Latest / Influencer Confidential / How Influencers REALLY Get Invited to Brand Events #258

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How Influencers REALLY Get Invited to Brand Events #258 · Influencer Confidential

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Influencer Confidential by Sidewalker Daily. My name is
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  Speaker 1: Nina Zeta and I will be your host. I love
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  Speaker 1: working with brands and influencers on all things business strategy.
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  Speaker 1: Are you ready to learn what it takes to work
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  Speaker 1: in this influencer industry and see behind the curtain? Well,
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  Speaker 1: let's jump in. If you're an influencer or a creator
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  Speaker 1: that is looking to get invited to more PR events,
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  Speaker 1: brand events, influencer events, that's what we're going to dive into.
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  Speaker 1: As you guys know here at Sidewalker Daily or a
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  Speaker 1: community of over one hundred and fifty thousand creators, and
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  Speaker 1: one of the biggest things that I see when it
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  Speaker 1: comes to successful creators, creators who are making a certain
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  Speaker 1: level of income, creators that are really killing it, they
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  Speaker 1: all are focused on the importance of networking, networking, networking
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  Speaker 1: and meeting people in real life, leaving the screen behind
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  Speaker 1: and getting in person. And that's why events are so
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  Speaker 1: important for a creator. It's not just street cred and
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  Speaker 1: ego and things like oh I went to this event.
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  Speaker 1: It's really about being intentional so that you can make
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  Speaker 1: the context that you're looking for and help your career
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  Speaker 1: grow just like any other career guys, whether you are
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  Speaker 1: a lawyer or an engineer or a doctor and any profession,
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  Speaker 1: networking is key and it's no different for our industry.
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  Speaker 1: So what I want to talk about today is ways
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  Speaker 1: that you guys can get invited to events but also
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  Speaker 1: pitch yourself to events, because you know, here at Sidewalker Daily,
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  Speaker 1: we're all about going for it, not just waiting, right.
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  Speaker 1: We don't want to wait to get invited. We want
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  Speaker 1: to pitch events. We want to get invited, But there's
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  Speaker 1: also strategies that you can do to get invited. One
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  Speaker 1: of the most important things, like literally, if not the
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  Speaker 1: most important thing, is location, location, location location. Chances are
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  Speaker 1: a brand is not going to fly in a creator
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  Speaker 1: to come to their event. While this does happen that
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  Speaker 1: you know, certain brands are going to fly in select
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  Speaker 1: VIP creators, most of the times, it's a really strong
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  Speaker 1: local push. So that is why it is so important
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  Speaker 1: that you also don't only think about your career as
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  Speaker 1: an influencer to the mainstream market, but you also develop
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  Speaker 1: those in person local ties because guess what, when a
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  Speaker 1: new store is launching in your city, you're going to
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  Speaker 1: be first to get invited because you're on the local roster.
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  Speaker 1: Versus if you're a creator that yes, you're non nationally
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  Speaker 1: and your followers are from everywhere, but you have no
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  Speaker 1: local influence. So let's get a little bit deeper about
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  Speaker 1: this location piece. Right, So if I was hosting an
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  Speaker 1: event in Miami, I'm going to look for Miami creators.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not going to be looking for like Nashville creators
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  Speaker 1: and creators in La, right, I'm looking for Miami. So
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  Speaker 1: it's so important y'all that in your bios, in your
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  Speaker 1: SEO efforts, that you guys have the location that you
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  Speaker 1: are based in, so one you're easily found and accessible.
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  Speaker 1: So let me give you an example. I'm gonna go
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  Speaker 1: ahead and share my screen and do this as if
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  Speaker 1: I was a brand And by the way, if y'all
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  Speaker 1: don't know this, I come from the brand side. I
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  Speaker 1: put on influencer events, I put on influences her campaigns.
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  Speaker 1: I've managed hundreds of thousands of dollars of budget. So
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  Speaker 1: the advice you were getting is from a brand side representative. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: so let me show you what I mean. So let's
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  Speaker 1: go ahead here and type in, you know, Miami influencer
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  Speaker 1: let's go ahead and see what pops up. So right away,
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  Speaker 1: do you guys see these creators here like Bella mer Low,
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  Speaker 1: Miami influencer, that girl Becka Miami influencer. All these people,
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  Speaker 1: you know, are literally putting in the word Miami influencer
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  Speaker 1: and creator in their bio. So just by searching them,
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  Speaker 1: I found it. And look even better, she has her
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  Speaker 1: email right there in her bio as well, so I
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  Speaker 1: see she's Miami based. I see that this is a
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  Speaker 1: keyword she's going after, and she has her email, which
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  Speaker 1: makes it very easy for me to find. Let's try
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  Speaker 1: another creator and see what else pops up. Okay, Miami
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  Speaker 1: influencer UGC and lifestyle creator boom pr collab emails right there,
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  Speaker 1: easy to find. Done, we can add her to the
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  Speaker 1: hit list. So this is such an important, important strategy y'all,
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  Speaker 1: to really focus on the optimizing of your bio, including
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  Speaker 1: that keyword, including your email. That was going to be
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  Speaker 1: a second tip, but we're going to go ahead and
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  Speaker 1: mention it. Now. You see how both those creators had
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  Speaker 1: their emails already in their bio, So when I searched
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  Speaker 1: up Miami influencer, they were found and their emails were there.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know how easy that makes it for me
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  Speaker 1: to add them to a spreadsheet or a list. That
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  Speaker 1: is the type of easy you want to provide to
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  Speaker 1: your brand side clients when they're looking for you. And
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  Speaker 1: also geotagging if you're doing stories, if you're doing content,
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  Speaker 1: don't be afraid to add those location tags. There was
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  Speaker 1: a local restaurant that was doing a launch and we
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  Speaker 1: went in and looked at the location tag and saw
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  Speaker 1: past creators who were tagging about this property. And they
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  Speaker 1: were the ones that were being invited. Why they already
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  Speaker 1: naturally tagged the restaurant, They're a local. It's a perfect fit.
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  Speaker 1: So in your content strategy, don't also be afraid to
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  Speaker 1: geotag and use those location tags. Okay, location is major,
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  Speaker 1: can't stress it enough. When it comes to events, why
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  Speaker 1: because events are local, So we got to implement those
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  Speaker 1: local strategies. Now, if you are a creator that wants
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  Speaker 1: to pitch to PR firms, introduce yourself with confidence, know
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  Speaker 1: what to say, feel good about it, and you feel
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  Speaker 1: a little wonky in that space. This is my specialty.
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  Speaker 1: I come from the PR side, I come from the
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  Speaker 1: brand side, and I actually have an on demand training
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  Speaker 1: that talks about pitching, pitching brands, how to send a
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  Speaker 1: valid pitch, a well research pitch the materials you need.
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  Speaker 1: So go ahead and click that on demand training so
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  Speaker 1: you guys can watch it. It's available whenever. It's my
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  Speaker 1: hw to land paid brands deals training. It is amazing,
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  Speaker 1: it's going to rock your world. So you guys can
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  Speaker 1: get a lot more valuable insight into the outreach process
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  Speaker 1: by watching that video. If you want to get invited
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  Speaker 1: to brand events, if you want to get invited to
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  Speaker 1: PR events, influencer events, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera,
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  Speaker 1: pr agencies are your best friends. Coming from the PR side. Myself,
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  Speaker 1: that is how I got into this influencer world. Would
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  Speaker 1: manage influencer accounts and campaigns for my brand clients. And
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  Speaker 1: let me tell you, y'all, we are responsible to put
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  Speaker 1: together the events for our clients. So a lot of
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  Speaker 1: times when there is an event happening, PR people are responsible.
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  Speaker 1: Now I'm gonna let you into an insider tip that
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  Speaker 1: you probably haven't heard anywhere else. Let's just talk about
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  Speaker 1: a hotel. Right, Let's talk about like a big hotel
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  Speaker 1: we all know and love. They may have a national
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  Speaker 1: PR firm that deals with national press, so that agency
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  Speaker 1: may be based in New York or maybe Los Angeles.
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  Speaker 1: And then a lot of times these big companies, these
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  Speaker 1: big brands will hire a local PR firm to be
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  Speaker 1: responsible for the local market, so they'll be two PR
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  Speaker 1: firms responsible. That is why it is so important for
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  Speaker 1: you guys to get to know the people in your
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  Speaker 1: local PR world. There are PR events you can attend,
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  Speaker 1: there are local events that you know, trade shows that
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  Speaker 1: you guys can attend, and there's nothing like good old
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  Speaker 1: Google to see the PR firms in your city, you know,
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  Speaker 1: so that you can again network with these people. These
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  Speaker 1: are the people making decisions. Those are the people you
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  Speaker 1: need to be networking with. And it's interesting when I
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  Speaker 1: talked about the location thing a little bit earlier, sometimes
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  Speaker 1: people say, oh, well, I'm not from a big city.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not from Miami. I'm from you know, small city
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  Speaker 1: outside of Miami. Okay, you can still lean in if
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  Speaker 1: you are driving distance away, you can still use that
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  Speaker 1: big city keyword, you know. Again, if it's close enough,
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  Speaker 1: if it's something that you're willing to drive to and
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  Speaker 1: be able to do so, I guess I would leave
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  Speaker 1: that up to you to decide if like a two
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  Speaker 1: hour drive is worth it or what that would look like. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: but regardless, if your local city has like a mall
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  Speaker 1: and shops and banks and things of that nature, lean
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  Speaker 1: into your local city. I just had a girl in
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  Speaker 1: my community work with Google Fiber because they're like launching
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  Speaker 1: Google Wi Fi or something. So I always say like
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  Speaker 1: local creators and local events can lead to local partnerships. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: So anyways, I digress back to the pr firm. Sich
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  Speaker 1: pr agencies are such an in for you guys. So again,
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  Speaker 1: if that's something that you didn't have on your radar,
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  Speaker 1: make sure that that is on your hit list with
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  Speaker 1: who to network with. You know, you guys can comment
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  Speaker 1: on these firms igs on their LinkedIn, You can engage
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  Speaker 1: with them, You can send them your media kit, you
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  Speaker 1: can ask for a quick discovery call. Now, you guys know,
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  Speaker 1: I'm a freak for search. I love it, I love it,
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  Speaker 1: I love it, and I think TikTok takes the cake
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  Speaker 1: for search just in general. I think TikTok does so well,
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  Speaker 1: Like you could literally search anything and it shows up
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  Speaker 1: on TikTok. So don't be afraid to use search to
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  Speaker 1: help you. Type in influencer events Nashville. Type in, you know,
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  Speaker 1: gifting events, influencer events, brand events type it in because
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  Speaker 1: those brands may be using that hashtag and it's going
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  Speaker 1: to help you again find what you're looking for. So
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  Speaker 1: don't be afraid to literally just do some good old search,
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  Speaker 1: but don't just depend on Google. Get into the social
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  Speaker 1: platforms themselves and take a look at what happens. All right,
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  Speaker 1: So let's go ahead and do this exact strategy that
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  Speaker 1: I just shared with you guys. Let's go ahead and
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  Speaker 1: put influencer event Miami, see what pops up. What's interesting
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  Speaker 1: is you're going to start seeing what people go to,
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  Speaker 1: what type of events they go to, Like this one
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  Speaker 1: is come with me to a Miami pop up event.
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  Speaker 1: So this was a pop up event, which means it's
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  Speaker 1: open to the public. And this is why I think,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it's interesting, like we don't know who this
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  Speaker 1: creator is, but now you know, you're able to see
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  Speaker 1: who these people are and kind of also see who's
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  Speaker 1: going to these events. This one get ready with me
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  Speaker 1: for a product launch event. You're able to again sniff
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  Speaker 1: out and see like these people are saying there. These
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  Speaker 1: are just different events that they're happening. So it's good
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  Speaker 1: to know this is a conference next gen. You know,
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  Speaker 1: it's an influencer event conference. And I know this because
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  Speaker 1: Sidewalker went to this event. But the point is use
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  Speaker 1: those keywords to your advantage to see what events are
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  Speaker 1: happening so that you can then again dive deeper, find
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  Speaker 1: that pr firm and also make friends, make friends with
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  Speaker 1: other creators. It's so interesting. I have that on my
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  Speaker 1: list today as like, you know, creator friendships and the
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  Speaker 1: importance of creator friendships. If you DM someone online that
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  Speaker 1: you do not know, being like, hey, how do you
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  Speaker 1: get invited to that event? Chances are they're not going
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  Speaker 1: to tell you, Like they have no reason to tell you. You're
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  Speaker 1: a mooch. You don't give anything to them. Friendships are
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  Speaker 1: based on mutual understanding, so you got to give to
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  Speaker 1: get right. So friendships take time. It's not just hey, hey, welcome,
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  Speaker 1: be my best friend. You got to nurture those friendships,
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  Speaker 1: set up coffees with people, get to know them, you know,
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  Speaker 1: be of value to people as well, like growing in
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  Speaker 1: this space, and I see that happen a lot in Sidewalker.
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  Speaker 1: We have a membership community. Sadly, it's not open to
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  Speaker 1: the public. It's only for our pitching students. But people
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  Speaker 1: that take this program, my pitching program, and then do
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  Speaker 1: the inner circle portion of it, you know, they're looking
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  Speaker 1: to make friends. And guess what happens when you show
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  Speaker 1: up when you give advice to others, when you put
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  Speaker 1: yourself out there, when you're vulnerable, people are attracted to that.
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  Speaker 1: And now I have people in this group. They swap
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  Speaker 1: contacts all the time, but it's like I'll give you one,
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  Speaker 1: you give me one. It feels natural. They're happy to help.
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  Speaker 1: But that doesn't just happen overnight. So those friendships take time.
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  Speaker 1: So part of your methods or strategies as a creator
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  Speaker 1: is to invest in getting to know other creators, to
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  Speaker 1: get those intros to you know, be a good friend.
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  Speaker 1: In this industry, you can't do it alone. It's really
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  Speaker 1: hard to do it alone. So again, if you are
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  Speaker 1: looking for that sort of community, you can always speak
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  Speaker 1: to our success manager here at Sidewalker. I'll leave her
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  Speaker 1: information below. She'll let you know how we can support
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  Speaker 1: you in your creator journey. But if not, if it's
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  Speaker 1: not us, it doesn't matter, do it anyways. Like find
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  Speaker 1: ways to meet creator friends, be that leader, set up coffees,
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  Speaker 1: meet people. I'm telling you this is one of the
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  Speaker 1: best ways to get intros and contacts. Now, we briefly
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  Speaker 1: touched on this when we saw that Jizu pop up.
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  Speaker 1: A pop up is a brand activation. They are pop ups.
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  Speaker 1: Brands want creators to come to this. These are open events.
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  Speaker 1: So one of my big tips is attend open events.
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  Speaker 1: Attend industry events, you know, like conferences as well. Meet
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  Speaker 1: brands at conferences. You know, you got to go up
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  Speaker 1: to them out their booth and introduce yourself. You gotta
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  Speaker 1: have your business card ready. You got to go to
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  Speaker 1: these sort of pop ups to meet other creators. You know,
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  Speaker 1: you're not gonna get invited to sitting behind the screen
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  Speaker 1: being at home. Right. So, anytime there's an open ended
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  Speaker 1: event like a pop up, a brand is hosting something, go,
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  Speaker 1: the pr person is gonna be there. You're gonna be
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  Speaker 1: able to meet other creators and other people on the
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  Speaker 1: brand side. It's just so important to put yourself in
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  Speaker 1: the room. I can't stress it enough. I did that
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  Speaker 1: interview with the CEO of Create and Cultivate. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know if you guys saw it, but they're like a
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  Speaker 1: big events company and it's like, you got to put
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  Speaker 1: yourself in the room. That's what I took from that
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  Speaker 1: interview with her, and I can't agree more. And that's
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  Speaker 1: why I really want to focus on like going to
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  Speaker 1: just different influencer events. You got to put yourself in
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  Speaker 1: those rooms. And as we always stay here at Sidewalker Daily,
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  Speaker 1: you're in charge of your destiny. You need to pitch,
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  Speaker 1: you need to outreach. Do not let ego or shyness
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  Speaker 1: or fear of rejection hold you back. You need to
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  Speaker 1: introduce yourself to these PR firms and say, hey, i'd
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  Speaker 1: love to be put on your event lists and the
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  Speaker 1: local creator here's my meet Okay, I'd love to learn
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  Speaker 1: about the events that your clients are hosting, you know,
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  Speaker 1: as this is an area I want to grow in
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  Speaker 1: or whatever. Don't feel that fear because again, there are
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  Speaker 1: so many people out there that are going to go
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  Speaker 1: for it, and if you're just sitting and waiting, it's
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  Speaker 1: going to just take so much longer. Then if you
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  Speaker 1: realize that no one knows what they're doing. Everyone's scared,
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  Speaker 1: but they're scared and they're doing it anyways. And that's
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  Speaker 1: what I want for you to be scared and do it. Anyways,
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  Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, make
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  Speaker 1: sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our show and
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: visit Sidewalkerdaily dot com for more resources on all things influencer,
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: marketing and social media. Until next time,