Taking a leap is never easy, least of all with four children (now five) in tow.

Leaving a life in London behind, author and educator, Courtney Adamo, decided to sell everything and take her young family on the road to travel.

The move led her into the world of social media as a way to capture and share precious travel moments with her family, building an audience base that is now more than a quarter of a million followers strong!

To round out this final episode in IMPACT’s Influencer Pulse Check podcast miniseries, Nicole speaks to Courtney to find out how she creates content magic.

Connecting with your community

“What we are doing is sharing our taste and style and expertise with other people, and I guess in that way we are influencing people,” she says.

“The majority of us want to be taken seriously by our audience. You want to feel genuine and have that really deep sense of connection with your community, and that’s not easy work. It’s a big job,” states Courtney.

Balancing brand collaborations with authenticity

Authenticity has always been a part of Courtney’s DNA and it’s been no different when choosing each collaboration.

“I got on (social media) because I could use filters and share photos with family overseas. I just shared what I loved, photos of my family and our travels and it just grew really organically and naturally.”

When her first paid opportunity came from a photo sharing service in 2016, Courtney insisted she try it for three months before agreeing to promoting it.

“At that time [on Instagram], it was still a very personal connection people felt [with your content] and everything you shared really got seen by all of your audience. The algorithms weren’t messing up who saw your content. Now, everyone knows to expect ads and sponsored content,” says Courtney.

Working with IMPACT client Modibodi was a natural-fit in terms of a brand collaboration. So much so, Courtney had already been using the products for years.

“I bought my first pair after my son was born and he’s now six years old. I’d been wearing those undies, I love them, I think it’s a brilliant idea. It’s great for reducing waste and the whole environmental aspect of them. So, it was a really easy yes for me to work with that brand.”

The importance of the influencer’s voice and the brief

Courtney believes for collaborations to work, brands need to come prepared with a clear proposal, allowing for the content creator’s voice to shine through.

“Sometimes I get a clear brief of what the client wants and sometimes I don’t at all and in that case, I really consider saying yes or no to the job. From the minute I get the email, I have to think in my head, what would I do, how could I do it and does it feel right and genuine and authentic to me,” she says.

“When an agency, or a brand, trust that I know what’s going to resonate with my audiences and what’s going to go over well, that’s when it works the best,” concludes Courtney.

On the flipside, Courtney says no brief or inflexibility with language can easily deter content creators from taking on work.

To learn more about the IMPACT Influencer Pulse Check, discuss best practice recommendations, or how you can work better with influencers and content creators, contact katie@impactagency.com.au.