Appreciation post: A coffee shop chat in Austin made me rethink influencer marketing

Honestly, I used to think working with influencers was just paying for fake hype. Then I met this guy named Leo at a coffee shop on South Congress about six months ago. He runs a small hiking gear brand and was telling me about his process. He said, 'I don't send free stuff to big names. I find people who already own our old gear and genuinely love the outdoors.' He showed me his phone, scrolling through an Instagram feed full of real photos from actual trails, not staged shoots. That one talk changed my whole view. Now I look for real user stories instead of follower counts. How do you guys find authentic people to talk about your stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_lane967d ago

Ngl, that's the only way it works now. People can spot a paid ad from a mile away. My buddy's skate shop only sends boards to local kids who actually film tricks. They get tagged in videos where the board is all scratched up from real use. That kind of proof beats a pretty picture with a link every time. You have to dig through tags and comments to find the people already using your thing without being asked.

kellymurphy6d ago

Guess I should stop posting pics of my unopened gear then.