Inside The World Of Influencer Marketing With Jen Darmafall
Are you on Instagram? Most likely.
Have you heard of “influencers”? Probably.
If you haven’t, that’s fine, because we sat down with Jen Darmafall (an influencer marketer at Warner Bros Records!) and talked about the world of influencer marketing to give you the inside scoop.
As a college student, she was super interested in working in the music industry and was able to intern at a company doing social media for musicians. Once she graduated from college, she moved to LA and switched things over and started doing social media for influencers instead.
When she interviewed with a label, they offered a position that they created for her. Basically, they asked her to be head and in charge of all influencer-relations.
As she was first learning about influencers and influencer marketing, she understood quickly how important it is to understand the brand and its audience.
“It’s really just being more familiar with everyone’s branding as a whole and the audience-base behind all of that,” she says. For example, if someone asks for a dance influencer instead of a beauty influencer, she has to be able to make it work according to the brand.
In her experience, she’s seen every side to an influencer.
There are some people who are authentic and relatable without trying too hard. These people are able to naturally grow as an influencer.
And then there are try hards who get exhausted quickly. They stop posting on social media for a certain amount of time and then they’ll have to make a comeback video.
“The minute you stop thinking about the money or you skyrocketing to the top, and you really try to stay true to who you are, the creative ideas will come to mind,” Jen says.
Seriously though – stay true to yourself and your creative energy and being your authentic self, and your growth will come naturally. More and more people will be inspired and influenced by you because you’re relatable and wholesome, not someone who is doing the most.
There’s a difference between being an artist and an influencer. Jen believes that artists talk to their fans as fans and influencers talk to people as friends.
If we’re on Instagram, we’re being influenced. And if we’re artists, does that mean we are all influencers, too?
“We’re all influenced,” she laughs. “But stay true to yourself. Don’t try to be like everybody else.”
