)
Why? Because they trust me and want to work with me. People buy into people. Of course, it can become a conflict of interest in certain situations but I don’t think it warrants a strict policy against letting any talent managers take on their own brand partnerships – even ones that are 100% not related to their job (ie. an inbound message from a brand that doesn’t work with your talent/employer)
Have tough conversations and be transparent, transparency always wins. Communication is key! If you’re not leveraging a personal brand, sharing the wins of your team or sharing your founder’s story, you’re cutting yourself short! Also, stop holding people back… or they’re going to leave.
