The Best SEO Podcast: Defining the Future of Search with LLM Visibility™

Episode Summary: "Micro Influence, Major Impact With Ross Barefoot"

Host: Matthew Bertram
Guest: William Gasner, Founder of Stack Influence
Date: October 6, 2025

Overview

This episode centers on the growing importance of micro- and nano-influencer marketing in the age of AI-driven search and Large Language Models (LLMs). Matthew Bertram invites William Gasner of Stack Influence to explore how community-driven brand mentions, authentic user-generated content, and diversified influencer strategies can now directly impact discoverability, SEO, and sales—far beyond the traditional celebrity influencer campaigns. The conversation is packed with real-world frameworks, case studies, and actionable strategies for brands aiming to punch above their weight by leveraging micro influence in a noisy digital world.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Influencer Marketing's Transformation: From “Nice-to-Have” to “Must-Have”

• Influencer marketing is no longer optional.
  The rise of LLM-powered search (Google, AI assistants) means conversations, reviews, and content about your brand across platforms (Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) are analyzed and indexed for both search rankings and AI-based answers.

  • “[Influencers have] evolved into a must-have and a big [factor] on the SEO… Google just this past month has started to analyze social posts to actually show up in search results. And LLMs are analyzing social posts to actually associate to your brand…” – William Gasner (03:00)

• Engagement Trumps Audience Size.
  Celebrity endorsements now offer diminishing returns due to lower engagement rates. Only 1% (or less) of a mega-influencer’s followers engage, whereas micro- and nano-influencers (10K–100K followers or less) foster more trustworthy, high-converting interactions.

  • “At the end of the day, [follower size] is kind of vanity… someone could have literally 10,000 followers… but because they produce content their audience loves, a larger portion of that audience comparatively is going to see that and [engage]. And engagement correlates with conversion.” – William Gasner (05:15)

2. The Algorithm Shift: Viral Content Beyond Followers

• TikTok and Algorithmic Democratization:
  Platforms now test content “outside” the influencer’s network. Any post can potentially go viral if it performs well in initial engagements—even from small accounts.

  • “TikTok spearheaded a massive amount of change… they show content not just to followers but outside their follower base—if it performs, it scales. It’s democratized the social landscape.” – William Gasner (13:00)

• Profound Impact:
  Brands can get more reach, better ROI, and diversified risk by working with 100 micro-influencers instead of a single celebrity.

  • “You’re going to get a huge, much larger amount of content. You’re going to increase your SEO potential and… increase the odds your content could go viral.” – William Gasner (14:20)

3. Authenticity and UGC—The True Value

• User-Generated Content (UGC):
  Influencers now provide valuable UGC for use across your site, ads, email, and social—building trust and supporting SEO. Authenticity is the gatekeeper. Audiences sense when a testimonial is “real” or paid-for.

  • “You’re not just getting this promotion, but you’re getting real valuable pieces of content… people want to see real, authentic customers showing use case.” – William Gasner (10:40)

• Product Seeding & Incentives:
  Sending products to micro-influencers (product seeding), sometimes just for free product, produces authenticity and honest feedback—often beating out significant cash payments to celebrities.

  • “When you find someone willing to promote a product in exchange for just that product, it means they actually like it, right?” – William Gasner (21:44)

4. Influencer Strategy: Test, Iterate, Diversify

• Multichannel, Multi-Incentive, Multi-Niche:
  Avoid “one and done” mega-influencer deals. Deploy many small campaigns, test different content types (unboxings, lifestyle, demos), offer a mix of payments, product, and affiliate commissions.

  • “Test a bunch of different things… then once you figure out what works for your brand, go up a tier… and have a portfolio of these different [influencer] things.” – William Gasner (22:23)

• Go-to-Market Plan—For All Budgets:

  • No budget:
    Start with DMs and emails; send free products for content.
  • Some budget:
    Use influencer discovery and management platforms.
  • Scaling up:
    Engage platforms like Stack Influence or agencies for turnkey campaigns.
  • “[Influencer marketing] is a beautiful thing… you can get started with nothing.” – William Gasner (26:40)

5. The Future: AI Influencers, Live Shopping, and Marketplace Leverage

• AI-Generated “Influencers”:
  There’s curiosity and novelty, but ultimately real, authentic creators are valued more, especially for social proof and trust.

  • “At the end of the day, people value authenticity… AI is the opposite of that. As much as it works as a novelty now, people pick up on fake.” – William Gasner (32:00)

• Live QVC-Style Shopping:
  Huge success in Asian markets is coming to the US—Amazon Live, TikTok Shop, and integrated social/ecommerce.

  • “The merging of ecommerce and social networks is a big future… apps like Flip Shop are trending—social shopping combined with marketplaces and live.” – William Gasner (36:46)

6. Case Studies & Tactical Secrets

• Multi-Influencer Blitz:
  100 micro-influencers campaign → 20 posts go viral ( >1M views/post) → 30 become affiliates → sustained 5,000 sales/mo for new product.

• Content Repurposing:
  One influencer’s UGC cut ad costs by 5X, becoming the brand’s top-performing ad.

• Amazon Marketplace Boosting:
  External traffic from influencer campaigns dramatically boosts keyword ranking, moving products from page 10 to page 1, leading to a 13x jump in sales. The tactic: warm up listings with Vine reviews, then drive external traffic using influencers before turning on PPC ads.

  • “That’s how you seed your campaign—impact the algorithm, get your listing up, then add your paid ads.” – Matthew Bertram (48:12)

• TikTok Shop Example:
  An established brand went from zero to $40 million in 6 months using scaled product seeding to TikTok influencers, affiliate commissions, and Spark Ads. (50:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s not just about social promotion—[influencers] are driving awareness, helping with SEO, and giving you valuable content for all marketing material.”
  — William Gasner, [10:40]

• “The real breakthrough is authenticity. Consumers pick up on it like that.”
  — William Gasner, [21:53]

• “The goal is to create a movement—a community behind your product.”
  — Matthew Bertram, [19:25]

• “You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. Test a lot, see what your audience responds to, then scale what works.”
  — William Gasner, [22:25]

• “Brands can get started influencer marketing with no budget. You can DM, offer affiliate commissions, and product seeding to begin.”
  — William Gasner, [26:40]

• “At the end of the day, [AI influencers] are fake—and people value real testimonials.”
  — William Gasner, [32:15]

• “The unknown secret of internet marketing: how to seed your campaign, leverage influencers, get your listing up, and then add paid ads.”
  — Matthew Bertram, [48:12]

• “TikTok Shop… a brand went from $0 to $40 million in six months... seeding out products to influencers, giving affiliate commissions, then running Spark Ads. That’s the formula.”
  — William Gasner, [50:14]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:00] – LLMs and Google Search integrating social posts; “must-have” value of influencers
• [05:15] – Why micro-influencers drive more value than celebrities
• [13:00] – Platform algorithms now allow viral posts from small accounts
• [19:25] – Seeding movements/community building with micro-influencers
• [21:44] – Authenticity: Why product seeding works
• [22:23] – Portfolio approach: diversifying influencer types and test strategies
• [26:40] – How to begin influencer marketing with little or no budget
• [32:00] – Rise and pitfalls of AI influencers
• [36:46] – Future of live shopping (TikTok, Amazon Live, Flip Shop)
• [38:47] – Three success stories of influencer marketing (social, content repurposing, marketplace)
• [44:25] – Amazon marketplace external campaigns and warming up listings
• [48:12] – Matthew’s “secret” formula: seed, push with influencers, then add paid ads
• [50:14] – TikTok Shop case: scaling to $40M via influencer funnel

Actionable Takeaways

• Think Small for Big Impact:
  Work with 30–100 micro/nano influencers, not just giant celebrities.

• Repurpose Everything:
  Use UGC from influencer campaigns for ads, website, social proof, and more.

• Test, Track, Iterate:
  Treat influencer marketing as ongoing R&D—A/B test content types, messaging, and incentives before doubling down.

• Leverage Affiliate Programs:
  Give influencers incentive to create evergreen content for you.

• Jumpstart Marketplaces:
  Drive external traffic (influencers, Google Ads) to warm up new Amazon/Walmart products before turning on PPC.

• Embrace Emerging Formats:
  Experiment with live social shopping and Spark Ads to catch algorithmic trends early.

Where to Learn More

• Stack Influence: stackinfluence.com
• Follow William Gasner:
  • LinkedIn: William Gasner
  • Social: @StackInfluence everywhere

This episode offers a tactical, modern playbook for leveraging micro-influencers to fuel visibility, growth, and SEO in the evolving AI-driven marketing landscape.