An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Build equity — Work with brands on long-term collaborations, and ask for equity in the company that you’re promoting the product for. You’re essentially helping them build their business by creating brand awareness through your audience, so don’t be afraid to ask for equity and ownership (even if a small percentage) in return. This might not be immediate monetization, but has huge potential upside in the long-term.
As part of our series about “How Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Marthe Vangman.
Marthe Vangman is an entrepreneur and talent executive who specializes in working with content creators and brands. She has experience working with talent ranging from musicians, comedians, gamers, to even kids creators. After learning about the importance of narrative-driven marketing at the start of her career, she has focused on helping creators use content, their audience, and turn their brand into sustainable businesses.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. What is your “backstory”? What brought you to this point in your career?
I started my career in the music business, working with musical artists. I had an internship at YM&U, which is an international talent management company that led to lots of opportunities.At the same time I was also helping launch and lead a music experience and live events business with Studiotime, which you can think of as the “Airbnb for music studios”. I helped them launch a live events part of the business, which included event planning, talent management, and scaling the business from the first few events to multiple cities. I also started working on separate projects with content creators, where I was helping them navigate how they could build their brand and career.
All of these past experiences eventually led me to Invisible Narratives, a creator entertainment company founded by Adam Goodman and Michael Bay with the purpose to bring professional Hollywood storytelling and franchise building to the digital world. We work with creators to build out IP and brands that are separate from their own name and likeness.
I think what brought me to this point in my career is that I’m a people person, so I love meeting new people and also connecting them through my network. Being part of really great companies, teams, and connecting talented people has led to both personal and professional relationships that are valuable in the long-term.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you in the course of your career?
One time I was planning an event, and the day before we were a bit worried that no one would show up. I then started to DM creators on Instagram, inviting them to the event. Let’s just say we really underestimated the power of social media, and when we opened the door to the event there was a line that was several blocks down the road. Around 700 people showed up and we were completely shocked! The capacity of the building was way below that and we even had to decline some people. The event turned out to be super successful, so in the end it was a big win and I was relieved that so many people came out to support us.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I try to inspire others, and teach people to not be afraid to try things out. I think many people are scared to fail, which can hold them back from creating opportunities that can lead to something so much better. I like to share my “failure”-stories with people in order to make them understand that no matter what, there’s always a solution. Through my success, I also like to create opportunities for others. This could be in the form of connecting people with others, or helping people out in any way possible. It’s the most rewarding feeling in the world when someone gets a job, experience or another type of opportunity because of my help.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that many have attempted, but eventually gave up on. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but know that their dreams might be dashed?
First of all, there isn’t one clear path to success. The Influencer business is still very new and is evolving every day. If I could share a few words of advice it would be to study the social media space, learn how the various platforms work, and identify the influencers that are at the top creators on each platform. Watch tons and tons of content, read comments to see what connects with the audience, and start to identify the patterns. Educate yourself on what methods brands use in order to market themselves through Influencer marketing, what works, and see how they build strong brands. By doing this you can start to deconstruct what’s working for the best creators and brands. Learn from them and also, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want when you’re pursuing your passion!
None of us can achieve success without a bit of help along the way. Is there a particular person who made a profound difference in your life to whom you are grateful? Can you share a story?
I’ve been lucky enough to have several “mentors” in my career, but there’s one in particular who has guided me through both life and business. Since I’m from Norway, this person has taught me a lot about how business works in the US, and also about entrepreneurship in general. He’s always told me he believes in me, and pushed me into a mindset that anything is possible. He also taught me the importance of creating our own opportunities, instead of waiting for one. He has built multiple businesses from the ground up, and I’m so grateful that he wants to share his experiences and tools with me. Having him in my life and someone to turn to for advice has been very important, and I hope that I one day will be that person for someone else.
So what are the most exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
Right now I’m working with a creator to build out a content series and a product line that will include a “bucket-list” game. This game will be a compilation of fun activities of “giving back”, and will let the player choose from different options to give back to someone. It could be anything from giving a stranger a hug, or other simple actions. This project means a lot to me, and hopefully it will inspire and help other people as well.
What are your “Top Five Ways That Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand” . (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Create your own product or merch line — Many influencers underestimate the power of creating your own products. This is a great way to connect with your audience through products, while also creating additional revenue.
- Window your content — Monetize your content twice! If you post a youtube video, don’t forget to post the same exact video to other social platforms. It takes time to produce content, so why not use it more than one time.
- Collaborate with other creators — Be the creator that supports other creators. Establish yourself as a creator that helps others by wearing or talking about their products, instead of looking at them as competitors. This will eventually pay off, and people will do the same for you!
- Build out formats — Create your own repeatable format and turn that into IP that you can sell.
- Build equity — Work with brands on long-term collaborations, and ask for equity in the company that you’re promoting the product for. You’re essentially helping them build their business by creating brand awareness through your audience, so don’t be afraid to ask for equity and ownership (even if a small percentage) in return. This might not be immediate monetization, but has huge potential upside in the long-term.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
That would be to pay it forward. Everything is so much more fun when shared with others, and being able to help someone is very rewarding. By paying it forward, you do an act of kindness to someone without expecting something back. In turn, that person will do the same to someone else. It can be the smallest of things, to the most life changing things. I believe acts of kindness are part of the key to success, because then people will start to help you in ways you could never imagine.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this. 🙂
Kris Jenner. This woman is an icon when it comes to building brands, and creating franchises in the digital space through influencers. She’s a huge inspiration, as she has built out multiple businesses that she not only has ownership of, but doesn’t have to manage. She understands the value of monetizing a brand through several different avenues, and listening to the audience. With her creative and entrepreneurial mindset she’s managed to build out an empire of businesses. Kris Jenner also started her businesses and gained success in her 50’s, and is a living example that it is never too late to pursue your goals and dreams!
What is the best way our readers can follow your work online?
Follow me on Instagram: @marthevangman
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marthe-vaangman-192377130/
See upcoming product drops with Influencers: https://inviz.tv/
Website: marthevangman.com
Thank you so much for the time you spent on this, and for your excellent insights!
Marthe Vangman On Five Ways For Influencers To Monetize Their Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.