By: Charlotte Trattner By: Charlotte Trattner | September 29, 2022 | People,
Ryan Detert (@ryandetert), the founder and CEO of Influential, continues to set the pace of influencer marketing. As the largest influencer marking company in the world, Influential works with Fortune 500 clients, connecting brands with audiences and partnering with major social media platforms such as Meta, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and more. With more than 200 employees working with three million creators ranging from micro to mega creators with more than 50 million followers, Detert knows a thing or two about the power of influencer marketing.
Photo Courtesy: Influential
His company previously partnered with Forbes to create the Top Creators 2022. The compilation included 49 social media savants such as Charli D’Amelio, Alex Cooper from the “Call her Daddy” podcast, Patrick Starr and many more.
The Miami-native chats with Ocean Drive about the power and reach social creators hold and the key to this marketing venture.
What makes Miami a unique place for influencer marketing?
Miami is the hottest city in the world right now. Creators, VCs, brands, web3 companies and founders have all joined the community in the past couple of years and supercharged the industry.
How has Influential changed since its inception?
Back in the early 2010s, I was an influencer. First, I had 30 million followers on Twitter and Instagram; I have no talent- I don’t sing or dance, but I built “niche” accounts. I later realized that if I didn’t have the technology and didn’t provide brand safety, media or measurements, I couldn’t open up the dollars of brands or agencies. So it started as a way to create content and monetize individual accounts and has become technology to democratize every creator making money by pairing with their favorite brand.
How have you seen the influencer scene change in the past ten years?
Today, everyone cares about the creator. They’re sharing their lives and being very personal. In the early days of influencer marketing, it used to be more of a publication. It evolved from mid-2010 to where it is now. Social media has now become a way for you to not only grow an audience and monetize it but it’s a way to shape a narrative around your life. It’s what allows people to become a celebrity chef or lets them become the next TikTok dance Hip-Hop artist. What initially started as a way to aggregate content into a channel has now become every single person. Every creator is their own media company.
What do you think makes influencer marketing so successful?
It goes back to pretty simple principles. We spend the majority of our time during the day on our phones, and the number one most used application will be some form of social platform, Meta or TikTok or Youtube. So, the eyes of consumers are spending more and more time on these platforms versus linear or even streaming TV, so you automatically have an audience. You then have the creators themselves, so that checks the box for social; next is creatives. Having someone review a product and speak to someone in a relatable fashion is extremely powerful. It’s the same way you or I speak to a friend or family member and recommend a product. You say, “Alright, I trust you; therefore, I will try this product. It sounds like a great fit for what would help me in my life.” The same thing is now applied but at scale. So instead of doing it to a group of 3-5 people, it’s 50,000 to 5 million people, and that’s the power; it’s really maximizing the leverage of authenticity of the creators, and also their audience that is leaned in and trying to relate like a friend on social, or see them as an expert.
What are your future hopes for Influential?
Continued growth! We’re a nine-figure revenue company and we want to be the first influencer company to ten figures, to be over a billion in revenue, and we’re on our way.
Ryan’s Favorite Miami Hotspots:
Restaurant: COTE Miami
Go-To Order: The A-5 Wagyu beef is the best I’ve ever had before.
Must-Visit Miami Scene: The Faena Lounge for live music, beautiful people and very good vibes.
Your favorite Miami activity: Just being poolside or at the beach, being outside and enjoying the sun. There are always good times to be had during a day outdoors.
Photography by: Photo Courtesy: Influential