Meet the Hot 30: Yusuf Aleem, Influencer Marketing Manager at Experian

Meet Yusuf Aleem, Influencer Marketing Manager at Experian and one of our Pepper Hot 30 UK 2026 winners.

Having helped advance social and influencer strategy at the likes of Sky and Meta, Yusuf is now bringing that experience to Experian, helping establish influencer marketing as a powerful driver of both brand and business growth.

We caught up with Yusuf to talk about why creators are becoming modern media outlets, the importance of being hyper-reactive on social, the return of premium content, why long-form video could have a big 2027 and the untapped potential sitting within brands' own teams.

What attracted you to your role at Experian?

What attracted me most to Experian was the clear opportunity to supercharge Influencer Marketing at a time when the business was ready to invest in its growth. Having played a key role in advancing Social and Influencer Strategy at both Sky and Meta, I saw an exciting opportunity to apply those learnings, drive significant impact, and help establish Influencer Marketing as a powerful lever for brand and business growth.

Throughout the hiring process, I was thinking about whether the role, the team and the culture were the right fit for me. What really stood out was not only the scale of the opportunity, but also the people behind it. I quickly found myself excited by both, and ultimately fell in love with the chance to help build something meaningful alongside a genuinely great team.

What’s been your biggest win or proudest moment in your career so far?

Working on a freelance contract with Meta was a stand-out highlight. We faced the challenge of collaborating with over 50 creators - both established and emerging - within just three months. Managing that volume is tough, but the product was so exciting that every creator was genuinely buzzed to make content for it.

The end-to-end execution was extremely collaborative across the internal agency team and the client at Meta. We rose to the challenge, met our volume targets, and saw the core campaign brief clearly reflected in the final creative output and engagement metrics. As a hyper-extrovert, I found the collaborative energy of the whole project energising and rewarding.

Which social platforms are you seeing the most success with right now, and what do you think is driving that?

Instagram is currently our primary success driver at Experian, largely thanks to the native collaboration feature. Previously, it was tricky to decide whether a piece of content should live on the creator’s page or the brand’s page. The collab feature solved that friction by allowing content to sit on both profiles simultaneously, maximising reach while presenting a unified front.

You can view content creators almost like a modern media outlet or an organic alternative to paid boosting. You get the authenticity of the creator alongside targeted audience reach. Building those relationships on a recurring, long-term basis establishes genuine brand affinity and credibility over time.

What’s one piece of work you’ve been involved in recently that you’re particularly proud of?

In financial services, September acts as a key ‘reset’ month. Audiences are coming off a busy summer of holidays, travel, and high spending, making it the ideal time for a financial recalibration.

I spearheaded an industry-first, out-of-the-box campaign called ‘Self-tember’. We partnered with brilliant creators to frame September as a moment for both personal and financial resets - encouraging people to refocus on themselves. Leveraging creators in such a distinct way within our category has been a huge highlight.

What’s something you’ve learnt in your current role that has changed the way you approach social?

Historically, brands relied heavily on rigid annual social plans set in stone. While having baseline structure is sensible, modern social media has turned that approach on its head.

To execute social effectively today, you must be socially native and hyper-reactive to real-time culture, trends, and conversations. When a brand can jump into trending cultural moments organically, it creates the highest chance for organic, viral success.

What’s exciting you most about social media at the moment?

While lo-fi content still has its place, we are seeing a strong comeback for premium aesthetics, especially on platforms like Instagram. Elevated production values help brands achieve better cut-through in crowded feeds.

Beyond aesthetics, I’m excited by brands that successfully hit the ‘trifecta’: pairing the right brand-fit creator, with the right message, at the right time. Moving past superficial metrics to find true alignment is where creative brilliance happens.

What’s your biggest prediction for social media in 2027?

YouTube is pushing hard to bring long-form video back into the spotlight. While short-form vertical video has dominated over the last five years, YouTube's focus on CTV (connected TV) viewing and its updated partner programmes are shifting viewer habits back towards longer, high-production content.

Creators and brands are ready to move back into rich, long-form storytelling, game shows, and structured video formats.

What do you think brands and social teams will be talking about this time next year?

Brands will be talking about how to better harness their internal talent. While working with external creators and celebrities will always have value, leveraging employee advocates and internal personalities is an untapped resource.

Internal talent inherently understands the brand's culture and values, and brands giving employees a platform are already seeing viral success on TikTok.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone looking to build a career in social?

Be hyper-curious. Senior leaders love passion, and continuous curiosity keeps your energy fresh in an industry that moves fast.

Social media has a creative, ‘glitz and glam’ side that naturally attracts people-oriented marketers, but the strongest social strategists balance that with an analytical mindset. Dig into comment sections, study why trends pop off, and analyse competitor strategies. That curiosity yields qualitative consumer insights that no other channel can match.

We know great social is always a team effort. Are there any members of your team you’d like to give a shout-out to by name in your Hot 30 article, and what would you like to recognise them for?

Sinnitta: Our Social Executive. She embodies curiosity and creativity, making her an absolute joy to work with. She was also my plus-one at the Hot 30 nominees event!

Alex: My boss, who brought me into Experian. He’s a joy to be around in and out of work, and as a result he’s created an amazing and productive culture. He brings incredible expertise in influencing, strategy, and room navigation. He’s someone I look up to and learn from regularly.

Why Yusuf Made the Hot 30

Yusuf brings together two sides of social that don't always get enough credit at the same time - creativity and commercial thinking. His approach to influencer marketing goes beyond reach and surface-level metrics, focusing instead on finding the right creator, message and moment to build genuine brand affinity.

We were particularly interested in his perspective on where social is heading - from creators becoming modern media outlets and the return of premium, long-form content to the untapped influence of employees themselves. Combined with his work pushing influencer marketing forward in financial services, Yusuf represents exactly the kind of curious, forward-thinking approach we wanted the Hot 30 to celebrate.

You can read more about the Pepper Hot 30 UK 2026, meet the full list of winners and find out more about the initiative here.