Connecting Brands and Influencers: The Case of The Irish Blogger Agency

Influencer marketing is increasingly being integrated as a part of a firm’s overall marketing communications strategy. Despite the many opportunities this relatively new marketing strategy provides, such as the ability to reach a wider audience, grow brand awareness, and encourage engagement and conversion, several challenges persist, from finding influencers who are a good fit for the brand to pricing arrangements, co-creation of content in different media formats, evaluating campaign success, and contractual agreements. Developing a collaborative influencer marketing relationship can be an overwhelming undertaking. This chapter explores the role of influencer marketing from a social media context, and describes how influencers are categorized according to their follower count and level of influence. The benefits and drawbacks of engaging in influencer marketing are highlighted. The agency’s role in bridging the gap between both parties, the influencer and the brand, is explored from the perspective of the Irish Blogger Agency, a third-party marketing agency that specializes in influencer marketing. This agency serves as an important intermediary between brands and influencers, and describes how they facilitate influencer marketing collaborations through an online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace platform. The chapter closes with practical managerial recommendations.