STORES 2017 BIG Show Daily - January 16, 2017 - 4

2017 MONDAY

4

Influencing Authenticity on Social Media

E

very community has its own culture
- and social media is no different.
That's not to say that all of social
media has the same culture, mind you;
each channel has behaviors unique enough
that non-natives stand out.
Participating in this type of community as a brand, then, requires insight,
understanding and authenticity - and
working with influencers may well help.
"Social and the Art of the Influencer,"
a Sunday morning session moderated
by Vicki Cantrell, former SVP of Communities for NRF and executive director
of Shop.org, explored the social media
landscape as a whole, the humanness of
social media communities, brand use of
influencers and more. Cantrell shared
the stage with Melissa Davis, executive
vice president and general manager for
ShopStyle, and Abigail Posner, head of
strategic planning for The Zoo, Google's
creative think tank.
Posner kicked things off with a look
at the social media landscape. Google has
worked to leverage various platforms such
as mobile, YouTube and search, and is now
doing the same with social. It's not unusual
for clients to come to Google confused,
she said, because there's just "so much out
there." In an effort to help, Google worked

with anthropologists to "decode" what was
really going on. What they discovered is
how human a space social media is. It is an
immediate, raw and unfiltered environment
that expects and requires authenticity from
individuals and brands alike.
Influencers can help. Different from
the traditional idea of celebrity as influencer, these people still present lifestyles
that others want to emulate, but do so in
a more accessible way. ShopStyle pairs
retailers with such influencers, and those
retailers can see real results: One larger
retailer spent $30,000 to work with three
influencers on a recent holiday campaign, "and those influencers drew over
$500,000 in sales," Davis said. ShopStyle
scours its network of influencers to find
the right fit, studying years of data about
what those influencers have worn or used
and what they - and, therefore, their
audiences - are interested in.
"You wouldn't want someone talking
about your brand that wouldn't use it or
wear it in everyday life," Davis said.
Whether working with influencers
or not, brands using social media must
remember that the old one-way method
of only broadcasting out to consumers
is gone.
Consumers have used social for

Vicki Cantrell (left) and Melissa Davis listen to Abigail Posner.

authenticity and relationship on an individual basis, so they now expect brands to
do the same. Posner spoke of the "energy
exchange" that social allows, and believes
it offers opportunities for connection that
simply don't exist elsewhere.
Yes, social media can be seen as too
negative and/or combative, but most of
the time, she said, "We're there to lift each
other up. Be generous, whether it's with

other brands, or if you're an influencer,
with other influencers, with other consumers. Applaud what they're doing. This is
not a zero-sum game anymore. We're all
in this together, and we're all about making this a better place for everybody."
And for those willing to be generous,
she said, "the rest of us will be excited
and applaud you back. It's about humility,
generosity and relationship."

The National Retail Federation
congratulates

Nike President,
Chairman and CEO

Mark Parker

the inaugural recipient of
NRF's "The Visionary" award
✪ For a list of past NRF award winners, visit nrf.com/industryawards ✪
STORES 2017 BIG Show Daily - January 16, 2017

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