FamFluence Talent Management is a creator agency that exclusively represents family-focused influencers. 

Led by CEO Jim Silver, President Kathleen Tomes, and Senior Vice President Alexa Vogue, the company grew from a startup with five creators in March 2020 to a prominent player in the family influencer space.

From treading the ethical minefield of family representation to championing micro-influencers, FamFluence is tackling some of the creator economy’s most pressing issues head-on.

Jim and Alexa reveal how they approach family influencer management, discussing everything from their unique success metrics to their vision for the future of family-oriented content.

FamFluence’s Organic Origins

Jim, a 35-year toy and family media veteran, previously led TTPM, a prominent reviewer of toys, baby, and pet products. His industry involvement includes serving on the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association board and judging on ABC’s “The Toy Box.”

Alexa’s background spans influencer campaign management and brand-side operations at companies such as Brilliant PR. She points out her comprehensive understanding of campaigns, from concept to execution.

The idea for FamFluence emerged organically. 

“I assisted a [local] creator about five years ago and advised them,” Jim recounts. “After giving them advice for about eight months, we went to dinner, and they asked me questions. After about 15 questions, I asked, ‘Why don’t I just manage you?’”

This initial management experience, combined with Brilliant PR’s expertise in influencer relations, led to the company’s formation in March 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Despite the challenging timing of launching a new business, FamFluence pulled through and grew into a major agency.

The company focuses solely on family content creators, primarily mothers. This specialization allows the company to address unique concerns regarding family influencers. 

“Other companies might not consider things like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or Coogan’s Law protecting kids and money,” Jim explains. “Those are important to us.”

The company prides itself on transparency and fair practices. “All of our rates are industry standard, and the mental health of our employees and talent [is a priority],” Alexa notes.

FamFluence’s management style is hands-on. Jim meets with potential clients before signing them to learn about their families, what they’re doing, and why they want to join the agency. 

According to him, this approach has yielded tangible results for their clients. 

“We’ve had a creator that could not go on vacation — her husband’s in the military,” Jim shares. “And for four years, they had no vacations and signed on with us. They had three vacations the first year and bought a house the second year.”

“We have all of our talent on every single email,” Alexa adds. “So our talent is on their alias. I would go so far as to venture that we’re the only agency that does that.”

Family-Focused Content Creation

FamFluence’s specialization in family-oriented creators presents unique challenges and opportunities.

“When you walk through Walmart and Target, the two leading retailers in the U.S., 90% of the store is targeted to moms,” Jim explains. This focus aligns with FamFluence’s client base, primarily targeting women and families

 aged 25 to 44 in the United States.

Alexa elaborates on the business rationale: “If you look at the leading brands of the world, such as Walmart, Marriott, and Procter & Gamble, they are looking to reach those millennial moms who make the majority of household buying decisions.”

However, working with family creators requires a nuanced approach. 

“We were working with a brand, and they needed some edits,” Jim recounts a situation where they faced challenges. 

“The next day, there was going to be a reshoot, and the edits weren’t made. I said we needed another day, and they got very upset. I told them they had a two-year-old in the content who’d just woke up and didn’t feel well.”

Ethics and Business in Family Content

FamFluence puts ethical practices first, particularly regarding children’s online presence. 

“About half of our talent does not share their children on their pages,” Alexa tells us. “Half of them still do.” The company takes a firm stance on content involving children.

“We have had creators in the past where they started to post content that we found questionable, and they were immediately, urgently removed from our roster if they were unwilling to change their content style,” Alexa states.

FamFluence also ensures financial protection for children featured in the content. 

“Our talent has or has Coogan accounts set up,” Alexa notes, referring to trust accounts designed to safeguard a portion of a child performer’s earnings.

Jim summarizes their cautious approach with a simple guideline for creators: “When in doubt, leave it out.”

Empowering All Families

FamFluence is expanding its reach in the creator economy with initiatives aimed at inclusivity and supporting emerging talent.

“We represent all families,” Jim states. “Families come in different shapes, sizes, and skin tones, two moms, two dads, and blended families.”

“About 65% of our roster would not be considered a traditional family,” Alexa adds. “It is really important to us that we are the voice and the power behind these families and that we can ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equitably across the board.”

The company also engages in social responsibility initiatives. Jim mentions a recent partnership with Do Good Points for a breast cancer awareness campaign, highlighting FamFluence’s commitment to leveraging its platform for social causes.

MicroFluence

In early 2024, FamFluence launched MicroFluence, a division focused on representing creators with smaller followings. Jim describes it as “a bit of a pet project” that took a year to develop.

“Creators have to start somewhere,” he explains. “You just don’t begin with a million-follower account immediately.”

The program currently includes about 15 micro-influencers, with plans for gradual expansion. “Micro-creators are probably the most taken advantage of in the industry,” Alexa points out. 

“Just as we’re bringing them on and looking through their past partnerships, just the amount of honesty abuse they take from brands because they don’t know any better,” Alexa adds.

The company sees potential in micro-influencers beyond follower count growth. 

Alexa cites an example: “[A creator] had 32,000 followers since we signed her four years ago, and she sits at 32,000 followers today. Some creators aren’t going to grow, and it’s not always about the followers. She’s worked with HBO, Alaska Airlines, and Gerber.”

Long-Term Brand Partnerships

For FamFluence, building sustainable, long-term partnerships between family creators and brands is key. The agency also focuses on strategic content cadence and engagement.

“Cadence is so important to the success of a campaign,” Alexa tells us. “It’s our team’s work to educate everyone who emails us.” 

Alexa advocates for varied content formats and spacing out deliverables to maintain audience interest without oversaturation.

“When we look at long-term relationships, it’s essential that we have a say in what those contracts look like, how many deliverables, and spacing them out correctly,” Alexa explains.

Jim parallels traditional advertising to illustrate the need for sustained campaigns: “You’re going to spend $300,000, film a commercial, and run it once? [Brands] are like, ‘We would never do that.’ Then why are you doing it with influencers?!”

FamFluence avoids this trap by building brand safety and a long-term vision. “Brands trust our creators,” Alexa says. “They’ve gone through an extensive vetting process. They are clean, and they are putting brand safety first.”

“Don’t ever think short term,” Jim advises. “Think long-term. Don’t ever leave a bitter taste in a brand’s mouth.”

Success Metrics in Family Influencer Campaigns

Traditional metrics alone for evaluating influencer campaign success won’t cut it for FamFluence.

Instead, the agency looks beyond follower count and engagement rates.

“Followers mean aren’t everything to me,” Alexa asserts. “We also don’t use follower counts when determining rates.”

FamFluence prioritizes demographics as a key factor for influencer campaigns, aligning the audience with brand objectives.

According to Alexa, the company also values average views, which are “incredibly important for the campaign’s success.”

Lastly, FamFluence focuses on engagement quality rather than just quantity. 

While engagement rate is considered, Alexa says she’d “rather look at the sentiment of the comments and the actual engagement that creator is getting versus just their engagement rate.”

FamFluence’s approach also considers the creator’s authentic connection to the brand. 

“I would way rather have someone on a campaign who uses, engages, and feels strongly about the brand versus putting a creator on there because her engagement rate is 20%,” Alexa explains.

Adapting to Family Dynamics

As family-oriented content creators tackle changing personal circumstances and platform trends, FamFluence is ready to adapt alongside its talent roster.

“We all have talent,” Alexa notes. “Their child ages out of certain campaigns… We need to be constantly focused on the agency’s success as well. So, we’re always looking at new talent and growth with influencer partners that fit our mission and brand. We’re always bringing in new creators..”

When it comes to family-oriented content’s enduring appeal, Jim mentions that “fifty years ago, brands were looking to promote to families.” 

“Twenty-five years ago, they were looking to promote to families and moms, and today, they’re still looking to promote to families and moms,” he adds. “That’s not going to change.”

Trust and Family Values

FamFluence is cautiously optimistic about future growth, putting strategic expansion over scaling. 

“We’re not going to grow just to grow in size and creator base,” Jim states. “We want to grow with creators that make sense.”

The company is actively exploring emerging trends and technologies. “We’ve tried five different initiatives in the last three months, literally five different initiatives, and we’re testing them right now, AI initiatives,” Jim reveals. 

However, the CEO notes that some creators need to be more confident about AI, particularly when handling comments, and prefer to maintain human interactions.

Jim reiterates the industry’s unpredictable nature: “I wish we had a long-term growth plan, but I see companies that [do], and it’s [impossible to] predict the future in this business.”

Despite these uncertainties, FamFluence remains committed to its core focus on family-oriented content, with Jim concluding that “families are trusted. It’s the number one target market, and our families are trusted. And I think that’s what’s most important.”