Who is an Influencer Manager and how to become one? Tips for surviving in this profession.

“You can make millions in social networks” – more and more often you hear this phrase. However, not everyone is ready to become a blogger, not everyone is ready to broadcast their lives, their hobbies on camera. But being a blogger is not the only income in social networks, because in addition to blogging there are many no less profitable and promising professions, such as, for example, Influencers manager. What does an Influencer manager do, how to become one, what skills and qualities should one have? You will find out about all of this in this article!

The profession of Influencer manager emerged in the process of market evolution. First there were channels and authors who made content. Interesting content was followed by an audience, and the audience was followed by advertisers. Gradually, the need arose for managers and producers who help with organizing advertising placements: negotiate with the client, get the money, release the content.

Many companies now have the position of Influencer marketing manager. Influencer marketing managers can vary. For example, a personal blogger’s manager – their contact is usually listed in the header of the blogger’s profile, and it is the manager who conducts all negotiations with brands about advertising. There are Influencer managers who work at advertising agencies, which usually handle several different companies and brands, and the manager handles one or more different projects. And then there are Influencer managers, who work in the marketing department of a company or brand and negotiate advertising for the exact company they work for. I’ve worked as each of the above managers, and now I’m the head of Influencer marketing at a large online perfume and cosmetics store. Speaking of the profession of Influencers manager, I talk about it in this video.

My name is Tanya, and I’ve been in Influencer Marketing since 2014. During these 8 years I have managed to be in all the roles of this industry – from blogger to personal blogger manager, Influencer manager working in an agency and Influencers manager who works for a company. Each of these roles has its pros and cons, but they all have one thing in common – you must love social media, keep up with new trends and algorithms, always be in touch and be prepared to constantly have to communicate with different people online.

Tip 1: you must love social media, keep up with new trends and algorithms, always be in touch and be prepared to constantly have to communicate with different people online.

My first experience as an Influencer Manager was at an agency that did restaurant marketing. It was the most famous agency in my city that worked in this sector. They were approached by restaurants and cafes, and the agency assigned each client a manager who would come up with their own or develop an existing marketing strategy. My role, however, was to work with bloggers. I dealt exclusively with Influencers on all projects. My job was to find and suggest different bloggers to restaurants, and usually each restaurant had its own criteria for who they wanted to invite to promote – some wanted moms, some wanted trendy chicks, some wanted men or public figures, it all depended on the concept and the target audience of the place. Then, after agreeing on the bloggers the client liked, I invited them to the restaurant and then monitored the publications, making sure that all the conditions of collaboration were satisfied.

While working with the agency for the first time I faced the main headache of Influencer Managers – being between “two fires”. On one side is the client, who does not want to spend a large budget on advertising and wants high-quality and popular bloggers, and on the other side is the blogger, who wants fair pay for his time and his work. A manager’s first challenge is to learn how to negotiate, just like in the market. Convincing the advertiser to pay more when it is worth it, to knock down the blogger’s price, which is taken frankly “from the ceiling” – this is something that an Influencer manager regularly encounters. So, if you’re shy and don’t like to haggle – most likely a blogger manager is not what you need.

Tip 2: learn how to negotiate, just like in the market. Convincing the advertiser to pay more when it is worth it, to knock down the blogger’s price, which is taken frankly “from the ceiling” – this is something that an Influencer manager regularly encounters.

The second “headache” is the lack of commitment of some bloggers. Often you must remind and ask for the same thing several times. Sometimes bloggers don’t put the right marks, tags, or don’t follow the terms of reference. All this is the manager’s responsibility. Therefore, it is important to spell out all the terms of cooperation clearly and straightforwardly and agree on everything in advance. If the manager forgot to write any of the conditions, or missed something, the blogger can easily refer to this, and the unfulfilled condition will be the manager’s responsibility. Of course, there are dishonest bloggers who receive goods and then disappear, but in this case, there are usually “black lists”, which are maintained by managers and agencies.

Tip 3: clearly and straightforwardly spell out all the terms of cooperation and agree on everything in advance.

Now I work for a company, and all my advertising integrations are aimed at advertising our online store. We are building long-term relationships with bloggers, and since we are representatives of our company – it is extremely important for us to be a pleasant spokesperson, because often through us Influencers build their impression of the company. So, my current position has taught me the following: in any situation it is imperative to maintain a reputation, always be polite, and remember that any negative can always be turned into a positive.

For example, once a blogger received mascara that was leaking, and she wrote to me about the incident and sent me pictures. I apologized on behalf of the store and forwarded the request to the operators. The condition of the return was that she had to keep the packaging and return the damaged goods, but she had already thrown them away. Our store was cooperative, and even in this case we sent her new mascara, and she recorded a video saying that we solved the unpleasant incident in such a wonderful way and how happy she was with our customer service. This situation shows that a properly structured relationship with a blogger is very important to a company’s reputation, and the Influencer Manager is the responsible and connecting link in this process.

Tip 4: in any situation it is imperative to maintain a reputation, always be polite, and remember that any negative can always be turned into a positive.

To summarize all the above, I would like to mention that Influencer Manager is a great profession, where daily personal growth is happening and you always have to learn new skills, find new bloggers and new ideas to promote products, as well as learn how to find creative solutions in different complex situations. Just before you choose this interesting professional path, answer yourself the questions – am I ready to correspond with hundreds of different people online? Am I ready to be a spokesperson for a company in a controversial situation and can I answer tricky questions? Am I able to tell and explain the same things to people hundreds of times? If the answer is yes, then you can safely try yourself in this interesting direction!

Did you learn anything new for yourself from this article? What do you think about the profession of Influencers manager?