Ever wish you could peek into the greatest minds of the influencer world? We did, so we started The Perlu Podcast: Influencer Marketing Reimagined. For Season 1, we had both influencers and influencer marketing professions tell us their stories, give us insight into the ever-evolving industry and offer actionable advice that brands, agencies and influencers alike can benefit from.
If you missed an episode, you’re in the right place! We’ve compiled every episode from Season 1 (and a sneak peak of Season 2) right here.
Megan Jerrard and Influencer Networking
We started off the season with travel influencer and Perlu Advisor Megan Jerrard of Mapping Megan. We learned that she’s visited over 50 countries since 2007, and she’s been published in National Geographic, The New York Times and Huffington Post. This killer track record didn’t just happen overnight, though, so we had to ask what exactly led to her success. Take a listen to find out!
Kavita Favelle on Influencer Collaboration
A lot of influencers are rising and grinding to take their influencer career from side hustle to full-time gig. Others, like Perlu Advisor Kavita Favelle of Kavey Eats, get a thrill out of juggling multiple gigs at once. From her blog to her pottery shop to her cookbook, Kavita is an inspiration to influencers of all kinds, and she has some great advice on building rapport and collaborating within the influencer community.
Looking to Work With Influencers Like These?
Jen Ruiz and Influencer SEO
Most people make a career shift at some point in their life, but few make a complete 180 like Jen Ruiz of Jen on a Jet Plane. This lawyer-turned-influencer is now a No. 1 Amazon Bestselling Author and a TEDx speaker. By attending blogger conferences and learning about search engine optimization (SEO), Jen was able to gain the skills necessary to get rid of most of her belongings and fully embrace the nomadic influencer lifestyle.
Courtney Brandt on
The Expat Life
Ever wish you could just pick up and move to another country? That’s what Courtney Brandt wished for – the only difference is she actually did it. Since 2007, Courtney of A to Za’atar has made Dubai her home, where she’s always working on something – a podcast, a TV show, her blog or one of almost a dozen novels. Listen to the podcast to find out how she does it! (Hint: she uses Perlu!)
Need Some Guidance from The Experts?
Dennis Littley on Next-Level Brand Collaborations
Most of the influencers we’ve chatted with on the Perlu Podcast made a conscious decision to enter the influencer world. Dennis Littley, on the other hand, was only trying to create a high school culinary program. He put recipes on a blog and suddenly found himself a foodie influencer! Since then, Ask Chef Dennis has been featured on Huffpost Taste, Today and Buzzfeed and has collaborated with some awesome brands like Viking and Humana. The key to his success? Going above and beyond with his brand collaborations!
Let’s shift gears. In the first half of Season 1, we featured some awesome influencers. But in the second half of Season 1, it’s influencer marketing pros who get the spotlight!
Ketchum’s Jenny Heinrich on Influencer Marketing
You may think influencer marketing is new, but Jenny Heinrich, Ketchum’s senior vice president of influencer marketing would disagree. Before the internet existed, brands were recruiting influential people in their communities to spread the news about their products. Think: Tupperware parties. Jenny, herself, has been in the influencer marketing game since the early 2000s and had some valuable advice for brands taking that first step.
FCB Chicago’s Nicole Emerick on Creative Freedom
Influencers aren’t the only ones making huge career shifts. Nicole Emerick, VP and director of social media and influencer marketing at the global advertising agency, FCB Chicago started out in finance. Unsatisfied with her career, she started a blog of her own and soon realized just how HUGE social media would be in the business world, and she was right! If she predicted the impact social media would have back then, you better believe she has some great advice for brands and marketers today, like seeking upstream input from influencers.
Working on Your Next Campaign?
Home Chef’s Lauren Schultz on Authentic Influencer Marketing
Can you name a single industry that’s gone untouched by influencer marketing? We can’t. Even meal solutions brands have jumped on the influencer marketing train! Lauren Schultz, senior manager of influencer marketing at Home Chef is just one of many in the meal solutions industry seeing some serious ROI from influencer marketing. By developing real relationships with her influencers and giving them creative freedom, she’s been able to create the authentic campaigns that have made Home Chef a household name.
Tom Potts on Results-Driven Influencer Marketing
You may not think a job as a car mechanic would prepare anyone for influencer marketing, but it did exactly that for Tom Potts. This car-mechanic-turned-marketing-professional first worked his way into the marketing industry. Then, after working for various agencies, he decided to reroute again – to be his own boss. With his unique approach to partnerships and influencer marketing and his entrepreneurial spirit, he has a lot of advice for influencer marketers both old and new.
Have questions for our future interviewees?
Samara Finn Holland on Storytelling and Building Relationships
The first influencer marketing professionals didn’t have influencer marketing degree programs or certifications to help them break into the industry. Instead, they had to find their own way, like Samara did. Luckily, Samara was a natural. Her love of storytelling and building relationships in PR was the perfect launchpad for her career into the influencer marketing world. She helped us finish strong on Season 1 of The Perlu Podcast: Influencer Marketing Reimagined.
No More Fake Influencers and Bots
Season 2 Preview
Now you’re all caught up! But don’t worry – we’ve got a killer lineup for Season 2, including influencer marketing professionals from RingCentral and Converse. Stay up to date by subscribing on your favorite streaming service like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Got questions for our interviewees? Reach out to us on Twitter or join us on Perlu and we’ll let you know who we’re interviewing and when so you can get your questions answered!
