The Outloud Group

*The Power of Instagram Stories!* Is it possible to drive traffic AND conversions with organic sponsored content on Instagram? Yes. Let’s talk about the power of Instagram Stories 💪 Instagram Stories can hold their own or serve as a fantastic supplement to an Instagram Post or Reel. Here are a few reasons why we ❤️ them: 1. The Features: Stories offer a wide variety of interactive features such as polls, stickers, and question boxes. These allow influencers to get creative with the content, lean into trends, and engage viewers in unique ways. The MVP feature? The clickable link! Because of this feature, Instagram Stories is the best way to drive traffic and conversions on the platform without deploying an ad campaign. 2. Authenticity: This is the place where influencers share more unfiltered and conversational content throughout the day making it a great way to showcase a brand as a natural part of their day. Repetition produces greater success, and we recommend developing longer term partnerships to drive home that this brand is a true part of the influencer’s life. 3. Audience: Audiences on Instagram Stories are particularly devoted and tuned in. These are the followers who care about what their favorite influencer is doing throughout their day and often feel like they “know” them. With this feeling, comes a sense of trust and loyalty that is invaluable to brand partnerships. Ready to start driving lower funnel metrics on Instagram organically? ➡️ https://bit.ly/49yL2Zg

Fresh data shows creators with 100k-300k followers deliver the best ROI. But that's only half the story 📊 — CreatorIQ's latest research confirms something we've seen in our campaigns for years. After surveying 1,138 brands, agencies & creators, the data revealed a fascinating pattern (something that echoes what we see working with some of the worlds biggest B2C brands): // WHAT THE DATA SHOWS: 35% of brands report mid-tier creators (100k-300k followers) deliver their highest ROI. But here's the twist: 38% of brands say established creators (300k-1M followers) are most critical for ongoing partnerships. Two different sweet spots: • Mid-tier for pure ROI • Established creators for long-term relationships that really do the heavy lifting for the brand // WHY IT WORKS THIS WAY: Mid-tier creators offer something special: • Large enough audience to drive meaningful results • Small enough to maintain authentic connections • Focused enough to truly know their audience • Accessible enough for genuine brand relationships • And let’s be honest — these creators still prioritize the dollars from brand deals as part of their income mix Established creators bring different strengths: • Proven track record of sustained growth • Professional approach to partnerships • Scale to reliably move the needle • Resources to maintain consistency • Experience running long-term partnerships & understanding the two-way nature of these deals // HOW TO USE IT: After analyzing thousands of campaigns, here's what tends to work: Start with mid-tier creators to test & validate. If you chose the right creators [identifying the right mid-tier creators isn’t easy and that’s a whole different topic for another day. TLDR: use historical performance data; don’t settle for a high-level brand fit], you'll likely see: • Strong engagement rates • Authentic audience connections • Solid conversion metrics • Clear performance data Then, scale with established creators who've proven they can deliver. This creates a powerful framework. Test with mid-tier → Validate approach → Scale with established creators → Build lasting partnerships // Focus on finding the right creators for your specific goals – not just the biggest names or lowest costs. #marketing #creators #strategy #data

With 2025 just around the corner, let's take a look at how your brand can activate with gaming next year! #influencermarketing #gaming

Biggest mistake I see? Viewing influencers as billboards instead of partners. ❌ Here’s how it looks: 👇 → Blast generic outreach to hundreds of creators → Focus solely on views and engagement metrics → Try to control every aspect of creative → Treat each campaign as a one-off transaction The problem is: creators are drowning in low-quality opportunities. What creators want is actually simple: - Be able to fully focus on their content - Build sustainable income streams - Work with brands that truly fit their channel - Partner with people they can trust One of the things we realized early on at Outloud: when you build a genuine relationship and ACTUALLY show up for creators – they want to help you in return. Not because of a contract. But because of trust — trust that you understand them and value what they’ve built. We ask creators: - How do you want to grow? - What's your vision for your channel? - What content makes you excited to create? - How can we help you achieve your goals? We’ve been at this for 17 years, and honestly: the magic happens when you shift from transaction to partnership: 🤝 When you understand a creator's vision, they're more likely to: → Bring you unique opportunities first → Give you preferred rates and placement → Create authentic content their audience trusts → Build long-term partnerships that grow over time No contract can create that kind of loyalty. That's the real magic of putting relationships first: a fulfilling, compounding, win-win partnership. That's not just feel-good advice – it's good business. // Build Boldly. #influencer #marketing #partnerships #creator

After over 15 years in business at Outloud, our biggest source of growth still comes from something incredibly simple. Looking back at different growth channels now, one stands out the most: client referrals. So naturally, when we saw clients coming to us via referral, we started strategizing how to grow the channel. It made sense on paper: - Talk to happy clients - Incentivize their referrals - Set up clear tracking - Enjoy the growth But as we started building it out, something began to bother me: adding financial incentives to client relationships for referrals, it felt... dirty. It just didn't work for us. So we shifted away from paid referrals and onto the thing we loved most anyways: execution. This DID work. We still got plenty of referrals, but it wasn’t because we paid anyone. They were coming from something more fundamental: Consistently delivering for our partners. Understanding their challenges. Exceeding their expectations. Making their lives genuinely easier. If you double- and triple-down on execution: - Clients stay for years - Trust deepens naturally - Opportunities expand - Word spreads organically The honest truth is: we grow organically because we do great work. In watching this organic growth, something simple became clear: true sustainability isn't built through growth tactics. It comes naturally from an obsession with execution. Here's what that actually looks like: - Knowing clients as people, not just accounts - Understanding their deeper objectives as individuals and as brands - Consistently going above and beyond — adding value beyond what you’re getting paid for - Building real, lasting relationships No tracking codes. No referral bonuses. No growth hacks. Just consistently excellent work. And the data supports it. Because when we focused on execution rather than sales, our clients became natural advocates. They share their experiences. They make introductions. They bring us to their next company. Not because we incentivized them. But because we earned their trust & they want to help people that they like. This path is very simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s not. Do exceptional work. Do it every single day. Keep your head on a swivel. // Build boldly. #marketing #leadership #growth #business #agencylife #influencermarketing

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I reflected on why some influencer campaigns succeed while others struggle. I keep coming back to great sports teams for the answer. And here’s the thing: the winning formula is surprisingly simple. You need the right players in the right positions. But don’t confuse “simplicity” with “easy”. Championship teams are effective because they have the right player in the exact right position to leverage their expertise and strengths. Remove any player, and the whole system starts to break down. I've noticed the same pattern in influencer marketing. After thousands of campaigns for brands like AG1, Fiverr, and Hungryroot, I’ve found there are three essential positions on a successful influencer team: The Strategists ⇒ These are our big picture thinkers: - See patterns across platforms - Understand deeper objectives & how they line up with different tactics - Know which plays will work (and why) They're like the coaches who read the whole field. Our Execution Team ⇒ These are our project managers. - Keep every campaign on track - Maintain quality control - Ensure flawless delivery even when challenges arise...especially when challenges arise They're our offensive line – not always in the spotlight, but nothing moves without them & wins happens because of their execution, which all too often goes unrecognized. Our Media Planners ⇒ These are our talent scouts. - Develop creator relationships - Negotiate partnerships - Find the perfect match for each brand by combing through data & knowing just when to strike. They're like our recruiting department, always searching for the next perfect fit. This is where I’ve seen most in-house teams stumble. Two patterns seem to emerge time and time again: They either: ➤ Spread one person too thin, asking them play all positions at once. ➤ Build complex team that cloud the core mission. Both approaches overlook something critical: Influencer marketing is very specialized, fast-moving, and not well suited to be handled as a general marketing function. If a brand is trying to have a fantastic marketer jump in and win in the team sport of influencer marketing, I see the same challenges come up again and again: - Staying current with constant platform changes and a growing creator landscape - Managing multiple campaigns while evolving strategy & looking around the corner to find what’s next - Over-controlling creator content instead of enabling authentic advocacy - Prioritizing perfect brand voice over genuine 3rd party advocacy The truth I keep coming back to: It's not about having the best players. It's about having the right ones, in perfect balance. // Build Boldly. #marketing #leadership #teambuilding #influencermarketing #strategy

When KitchenAid reached out to us to spearhead an awareness campaign for the revolutionary KitchenAid® 360° Max Jets™ dishwasher, we welcomed the opportunity with enthusiasm. Our first thought was to collaborate with none other than Bradley Steven Perry — his dynamic personality aligns seamlessly with the KitchenAid brand ethos. See how he brought the KitchenAid® 360° Max Jets™ to life!! --> https://bit.ly/3ZAovJd 🎉 The great work behind the scenes are Outloud's Lauren Doherty, Sara Dunham Korab, Kristin Verras, Rena Ikenishi, and Jackson V.! We have a track record of crafting tailored influencer marketing campaigns with (and) for brands -- and it usually starts with a conversation: https://bit.ly/49yL2Zg

There's something we don't talk about enough in agency life... The losses. So let’s talk about one of our biggest ones 👇 2020 and 2021 were a gold rush for digital agencies. Everyone was at home. Every brand needed digital presence. We all rode the wave. Then 2022 hit. Reality set in. Demand normalized. The industry stepped back. As the industry contracted, we felt the squeeze. A big client of ours, Grubhub, reevaluated their strategy and everything post-COVID. They were our longest-term client, and we’d delivered results quarter after quarter. We’d outlasted VPs. Thrived even with leadership changes at the very top & all levels in the marketing org. But in a market correction, sometimes track records doesn't matter. New leadership wanted a fresh start. Furloughs and layoffs ultimately happened, but HOW we handled them would define us. At Outloud, we don’t believe managing our P&L through layoffs. So we created a 10-step plan and shared it with complete transparency: "Here's exactly what happens before anyone loses their job." Step 1: Suspend parking benefits Step 2: Freeze hiring Step 3: Cut executive compensation Step 4: Reduce leadership salaries Step 5: Pause 401k matching Etc. Here’s what this did: the team knew exactly where we were in the process. No surprises. No closed-door meetings. Yes, we were going through some instability, but knowing exactly where we were in a very clear process allowed the team enough security to actually work. And because our team could actually focus on work, we could chase a very simple mission: • Weather the storm • ...and then BE the storm We didn't do anything fancy to get there, but we took the opportunity to make ourselves better: • We doubled down on our data and analytics capabilities • We strengthened our data systems (which are pretty bad-ass now if I say so myself) • We developed better creator and platform relationships to really ground ourselves No wild pivots. No chasing shiny objects. Just getting better at what we do best. Today, I'm filled with gratitude to share: We're hiring again. Four new team members starting within a month. Our growth outlook for 2025 is the strongest it's ever been. But that's not what matters most. What matters is we emerged with our soul intact. The lesson wasn't about avoiding tough decisions. It was about making them the right way: *Systematically Transparently With the long-term in mind* To my fellow leaders out there: create your crisis playbook now, while the sun is shining. Because how you handle the storms defines you more than how you celebrate the wins. Build boldly. Oh — and If you've weathered similar storms, I'd love to hear your story in the comments. #leadership #agency #business #growth #influencermarketing

It’s time to retire running influencer campaigns like a 1990s basketball coach. 👇 Remember that coaching style – where there’s an obsession with having the perfect center, the perfect shooting guard, the perfect power forward. Where every was position meticulously planned & perfectly executed... …but in isolation. Here's what I've learned after helping some of the biggest brands in the world run their influencer campaigns: success isn't about perfecting platforms in isolation. The truth is, I see too many brands trying to optimize their YouTube strategy, their Instagram approach, their TikTok game – all separately. Each with its own team. Each with its own goals. Each with its own playbook. And I get it. When I first started in this industry, that's exactly how we thought about it too. Platform by platform. Piece by piece. But just like modern basketball evolved beyond rigid positions to embrace positional flexibility, influencer marketing needs to evolve beyond platform-first thinking. The most successful campaigns we run today? They start with the needs of the business – not the platform. They focus on the whole game – not just individual plays. They optimize for impact – not channel preferences. Think about it: your customers don't live in silos. They move fluidly between platforms, following creators they trust, engaging with content that resonates. Shouldn't your strategy reflect that reality? I know it's more complex. I know it requires more work. But in 11+ years of running campaigns, I've never seen a brand regret breaking down these silos. So here's my challenge to you: Take a step back from platform-first thinking. Start with what your business truly needs. Let the platforms serve your strategy – not define it. Because in today's game, the winners aren't the ones with the perfect YouTube strategy or the perfect Instagram approach. The winners are the ones who know how to make it all work together and play the beautiful game. Build boldly my friends. #marketing #strategy #influencermarketing #leadership

We’re thrilled to continue our exciting partnership with Chomps, a brand that shares our passion for wholesome and delicious snacks. At the heart of this collaboration lies the importance of audience engagement. When a creator promotes a brand they genuinely love, their enthusiasm and authenticity shine through, fostering a deeper connection with their audience. This engagement not only amplifies the creator's influence but also strengthens the community's trust and loyalty towards both the creator and the brand. By interacting with this content, audiences can discover new products and be part of a shared journey towards healthier, tastier snacking. Check out just some of the comments left on our Creators' videos! Let’s keep snackin' with #Chomps! 👏 Here's to M. Mayumi Skorski, Lauren Doherty, Elena Gentner, and Gracie D. for their work on this campaign, and to the Chomps team (Allie (Baynes) Haida & Julia D.) for trusting us to deliver! 🤔 Curious about how we make this happen? Let’s talk: https://bit.ly/49yL2Zg #Outloud #TheOutloudGroup #InfluencerMarketing #InfluencerStrategy #YouTubePartner #TikTokStrategicPartner #MetaBusinessPartner