The Average American Often Can’t Relate to Influencers. This Omaha Agency Wants to Fix That

All told, though, the influencer space, with all of its perceived chaos, shows no signs of slowing. In 2018, the World Federation of Advertisers found that 65 percent of multinational brands surveyed were planning on increasing influencer marketing spend, while eMarketer noted a similar bump in spending—62 percent—by marketers.

In the early days, popular internet stars with huge followings like a Kardashian were about the only way to grab a substantial audience. However, there is a continuing trend leaning toward the use of micro-influencers, those with audiences that some have pegged as low as 2,000 and as high as 500,000 followers.

But, according to Greg Andersen, CEO of Bailey Lauerman in Omaha, Neb., there is still a perceptual issue to overcome related to influencers: their geography. For the most part, the prevailing wisdom is that the more powerful and effective influencer set is based on the coasts—like Los Angeles and New York—or other top-10 markets. In Andersen’s mind, there was an ample opportunity to develop a network of micro-influencers based in unexpected places, like smaller cities and towns. To that end, the agency has launched the Everything In-Between (EIB) Network.

Part of the core ethos of this 100-person network—all of whom have anywhere from 3,000 to 300,000 followers—is the potential fatigue that consumers may feel from the onslaught of content from the influencer world. While there is indeed a level of aspiration, it can be hard for people in the middle of the country or other smaller cities and towns to sympathize with glitzy influencer lifestyles.

“There is a breakdown in how people from this part of the country view celebrity,” said Andersen, a Nebraska native who spent more than 25 years working at large agencies including Rapp, BBH, Euro RSCG, Merkley + Partners and Lowe. “We’re no longer willing to blindly follow these people who are putting up a life that everyone else should ascribe to. We thought that there was an opportunity to tap into the pride of place that we’re seeing in America outside of the big cities and also celebrate parts of the country that are more surprising.”

The network taps into a more realistic piece of America and includes people from 33 different states and spans across interest areas including automotive, fashion, wellness, food, beverage and interior design. It also is a case study in how influencers may not have to uproot from their hometowns to create careers in unknown places, lending an air of authenticity to the content produced.

“My husband and I live in rural Indiana because we want to, not because we have to,” Kelsey Johnston, a design blogger and influencer in the network, said when Bailey Lauerman announced the EIB. “We could choose to live in any place in the world, but we have chosen to live here because it is clean, friendly, beautiful, affordable and ultimately because it feels like home.”

“Kentucky is, and will always be my one true love. I try to make that clear in each post,” added food, travel and lifestyle blogger JC Phelps, who works with Maker’s Mark, Naked Juices and Lamarca wines through a partnership with Kroeger. “I am authentic, truthful, and I work with brands that I fully believe in. I am plus-size, male, and I represent a demographic that is often underserved or under-represented in mainstream media.”

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