Dive Brief:

• Refinery29 is giving marketers access to social media influencers through its newly-launched Here and Now network.
• So far clients can engage with influencers on YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.
• Something to note, metrics matter when tapping into the influencer field for help connecting with audiences, and marketers should specifically focus on engagement over popularity as a key metric.

Dive Insight:

Online publisher Refinery29 is providing access to social media influencers via its new Here and Now network. The venture allows brands to reach Refinery29’s fashion- and beauty-conscious millennial audience less obtrusively than with blatant advertising.

“Having additional reach is great for some of our partners,” Justin Stefano, Refinery29 co-founder, told The Wall Street Journal. “However, the real value here is creating experiences and programs that resonate deeper in the mobile social world … and we are committed to helping these creators maintain their unique editorial voices and personalities on their respective platforms.”

Using influencers to reach the millennial audience is a growing trend and was the focus of a recent Capital One campaign on Instagram, which ultimately helped lift the financial company's ad recall 16%. "[Instagram is] a rich place to reach [millennials]. Instagram is more compelling than Pinterest or Tumblr -- just given the audience sizes and growth," Noha Abdalla, Capital One's senior director of digital brand strategy and social media, told Adweek.

Here and Now has signed Smashbox Cosmetics as its first marketing partner. If Refinery29's mini-network proves successful, marketers could see more publishers opening similar platforms, especially as brands expand their social media activity and attempt to simultaneously streamline their efforts.