The media landscape has undergone seismic shifts in recent decades. The days of gathering around the television to hear the stately newscaster explain what was happening at home and around the world are long gone. The rise of the internet, social media, smartphones, video streaming platforms, and now, AI have all played a role in blurring the line between journalism and entertainment, marketing and news, information and propaganda. All exist in a murky grey area now.
High-profile scandals, whistleblowers, and leaked information from deep within the inner sanctum of power have changed the way that the average citizen views the information landscape. We are now living in what experts refer to as a “low-trust society” where there are few universally respected authorities. Instead, people look to the personalities and influencers that they have developed relationships with online.
This shift has opened up the playing field and a wealth of opportunities for a more diverse range of voices to be heard by a broad audience. The barriers to becoming known, and having your ideas heard have been reduced, and the power to choose which voices rise to the top lies with the public rather than the CEO of a media conglomerate.
Audiences develop strong loyalties with the top personalities or influencers and they tend to trust voices that are somewhere in the orbit of the core influencers that they follow. Partnering with influencers who have a dedicated following and the trust of their audience offers a potent opportunity to expand your own reach. When you collaborate with influencers, you're not just investing in their platform—you're tapping into their credibility and the genuine connection they've fostered with their community.
There are a variety of ways for brands, publishers, and journalists to work with influencers from fun, immersive online guest hosting gigs (also known as “account takeovers” in some circles) where influencers “take over your channel for a couple of hours, engaging with your audience directly, to traditional endorsements and shout outs.
The specific influencer, and the type of collaboration you choose can have a significant impact on your success so choose carefully. Finding the right influencers is like choosing a new member for your team. They should align with your brand ethos and communicate your message effectively.
Here’s how you can leverage the latest technology to find the ideal influencer collaboration for your brand.
Finding the Best Fitting Influencer Partnerships
When you're seeking influencers, it's crucial to align with individuals who share your brand's core values for a consistent message. Take the time to watch or read a wide range of content produced by any influencer you are considering collaborating with. You want to look beyond the number of followers that a particular influencer has, to find out how they engage with their audience, what their core values are, and whether those values are a good fit with your brand values or messaging. Remember, the core value of an influencer partnership lies in expanding audience reach. You want to make sure that you are gaining exposure to an audience who is likely to appreciate your brand, or your work to get the full benefit of the outreach.
Leveraging AI to Streamline the Collaborative Content Creation Process
While sentiment among creators is still mixed when it comes to embracing artificial intelligence (AI), there is no getting around the fact that it has been a complete game-changer for content creation. It is also a fact that AI is not going to suddenly disappear. Love it or hate it, AI is going to be a fixture in the world of online content production for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, it makes sense to explore the ways that you can leverage AI to help you streamline and perhaps even improve your collaborations and your personal content creation.
Ai is a data-analyzing powerhouse. You can supercharge your influencer search by using AI to analyze social platforms or influencer profile listings creating a short list of the influencers who meet a specific set of criteria dictated by you. You can also use AI to analyze your own content engagement stats to gain insight into what resonates best with your audience and what falls flat.
Here’s a breakdown of the core advantages of incorporating AI into your social strategy.
- Influencer analysis: Leverage AI to find the influencers that match your brand or messaging best
- Audience research: Use AI tools to learn more about your audience. Which platforms do they use most? What other brands and personalities do they like? Which causes do they care about?
- Content Personalization: AI can custom tailor your content to match your audience, or help you easily create different versions of your content for different subsets of your audience.
Maintaining Journalistic Integrity & Audience Trust
It has never been easier to reach a new audience or create custom-tailored content. Only your imagination limits the opportunities. However, having this much creative freedom, and endless data at your disposal does demand that you exercise caution and make sure that you do not overstep the ethical boundaries. Any time that you partner with another creative, or bring AI into the creation process, you are compromising some part of your unique process. As important as partnerships and endorsements can be, your reputation and your integrity are non-negotiable. Your reputation is your most valuable asset, so protecting your credibility should be the top priority in any influencer partnership.
With that in mind let’s wrap this up with a few best practices which will help ensure that you retain the trust that your audience has placed in you.
Don’t Keep Secrets
Always be upfront and honest about the extent of your influencer partnerships. This reinforces to your audience that you are open, honest, and have nothing to hide. Transparency builds trust, and trust is essential in maintaining a credible relationship with your readers or viewers.
Get It In Writing
Strong disclosure policies and robust contracts will also help you stay on the right side of the law and ensure that you retain the right to use the collaborative content now, and in the future. Paid content from sponsors must be clearly delineated from unbiased reporting and kept separate from editorial decision-making.
Fact-Check EVERYTHING
Be diligent about verifying the accuracy and truthfulness of any content being shared by influencers. Even when influencers are the ones conveying the message, the information ultimately reflects on your credibility and reputation. Fact-check influencer claims, statistics, and product information rigorously, just as you would for any other reporting.
Remember, the idea of a collaboration is to grow your audience and boost your reputation. You don’t want to jeopardize your reputation with sloppy reporting, or content that feels manipulative or compromises your integrity in any way. Your audience will appreciate your commitment to honesty and accountability, fostering stronger, more trusting long-term relationships.
