REAL INFLUENCE:

DOMINATING
INFLUENCER
MARKETING
WITH GRETTA
ROSE VAN
RIEL
Success Story
 Success Story

Van Riel has used blends at home and soon found a job, her biggest worry was that she
loyal customer base among her office wouldn’t have enough to keep her
influencer marketing to coworkers. Inspired, she put up a busy. Would she just be on constant
simple Shopify site and started selling holiday?
catapult her businesses her teas.
to millions in revenue. “[That] was the biggest misconception
It did better than expected. Way better. I’ve ever had!” van Riel says. “The
Now she’s using her She started making her day job’s daily more work you do, the more you
expertise to build a wage in just one hour with her teas, realize that you have to do.”
and then her weekly wage in an hour,
platform that can help and then eventually, her monthly wage In its first six months, SkinnyMe Tea
others do the same. in an hour. That’s when she knew she was making more than $600,000 in

W
was onto something. revenue a month. Since then, it has
garnered 300,000 customers around
“I was like, ‘Okay, this is really the world and multiple millions in
something that I need to focus on,’” revenue.
van Riel says. The young marketing
professional was still working her full- But if you think she’d be satisfied with
time job while she ran the ecommerce one multimillion-dollar company
site for the first two to three months. and a burgeoning “teatox” market
under her belt, you don’t know van
But asking for advice from friends and Riel. Even since we last spoke with
hen Gretta Rose van Riel launched her family didn’t go so well. the social media marketing titan
first business, she was just 22 years old back in early 2016, van Riel’s suite of
with less than $25 in her bank account. “Everybody said, ‘Do not quit your businesses has only grown stronger. In
job!’” van Riel says. “So I just didn’t tell her latest project, she’s looking to help
In search of the perfect detox tea for anybody and quit anyway.” other entrepreneurs follow suit, by
herself, van Riel had started creating harnessing one of van Riel’s own secret
When she finally left her full-time weapons—influencer marketing.
 Founding

A
After the success of SkinnyMe, “out of stock” apology message
van Riel embarked on her to prospective buyers, van Riel
second venture, demonstrating and co-founder Alex McBride
her marketing chops by creating chose to be transparent about
a watch company with a unique the process and let customers
twist. The 5TH sells high-end know that stock is limited, so
timepieces on the fifth of each they have to get in fast.
month, for only five days.
“And that worked really, really
The time-limited aspect of well,” she says, “because for the
this sales process is part of its first, like, six months of sales,
genius—it sparks increased we were selling out really, really
demand with its restricted quickly—sometimes within
supply, and has allowed van Riel a few hours—which meant
to build a loyal following willing that also we’re building this
to stay up late or get up early incredibly loyal customer base,
just to be the first to snag a 5TH because those people that were
watch. buying literally stayed up until
midnight Australian time or got
How did she come up with such up at, like, 5 to 7 a.m. around
a unique launch process? the world to shop our store.”

“Well, it was kind of a bit of an But van Riel admits it wasn’t

accident to begin with,” van Riel always this easy. The 5TH has
says. been in business for more than
two years now, but the first five
Thanks to her influencer to 10 launches were tough.
marketing prowess, she had
grown a list of about 8,000 “We didn’t really have our
leads before launch. But the processes locked down very
problem was, she had only 1,200 well,” she says. “It would just be
timepieces to sell. So when The a lot of moving parts at the same
5TH launched, it sold out of time and just having to act very,
most of the styles within the first very quickly to keep up with
day. orders.”

Being sold out can be good for Despite the rocky start, van
the seller, but it’s a huge pain Riel and McBride hit their
point for buyers. stride with this unique business
model one year after launch.
“We decided that we’d harness In December 2015, The 5TH
this as a way to use that to our brought in a whopping $1
advantage,” van Riel says. So million in sales in just one day.
Success Story instead of having to send an
 Success Story

Weaving
Social
Good Into
a Business “I think having that social-conscious the back of an audience,” she
For most children, Christmas might image at the forefront of your brand says, “rather than developing that
be a time to ask for new toys. But develops a different relationship audience for the product.”
5-year-old Gretta van Riel had with your customer,” van Riel says.
something very different at the top “And it helps the discourse of your Van Riel had grown an Instagram
of her Christmas list: She wanted a brand in general. You can talk about community interested in detox
certain politician to “become a good completely different issues-based waters, with about 900,000 followers
person.” topics rather than just the general and lots of engagement in the form
functionality of the product.” of comments and likes. So she
Van Riel, whose parents are both started brainstorming ideas for a
social workers, says she was raised With SkinnyMe Tea, she’s been able product she could offer this engaged
in a very socially minded family, and to give back through public-facing audience. She decided to create a
that upbringing inspired the way she events, such as a charity gala where detox water bottle that customers
runs her businesses today. they raised $25,000 for The Kids’ could use to infuse fruits into their
Cancer Project. But for van Riel, drinking water, and thus, Drop
“I have always been interested some of the most rewarding things Bottle was born.
in developing socially conscious are when she hears from customers
brands,” van Riel says. “Usually it’s who have found her products “I prefer to think of it as ‘market
just behind the scenes, and it’s just helpful. product fit,’ because if you launch
things like going with the more a product to no audience, it’s not
ethical supplier or sustainable “The products are often rewarding really going to develop into a
product parts, and you don’t often in themselves,” she says. “But then brand or anything sustainable,”
get to celebrate that as much.” it’s also nice to give back where van Riel says. “You’re not going
possible as well.” to get the sales that you thought
When she started her third business, you were. You’re going to be quite
Drop Bottle, she decided to make Drop Bottle was launched in a sort disappointed. So the idea that you
a good cause central to the identity of reverse method, something van develop the market before, or at the
of that business by donating a Riel likes to think of as “market exact same time as your product,
percentage of its sales to clean water product fit,” rather than the right along the way as you’re
initiatives around the world. traditional “product market fit.” building it is just a much better
“We launched Drop Bottle off concept in my eyes.”
 The Secret to Van Riel’s
Success? Influencer Marketing

A
fter scaling a few school marketing methods. Van Riel has been a master
multimillion- of this approach since early
Success Story

dollar “It’s the most effective digital days, and a big part of her
companies, marketing technique that there branding success has to do
van Riel is right now, in terms of ROI,” with the personal connections
has perfected a repeatable van Riel says. she’s cultivated with fans
formula for success. A key over time. She’s also got the
component of that formula Why? Consumers are growing logistics down cold, with a
has been influencer marketing, more distrustful of brands, unique understanding of how
which relies on personal and influencer marketing is this form of marketing works,
endorsements from people a way for people to feel an including some key best
with devoted social media authentic connection to a practices.
followings, and has been business via influencers who
running circles around old love a particular product.
 Free vs.
Paid
Campaigns
O
Is offering free product enough, n the other hand, camera and then spend an hour
or should you pay an influencer? when you pay editing it as well, and so it must be
“That’s kind of the bind right now,” an influencer, it hugely disappointing if that post
van Riel says. completely changes was not paid for, because you’ve
the dynamic, because now it’s a spent hours of your life generating
There are pros and cons to both business relationship. that content.”
the product-for-post campaigns
and the paid ones. “Often, paying them is going to be But how much should you pay an
less work in the long run,” van Riel influencer?
If an influencer is willing to says. Product-for-post campaigns
post about your brand simply involve a lot of relationship As with any industry, there are
in exchange for free product, management, requiring you many different ways to put a price
the good news is that influencer to make sure they received the tag on content. What’s important
is genuinely interested in your product, that they’re happy with it, is that you decide from the start
product. But the bad news is that and that they know how to use it. what you will be measuring. While
influencer may not always follow you could choose to pay based
through and post about your And these days it’s common for on conversions, van Riel says
product. most professional influencers to payment-for-post is the norm.
expect payment, a fair expectation,
And then you’re in a tight spot. says van Riel, considering all Once you start working with
Because there was no monetary the work that goes on behind influencers in your niche, you’ll get
compensation involved, it’s the scenes. “A lot of them are a better idea of the going rates. But
difficult to follow up in a incredible content creators that van Riel offers some benchmarks
meaningful way. have to take that photo on their to give us a general idea:

Influencers with
Success Story

• under 20K followers = $50 to $100 a post

• 50K followers = $100 to $200 a post
• 100K+ followers = $200 to $500 a post
• 500K+ followers = more than $1000 a post
 Micro- vs.
Macro-
Influencers

Success Story

While many eager brands your micro influencers, who

might aim for the big leagues will, in turn, influence your
first, hoping to hit a homerun potential customers.
with a celebrity like Kylie
Jenner, van Riel says that So before blowing your budget
sometimes the “micro” on multiple influencers, you
influencers can have a larger could start out by paying one
impact. macro-influencer to post about
your product first. “If you do
“I haven’t heard one brand engage a macro-influencer,”
actually regenerate all of the van Riel says, “you can use
sales they spent on that one that as leverage to engage
post with a macro influencer your micro-influencers. Plus,
like a Kylie Jenner,” van Riel your micro-influencers will
says. have had exposure to your
brand through seeing it on
For best results, van Riel [the macro-influencer’s] feed.
recommends working with So you’re much more likely to
those micro influencers who then be able to pursue them
are growing quickly, but have for just a product-for-post or a
hardly posted any branded cheaper post than usual.”
content yet.
That’s when the micro-
“The reason that micro- influencers can come in and
influencers are so much create branded content that
more effective than a macro- will inspire user-generated
influencer, in terms of ROI content from your customers.
as well,” she says, “is because
often those micro-influencers, This technique builds an entire
their feeds are so much more ecosystem that, when managed
fresh. ... They’re like gems.” properly, can thrive and spark
a whole lot of growth and sales
Where macro-influencers for your brand.
really shine is in influencing
Real-Life Influencer Case
Studies From Van Riel’s
Getting
Brands SaaS-y
SkinnyMe Tea: How 1 Instagram Post Led to
$1,000 in Sales in 1 Day

The timing was perfect. the multimillion-dollar For her next endeavor, Van Riel is
When SkinnyMe Tea company it is today. venturing into new territory with a
launched in 2012, software as a service (SaaS) company,

The 5TH: How

“influencer marketing” albeit one in a very familiar setting.
wasn’t a well-known term While running influencer marketing

30 Influencers
or strategy yet, and there campaigns for her other businesses,
weren’t many brands van Riel has run into several pain
trying to collaborate with points. So she decided to build her
influencers on Instagram.
Generated $100K in ideal, end-to-end collaboration
platform—it’s called “Hey.”

Sales on Launch Day

One day, van Riel noticed
someone from Tasmania Hey guides you through the process of
had purchased from creating and managing your influencer
SkinnyMe Tea and posted marketing campaigns.
Before launching The 5TH,
about it on Instagram. That
van Riel sent 30 sample
same day, the tea company The first step is to create a campaign.
watches to Instagram
had its best day ever at Hey offers templated campaigns based
influencers. This campaign
$1,000 in sales. on goals, such as generating sales or
was unpaid, but it’s
important to note she had content.
Van Riel saw a huge
already developed good
opportunity here. She Next, it helps you find influencers.
relationships with these
went through and took They’ll appear based on the
influencers.
screenshots of Instagram demographics you chose. If you
accounts that fit well within have pre-existing relationships, you
She sent watches to 10
her target demographic and can invite those influencers to the
influencers with more than
then commented on these campaign by uploading a CSV or
100,000 followers and 20
accounts, offering to send adding their email addresses and
influencers with under
them free tea. names.
50,000. The call to action
in all the posts focused on
The results were Finally, Hey makes it easy to manage
getting the audience to sign
overwhelming. Van Riel relationships. You can set the terms
up for the waitlist. As a
was seeing response rates and communicate via a chat feature
result, van Riel was able to
of 90 to 95 percent from so that you can find all the essential
add 8,000 highly qualified
Instagram influencers information in one spot.
leads to her email list prior
(which, back then, meant
to launch.
each had only about 1,000 Once your campaign is up and
followers). running, you can pre-approve a
Sending out those 30
watches and sending emails post and give the green light when
The low competition and it’s ready to go live. The brand gets
to the waitlist were the
the novelty of influencer notified when the post is published,
only marketing tactics The
marketing meant van and the payment gets released to the
5TH did before launch. On
Riel was able to use this influencer.
launch day, the company
one technique to help
generated $100,000 in sales.
grow SkinnyMe Tea to
 Think Outside the Box:
Three Types of Influencer
Marketing Collaboration
The biggest misconception surrounding influencer
marketing, van Riel says, is that most brands don’t
understand it’s multidirectional. Instead of thinking of
influencer marketing as strictly a place where brands send
a brief to influencers and tell them what to do, van Riel
recommends thinking in terms of creative freedom and
collaboration from all directions.

Success Story

Van Riel says you can think of them as

She cites three types of a “content crew,” where each influencer
influencer marketing has a role, such as hair stylist, makeup
artist, photographer, and model. This
collaborations: crew can then pitch its creative concept
to a brand.
1. One brand collaborates with
multiple influencers. This is your 3. Multiple brands collaborate on a
traditional influencer marketing single campaign. Many brands share
campaign and the one with which most similarities with other brands within
brands are familiar. You send a product,their niche. Rather than viewing them
and sometimes payment, to influencers as competition, consider teaming up
and have them post about your brand. with them on an influencer marketing
campaign. One huge benefit to this is
When you do this, give your influencers that you can split the campaign costs.
creative freedom to do what they do
best: influence. A brand should not “It’s that kind of collaborative aspect
be dictating the wording and creative that a Frank Body, [or] like my sister’s
direction of the posts. company, could team up with a
Amy Rigby is a writer
SkinnyMe Tea,” says van Riel, “because
who helps startups “It’s really unfair on the influencer, we have really similar audiences, but
woo their customers and it’s not going to have good results it wouldn’t be detracting from either
with words. An avid company’s sales. … If you’re doing a body
traveler, she has visited
for your brand,” van Riel says. “An
Machu Picchu twice, influencer knows their audience.” scrub, that’s quite detoxifying for your
run across the world’s skin, and if you’re drinking a detox tea
widest avenue in Buenos at the same time, that wouldn’t be an
2. Multiple influencers collaborate
Aires, and eaten her
fill of gourmet cheeses on a single campaign. On the unusual thing to happen. People often
in Paris. Amy founded influencer side, popular YouTubers and use our products side by side. So why not
WhereverWriter. Instagrammers, for example, can team team up to create that content at scale at
com to help fellow half the price?”
entrepreneurs work
up on a collaboration for a brand and
remotely and travel expand each other’s reach.
freely.