Technology Influencer Partnerships

Are consumer tech brands overlooking their most valuable gateway?   I genuinely believe influencers are more than a channel. They are the quickest way to reach younger audiences. I often see brands sticking to traditional ad strategies, while their competitors grow engagement and market share through creator-led campaigns.   Working with gaming and tech clients, the difference is obvious: younger audiences respond to personalities they trust, not professional TV spots or banner ads. By ignoring this opportunity, it means missing out on long-term brand loyalty and scalable growth.   For a recent consumer tech brand, we: ➜ Partnered with gaming and tech creators who could make content feel relatable and engaging. ➜ Produced formats optimised for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels to capture attention quickly. ➜ Repurposed high-performing influencer content into paid campaigns to increase efficiency and reach.   The results? ★ A library of assets that outperformed traditional creative benchmarks. ★ Sustained engagement from audiences who would never have been reached otherwise. ★ Stronger brand recognition in the communities that matter most.   Influencer-led strategies aren’t optional for consumer tech. they are essential. Are you ready to stop missing out on your most connected audiences?

Unilever’s Influencer Marketing Bet: The Right Agencies & Tech Will Determine Its Success Unilever’s new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, just announced a major shift: - Increasing social media spend from 30% to 50% - Scaling influencer partnerships 20x - Targeting hyper-local engagement with at least one influencer in every zip code in India and municipality in Brazil This is one of the boldest commitments to influencer marketing we’ve seen from an FMCG giant. Fernandez is right—today’s consumers are skeptical of corporate messaging. Brands need credible voices to advocate for them at scale. But this strategy will only work if Unilever has the right agency partners and, most importantly, the right technology stack to manage influencer marketing at scale. The Real Challenge: Managing the Influencer Supply Chain Signing thousands of influencers isn’t the hard part. The real challenge is handling the logistics, qualification, contract management, and performance tracking of such a massive creator network. This requires: - AI-driven influencer discovery to find the right creators at the right price with the right audience fit. B - Data-backed influencer qualification to filter for authenticity, engagement quality, and audience trust. - Efficient campaign logistics to coordinate briefs, content approvals, and payments at scale. - Fair Market Value (FMV) pricing to ensure influencers are paid fairly to avoid scrutiny and maximize ROAS. - Real-time performance tracking to measure ROI and optimize in-flight campaigns. - Strong influencer contracts to protect content usage rights, exclusivity clauses, and compliance with brand guidelines Without strong technology and AI-driven automation, managing thousands of hyper-local influencers will turn into an operational nightmare. Will Unilever Get It Right? If they engage the right agency partners with the right infrastructure, this could be a game-changer—making influencer marketing a true performance-driven channel rather than just a branding play. But if they underinvest in the operational side, they risk inefficiencies, overpaying for underperforming influencers, or facing backlash from undervaluing creators. Scaling influencer marketing isn’t just about increasing spend—it’s about optimizing the supply chain, ensuring influencers are fairly compensated, and securing proper content rights and compliance protections. What do you think will make or break Unilever’s influencer strategy? #InfluencerMarketing #FairMarketValue #MarketingTech #CreatorEconomy #Unilever

We connect brands with engineers (5K LinkedIn followers) Then outperform agencies with $1M retainers Here's the framework: 1: Find engineers posting in their industry 2: Structure $2-5K/month partnerships 3: Get 8x engagement vs company pages 4: Reduce CAC by 30-40% with authentic reach Recent Wins: AI Cybersecurity startup → Partnered with: Security engineer (6.5K followers) → Added: Weekly vulnerability breakdowns → Result: 23 qualified leads vs 8 from paid ads Developer tool company → Partnered with: vibe coding expert (3.8K followers) → Added: "Building in production" content → Result: $38K pipeline from 3 posts Data platform → Partnered with: ML engineer (8K followers) → Added: 15 migration use cases by industry → Result: 11 enterprise demos vs 2 from Google Ads Why this works: Micro-experts beat generic macro-influencers in B2B. Buyers want: → Peer perspectives, not vendor content → Technical depth, not surface features → Problem acknowledgment, not just solutions → Practitioners, not evangelists You're not competing on reach. You're competing on relevance. The Synnc advantage: Match brands with domain experts. Not generic influencers. Engineers who solve these problems daily. That's why it works. The Reality Check: Every B2B brand can tap 20+ domain experts tomorrow. → Engineers documenting their stack → Architects sharing decision frameworks → Developers building in public The distribution moat is there. Most just can't see it.

Lets talk about influencer marketing in B2B. For the past 4 years I’ve grown my LinkedIn from 2,000 to almost 27,000 followers, made over a thousand posts, generated millions in impressions and had the privilege of working with many brands Heres the truth: influencer marketing in B2B is still misunderstood Most people think it’s just about pay-per-post based on follower count But it’s way more than that A real brand partnership with a subject matter expert goes deeper It's about collaboration, creating content together and building lasting relationships Heres what a successful brand partnership looks like in my opinion ⤵️ 🔹 Trust & credibility: Influencers are trusted voices in their industry 🔹 Brand awareness: They help spread your brands message 🔹 Authority & influence: Their opinions carry weight and influence decisions 🔹 Relationship building: They foster genuine connections 🔹 Engagement: They are actively involved with their audience 🔹 Audience knowledge: They know their followers needs and pain points 🔹 Conversation starters: They initiate meaningful discussions 🔹 Traffic drivers: They drive traffic to your website or landing pages 🔹 Target market access: They give you direct access to your ideal customers 🔹 Transparency: They are open and honest with their audience 🔹 Brand advocacy: They become your brands biggest champions 🔹 SEO improvement: They help boost your SEO rankings 🔹 Information providers: They deliver valuable insights and information 🔹 Fresh perspective: They bring new and innovative ideas Bringing on an "influencer" is about more than just paying for posts Its about building trust, credibility and education Its about creating real value and driving genuine engagement So if you’re thinking about leveraging influencer marketing don’t just look at follower counts Find someone who fits your brand’s ICP and market Partner with them. Collaborate. Create together Thats where the real magic happens 🔥 P.S. What’s been your experience with influencer marketing in B2B?

Earlier this week I met in person with the team at Pilot44 in San Francisco to talk about something big: the future of creator-brand partnerships. For years, brands have relied on licensing deals—people who command influence, from celebrities to creators, lending their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to products in exchange for royalties. It worked, but it typically offered limited upside. I recently spoke with a creator who called launching a product their next big goal. After a successful licensing deal, they wished they had greater ownership and revenue share. Brands are catching on. They need creators, not just as endorsers, but as true partners. 💡 Why? Because creators bring more than just reach. ✅ Creators build real trust – Audiences don’t just watch; they value their recommendations ✅ Creators drive action – When they back a product, it moves fast The way brands partner with creators is evolving, shifting from short-term deals to deeper, long-term collaborations, where they can have greater ownership. 👎🏾 Old model: A royalty check, no control, short shelf life 👍🏾 New model: Equity, creative input, long-term value This isn’t theory—it’s happening now: 🔺 MrBeast’s Feastables – Not just an endorsement, but a brand he owns 🔺 Emma Chamberlain’s Chamberlain Coffee – Built from the ground up with her DNA in it 🔺 PRIME by Logan Paul & KSI – More than just influencer branding, a creator-led beverage company San Francisco has always been about innovation, and this is no different for the Bay Area Creator Economy. The way brands partner with creators is rapidly evolving. At Pilot44, they’re helping brands move beyond ads into real joint ventures. 💭 The question is: Are creators ready for this? Who fits this model, and who doesn’t? Would love to hear from founders, investors, and creators—what do you think? Mary Lague Daniella McBride Scott Van den Berg Ryan Schram Jeff Frommer Ben Acott Conor Begley Trey Reasonover Keith Bendes Will Baumann Saurabh Shah Photo credit: What's Trending

Partnership Ads transformed our influencer campaign with a 3.5x higher ROI. Here's exactly how we did it… We've been using Partnership Ads for our clients’ influencer marketing campaigns at Influencer.in & Social Beat, and the ROI has been massive. These partnership ads let brands boost creator content through paid ads. Meta and YouTube both have it. Here's why Partnership Ads work so effectively: 📍 Reach beyond limitations: Organic reach is dying across all platforms. Instagram alone has seen a 28% yoy drop in engagement, making it harder for even the best creator content to be seen. Paid ads can help you boost influencer content beyond their immediate followers. 📍 Relevance that matters: Often, 50% of creators’ followers typically don't match a brand's target demographic. With partnership ads, you can use precise targeting parameters. This means brands can focus their investment on specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring the messaging reaches qualified prospects. 📍 Results & Real Impact can be measured: With partnership ads, we can now track everything from cost per lead to ROAS. Recently, we leveraged partnership ads for Navi’s influencer marketing campaign. It generated 15% lower cost per in app purchase, 1.3X higher app installs, and 3X higher standard favorability. If you’re still relying on organic reach for influencer campaigns, you're leaving serious ROI on the table. Have you tried Partnership Ads yet? #InfluencerMarketing #DigitalStrategy #CreatorEconomy