“Favor fit over fame for influencer marketing success,” says Vivien Garnès, co-CEO at Upfluence

In this episode of The Content Cocktail Hour, Vivien Garnès, co-founder and co-CEO of Upfluence, joins Jonathan Gandolf to unpack influencer marketing in the B2B and B2B2C space. Vivien shares why aligning your influencer’s audience with your brand matters more than follower counts, how influencer marketing has matured beyond vanity metrics to focus on real business impact, and why brands should give influencers creative freedom to unlock authentic engagement. She also opens up about her entrepreneurial journey launching Upfluence, how the co-CEO model works for her company, and an unpopular marketing opinion that changed their approach to ad spend.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why fit matters more than fame when choosing influencers
How to measure influencer marketing success beyond impressions and likes
The benefits and challenges of sharing creative control with influencers

Resources:

Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-gandolf/

Explore AudiencePlus: https://audienceplus.com

Connect with Vivien on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vgarnes/?locale=en_US

Explore Upfluence: https://www.upfluence.com/

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(00:06) Two schools of thought on B2B influencer marketing

(06:20) Favoring fit over fame in influencer partnerships

(09:00) Balancing editorial control and influencer freedom

(12:15) Tracking meaningful ROI in influencer marketing

(14:30) Vivien’s entrepreneurial beginnings and launching Upfluence

(18:00) How the co-CEO model works for Upfluence

(19:50) Branded ad campaigns and marketing assumptions

Why Fit Matters More Than Fame In Influencer Marketing with Vivien Garnès, Upfluence