During this conference in the form of a panel discussion, Karine Idrissi, Director of Stop and Stare agency, Sophie Desbiens, public relations specialist at Frank & Oak, Randez Isabelle, Director of Communications at L’Oréal and Caroline Dubé , President of Luxine Public Relations have been talking about behind the scenes: how brands and agencies choose to work with a particular blogger, on which criteria they are based, for what reasons and more.

Deborah Cherenfant, editor in chief of the blog on entrepreneurship Mots d’Elles, moderated the panel discussion. The first question allowed to put things in context. What is an influencer according to our panelists. Being an influencer is to be a good communicator, an influencer is someone who has expertise in a field and especially someone with a great personality.

Most of them had already done business with influencer, but how do they approach these influencers? For Randez Isabelle, Director of Communications at L’Oréal it all depends on the campaign and the objectives of this one. They will then determine the reach of the influencer but most of they will determine if the influencer personality fits with the brand. It is the same for Caroline Dubé, President of Luxine Public Relations. Brands also have a real desire for authenticity. For Sophie Desbiens, public relations specialist at Frank & Oak, the most important is to know the influencers, their environment and how they communicate.

Our experts then, gave advices of the things you shouldn’t do when you’re a blogger who approaches a brand. Karine Idrissi, President of Stop and Stare, for example, insisted that you should remain courteous during exchanges by emails and also not to stop at those mail exchanges. It is possible that you will meet for an appointment so your personality online and in real life should be the same. For Caroline, spelling is very important during the exchange or on the blog: it shows the importance you give to details.

They also all pointed out that it is very important to approach the brands you love. Why not a brand that you’ve already mentioned on your blog?

You finally have the chance to work with a brand that you like ? Great! But do not stop there. Always stay authentic and transparent. Also, feel free to send links to your articles once published, to follow up. It is these little things that brands or agencies appreciate, going the extra mile.

The panel discussion ended with an anecdote from the panelists. Isabelle Randez, for example, talked about her meeting with a blogger at an event. They hardly had exchanged 2 words that the blogger was already giving her media kit and a fee schedule. It takes time to build a relationship with a brand!

Thank you to Isabelle Randez, Sophie Desbiens, Karine Idrissi and Caroline Dubé for their presence!