The Pulse Influencer Network recently sponsored a panel session at the AfricaNXT conference, which had seasoned panelists like Pamilerin Adegoke, Bidemi Akande, Ify Mogekwu and Fisayo Fosudo sharing insights on the topic Tapping into the Digital Age of Influencer Marketing
Here are some of the highlight quotes from the session:
“As an influencer, you’ve got to say to yourself ‘I really want to work with brands that will allow me to tell my audience the truth. Otherwise, you’re really starting to lose trust, not just for the brand, but with your audience as well, if you’re telling them ‘this is fantastic’ and it’s really not.”
– Bidemi Akande
“Traditional media organizations who are worried about losing their standards when it comes to working with influencers, simply have to pick the influencers they work with more carefully and leverage the reach and potential virality of social media. They need to understand that they can reach more people with social media and particularly through social media influencers. Apart from using traditional media which reaches an older demographic, there’s also an opportunity to reach younger people through social media.”
– Ify Mogekwu
“I think it’s very hard in the Nigerian context for an influencer to have been paid by a brand already and then to share a negative review of that brand. For influencers, I think it’s time for them to start to say no to some brands if they don’t feel like the product is good or when there’s no alignment between the brand and the influencer, like someone who doesn’t watch football, promoting a betting platform.”
– Pamilerin Adegoke
“What brands tend to do is to have a one-size-fits-all approach with influencers. It’s not necessarily going to be the same for every influencer. What I encourage brands to do is to talk to each influencer, and also consider multi-platform campaigns. And there are going to be influencers that you can probably use across different channels.”
– Bidemi Akande
“So [influencer marketing] is not going to be immediate, when it comes to returns, but it’s definitely valuable.”
– Fisayo Fosudo
“Whenever I work with any brand, I always request to use the product for a while and see how I can incorporate it into my life. I’m not going to talk about something that I myself will not use. The organic route just works all the time. Anyone who wants to be an influencer or help brands, you’ll want to make sure that you understand the product, and use it yourself.”
– Fisayo Fosudo
The Pulse Influencer Network is an Africa-wide network of influencers by Pulse that helps to bring influencers together and provides a platform where brands can partner with these influencers to drive awareness for their campaigns. This way, it’s a win for brands and influencers alike. Interested in working with influencers for your next campaign? Contact the Pulse Influencer Network here.