Markus Riva, Aminata and Other Celebrities Speak Openly About Their Collaborations with Businesses

Last week, the Click&Connect conference on influencer marketing was held for the first time in Latvia at the Pullman Riga Old Town hotel, bringing together business representatives and several celebrities. The event was attended by musicians Markus Riva, Aminata and Aleks Silvers, fashion blogger Alina Keller, model and fitness trainer Gints Valdmanis, and editors of popular portals and magazines Jevgenija Šafreneka (brunch.lv), Inna Avina (Ļubļu) and Almaza Pirha (3ade.lv). The discussion focused on how local businesses can promote their goods and services through influencers.

“As a musician, it is important to me that a collaboration aligns with my ideology and is long-term. Of course, sometimes I agree to publish just one post on my Instagram. I invest all the income earned from such collaborations in my own development—in recording songs and music videos,” reveals Markus Riva, whose Instagram account is followed by more than 100,000 people.

“There has been a major revolution in the advertising world. People do not buy what is advertised on television channels and in magazines; they buy what influencers recommend on their social networks. Social media users acknowledge that in more than 60 percent of cases, they have purchased something precisely because of a recommendation from a blogger or celebrity, and this trend is becoming increasingly relevant in Latvia,” says conference organiser Dmitry Krasnovsky, head of Advanced Learning & Communications.

According to singer Aminata, she only recently began offering her social media channels for business promotion, and she gives preference to brands that she likes herself. “I rarely agree to barter arrangements—usually only when collaborating with designers whose clothing I can wear during my performances,” says Aminata.

The topic of barter was discussed several times during the discussion, and the influencers agreed that promoting brands, goods and services is work that should be paid for. At the same time, celebrities would gladly talk about interesting brands for free if they genuinely liked what a particular company was doing.