Basics of Influence Marketing

Basics of Influence Marketing

In this ebook 1. Definition of Influence Marketing 2. Brief History of Influence Marketing 3. Benefits of Influence Marketing 4. Influence Measurement 5. Personal vs. Contextual Influence 6. Who is an Influencer? 7. How Influence Fits Into Marketing 8. The Influencer Continuum 9. Identifying Influencers 10. Building Influencer Relationships 11. Creating Influence Marketing Programs 12. Influence Marketing Use Cases 2

1. Definition of Influence Marketing Influence marketing is the practice of identifying and building relationships with individuals who have influence over a target audience of buyers. Influencers are likely to be buyers themselves, as well as recommenders of products or services to their own audiences, both online and off. Influencers may also be trusted third parties, such as bloggers, journalists, industry analysts, academics, or public figures. 3

2. Brief History of Influence Marketing Influence marketing has effectively been around for millennia From orators to celebrity endorsers, influence has impact on action Today s influencers are a far more diffuse group than the celebrities and personalities of yore Influence can be harnessed both on and off the web In Ancient Greece in 300 B.C. some orators had more influence than others Lillie Langtry, an actress of the time, endorsed Pears Soap one of the first celebrity endorsements On today s social web, influence marketing is the provenance of real people not just celebrities 300 B.C. 1890s Now 4

3. Benefits of Influence Marketing Influence marketing can be a standalone effort, or an effective way to amplify other marketing efforts By marketing to a small group of individuals (influencers), a brand has the power to reach large groups of individuals ( influencees ) Understanding who a brand s influencers are helps to target campaigns and communications Brands that gain credibility with influencers gain credibility with their end customers as well 5

4. Influence Measurement Assessing who the appropriate influencers are for your brand is often determined by understanding the relative value, to your brand, of people who may influence your target audience. Influence measurement is the practice of ranking or scoring potential influencers to determine their value to your marketing efforts. Influence measurement is also used throughout these marketing efforts to examine the effect programs are having on outside influencers. 6

5. Personal vs. Contextual Influence There are two predominant ways to measure influence: Personal: Measuring or scoring influence for an individual using a single score which stays with that individual, and then selecting influencers by score. Personal influence tools, such as Klout, Kred and PeerIndex, primarily rely on a person s social media profiles to determine influence. Contextual: Measuring or scoring influence solely within the context of a topic; each influencer will score differently based on the topic in question. Contextual influence tools, such as Appinions, are built to identify and measure who has influence on a particular topic, subject or market. 7

6. Who Is an Influencer? Appinions defines an influencer as a person, brand or company who expresses a contextually relevant opinion that is meaningful enough to elicit action from others There are three criteria used to identify influencers: Opinions: Appinions focuses on expressions of subjectivity, indicating a personal point-of-view, rather than mere distribution of fact Context: The opinions are relevant to a user-defined topic, which is developed for a specific business need Action: The opinion is meaningful enough to the opinion holder s audience that they take action around it 8

7. How Influence Fits Into Marketing Influence marketing can be part of, and impact, a variety of marketing efforts: Public Relations: Reach out to journalists, bloggers or industry analysts to help generate awareness and help them to develop stories or content around a product or service Digital Marketing: Create blogger programs or campaigns, utilizing bloggers for content creation, endorsements, to host contests or promotions, or to amplify marketing messages Advertising: Feature celebrities, bloggers or prominent product advocates in advertising Community Management: Curate content based on topics of interest to influencer networks 9

7. How Influence Fits Into Marketing (cont d) Events: Reach out to influencers to help develop conference agendas or identify speakers, or to inform a guest list for a corporate or industry event Product or R&D: Invite influencers to inform product or service development Marketing Research: Create focus groups of influencers to collect actionable third-party opinions on products, services, or marketing efforts Crisis Management: Ask influencers to help spread important news; understand the dynamics of the unfavorable news that is spreading through influencer channels and craft outreach accordingly 10

8. The Influencer Continuum Appinions has developed a roadmap for influencer engagement, the Influencer Continuum (free download). This multi-stage process provides a framework for the organization and execution of influence marketing programs. We recommend reviewing the Influencer Continuum prior to creating an influence marketing program. 11

9. Identifying Influencers Our companion ebook, How to Create Successful Influencer Marketing Programs (free download), goes into depth on influencer identification. In brief: Identify the topics which are relevant to your brand, industry or target audience Listen to what people are saying around that topic across the web and in traditional media Identify the individuals who seem credible on that topic, and who appear to have a following or audience for their opinions 12

10. Building Influencer Relationships An effective influence marketing strategy relies on relationships with influencers and these relationships are built over time. Influence marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Forcing your brand onto influencers is a recipe for failure. On the next page, we provide a high-level framework for building influencer relationships. 13

10. Building Influencer Relationships (cont d) Steps to building relationships with influencers (and others): 1. Get to know the influencer well: read what they write and what s been written about them, watch videos of them, understand their background and experience. 2. Understand their attitude towards brands, products and services within and outside of your industry or market. 3. Engage with influencers over time: read their blog or follow them on Twitter, comment on, retweet or share their work. 4. Send an introductory communication: say hello via Twitter or email, just to introduce yourself (no pitching!) 5. Never mass-pitch influencers. Every communication must be individualized and focused; you ll lose credibility with them if you treat them like a group. 6. Keep track of your influencers over time. They may shift focus and you need to know when they are no longer focused on your industry or market. 7. Always be respectful, professional, and humble. Never assume they will want to work with you over time, help them believe it will be great to work with you. 14

11. Creating Influence Marketing Programs To create influence marketing programs or take them to the next level, we recommend referencing our ebook, How to Create Successful Influencer Marketing Programs (free download). In it, we describe the four-step process for creating influence marketing programs: 1. Identify your influencers 2. Map influencers to the phases of engagement (our Influence Continuum ) 3. Determine the brand assets (materials, campaigns, promotions, etc.) you have available for your influence program 4. Create the program and execute 15

12a. Influence Marketing Use Case: Product Launch Objective: A mobile technology brand is planning to launch its first tablet, and wants to differentiate the device in a crowded and competitive marketplace. Influence Initiatives: Determine which tablet feature or benefit to emphasize in launch communications by analyzing influential opinions in the general mobile and tablet industries, as well as specific competitive tablet brands. Engage existing brand influencers who are most likely to be advocates for the new tablet. Figure 1 (left): Use trending themes in influencer conversations about the tablet sector to inform which key messages should be emphasized for the launch. Figure 2 (right): Brand influencers identified to engage in a pre-launch initiative Click for more on Product Launch 16

12b. Influence Marketing Use Case: Community Management Objective: A beverage brand is looking for engaging content to share as part of an upcoming eco-friendly campaign across its social media channels. Influence Initiatives: Discover the most influential content creators around eco-friendly subjects. Create a content calendar of branded and influencer eco-friendly content to distribute to social media channels, and cross promote with the influencer s personal network. Influencers on the topic of eco-friendly fashion engaged by the beverage brand to create content Click for more on Community Management 17

12c. Influence Marketing Use Case: Crisis Management Objective: A pharmaceutical company wants to manage the conversation and quell negative sentiment around a recent product recall. Influence Initiatives: Determine whether an official company statement is required based on influential conversation about the product recall. Identify most influential company detractors for potential outreach. Product Recall Influencer Outreach Sentiment analysis and opinion volume graph of product recall shows how the sentiment around the company improves following influencer outreach. Click for more on Crisis Management 18

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