When marketing consultant Adam Buchanan and his wife needed to buy a new mattress, he turned to his network on Facebook and asked for recommendations. Buchanan had been leaning toward Purple because of their funny YouTube ads, but his wife refused to make such a big purchase based only on ads. Going through the Facebook vetting process, however, “instilled a lot of confidence in my wife,” Buchanan said.

And that, he explained during a Monday session at the 2018 ASI Power Summit in Tucson, AZ, is the power of influencer marketing: It follows the natural process people go through when making a decision.

"I don't like ads and neither do you and neither do your customers. People trust people. They don't trust ads." - @adam_buchanan on #InfluencerMarketing #ASIPowerSummit pic.twitter.com/kkUC6wcNLd

— Theresa Hegel (@TheresaHegel) October 15, 2018

Buchanan explained how any company can take advantage of influencers by using what he called a “marketing trust framework,” which he said “can close the gap between the consumer and the brand.”

An avid beekeeper, Buchanan explained the framework in terms of bees. The first part involves proximity. In each hive, 50,000 to 70,000 bees work together seamlessly in those packed-tight quarters. In the same way, brands need to work with influencers who have proximity to their audience. It’s not necessarily about going viral or getting a huge reach. It’s about reaching the right people. Buchanan gave the example of a friend who’s an ultra-runner. Though he only has a few thousand Instagram followers, he responds with in-depth knowledge whenever someone asks him a question about his sport and the products he uses. That engagement is gold for marketers.

The second part of the framework is honesty. Buchanan gave out honey sticks, from his own hives, to the audience and pointed out that his honey is cloudy because it’s not strained like the honey you get in the supermarket. “Raw honey is honest,” Buchanan said. “It tastes way better than store-bought honey.”

To influence people, "know how to build and maintain trust" says @adam_buchanan at #ASIPowerSummit pic.twitter.com/hQ8xjo4jvr

— Timothy M. Andrews (@Tim_Andrews_ASI) October 15, 2018

A similar dynamic applies to marketing, “People want to work with people who share their honest opinion about a company.” When brands use celebrities as spokespeople, many are skeptical about authenticity.

The third part of the framework is expertise. “Bees are experts in honey production,” Buchanan said. In the same way, brands need to “identify experts in your industry and curate their story to your audience.” You can do this by creating a private Facebook group just for influencers, so they can learn more about your brand story.

Another way to leverage influencers is to solicit their opinion on product creation and the direction of your business. When Buchanan worked for Columbia Sportswear, the brand invited 10 people to help them improve their line of sporty apparel. The group of influencers had the chance to go on fun outdoor excursions and visit the company headquarters, but more importantly, they got to provide feedback and guidance on new product lines. “When those products hit the shelf, those influencers did all the talking for us,” Buchanan said. “They were in on it.”