Jason Stein of Laundry Service: Influencers are reaching every day more people than traditional publishers

For Laundry Service CEO Jason Stein, the real value of the so-called influencers is higher than what everyone thinks. “Advertisers pay for people, they pay for audiences, they pay for eyeballs, they pay for attention, they pay for trust, they pay for influence” Stein said. According to Stein the only way to continue to engage and retain that audience is to create great content. “Many influencers are reaching as many, if not more, people than traditional publishers every single day” he added. “They got that reach because they were really good at producing original content that people wanted with the specific point of view they brought to the table.” But more importantly, he said, social media influencers distribute their own content to their followers. Stein warned that brands looking to engage an influencer should select one that is part of the demographic they’re trying to reach. The brand must understand what resonates with those influencers rather than telling them what to create or how to make it. “Authenticity is queen on the internet” Stein said. “If you have a big celebrity who cares nothing about a certain product all the sudden say, ‘Hey, go buy this’ that’s what doesn’t work, that’s what doesn’t make sense.”