If your brand has to pay for its friends, they were never really friends in the first place. People don’t trust ads, and they can spot a paid celebrity or social endorsement from a mile away.

A recent study showed that 96% of people believe marketers don’t act with integrity. And with brands like Lord & Taylor and Warner Bros.making headlines by dodging FTC guidelines over not disclosing payment to online “influencers”, it’s easy to see why.

The lasting impact of true influence lies with the people who connect with and love a brand and its products — the authentic influencers who use them every day and advocate for them freely.

Connect with and recruit these experts — the people who live and breathe your brand every day — with insider access to brand information, products, and incentives. Find more of them by involving them in the product releases, keep them informed on your brand all year long, and most importantly, share in their passions — then watch their influence (and your sales) grow.

Tips: So how to get started? First, define what an influencer looks like for your brand. Where do they shop? What do they like to do with their spare time? Second, empower those influencers with insider knowledge about your brand and access to products. Third, define your metrics for success and align them with the marketing KPIs that are most important to your brand.