Last Updated on May 14, 2021
With over 14 years of experience in modeling, Paris Chanel has partnered with prominent brands such as Lincoln, Harley Davidson and Coca-Cola, to name a few. During her childhood, Paris had many interests ranging from chess to playing the piano and clarinet. Later on, Paris attended school full-time as a double major in Finance and Marketing at Christian Brothers University on a full scholarship. While attending school, Paris still continued to find time for her modeling dreams and received her diploma in 2015. Paris is currently the CEO of her own modeling and talent agency. You can learn more about Paris by following her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
When did you decide to get into influencer marketing?
Oh goshe! It started sometime last year. I’ve been doing like brand ambassador work which is pretty similar except you are actually onsite, you know, face to face with clients. So I was like oh my gosh this is almost like the same thing but online, you know. So I’m like I know I’m getting a little older but I want to keep up with the times because I do own my own agencies so I want to keep up for them as well. So I was like okay let me look into it and see what I can get into and it has been amazing, like it has exceeded my expectations.
As the CEO of your own modeling and talent agency how do you structure your average work day?
Whew! I get minimal sleep but I mean it’s so worth it. I always say when you are doing what you love you don’t really work a day in your life so I mean until I can get to the point I can hire assistants and all that everything is on me. I mean but it’s fine I know how I want things done and I’m very particular. I try to keep my calendars going, I have the one that I write in, I have the one on my phone, you know, I have an additional one, and I’m always trying to like schedule things out. And sometimes things don’t go as planned in which I just kind of go with the flow.
What are some of the challenges you face when planning events and what are some of the strategies you employ to overcome them?
When planning events I think the thing is finding a good solid team. I think that’s more so like people actually going to do as they say and things like that. That’s kind of the rough thing about where I live so many people don’t have each other backs the way they should. But the people that do help they make it so much greater. When I get a team then I try to stick with the same people so that they know how I work, I know how they work, and we can all form and just get things done.
Can you name a few of your favorite events that you and your agency has partnered with?
We were partnering with our local mall for awhile doing GAP shows and we did Dillard’s and things like that. So that’s probably been like the biggest that we have done here in town. We have a few things that we have in the work for in the future.
Can’t really say much about it right now but I’m really excited about it. And I think to doing Influence work too helps too because it helps me be able to connect with different marketing companies so if I need sponsorships I can say “hey y’all, you know, I work with you all can we find a way to get some sponsors for tour events” so I mean it’s all kind of interconnecting with each other. I’m doing some of the work so I can make connections and, you know, so I can build, I guess, a rapport with different companies I work with so they know when I have things in the future [they will say] like “she was great working with us let’s, you know, help her’ or at least that’s the goal. So just pretty much connecting with everyone so I can put on these events but I have so much that I want to do and so much planned.
Have you had the chance to partner with any Intellifluence brands?
I have. So I’ve been working with New Air and they sent me this amazing Pepsi refrigerator, like I’m in love. I was looking for a mini fridge for my office and it popped up right in time. I was like you know what, I don’t have to go pay for one if I can get this one done. And they loved the images I sent them and it looks so great in my office. So I’ve been working with them [and] they are sending me a heater soon so that’s pretty awesome. I did get to work with Ghost Pillow as well. That was my first one, it was my first paid one. And so I was like oh my goodness this pillow is amazing like I mean the cooling and it’s just been beautiful. I have a little bit of insomnia so it has helped me sleep a lot better at night too so that was probably my fave fave because it’s beneficial to my health I feel. So I mean those are the two that I’ve work with so far so hopefully I get to work with a lot more soon.
Influencers inevitably get some weird requests from brands now and then. Can you think of the weirdest request you have received up to now?
I don’t think I have received a weird one. I think I’ve received some asking for a lot more than what they were wanting to pay for or more so they give you something free and they want you to post on this social media, they want you to post – you know what, there was one I forgot. When I very first started they wanted you to post on all your social medias I think like four days out of the week for like three months and I was like “but you aren’t paying”, you know, and I felt that was a way to get around people that don’t know better. I was new but I still been in marketing for awhile so I understand a lot that’s going on. And I’m like yeah that’s not going to work for mew. I don’t mind doing free stuff that’s beneficial for both parties., And I did a lot of free stuff in the beginning because I’m trying to learn. So it’s like when it gets to a certain point where you start building your following and you kind of like built your resume a little bit I don’t think that’s a smart thing to do. You can’t really hop on everything just because it’s free. Those were probably the oddest that I got. I was like that’s a lot of stuff for no pay.
What advice do you have for aspiring influencers, particularly those who are interested in event planning?
Yes! I think I would say this – like I was saying earlier what I was doing. Build your rapport with these different companies because you never know the type- you can end up planning events for them. They could see you doing so well. I mean things just kind of go in reverse you just never know what side you will be on with them and you never know what side they will be on with you they may7 need your help in the future [and] you may need theirs. So always making sure you keep a good rapport with whomever you work with is important because you never know who knows who and word travels very fast.
They could tell one person “Oh I didn’t like this person because they didn’t do their stuff done on time or they didn’t get this done” and it looks bad on you and you go and try to work with another company and they are like “nope” and you are trying to figure out why. So just making sure you get your stuff done on time, be proactive, [and] put out great conte3nt. That is highly important cause it will keep the clients coming back. That is probably my top two that I think are most important, great content and make sure you keep a good reputation.
Where do you see influencer marketing in the next 5 years or so?
You know what. I literally was questioning myself about that the other day. And I’m always trying to stay on top of what could be next. I was like first we had Facebook and then Instagram came we had Snapchats. I’ve seen Instagram and Facebook are still kind of dominating a little bit and I was like okay now we had brand ambassador stuff and now we have the influencer thing. I was like what is next up so I can stay on top of things. So I don’t know. I’m still pondering about it but I know it’s going to be great whatever it is. I do feel like there is going to be bringing back a lot from the influencer world into live events so I think that’s going to be more of a thing too.
So I’ve seen even a lot of the shows, I’m going to New York Fashion Week I got an all expense paid trip there for doing some influencer stuff so I’m excited about that. And with that I think that’s going to drive a lot more people to influencing because I’ve seen the number grow like tremendously lately because it’s another way for people to make money, let’s be honest. And then I mean if you love what you are doing and this sis something you want to do it is fun as well. So I just really see it being a lot more done in real life like more events, extravagant things, and I think the thing is I think clients are going to start using the influencers to create better ideas for their events. Because most of us have the marketing background or the marketing mentality because we are creating content, you know. So I do think it’s going to be a little harder for photographers and videographers because a lot of content creators are getting their own cameras and video equipment so that’s going to be interesting in the future. I guess we are going to have a lot of photographers and videographers out there.
Andrew is the Head of Client Services for Intellifluence and has a background in communications. He is committed to helping brands get the most out of their campaigns and is the co-host of the Influencer Spotlight series.
