This past weekend I had the honor of speaking at the Rocky Mountain Gift Show at the Denver Mart. Much of the presentation revolved around digital advertising, but one of the areas that sparked a lot of interest was influencer marketing. You can view the entire 1 hour seminar at https://youtu.be/CrMi37e7J1E
Let’s start by discussing what an “influencer” is and why this is so important to your marketing. Basically an influencer is a brand advocate and niche promoter. All social influencers have these three basic characteristics in common, to varying degrees:
- Reach: Ability to deliver content to a target audience
- Relevance: Strength of connection to a brand or topic
- Resonance: Ability to drive a desired behavior from an audience
Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook’s CEO says “People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message.”
In other words, influencers impact people more than advertising. That is the premise behind my book, “Amazon’s Dirty Little Secrets”. And anyone, especially your customers, can be an influencer! But how can you find people who are willing to market your products on your behalf?
An influencer needs to have a network of people to reach, an authentic connection to a brand or topic, and most importantly—the ability to drive a desired behavior from that network.
There are three basic type of influencers:
- Mega-influencers: Actors, artists, athletes and social media stars who have 1M+ followers and drive 2—5% engagement per post. They have the highest reach on the influencer spectrum, with their influence driven by their celebrity (they tend to be brands in their own right). They have the lowest overall resonance when it comes to driving actions on behalf of a brand.
- Macro-influencers: Executives, bloggers, and journalists who have 10,000 or more followers and drive 5%—25% engagement per post. They have the highest topical relevance on the spectrum, with category-specific influence – such as lifestyle, fashion or business.
- Micro-influencers: Everyday consumers or employees who have at least 500 followers and drive 25%—50% engagement per post. They have the highest brand relevance and resonance on the spectrum of influencers, with influence driven by their personal experience with a brand and their strength of relationship with their networks.
The influence of the micro crowd feels almost counter-intuitive, but according to Markerly, the like and comment ratio for influencers’ Instagram posts actually decreases as their following grows. For influencers with fewer followers, a large percentage will be people they actually know and are thus more likely to trust their recommendations. Micro-influencers are also seen as more authentic because they are less prone to plugging products on a regular basis.
All of this is precisely the reason that many companies are willing to provide free products for you to review, even if you are not a celebrity. In fact, 84% of marketers are planning an influencer marketing campaign for 2017. Many are willing to pay for positive reviews. You have an impact of your following and companies know this.
Take a look at the seminar presentation — Download the worksheet at http://gregjameson.com/docs/gears-worksheet.pdf and print it out to follow along and get the most out of material being presented. If you enjoy the presentation, I’d appreciate a thumbs up and a comment.
Be sure to watch the segment on influencer marketing. This could have a huge impact on your business.
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