Content strategy and influencer marketing: A fusion that'll change how things work

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The rise of content strategy agencies

PR agencies have always been known for being supremely well connected in the media and entertainment spaces, which worked very well in bringing influencer marketing into its scope because it relied on the many contacts in their black book to reel in popular celebrities and socialites for brand campaigns.

Over the years, PR agencies have done a remarkable job in driving influencer marketing against the backdrop of SA challenges and landscape, but the industry has also shown a big rise in content strategy agencies. These agencies bring a brands campaign to life in bite-sized content pieces meant to connect with a brands target audience, often also disseminated by influencers who have a voice in certain cultures/subcultures and now form part of the overall marketing mix for many brands.

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This rise may highlight a challenge for many PR agencies because content and influencers go hand in hand; very soon content agencies will shift to the procurement and management of influencers as part of their strategies and that will render PR agencies without an edge redundant in the bigger scheme of things. Who’s to say content agencies haven’t already been thinking about, or even doing this.

Bringing a new skill onboard

When you think about a content strategy that incorporates an influencer strategy, you may start to see the link and power in content agencies and influencers directly collaborating however this will potentially cut out the middleman; the PR agency. If you sell brand content that will most likely live on social media, why aren’t you selling influencers who will help drive that content too? That could be a start of a beautiful relationship.

Cultivating this relationship will mean content strategy agencies learning or bringing onboard a new skill; influencer marketing, which will need to be integrated into their strategies in a way that will be meaningful to their clients.

A hub where brands can come in to find content and influencer solutions that will solve their brand problems and tell their stories, where content strategists and influencer marketing experts understand culture and subcultures in a way that will help brands connect with them. This is where influencer marketing should be headed.