Footwear Insight

By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry W hen you think about "influencers," who comes to mind? It might be Kim Kardashian West, who has promoted diet products, teeth whitening prepa- rations and vitamins as well as her own beauty lines to her 144 million followers. But it could just as easily be a blogger whose style you covet or an athlete whose training routine is #goals or a mom whose take on parenthood resonates with you. You probably follow some of these people on social media already — influencers are a fixture of the beauty, travel, fashion and sneakerhead worlds. You've probably seen some of the products, routines or services your favorites have endorsed, and you may even have bought some of them. But have you considered influencer mar- keting for your shop? While a lot of press has revolved around top-tier marketers like Kardashian West and the eye-popping compensation they receive for their posts (the reality TV star routinely charges $300,000 to $500,000 per spon- sored Instagram post, recent court filings revealed) there's an emerging market connecting local social media stars with the products and retailers in their community. It makes sense: Influencers are voices that their followers trust, whether it's with specific product recommendations or a general aspirational vibe — just like the best independents. And a recom- mendation from a trusted influencer source can hold as much weight as a tip from a good friend. (Yes, even if the post is labeled as sponsored, which legally is a must). For younger shoppers especially, "influencers are far more important than textbook [advertising]," confirmed Lester Wasserman, the fourth-gener- ation owner of comfort stalwart Tip Top Shoes and sneaker boutique West in New York. Bimonthly posts with a select crew of influencers has been a boon to the bottom line, he said. "It's good enough to keep going back to — [but] it's expensive enough that I don't want to keep going back," Wasserman laughed. Want to get that essential Is influencer marketing right for you? CROWD SOURCE 28 • Footwear Insight ~ July/August 2019 footwearinsight.com Getting Influential word-of-mouth boost? We talked to smart shops to suss out how indepen- dents can do influencer marketing right. 1. Do Your Homework The first step is the biggest: Finding the right person. Who that could be depends on where your store is, what demographics you're targeting and what your end goals are, but store owners agree: It's worth spending the time to pick the right partners. Authenticity is important. Ideally, it's someone who already shops at your store and loves what you do. But if you don't have a customer who already fits the bill, you want someone who *could* be — Wasserman said some of his influencer partners have become customers after the fact. But most importantly you want a person who speaks directly to the consumers you want to reach, what he called "a loud voice, and a large voice." Christine Porter, buyer and market- ing director for the three Abbadabba's stores in Atlanta, GA, has been laying the groundwork for an upcoming influ- encer campaign for a year. "We basically sell shoes fit for the whole walk of life," she said, which meant finding multiple people to speak credibly to their differ- ent needs. She's honed in on four local women who represent different demo- graphics served by the store, including a fitness blogger and a mom blogger. And all of them have a strong in-state following. "We're definitely trying to stay local," she said. "Right now, we've got to focus on our core customers." 2. Spell It Out There's no standardized playbook for influencer marketing, so make sure you know exactly what you're getting and giving. "What we really learned is the few times we did it early on is there's no framework for it, so we're trying to be much clearer about expectations," said Christi Beth Adams, owner of the three Fleet Feet Nashville stores in Tennessee. Agreements now, she said, are "very spelled out — we're gonna give you this, in exchange we get a post and a Story and a contest and giveaway. It's set- ting very clear expectations about each party's part." Adams said she spent time talking with her vendors and other local busi- nesses who have been in the influencer

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