I, like much of America, have a soft spot for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He released a new line of workout clothing he is doing with Under Armor, and while I couldn't care less about working out, I noticed that I was invested and aware of the new line. I’ve been thinking about why, about how he got my attention, and what we can learn from him.

What strikes me about the whole campaign is that The Rock is one of the busiest people in the world and he still had the time and vision to make this project a part of his life in a way that even a casual follower was aware of and invested in it. At their best, influencers should be able to create connections with hundreds or thousands or millions of people, and here are some examples of how The Rock did that for one project of his.

This post (below) lets you know he has been dieting and working out for months and is genuinely excited about the photo shoot for the new line.

He continues to build excitement with more posts in the days leading up to the shoot.

He is making it clear that he is taking his followers on a journey as he pulls into the shoot, he is goofing around and seems to legitimately be having fun, which makes you want to see more.

The next post resets the mood, establishes that he is now at work and taking this very seriously. This intensity is part of his personal brand and he does a great job bringing it to a brand collaboration.

We are onto the next shoot and he again takes a few posts to get us ready for the shoot the next day. What’s interesting here is that The Rock does a great job of speaking to his 103 million followers as if he is speaking directly to them, and he uses this post to make the shoot, the project and the brand about more than just product. It’s a story, a lifestyle. It’s a part of The Rock and these stories from his struggle are so key in establishing that.

He does this in a few other posts too, like this one.

Finally, the collection and commercial are live and he does a big push for it. In this post, he reiterates that this collection is about his life, that working out and working hard have made him the man and success he is today, and encourages people to shop the link in his profile.

Another thing The Rock does really well, that is missing in a lot of influencer work, is showing gratitude. He uses this post to talk about how this project rolled out, and to thank the people behind the scenes.

If you walk away with some lessons from all of this, I think these are the three things The Rock can teach us:

• Longer captions help tell richer stories.
• Stories that connect the product to the influencer’s life, philosophy or history, will resonate with audiences on another level, making the collaboration about more than just the product. These stories pave the way for a natural integration of the product, making partnership come off authentic.
• Influencers who are grateful for an opportunity will create something special

— Fohr CEO James Nord

To learn more insider insights on the influencer space, keep a closer eye on our blog in 2019!