Monday, March 24, 2025

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Partner with influencers

Welcome to API’s March Need to Know Special Edition, where we’ll walk you through what it takes for your news outlet to experiment with influencer collaborations. The insights and resources we’ll share are largely informed by the experiences of newsrooms that participated in our recent Election + Influencers Learning Cohort for the Knight Election Hub.

Project checklists for a smooth campaign

Editor’s Note: The American Press Institute invites U.S. local and community-based media to apply for our Influencers Learning Cohort 2025. Participating news organizations will receive $3,000 to establish connections and collaborate with local influencers or trusted messengers. This program builds upon the work of a 2024 cohort that fostered local media collaborations with trusted messengers and influencers on nonpartisan journalism related to the elections. Learn more and apply by March 31.

Collaborating with trusted messengers offers opportunities to loosen up and experiment with new formats. Some news outlets in API’s influencer cohort noted that things went more smoothly when the creator or community member offered what they wanted to do.

Several newsrooms in the cohort said that one of the biggest lessons they learned was approaching the influencer like a partner rather than dictating what to do. The influencers know what will resonate with their audience better than you do. Be clear about your goals and brainstorm the best way to do that with them.

Others in the cohort found their trusted messenger wanting to use the technical skills of the newsroom to take the content to the next level. Meeting in the middle was helpful and a teaching moment.

A ripple from this middle included mutual appreciation and trust — as all good collaborations should aim to do. Some in our cohort talked about how the person they collaborated with for a focused project began sharing their work more generally, on their own, after the fact. The time spent collaborating and building the relationship can open more lines of trust and communication.

Remember that in this type of experiment, one size does not fit all.

Checklists to chart out the project

Once you’ve agreed upon the information you want to share, determine who is responsible for…

✅ Editing a script

✅ Giving feedback on a video

✅ Social graphics

✅ Captions

✅ Hashtags and tags

When it comes to getting the content out the door, what are the associated steps? The API cohort found this to be a good workflow, but your organization might find that you don’t need all these steps or that you do them in a different order:

🔲 Agreement is signed

🔲 Newsroom and influencer meet to settle on goal and message

🔲 Newsroom writes a script

🔲 Influencer reviews the script and makes adjustments

🔲 Newsroom reviews script again

🔲 Influencer records video

🔲 Newsroom reviews video and gives feedback

🔲 If necessary, influencer reshoots video

🔲 Newsroom approves video

🔲 Newsroom and influencer discuss captions, hashtags, etc.

🔲 Content is posted

Before the influencer shares the video or post, double check that:

👉 You’re prepared to track the metrics that will help you understand whether you achieved the goals you set

👉 UTM codes or bit.ly links are in place — and the influencer knows to use those links — if you want to monitor the conversation around the content

👉 You have a plan on keeping the rest of your organization up-to-date while the collaboration is ongoing

👉 You’re ready to communicate with the community about the partnership

What others are doing

THE CITY, one of the newsrooms in API’s cohort, originally wanted to do a man-on-the-street video to promote their voter guide. But that wasn’t the style of the influencer they wanted to work with.

“Finding someone who understands the objective of the video and has a good read on the audience we’re all trying to reach, who is comfortable working at the speed of a newsroom, was much more important than ensuring our original concept came to fruition,” audience engagement producer Diana Riojas told Ariel Zirulnick.

Olivia Rivarola from Factchequado agreed.

“One of the most impactful decisions was allowing [the influencer] creative freedom to tailor the content to her audience,” she said, noting that they avoided “rigid scripting.”

“This approach ensured that her promotional materials felt genuine and aligned with her established style, tone and voice. [Her] ability to frame Electopedia and Electobot as relatable, helpful tools for her community added authenticity, which resonated strongly with her followers,” she added.

Dig deeper

A lot is being written right now about influencers — whether they’re called creators, news influencers, trusted messengers or something else. Here are some reports and breakdowns you may find helpful as you consider how to manage your influencer campaign.

• America’s news influencers: The creators and consumers in the world of news and information on social media
• The future of trustworthy information: Learning from online content creators
• Trust Tips: Notice how news influencers format content

Ariel Zirulnick contributed to this installment.

+ COMING UP: How to debrief from a campaign with a trusted messenger

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