Let’s face it - if you’re in business and not leveraging influencer marketing, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful tools in your communications toolkit. Statista reported, the global influencer marketing market is set to hit a jaw-dropping $16.4 billion by 2025. Sprout Social has revealed that 84% of brands plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets going forward.

So, why is influencer marketing so effective as a PR strategy? It's simple…authenticity sells! Influencers have built trust with their audiences, and when they endorse a product or brand, their followers listen. Whether you’re partnering with fashion influencers to launch the latest clothing line or working with a food blogger to hype up a restaurant opening, these collaborations blend the personal with the promotional in ways that traditional advertising often can’t match.

The key difference being this isn’t a one-way street. Influencers benefit from the exposure and credibility a PR partnership brings, and brands get to tap into an engaged audience in a more organic, relatable way. That’s the magic of it—it’s not just about product placement; it’s about creating stories that resonate with your target audience and connecting in a meaningful way.

So, if you’re looking to add a bit of rocket fuel to your PR efforts, look no further than influencer marketing but be warned this is big business with many charging a small fortune for what seems like very little activity. They are super protective of their brand, stories and feed so it is vital that you partner with the right influencer—the ones who truly align with your brand values so you can make the most of it. Afterall, in the world of influencer marketing, relevance is key.

As influencer marketing continues to grow, micro influencers are becoming more accessible to businesses nationwide and we are constantly trying to find the next right fit for our clients on this journey. Engaging with influencers is not for everyone we know that however, many businesses are finding it is simply no longer a choice if they want to build authenticity with particular audiences and they are investing and seeing good returns on their investments.

Many clients ask us how it all works! Together we choose a selection of influencers which we feel are a good fit for your brand and campaign objectives, assessing their reach, engagement and audience profiles and then we connect with their agents to check availability, discuss what we want (and what they can/will do!) and pricing.

There are a good few agencies worth checking out many more than those listed below if you’re in the market for influencers, we just wanted to give you a start and who better to start with than our hometown gal and Model & Influencer Agent, Andrea Roche. The first influencer on her website listing is Sharlene Mawdsley (@sharlenem1) fresh from the Olympics in Paris she is very much in demand offering a whopping 223,000 Instagram following and a high quality grid with 450 colourful posts at the time of writing. Content is primarily sport orientated however, lifestyle, food and travel are very much in there too and I envisage that will grow as she flexes her commercial influence over the coming months.

As aforementioned to start you on your influencer journey we’ve included some popular agencies below.

Popular at home: AR Agency, Modash, Skeepers, Refersion and Evolution Digital

Popular in the UK: Ainfluencer and The Social Shepherd

Photo credit: A screenshot of AR Agency Website