We hope you enjoyed our first #StateofInfluence feature from our 2019 State of Influencer Marketing Report, with influencer marketing expert, Jennifer Powell! This week, we're sharing our interview with mega-talented model and CEO, Georgia Gibbs.
Although Georgia Gibbs has seen an extremely successful career as a model, featuring in the likes of Sports Illustrated, she is also co-founder of body positivity initiative Any Body Co and CEO of JOY. Georgia shares extremely honest and inspirational posts on her Instagram of her personal journey to body confidence, and so we sat down to chat with her about the importance of authenticity when it comes to influencer marketing.
#StateofInfluence: An Interview with Georgia Gibbs
As an influencer, how do you choose which brands to work with?
I choose long term relationships over one-off engagements. That’s the biggest tool in choosing which brands I work with - my goal is to keep my page as authentic as possible so I build relationships with brands I love and/or use which makes the collaboration genuine. I also choose brands I work with based on their company ethics, environmental impacts and if they fit with my branding.
They need to be both empowering and ethical.
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According to you, what do you think audiences expect from influencers?
Audiences expectations vary influencer to influencer.
Personally, I know my audience expects “Georgia Gibbs the model” they expect to see my work life but they also expect to see Georgia off camera and they expect that to be a genuine reflection of who I am. Audiences are getting smarter and expecting more due to the saturation of the market so the key I believe it to just show your true self.
What is the key to maintaining authenticity when producing sponsored or collaborative content with brands?
I personally only work with brands I would use or wear. That’s the key to an authentic collaboration I believe the viewer and other brands are smart enough to see through this, so choose brands you LOVE, that way it’s more enjoyable anyway!
From your experience as both an influencer and a brand owner, what do you feel brands typically look for in an influencer when engaging a collaboration?
Brands obviously look for engagement, but I feel brands are really looking for influencers who know who they are and what they stand for because that’s what makes you stand out from the rest, it’s more than pretty pictures now.
What defines a great influencer marketing campaign?
Selecting a diverse ground of influencers from the demographic you’re targeting but all have common interests eg; fashion, beauty, fitness.. the more organic and believable the more successful.
What factors do you take into account to judge whether your campaigns or collaborations were successful?
There are a few, questions being asked from viewers, engagement and overall if it fits in with my page.
What challenges do you foresee for influencer marketing for both brands and influencers?
For influencers, I believe it’s simple, the saturation of the market. You have to recognize, I believe, what makes you, YOU and therefore different, this may not get you the most ‘likes’ but it will build you an authentic brand with longevity and that’s what is most important.
For brands I believe the same, it’s saturated with new business and start-ups, the most successful will be the most multi-platform and engaging with like-minded influencers ensuring you know what makes your company different and that’s easy to see. Pretty aesthetics are engaging but there are so many beautiful pages, find your point of difference.
Do you think more initiatives like Anybody Co will appear as a result of audience demands for influencer authenticity and representation?
Yes, they already have, anybody is two years old now and had a huge impact on the industry. The revolution of AnyBODY is my new company JOY, I have preached embracing yourself, your body and building strong women from the inside out. AnyBODY was the instigator and JOY is now the “how to” to building your best self starting from within.
Want to learn more top influencer marketing tips?
Download our latest State of Influencer Marketing report for 2019, to learn more about key influencer tactics, and how to achieve the best influencer-brand collaborations:
By Launchmetrics Content Team
The Launchmetrics content team is always on the lookout for new trends in the fashion and technology sector. We are geeks with style and lovers of good stories!
