hands on: identifying influencers

Identifying and Engaging Online Influencers

Paul Gillin, AuthorThe New Influencers

Secrets of Social Media MarketingSocial Marketing to the Business Customer

New Influencers are Passionate – Both Pro and Con

Source: Sean Moffitt, BuzzCanuck

Desire to Influence

Others

Brand Engagement

Passiv

eA

cti

ve

Reject Favor

Traditional InfluencersAuthoritative 3rd parties, community leaders, press, gov’t.

Traditional InfluencersAuthoritative 3rd parties, community leaders, press, gov’t.

Haters Lovers

Critics Enthusiasts

Skeptics

Mainstream

Dismissers

Followers

Meet the new influencers

Steve Hall

Philipp Lenssen

Paige Heninger &Gretchen Vogelzang

Hands-on example

For an energy management ISV, we want to identify

influencers who specialize in building environmentals.

Start With A Google Blog Search

Tip: Use advanced search!

Look for authority and fans

This one

looks promising

Open and Examine Results

Signs to look for

Old entries

Low interaction

Spam blogs

Possible competitor?

Technorati Rates Blogs

Authority ratings show activity, inbound links

Profiles show interests and followers

Fans share passion

Tag cloud shows interests

Signs of Life

Multiple social outlets

Active comments

Advertising

Dedicated domain

Use Website Grader and

Compete.com

Who’s Following?

FacebookTwitter

Inbound links

Mining a blogBlogroll leads to relevant sites

Who do they link to?

Other Venues

3,000 “fans”

9,000 “fans”

3,800 members

1,700 members

Other Venues

Specialty & Multi-contributor

Little-Known Listening Gems

Social bookmarking sites

Social Media Search

Website Evaluators

OK, so now what?

•Read, comment, understand

•Reach out with something of value

•Play to ego, self-importance

•Treat online influencers as you would the media

•Engage before you pitch

Engagement tactics

•Invite them into the club

•Offer links or small promotions

•Use discounts, giveaways, contests, free trials

•Never edit or censor what they say

•Consider affiliate programs

How to Engage

Dear <blogger name>:

I'm a big fan of your site, <blog title>, and think you provide a tremendous value to the construction trade. I would like you to know about a new site we have just launched...

Wrong

Right

Dear Susie:

GreenBuildingElements.com is a must-read for us here at Energy Efficient Solutions. We particularly like your focus on designing homes with sustainability in mind. I have personally recommended your Green Building 101 Series to several of my colleagues as examples of how the process of building green homes can be fundamentally rethought. As you wrote recently, "It all starts with the foundation. So let’s start from the beginning."

The Twitter Equation

• Follow people you admire

• Comment upon and retweet their messages

• Include their Twitter name

• If they follow you, thank them

• Ask for advice, input

• It’s occasionally OK to ask for a RT

• They know they’re important; don’t abuse the relationship

Checking out "Facebook and Health Ads" on @WEGOHealth : http://ning.it/93dQ6z

Tweeps: I'm in front of a college journalism class. What shld these students know abt social media.

RT @tshuttleworth: This is the golden age of engagement for book publishers. - Arianna Huffington #toccon

Influencer Relations

“Since 2002, this annual event has evolved into the cornerstone of SAP's influencer programs, now serving as a key event to validate SAP's transformational market strategy.”

In B2C market, influencer relations successes include:

Molson Beer

Toro Lawnmowers

Zarafina Tea

PBS

Parents magazine

Goal Turn customers into fans

Tactic Recruit 10 prominent bloggers for access, trials

Metrics Blog posts, videos, tweets, traffic

Results One video received 320,000 views6,200 downloads of Facebook appMany blog entriesProgram renewed for second year

Quote “12 months of relationship building, meetups and feedback gathering has changed the way we think, act and plan our communications and events.”

-Ken Kaplan, Intel

Recruit

Action: Turn enthusiasts into promotersTools: Widgets, tchotchkes, access, retreats

Objective: Build low-cost virtual sales force of informed customers

Result: Brand visibility; sales leads

Thank You!

Paul Gillin

508-656-0734

paul@gillin.com

Site: gillin.com

Blog: paulgillin.com

Twitter: pgillin