“Mediocre Content Lives and Dies Almost Instantly”: Behind GALE’s Social and Influencer Expansion

Eri> Influencer content and social media go hand in hand, and I fundamentally believe that the two can’t exist without each other. Influencers – and creators more broadly - have helped social media platforms adopt users and scale to where they are now. They set the stage for what ‘good’ content looks like on social, and the general public engages with these platforms because they want to either be part of the conversation or get inspired by the influencers to create content themselves. We saw how this phenomenon helped catapult TikTok’s user adoption, and even when we think back to how a legacy platform like YouTube began, creators paved the way.

Erica> It’s important to understand the roles they both play in the marketing ecosystem. You need to consider both in order to have the strongest marketing plan or campaign. There is a lot of overlap when it comes to influencer content living on the creator's page or the brand’s channels with similar messaging stemming from both. However, there are times when the influencers are playing a different role than the brand. It’s important to have knowledgeable teams who specialise in the ecosystem of influencer strategy, as well as specialists who focus on social media strategy – because there are some underlying differences. To put it simply, social media strategy is looking at the overall picture of a brand’s narrative and how to amplify it across each platform, while an influencer strategy is harnessing the credibility of individuals with dedicated followers to promote brands, products or services.

Eri>  It’s such an exciting, pivotal time right now in the world of influencer marketing and social media because there are tensions on both ends to churn out best-in-class content. Mediocre content lives and dies almost instantly. My biggest pet peeve is when marketers refer to this world as the ‘Wild West’.” There is still a lot that is evolving, and trends, platforms, content styles, etc. come and go – which is part of why this job is so fun because it keeps us on our toes – but we are not operating in a wild landscape anymore. 

There are tried-and-true strategies for both influencer and social that brands need to learn from, and brands should pair that industry knowledge with learnings from their own content and influencer programmes. If you’re not constantly and consistently keeping a pulse on what’s working for both, you won’t be able to optimise quickly enough. Plus, platform algorithms can be ruthless. So, having a really solid team, both in-house and externally through a trusted agency partner, is key. Consumers these days are not afraid to call out brands and creators if content falls flat or something feels off. That being said, brands need to be willing to take a risk and have fun with it – being relatable and not taking it too seriously resonates well with the audience. So it’s really important that part of your social media team involves community managers who can keep a close eye on what the public is saying about your brand and your influencer partners and that you’re listening to make pivots in real-time.

Erica> The sky is really the limit! There are so many new platforms and new technologies coming into play. I come from Snapchat, so I have lived and breathed new products – AR or AI, for instance – that are launching every other week. There are many fun ways to test and learn what works with each client’s audience. Also, each platform is doing this type of testing, and how we partner on amplifying these tools can help us communicate with our audiences in new ways. I see influencer marketing as something that will continue to grow and evolve, moving into different mediums of marketing – whether it’s podcasting or app development. What I love most about social media and influencer marketing is you can dream most content plans into actuality. 

Eri> I’m beyond thrilled to be on this team at GALE! My first months have been filled with understanding how influencer and social can integrate into everything else we offer, and I’m looking forward to uncovering more ways that we can elevate strategies across the board. I’d love to see us leverage the power of influencers in other channels, such as email, loyalty / CRM and OOH, so the convergence of these channels excites me. To help us better serve ourselves and our clients, I’d also love to help build proprietary tools and resources for influencer marketing. To accomplish all of this, I’m honoured to be able to partner with other great leaders at GALE, both within the space and beyond, to lead the company into our second decade of excellence.

Erica> I am truly excited to work with some of the most amazing industry leaders here at GALE to build and scale a social-first enterprise that can really go above and beyond our clients’ expectations. It’s thrilling to be creating content and campaigns with some of the most pivotal clients and work out there. I want to bring GALE to the next level in this space by considering or developing new technologies, strategies and team development across the agency. 

Eri> One of the main reasons I joined GALE is that I hadn’t seen many integrated agencies build effective in-house influencer teams in a forward-thinking way. I love that we’re a ‘business agency’ and serve as consultants for our clients first. It’s a refreshing approach and pushes us to build truly bespoke strategies and campaigns for our clients rather than defaulting to the basics or a one-size-fits-all approach. Influencer and social shouldn’t live in a silo, and that’s why specialty agencies are going to continue to get acquired by more integrated companies. I believe this is going to continue to set us apart, and given the many talented people on the team, we’re absolutely going to continue to scale. This is just the beginning!

Erica>  I joined GALE because it has always been my dream to be a ‘mad man/woman’ in advertising, working with amazing talent to create culturally defining moments. It’s great to be part of an ever-evolving industry where not one day looks the same, and that’s why I love social media so much!