Carly

Turn to the explore page on Instagram, and you're likely to be flooded with influencers striking a pose, advertising products, documenting their luxurious travels, or showing you how to dress and do your makeup. Travel blogger, Carly Nogawski, has built a loyal, global Instagram audience, which makes her an effective marketing channel for a direct-to-consumer business.

It was an absolute pleasure interviewing Carly this week. Carly's blogging journey all began in 2016 when she set off on a year-long trip around the world with her partner, Aaron. She had just graduated college and planned to become a teacher, but knew she needed to see the world before she put down any roots at home.

So, she gathered all her money, booked a 1-way ticket to Thailand, and embarked on the most life-changing year of her life. 20 countries, over 50 cities, and countless flights later- she learned what it was like to truly LIVE in the present moment, and knew that her love for travel would only continue to grow deeper.

When influencers own their own brand, the affiliation will be incredibly strong. Many travel brands are moving toward a direct-to-consumer model in line with consumer behaviour and spending. A digital talent doing it brings that added level of audience relationship which, when done right, can be powerful.

Carly is a representative of a wide trend of travel influencers are partnering with brands to promote products to their audience.

"Instagram has allowed me to share my journey with others and has also given me a great way to help others learn that affordable travel is possible. Personally, I don't love the negative connotation of the word "influencer" because my true goal is to always give value to others."

Carly explains, "I want to truly help others see the world and moving forward I will be focusing on not only helping others learn how to travel, but also focusing on volunteer travel in order to give back to the communities that myself and other travel to."

Many Influencers like Carly are well connected, but as she describes, "there seems to be a lack of focus on giving back, which is why this is my goal for @light.travels in 2020."

A built-in, receptive audience is certainly a boon for fledgling brands, but it is not a panacea. Influencers hoping to work with brands need to focus on creating inspired content that fits with their brand and is something that they would truly use a product.

This is a trend that is only gathering momentum. "The level of interaction we have with our audience is key. I will turn down many brand partnership offers if it does not fit in line with my personal brand." Carly notes.

Currently, buying products is heavily driven by influencers today both from a transaction and marketing perspective. Just as Carly explained, Influencers are more relatable and their content does not come across as promotional, which creates a much deeper impact on consumers. The proliferation of the internet has led to high content consumption especially in the form of photos and videos.

While the trend for influencers launching their own brands looks unlikely to wane, as more seek to capitalize on their large audiences. Influencers hoping to start a label, or retailers seeking to stock it, need to look past follower numbers and ensure that the brand can stand on its own two feet when it comes to product, design and business fundamentals.

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