Influencer Casting: How Do Brands Connect With the Social Zeitgeist?

First of all, let’s be clear about something: as a company, you don’t actually own your brand. Nope, your brand is what people think, feel, and say about it. That’s why authenticity is king. The goal of brand building is to create meaningful connections between your brand and people. And this is where culture and influencers come into play. When you use the right personality to embed your brand into the hearts of people, their values, and their communities, your target audience will start talking about it—spontaneously and genuinely.

Tapping into the Social Zeitgeist

Everyone wants a slice of the social zeitgeist, but that’s easier said than done—especially for brands. Once upon a time, brands were the trendsetters, in tune with and even shaping culture. Nowadays, it often feels like they’re desperately trying to keep up, clinging to whatever’s considered “cool” at the moment.

So, how do brands join cultural conversations in a way that feels real and authentic? Partnering with celebrities, artists, or influencers is no longer enough. It’s about truly integrating them into the culture and communities that matter.

Today, it’s the people who give your brand meaning. They choose whether to engage with it or not, based on the story you tell and how you tell it. This is why modern brands are culture. When you understand the social pulse—the zeitgeist—you’re not just part of their culture; you’re helping to create it.

In short, as a brand, you’ve got three choices when it comes to culture. You can follow it in a way that feels disconnected from your brand’s values, which can come off as fake (remember the Pepsi-Kendall Jenner debacle?). You can engage with popular culture and amplify it. Or, even better, you can create culture—like Fortnite has done.

The Experience Economy

Shopping is in the middle of a social revolution. From livestreams to unboxing videos to following influencers, the way people interact with brands has changed dramatically. That’s why brands need to earn people’s attention and create genuine human connections. Welcome to the experience economy.

We’re moving away from selling services to selling experiences. Cultural experiences grab people’s attention and evoke memorable emotional responses, which in turn drive business results. That’s why creating these experiences is crucial now more than ever. People might forget what you said or did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel. Experience is your brand: Without defining what that experience is, your brand risks being shaped by outside forces.

Building A Community

Community is the future of communication. As brands battle for consumer attention and loyalty, partnering with the right influencer is critical. Brands need to craft experiences that satisfy what people crave most—a connection around a common interest or cause. The right influencer can be the key to building this community.

The most important thing you can offer is a sense of belonging. Using the right social influencer can ignite a connection among like-minded people through content and experiences that resonate with your customers’ lives and interests. This way, brands can build communities grounded in culture. It’s the culturally iconic brands that stand the test of time and grow in value.

The lines between community, shopping, and entertainment are blurring, creating opportunities for brands to fit seamlessly into the overall experience. Communication is shifting—from broad, mass audiences to hyper-personalised, niche communities that both influence and are influenced by culture.

While Gen Z are more likely to buy online than older generations, they’re less likely to describe purchasing as a top benefit of the internet. Instead, community and shared interests are worth a lot more. In other words, younger audiences start their search from a place of curiosity and expect to be led down a fun rabbit hole of new ideas, rather than directed to a list of brands or products.

As David Yovanno, CEO of impact.com, put it, “With consumers, especially Gen Z, becoming less tolerant and frankly more tuned in to the tactics used in interruptive marketing and advertising techniques—like pop-up ads and retargeting—creators are becoming more integral in brands’ marketing strategies… Brands are no longer relying strictly on traditional paid advertising channels, they are tapping creators to create content that is tailored to reach new audiences.”

But to achieve that community halo-effect, you need the right influencer to help build and guide the community through powerful storytelling and a genuine role in culture and community. This is the new word of mouth, the new social currency, and it’s a powerful force in all types of communication. Authentic content will build credibility for both the brand and community insiders (creators), while growing engaged communities.

Casting the Right Influencers

Casting influencers who match your brand, aesthetic, and budget for a particular social campaign is always a bit tricky—not to mention making sure they fit the vibe of the platform you’re using. That’s why working with someone who knows both the audience you want to reach and the platform you’re using should be a top priority. This is what influencer casting is all about.

According to Forbes, Linqia Research found that in 2018, 86% of marketers and advertising agencies wanted to include influencers in their overall strategy; 92% found this approach effective for brand outreach. Influencers have also shown resilience during economic downturns and in an increasingly crowded space. In fact, influencer marketing spending grew roughly 3.5 times faster in 2023 than social ad spending, according to eMarketer.

We are in the creator era where creativity is the new status symbol for this digital era. Influencers and creators are the new musicians, and they monetise their creativity through crafted content and expert opinions that build a community. It is becoming increasingly important to integrate them into the culture that makes them a community insider and use this to your advantage, focusing on their creativity and added value.

This is why brands and media need to serve this generation. You’re no longer just creating content, services, and products for people to consume—you’re creating things that people can then create with. Building creator currency and winning the community game is key to influencing culture. Whatever your story, how you tell it online can make all the difference.

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