Why Brands Must Develop Clear Core Values Before Hiring An Influencer

Know Your Goals

If you haven’t defined your brand’s core values, how can you expect an influencer know what your brand stands for?
Fabian Geyrhalter is a master brand maker. He believes that a brand’s core values need to be clear before any other steps are made. He also encourages brands to transform those core values into actionable steps for themselves and their employees. The clearer your internal goals are, the more an influencer can authentically engage with those values and help you promote your brand to your consumer. And that’s what brings in sales.
FINIEN is an organization dedicated to brand strategy, naming, and identity. They work to transform your product or service into a company that will stand out and deeply resonate with your audience.

In This Episode

• Why it’s key to know your core values before hiring an influencer
• How to come up with values that have clear, actionable goals
• Why influencers are more powerful if they believe in your messaging
• How to know what data is helpful, and when to go with your gut
• Why social listening will help your brand connect with your audience

Quotes From This Episode

“The first things that I like to figure out are: What is the platform? What is the foundation? What is the brand built on?” —@FINIENInsights
“Keep it to three core values that are very actionable, very human, and that slightly hint at your product without being solely focused on the product.” —@FINIENInsights

“One thing that I would always want to make sure that the brand actually distributes to the marketer and influencer is what they stand for, what their values are. And are those values that the influencer can share? Because, in the end, it’s all about shared values. It comes back to the ideas of empathy and authenticity, which are the two big words when it comes to influencer marketing. I think that’s really important, that’s how it turns into something that is authentic.” —@FINIENInsights

“Knowing that answer to the question “why?” on the brand level might very well educate influencers to be more deeply engaged with what they’re actually selling.” —@FINIENInsights
“If you create values that actually go across all of the different human touch points, all of the different people that your brand’s actually exposed to, I am almost certain that, when a marketer and influencer sees those values as part of their belief, that they feel inspired by it.” —@FINIENInsights
“I feel the most important thing is to do the social listening up front, to make sure that you actually understand what the sentiment is already, and then you create parameters around that.” —@FINIENInsights

Resources

• In the News: 6 Quick Steps to Jump-Start Your Influencer Marketing Program
• Fabian Geyrhalter twitter: @FINIENInsights
• FINIEN
• Whole Foods
• Patagonia
• Shinola

Would You Rather

Would you rather not shower for a month or not sleep for a week?
What did I get myself into? Not shower for a month or not sleep for a week. Boy, I guess I might not survive not sleeping for a week, so I’d go for survival instinct and I would just be dirty and make it a social experiment.
Would you rather have an elephant’s trunk or a giraffe’s neck?
I think a giraffe’s neck because, as a brander and a marketer, I need to always peek into what’s coming up and what’s around the corner so, yeah, giraffe’s neck.
Would you rather be a professional clown, full-time mind you, or a priest?
Wow, definitely a priest, and I am not religious. But definitely a priest, because a professional clown, in my eyes, is the saddest and so-split personality infused profession that I don’t think I could handle it for a single day.