The unstoppable growth in the consumption of goods driven by Influencers is an increasingly central theme in our meetings, and in triple form, as we receive requests from:
- companies looking for the ideal person to represent their product on social media;
- agency by people who have already built up a solid base of followers and want to increase their visibility for new brands and contracts;
- social media management for influencers who, either because of the high volume of work or because they are starting out, need support in creating content (text, image and video).
To tell you what it’s like to be an Influencer, who better than two of the country’s most sought-after influencers?
Kelly and Pedro
Although they don’t need to be introduced, for the more distracted: the #powercouple is a regular presence on television programs and in the written press in Portugal, giving face and body to dozens of Portuguese and Brazilian brands, as well as their own companies, on social media.
Separated by an ocean and with a temperature difference of more than 25 degrees, Kelly Baron e Pedro Guedes answer the questions that you sent in, give tips for those starting out, address the issue of authenticity, among many other topics.
Brands and Authenticity
Up We Go: You must receive dozens of invitations and proposals from brands. How do you select the brands you work with?
Kelly: Above all, I need to identify with and believe in what I’m going to represent. When I receive an offer and I don’t know the brand, I research and study the client and analyze whether it makes sense to accept the job.
Pedro: We’re usually lucky to work with brands we identify with, but the market has changed a lot with social media. Clients are already contacting us because we have the image they need to advertise their products.
Up We Go: Before the question, a compliment: you manage to make the content you create for brands so authentic that we can’t even tell if it’s advertising content or not. How do they do it?
Kelly: The most important thing is to identify with the brand and master the content, which makes everything easier and more real.
Pedro: As I said, we’re lucky enough to have partners with whom we identify, so it’s much more organic in that sense.
Kelly: And the brands we represent fit right into our daily lives!
"The most important thing is to identify with the brand and determine the content"
– Kelly Baron
Up We Go: When people talk about being an influencer, they usually only mention the dream life, trying out products before anyone else, receiving samples, setting your own schedule, and traveling… But we know it’s not all like that. What are the biggest downsides?
Kelly: Often it’s not the first time that we manage to capture the image we want, and in some situations we end up not enjoying the moment when we’re recording or making the content.
Pedro: Yeah… Every time you receive a product, you have to give it your full attention: get to know the product, try it out, read up on it. When you show it to the public, you have to be as sincere as possible, but that sometimes takes several takes. [Pedro laughs heartily] No matter how focused you are or how natural you want to be, it’s not always on the first try that you manage to convey that sense of experience. It’s almost like in a soap opera, it takes about 3 or 4 takes to get the result we want.
"When you show it to the audience, you have to be as sincere as possible, but that sometimes takes several takes"
– Pedro Guedes
Up We Go: That’s because they really care about the brands…
Kelly: Yes, a lot! When we’re promoting a space, we do everything we can to capture the best moments so that the viewer likes and identifies with them, and we end up not enjoying, for example, a romantic sunset in a dream setting.
Pedro: Maria Gabriela [Pedro’s daughter] already knows that when we go to a dinner party for work, the filming and photos come first and only then can we eatno matter how hungry we are and how good the food looks! That’s the job!
Up We Go: This is one of the most interesting questions we’ve received on our social media, how does it feel to use social media to encourage followers to lead healthier lives?
Pedro: I’ll give you an example: as mentors in fitness projects, we receive messages from people thanking us because “they can now run with their children”, “they now know what self-esteem feels like”, “they now feel confident”. This is TOP!
It’s an amazing feeling to know that we’re making a difference in people’s lives! But it’s also a huge responsibility…
Kelly: It really is a huge responsibility. We’ve made “healthy living” our mission! Social media is a great way for us to inspire more and more people to exercise, eat well, and be happy… Being healthy isn’t just good for aesthetic reasons or for our generation, it’s crucial for EVERYONE’S quality of life in the long run!
Two questions with answers from very different perspectives
Up We Go: Are there any brands you don’t yet represent and would like to? May we know which one?
Kelly: A sports brand that I love, Nike!
Pedro: So far, we’ve been really lucky in that regard! Although partnering with an airline would always be a dream opportunity…
Up We Go: And the other way around, are there any brands you would refuse to work with? Why?
Kelly: It’s never happened to me, but perhaps some brand that values the opposite of what I follow, being a fan of a healthy lifestyle.
Pedro: It’s happened that I’ve had to work with a brand and I don’t identify with it in almost any way, but I’ve had to adapt and be as professional as possible.
Management and Tools
Up We Go: You both combine careers as models, TV hosts, influencers and have your own brands. How do you manage to combine everything?
Kelly: When we do it with love, everything is easier to reconcile. Social media is a time-consuming tool that requires a lot of dedication and care as an influencer. Working with your own brands depends even more on you. It’s a question of focus.
Pedro: Well, you could say it’s multitasking at the highest level! In life you have to have a great work ethic and dedication. When you’re lucky enough to do what you love, the effort is rewarded by the very will to produce something you believe in.
Up We Go: Being a Influencer it’s not a 9 to 5 job. It’s a 24/7 job because you are your own brand. How do yorrganize your work?
Kelly: I have three diaries and lots of notebooks to organize my projects! Some proposals require weeks of preparation. If ideas come up during the day, I write everything down – this is one of the main tips, so nothing gets forgotten!
Pedro: Yes, it really is 24/7 in the sense that we have to constantly produce and generate content that fits us as people, makes sense for brands and is interesting for followers. The hardest thing is to be as organic as possible and try not to be repetitive so that our followers always feel the desire to see what’s new with each new project or moment in our lives.
"We have to constantly create and produce content that reflects who we are as people, makes sense for the brands, and is interesting to our followers."
– Pedro Guedes
As for apps and tools, what are your favorites?
Kelly: Anything with image applications and programs. I love Lightroom!
Pedro: We use a few apps, but more in a playful sense. Of course, in terms of video and photo editing we use professional programs such as Adobe Photoshop (image), Adobe Premiere (video) and Adobe Lightroom (image).
Up We Go: What is the process of making a publication? For example, do you write a script, rehearse, schedule the posts?
Kelly: Some are scheduled, according to what the brand defines. Others are spontaneous and when we think it’s the right time to post. In my case, I choose times at the end of the day or at lunchtime. Also, I don’t see the need to keep posting photos that don’t make sense, which is why I’m a fan of stories.
Pedro: When we’re representing a brand, often the text is already 90% defined by the client and 10% is our personal brand. In personal terms we do it very organically, but we always try to do it in Portuguese because our followers are 90% from Portugal and 10% from Brazil, so it doesn’t make much sense to write in another language.
A functional question: do the brands you work with review the posts before publishing them?
Kelly: Some do. Others are left to us to make it as genuine as possible. Most of the content is spontaneous, it’s the way we are.
Pedro: Some brands ask you to review the images first, but they usually accept. It’s just a normal working procedure.
Metrics and Analysis
Do the metrics and statistics of your social networks influence your publications?
Kelly: Yes, a lot! Both for us and for the brands.
Pedro: Yes! Brands are increasingly choosing according to statistics. As our publications are organic, i.e. we don’t pay for advertising, this is very important for the brand.
Do brands ask you for reports before and after working with you?
Kelly: Some do. Others trust and close the job because they like the image, regardless of reports or statistics.
Pedro: Yes, always.
The latest tips
Up We Go: Last question and what everyone wants to know: is it a well-paid profession or not?
Kelly: The prices vary from influencer to influencer. It depends on the work that each person is already doing, the demands of what the brand wants and, of course, it also depends on the brand. There are many factors that influence this. In my opinion, the monetary reward isn’t always the most important: there are brands that bring us visibility and with them we reach other segments and new heights.
Pedro: We can say that when our image is high, the volume of work increases, but the figures we present are always the same in terms of budget.
"Financial rewards aren't always the most important thing: there are brands that bring us visibility, and through them we reach other segments and new heights."
– Kelly Baron
Up We Go: For those starting out, what are your top tips?
Kelly: It’s a job that requires a lot of creativity to stand out among so many others. You have to study the competition and the products, think about publishing and editing, and bring it all together, it takes patience!
If you’re just starting out, you can always choose an agency to help you create the style and strategy.
Only after hard work, both physical and mental, is there a reward.
Pedro: Having a partner who already knows the market is a great help for those starting out, especially in terms of style, texts and design.
This is a different job from many others because you don’t usually have a fixed salary, you have to be thoughtful and know how to manage your savings. The most important thing for me is that I love what I do and that it fits in with my philosophy and lifestyle.
