What Small Business Owners Should Know About Influencer Marketing

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In an oversaturated digital space, with so many brands and influencers vying for consumer attention, it can be hard to break through the noise. That’s why Julianne Fraser founded Dialogue NYC, a Brooklyn-based digital marketing consultancy that prioritizes authenticity and long-term engagement over fleeting viral fame.

The strategy starts with Fraser’s relationship roadmap, a plan unique to each client that transforms a one-time product post into a meaningful partnership with a content creator.

“There’s so [many] creators talking about products that they really have never tried,” Fraser says. “I think that’s the biggest issue in our industry right now. It’s really important to start those relationships by gifting the product, developing a feedback loop and getting that response about the brand from the creators. We’re thinking of ways to nurture and strengthen those relationships over time.”

Fraser encourages brands to expand their definition of influencer marketing — and influence in general. Rather than limiting influencer collaborations to individuals with large followings, she helps clients identify a range of potential partners, both online and offline. These could include creators who specialize in niche content production and experts who have built trust within their communities and offer a layer of credibility to campaigns. From her perspective, influence is as much about resonance as it is about reach.

“It’s really important not to lose sight of the importance of offline influence and how we can develop these influencers for the brand, which might be your top customers,” Fraser says. “Do not overlook the power of someone who might not have a huge reach online but has a huge offline influence.”

Dialogue NYC’s signature approach begins with defining a brand’s categories of influence: types of influencers, tiers of following and relevant content niches. This clarity enables brands to create purpose-driven campaigns and connect with creators whose audiences align with their goals.

Before business owners can launch marketing campaigns, however, they must have a coherent brand identity. Fraser says a clear voice, engaging content and cohesive social presence are non-negotiables: “[The influencer should be] the cherry on top of your marketing strategy. If we do our job well, they should accelerate your brand marketing, your performance marketing, your creative, all these various facets of your program. To reap the benefits of influencer marketing, you really do have to have all of those pieces in place.”

With this strong foundation, influencer marketing can be a powerful asset that goes beyond a simple product post. Fraser says the biggest rewards come from building lasting relationships with content creators. To help business owners achieve this, she designs multi-stage roadmaps that grow relationships over months or even years. Partnerships might begin with a gifted product, followed by content collaboration and eventually grow into a brand ambassador or product partnership.

It’s a model that’s been effective for clients like Little Spoon, a children’s food brand that has been a longtime client of Dialogue NYC.

“I like to define it as developing [a garden]. We have laid the foundation from year one, and we’ve continuously nurtured those plants,” Fraser says. “And now, seven years later, they’re reaping the rewards and the incredible ROI from influencer marketing. You can’t buy that level of authenticity of a mother who has used Little Spoon baby blends and toddler meals and snacks throughout two or three of her children. It’s just the most powerful testimony.”

Always seeking authenticity, Fraser advises clients to steer clear of scripted or overly curated content. She said creativity is essential to creating relevant narratives that resonate with both the brand’s and creator’s audiences.

A prominent example is Little Spoon’s Lunchers campaign, inspired by ’90s nostalgia. Dialogue NYC helped the brand partner with millennial celebrities like Melissa Joan Hart, Jaleel White and James Van Der Beek, also bringing in content creators to add their own childhood stories to the conversation.

“It was a narrative that was so relatable,” Fraser says. “The hundreds of influencers we engaged for this campaign interpreted it themselves, and what their story was from the 1990s and their childhood, and what their current story is with their children. And it just led to this authentic, amazing viral campaign that really works.”

Ultimately, Fraser’s approach to influencer marketing revolves around relationships, not transactions. She observes that business owners gain the most from influencer marketing when they have an established brand identity, connect with the right people and give them the tools and trust to advance their story.

Consider Dialogue NYC’s guiding principles to elevate your influencer strategy:

Influence is more than followers. Expand your definition of influencer to encompass more than digital creators. Subject matter experts and loyal customers can also be valuable contributors to brand messaging.
Your brand should speak for itself. Influencer marketing should amplify a strong foundation — not compensate for its absence. A cohesive voice, quality visuals, and engaging content must be in place before launching any partnerships.
Seek out relationships, not transactions. Treat influencer collaborations as evolving relationships instead of one-time collaborations. Nurturing creators over time is key to authenticity and brand loyalty.
Feedback fuels improvement. Influencer relationships are a two-way street. Creators can offer valuable insights into product design, messaging and presentation, and businesses can use that feedback to identify areas for improvement.
Creativity is a vital differentiator. In an oversaturated digital space, storytelling matters. Authentic, culturally relevant campaigns that give agency to creators to interpret the message in their own voice are more likely to resonate than a scripted ad.

Listen to the episode below to hear directly from Julianne Fraser, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday.