By E.B. Moss

This is episode 10 of Insider Insights for MediaVillage recorded during Univision’s sixth annual Leading The Change conference, about how to tap into influencers to reach more of a multi-cultural audience. We’re talking with not only an influencer – Ana Alvarado, AKA  “LipstickFables”, but also Matt Kaplan, SVP of Digital Sales at Univision, who connects influencers and advertisers.

E.B. Matt, talk to me about your role at Univision.

Matt Kaplan: My role really encompasses the breadth of our digital offerings, bringing that to the ad community, and I think specifically because digital is such a space where there's constant innovation, the requirement is a strong focus on constant product innovation. To be competitive in our marketplace, we always have to be looking at what's next and what's new and how to bring that effectively to the community.

Moss: Matt, Univision (UCI) is a multitude of platforms and brands. Tell us about your key shows and the audience you reach?

Kaplan:  Univision is focused on reaching the US Hispanic consumer, which we’ve done for almost 60 years. We have our broadcast networks Univision and Unimas, two Spanish language cable networks - Galavision and Univision Deportes Network, and we also have two English language networks, Fusion and El Rey. ... Our morning show, Despierta América just celebrated its 20th anniversary. We're also well known for our novellas, and what's very relevant for our audience especially today, is news since our community knows we’re reporting authentically. The other piece we’ve really doubled down on is sports: we have all of Liga MX, the Gold Cup and just signed on UEFA, so we’ll have Champions League Soccer along with MLS.

Moss: How do you help brand partners engage more with your audience?

Kaplan: The Univision Creator Network launched two years ago and working with US Hispanic influencers is increasingly important to our brands and our own business. ... The connection between our company, content, viewers and users is unmatched, because we serve a community. Influencers are a natural extension of that, because their audiences are really buying into them. And I think as you speak with Ana [Alvarado], you’ll see that connection based on authenticity. These platforms have brought down the barriers to entry for those social media creators. We’re wholly focused on US Hispanics and we recognize those who are building a connection with that audience so we're bringing them into the family. ...

Moss: How do you find those who are very influential in the Hispanic community -- and then bring them on board to talk about brands?

Kaplan:  We have a team to identify and bring on those influencers. Where I come in is helping [a select group of] brands activate with influencers, and ... the power of utilizing them for their brands. We consistently see is when brands use influencers they get enormous engagement rates because influencers are able to move people via the content they create that connects them to the audience. ...We really vet the influencers to find the right talent for the right brand so the message being delivered is authentic, and doesn’t burn the relationship [with] the audience they've worked so hard to build. If you want to work with influencers, you have to trust - to be willing to let go a little bit. We’re measuring that success with traditional branded content KPIs like views, engagement rates, likes and shares...

Moss: Describe the tactics and platforms of a typical campaign...

Kaplan:   ...One example, is the second phase of a campaign for Mazda. We had Alan Estrada, a travel influencer, to [align Mazda with] Japanese craftsmanship and traditions. ...Alan created beautiful content around art specific to particular to Hiroshima, Mazda’s headquarters -- Yabusame archers who ride on horseback and then shoot an arrow at a target while they're moving. ...They're known for being in particular harmony with the horse, so you could see the parallel to a driver in a car. Alan will publish this content across his handles, primarily YouTube, and then we'll distribute across UCI's handles [edited to be platform-specific]. ...We also a traveling campaign for Coca-Cola called Saboriando including did a lot of Instastories...Our approach to both influencer programs and branded content in general is social first. We could target not only the biggest audience, but also the appropriate audience for the brand.

Moss: Have you seen a lot of lift in UCI’s followers since you've been utilizing influencers?

Kaplan:   Our following has steadily increased. If you aggregate all our fans across all our platforms it’s over 170 million in the U.S. There’s duplication but that’s a big enough number to let us test content that generates data to derive insights. One data point example: Rosy McMichael, one of our influencers, did a segment on Despierta América, and she heavily promoted her appearance to her fan base. During her segment we observed an almost 20 percent lift in ratings points amongst her key demo of women 18 to 34.

Moss: What are the top three things that you think any brand needs to think about if they're going to use an influencer?

Kaplan: First: ‘what is the process?’; understand ‘how are we going to go about finding the right influencer?’ Second, ... give influencers the freedom to do their thing - to create the content, because they know their audiences, and they know what they're going to respond to. Third is having a distribution strategy. It's great to use the influencer footprint. It's a miss to not think bigger.

Moss: Now in the hot seat? Ana Alvarado, a Univision influencer, known to about a million people across different social media platforms as @LipstickFables. Ana, how did the name  come about?

Alvarado:  Five years or six years ago, I was doing make-up and fashion, and I love lipsticks... I thought of my videos telling a story and thought ‘Lipstick Fables’ sounds fun."

Moss: What was the first thing that put you on the map as an influencer?

Alvarado: I decided to do something different for fun...and did one video called "Things Hondurans Say." It was basically a parody on how we have our own slang, and it just went viral. I was shocked; [I had averaged maybe 50 views a day] and it got over 5,000 views in one day.  I started on YouTube then Vine came out with 6-second videos, and then Instagram came out with their videos, so I’ve been doing small skits that become viral quickly. [So now, though I love fashion and make-up] my main thing is comedy. Don’t take me seriously!

Moss: How did you start working with Univision?

Alvarado: I received an email and I really thought they were playing with me. I was like, hmm. Maybe it's like some scam or something. But I was one of the first influencers they had.... I’m so happy to be a part of the family.

Moss: Weren't you one of the first influencers that they tapped to leverage Facebook Watch?

Alvarado:  Yes. I'm doing a parody on the Kardashians, called "La Kardachas". So it's a twist and people have been accepting it well and we're extremely happy.

Moss: What's your process when Univision asks you to talk about a brand and how do your fans react?

Alvarado:  Univision has been very careful choosing the brands that want to work with us. Matt said something so important: You always have to keep it authentic. Make sure you don't burn those bridges you built with your audience with fake stuff or a straight up ad. They want to see something that feels like it's real – then they will support both you and the brand. ...Every brand that I work with – like Bud Light and Sprint -- I've been able to do my own thing. And it has worked for the brand too.

Moss: Can you tell me about the Sprint campaign?

Alvarado: That was an interesting campaign because Sprint wanted us to find ways to use their handles, iPads and phones. So I did a road trip to Mexico with two other influencers from the Univision Creatives Network and got to know the culture. We ended up in the Rise Up as One Concert where we did a live stream. It was a lot of fun.

Moss: ... I want to be an influencer.