Model fit disrupts the talent agency market

Having made the digital leap from a traditional offline model, influencer Taryn Williams' online talent agency theright.fit is rapidly expanding with clients requesting the service globally.

Williams says her need-driven business model has resulted in the opening of the company's first international office in Singapore.

"We had clients coming to us saying 'look, we're shooting in Santorini. We'd love to use your service. There's nothing like this anywhere else in the world, do you have talent in our market?'" says Williams.

"Now we've started off boarding clients and talent globally so you can see client talent connections all over the world."

Theright.fit was founded in 2015 with a focus on connecting clients with suitable influencers, thus removing the service of a traditional agency.

Williams recognised early on that the freelance economy was on its way to take over.

"There was this leading indicator to me that our industry was going to be disrupted, that there was going to be a move away from the traditional call service agency-style approach to a more automated online experience," says Williams.

Recognising the opportunity, she began mechanising the day-to-day processes of a traditional agency and created her two-sided market model.

Theright.fit was a product of Williams' eagerness to digitalise her traditional offline modelling agency Wink Models, where she found her passion for the tech process.

"That was my first way into tech and I just totally fell in love with the process, I loved solving problems through using technology," says Williams.

The fast nature of working in the virtual world means the company must have the ability to shift and evolve.

Theright.fit focuses on coaching brands through the development of social media.

"Content co-creation marketing and branded content is a relatively new trend and it's evolving and changing all the time. We look at the launch of IGTV," says Williams.

"There are new things that brands need to keep up with and I understand that can be very overwhelming."

Social media influencing is now full-time work for many of Williams' influencers and models.

"If you're going to engage with brands in any kind of capacity as an influencer it really needs to be mutually beneficial, not only to the brand but also to your audience," she says. 

"I think if it's done well it can be incredibly powerful but it's just about taking that time to think about what you want to achieve and how you can add value to your audience."

The influencer market is not all teeth-whitening and Gym wear promotions; a large part of Williams' job is showing companies there are influencers for every business.

"Really trying to lobby them and help them understand that there is an influencer for every business is important. It's about how you think about it."

Business News Australia