Is influencer marketing the new PR?

In May 2024, hundreds of feet in the air, a 45-foot image of influencer, author and celebrity chef Molly Baz holding lactation cookies over her breasts ascended in New York City’s Times Square. The ad was accompanied by three words: “Just add milk.” But it wasn’t long before the image—an ad for Swehl, the brand on a mission to give women better resources throughout pregnancy, postpartum and beyond—was flagged and removed. Despite the ad later being reinstated, the backlash to the censorship led to even more advocacy and reach than if their original billboard maintained its full run. The would-be crisis became a PR triumph.

The ad’s virality wasn’t a complete surprise. As Swehl co-founder Elizabeth Myer puts it, “We joke that a women’s health brand can only dream of having their ad pulled. We worked with Baz to devise a visual that felt true to both our brand and hers, while pushing the envelope and the cheeky visual narrative. Prior to launching the campaign, we pitched a reporter at The New York Times who wrote a piece that spread like wildfire when the ad was eventually taken down. From there, we lined up morning shows, brought on a PR team to help field opportunities and quickly transitioned the message from lactation cookies (which we don’t even sell!) to our core mission.”

Swehl’s Just Add Milk campaign is a potent reminder of the opportunity influencer marketing offers for skyrocketing brand awareness when done well. It’s a sign PR and influencer marketing efforts are blurring, which begs the question: Is influencer marketing the new PR?

To find the answer and what the evolving state of media means for brands, we interviewed Myer and two of Sprout’s influencer marketing and PR experts, Greg Scavuzzo, Director of Product Marketing, and Layla Revis, Vice President of Brand and Social.

How influencer marketing is transforming media and PR

Like with the Swehl example, brand and influencer collaborations are increasingly generating earned press. As consumer-influencer relationships evolve, influencer activations are becoming more newsworthy—garnering the kind of attention reserved for celebrity campaigns of yore. What makes these influencer campaigns even more powerful is the trust consumers bestow upon influencers, and how that impacts their online behavior. The 2024 Influencer Marketing Report found that trust in influencers is holding steady, and growing in some pockets.

As Revis describes, “People trust people, and they want to be entertained and educated. Whether it’s humor, fashion, fitness or sports, people are more likely to seek out influencers than brands or celebrities. This is a sign the media has become democratized. When I started in this industry, influencers didn’t have teams. Now, they have become like actors with legal representation, managers, licensing deals and agents.”

Despite similarities with Hollywood, influencer brand content stands out from studio-created brand content. Influencers know how to speak to their audiences and refine their content to each channel.

Scavuzzo explains what that can teach brands: “While brand-created ads distributed across paid channels can be an effective way to create brand awareness, influencer content compels consumers to learn more about a brand’s products and introduces them to a diverse range of product use cases. Which makes them more likely to engage and buy when an influencer they trust and relate to endorses a brand or product. Well executed, authentic and engaging influencer campaigns prompt the algorithm to act in the brand’s favor by sending ads wider (organically)—to more of a creator’s followers and into Discover and For You pages.”

Social media is where culture is born, so it makes sense that successful influencer marketing campaigns permeate other traditional media channels, too. Tried-and-true PR tactics like developing relationships with journalists and hosting events take these campaigns to the next level. The more well-orchestrated influencer-brand activations are, the more benefits they offer.

The benefits of integrating influencer marketing and PR efforts

While it’s unlikely that influencer marketing will completely replace PR efforts, the two go hand-in-hand. A splashy event without influencer promo is less likely to generate interest. An influencer campaign that’s misaligned with other PR efforts will leave your audience confused and make it harder to break through. Here are all the ways your brand wins when you integrate your influencer marketing and PR strategies.

Amplify brand reach and credibility

Influencer marketing and PR efforts have a shared goal: brand awareness. While PR traditionally focuses on building trust through media coverage and reputation management, influencers offer personal authenticity and direct connection with their followers. When these two approaches work in tandem, brand storytelling is more effective and credible.

Myer describes how aligning Swehl’s partnership with Baz with other PR efforts extended their reach. “The campaign launched around our first anniversary, and was a follow-up to some big wins we’d had in our first year. The week everything went down, we already planned to be in New York accepting our award for making Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list. Like any big media moment, there’s a halo effect of brand awareness that for us, manifested in throngs of new visitors, a boost in sales and new partnership opportunities (retail and otherwise).”

Influencers can also help ensure campaign messages reach the most relevant audiences. Think of it this way: While PR efforts cast a wide net, influencer marketing reels in your most ideal customers. Pairing them increases awareness among all audiences.

Craft consistent messages across channels

When influencers and PR teams work together, the result is brand cohesion. Influencers can adapt messaging to their style, but the core theme remains the same, reinforcing your overall narrative across different platforms.

According to Scavuzzo, this harmony leads to campaigns that perform. “Marketing initiatives that break free of silos, and deliver a consistent experience and message across all channels are the ones that succeed. Always work with creators to amplify the most important brand messages.”

Myer recalls how keeping Swehl’s brand mission front and center helped turn their viral moment into a lasting win. “We love our mantras at Swehl, and one of them is ‘Don’t chase shiny toys.’ In other words, we always evaluate our efforts through the lens of the same questions, like: What problem are we trying to solve? Is this true to our brand? How does this move the needle? The experience with the Times Square billboard was absolutely net positive, and we believe that’s because it was a super authentic expression of the mission-driven work we’d already been putting out into the world.”

By integrating PR and influencer marketing work, brands can synchronize the timing of key announcements, product launches and campaigns across media. This creates a unified rollout of information, ensuring that no conflicting or outdated messages get shared. To achieve this coordination, brands that turn to agencies for influencer marketing and PR may have an opportunity to consolidate vendors, streamlining the collaboration required.

Boost your event profile

By partnering with influencers for events you’re attending or throwing, you add a layer of anticipation and extend the life of your activations. Traditional PR coverage of events may be limited to specific media outlets and articles. Whereas influencers build hype beforehand by sharing exclusive event previews and behind-the-scenes content with their followers, and recap their event experiences by sharing highlights over several days or weeks, prolonging the event’s visibility.

Scavuzzo sums it up like this: “Events are typically a large part of a brand’s earned media strategy. Inviting influencers is an easy way to create real-time buzz on social for your brand.”

Influencer event content is often rich in photos, videos and live interactions, offering diverse and engaging perspectives. Their experiences, reactions and insights can also shape the public’s perception, giving more credibility to the event’s success and generating positive word-of-mouth.

Humanize your storytelling

Influencers excel at relating to their audience in a personal way. Merging human-led storytelling with your PR activations can make your brand message more memorable and approachable. Influencers often tell stories that connect emotionally, which complements more formal tactics like press releases and executive interviews.

But this only works if the influencer’s endorsement of your brand and products feels genuine. “Prior to Baz, Swehl had never actually invested in influencer marketing! We’ve of course worked with a range of influencers and celebrities—all of which have been so passionate about Swehl and our mission that they’re excited to be aligned with us,” says Myer.

Before going all-in on an influencer campaign, take steps to find influencers who are true enthusiasts for your brand. Keep reading for more tips for vetting influencers and how to forge the right partnerships.

Proactively preventing an influencer PR crisis

As brands invest more in influencer marketing, PR teams also need to be better equipped to prevent influencer-induced crises. Which starts with vetting influencers thoroughly.

Revis advises, “Before you reach out or agree to partner with an influencer, research where they stand on critical issues, look at their previous partnerships and use these as a guide to determine whether that influencer is aligned with the values of your organization.”

Scavuzzo adds, “While influencers may appear to align with your brand based on a surface-level scan of their profile, past comments or brand partnerships should disqualify a partner if the risk level is too high. While there is always a level of risk when working with new partners, influencer crises are just as preventable as other brand crises.” He adds that it’s never a bad idea to have a crisis communications playbook ready, even if you never need to use it.

While thorough research with the help of influencer management tools can help zero-in on partners, it’s also critical to forge partnerships built on understanding and empowerment.

As Myer suggests, “Any great union should be mutually beneficial. When we decide to work with anyone, we make sure we understand their ambitions as a person and a creative. From there, we devise activations that build upon what we’re each already putting out into the world. Our relationship with Baz unfolded over the course of a year, and we’re so glad that we waited until the timing was right (and until we really got to know her and understood what made her tick).”

Working closely with (the right) influencers is the best way to ensure your PR and influencer activations don’t spin out of control. If you take big swings with your influencer marketing efforts, make sure all parties are informed of the potential pitfalls and have a safety net in place. If your Times Square ad gets flagged (insert your adjacent influencer play here), be ready to capitalize on your moment. All press is good press if you have a strategic plan.

The pitch: Influencer marketing should be a pillar of your PR strategy

To get back to the question that started it all: No, influencer marketing isn’t exactly the new PR. But it is a cornerstone of a well-developed PR plan. Brands need influencers (now more than ever) to ensure their PR efforts soar to their fullest potential.

As Swehl’s Just Add Milk campaign demonstrates, influencer-led activations generate earned press, build brand awareness and create meaningful connections that can’t be achieved through traditional PR avenues alone. By integrating influencer marketing and PR strategies, brands can amplify their reach, strengthen credibility and craft human-first stories that resonate. Influencer marketing has the power to be a game-changer in the world of modern PR.

Looking for more on how to execute influencer marketing strategies? Download the The 2024 Influencer Marketing Report to create effective influencer marketing content, and dive into the evolving expectations of consumers and influencers themselves.