Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Influencer Marketing shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Influencer Marketing offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Influencer Marketing at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Influencer Marketing? Wrong! If the Influencer Marketing is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Influencer Marketing then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Influencer Marketing? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Influencer Marketing and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Influencer Marketing wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Influencer Marketing then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Influencer Marketing site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Influencer Marketing, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Influencer Marketing, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Influencer marketing is a form of
marketing that has emerged from a variety of recent practices and studies, in which focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) rather than the target market as a whole. It identifies the individuals that have influence over potential buyers, and orientates marketing activities around these influencers. Influencers may be potential buyers themselves, or (in the case of business-to-business transactions) they may be third parties.
What is “Influence”?
Most discussion on the generic topic of social influence centres on compliance and persuasion in a social environment, as exemplified in
Robert Cialdini’s book
Influence: Science and PracticeCialdini, Robert. Influence: Science and Practice, Allyn and Bacon, 2001. In the context of Influencer Marketing, influence is less about argument and coercion to a particular point of view, and more about loose interactions between various parties in a community.
Influencer Marketing as a marketing discipline
Influencer Marketing, as increasingly practiced in a commercial context, comprises four main activities:
- Identifying influencers, and ranking them in order of importance.
- Marketing to influencers, to increase awareness of the firm within the influencer community
- Marketing through influencers, using influencers to increase market awareness of the firm amongst target markets
- Marketing with influencers, turning influencers into advocates of the firm.
Influencer Marketing is enhanced by a continual evaluation activity that sits along side the four main activities.
Identifying influencers
The first step in Influencer Marketing is to identify influencers. Influencers are specific to discrete market segments, and are used as conduits to the entire target segment. While there are lists of generic influencers (such as the
Time 100) they have limited use in marketing programmes targeted at specific segments.
Market research techniques can be used to identify influencers, using pre-defined criteria to determine the extent and type of influence. For example, Keller and Berry propose five attributes of influencersKeller, Ed and Berry, Jon. The Influentials, Free Press, 2003:
- Activists: influencers get involved, with their communities, political movements, charities and so on.
- Connected: influencers have large social networks
- Impact: influencers are looked up to and are trusted by others
- Active minds: influencers have multiple and diverse interests
- Trendsetters: influencers tend to be early adopters (or leavers) in markets
Most of the literature on influencers focuses on consumer markets. There is less insight into business-to-business influencers. A key distinction between consumer and business markets is that most influencers in consumer markets are consumers themselves. In
business marketing, influencers are people that affect a sale, but are removed from the actual purchase decision. Consultants, analysts, journalists, academics, regulators, standards bodies are examples of business influencers.
Not all business influencers are equal. Some have more influence than others, and some mechanism of ranking is required, to distinguish between key influencers and less impactful people. A model for ranking business influencers has been developed by Influencer50, thus:
- Market Reach – the number of people an individual has the ability to connect with.
- Quality of Impact – the esteem in which an individual’s view and opinions are held.
- Frequency of Impact – the number of opportunities an individual has to influence buying decisions.
- Closeness to Decision – how near an individual is to the decision-maker.
Several companies including Liquid Intelligence in the US and Vocanic in Asia have developed their own proprietary methodologies for identifying and targeting influencers for a brand.
Fred Reichheld, a consultant at
Bain & Company, has developed a methodology to determine the extent to which firms’ growth is influenced by customers’ propensity to make referrals to colleagues.Reichheld, Fred. The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, Harvard Business School Press, 2006 Reichheld distills his research down to a single question: how likely is it that you would recommend company X to a friend or colleague? From answers to this question, a
Net Promoter Score is determined, which correlates strongly with a firm’s growth rate.
Influencer ecosystems and roles
Sources of influencers can be varied. Marketers traditionally target influencers that are easy to identify, such as press, industry analysts and high profile executives. For most B2C purchases, however, influencers might include people known to the purchaser and the retailer staff. In higher value B2B transactions the community of influencers may be wide and varied, and include consultants, government-backed regulators, financiers and user communities.
As well as a variety of influencer sources, influencers can play a variety of roles at different times in a decision process. This idea has been developed in a new book called Influencer Marketing by Brown & HayesBrown, Duncan and Hayes, Nick. Influencer Marketing: Who really influences your customers?, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008. They map out how and when particular types of influencer affect the decision process. This then enables marketers to selectively target influencers depending on their individual profile of influence.
The influence of
bloggers and other social media users is a topic of much discussion. This is covered in depth in Paul Gillin’s The New Influencers Gillin, Paul. The New Influencers, Quill Driver, 2007. Brown & Hayes also cover the subject but are less convinced of the importance of the impact of social media, particularly in B2B settings.
References
See also
- Relationship marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
External links
- Word of Mouth Marketing Association
- Influencer Marketing book web site
- ALT TERRAIN LLC Influencer Marketing and Influencer Media Company
- Influencer50 is an Influencer Marketing firm
- Vocanic is an Influencer Driven Word of Mouth Marketing firm
- Liquid Intelligence is an Influencer Marketing firm
- Ammo Marketing is an Influencer Marketing firm
- Duncan Brown has a blog on Influencer Marketing
- The Power of Influence A blog about Influencer Driven Word of Mouth Marketing
- The Ultimate Question site
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that has emerged from a variety of recent practices and studies, in which focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) rather than the target market as a whole. It identifies the individuals that have influence over potential buyers, and orientates marketing activities around these influencers. Influencers may be potential buyers themselves, or (in the case of business-to-business transactions) they may be third parties.
What is “Influence”?
Most discussion on the generic topic of
social influence centres on compliance and persuasion in a social environment, as exemplified in Robert Cialdini’s book
Influence: Science and PracticeCialdini, Robert. Influence: Science and Practice, Allyn and Bacon, 2001. In the context of Influencer Marketing, influence is less about argument and coercion to a particular point of view, and more about loose interactions between various parties in a community.
Influencer Marketing as a marketing discipline
Influencer Marketing, as increasingly practiced in a commercial context, comprises four main activities:
- Identifying influencers, and ranking them in order of importance.
- Marketing to influencers, to increase awareness of the firm within the influencer community
- Marketing through influencers, using influencers to increase market awareness of the firm amongst target markets
- Marketing with influencers, turning influencers into advocates of the firm.
Influencer Marketing is enhanced by a continual evaluation activity that sits along side the four main activities.
Identifying influencers
The first step in Influencer Marketing is to identify influencers. Influencers are specific to discrete market segments, and are used as conduits to the entire target segment. While there are lists of generic influencers (such as the Time 100) they have limited use in marketing programmes targeted at specific segments.
Market research techniques can be used to identify influencers, using pre-defined criteria to determine the extent and type of influence. For example, Keller and Berry propose five attributes of influencersKeller, Ed and Berry, Jon. The Influentials, Free Press, 2003:
- Activists: influencers get involved, with their communities, political movements, charities and so on.
- Connected: influencers have large social networks
- Impact: influencers are looked up to and are trusted by others
- Active minds: influencers have multiple and diverse interests
- Trendsetters: influencers tend to be early adopters (or leavers) in markets
Most of the literature on influencers focuses on consumer markets. There is less insight into business-to-business influencers. A key distinction between consumer and business markets is that most influencers in consumer markets are consumers themselves. In
business marketing, influencers are people that affect a sale, but are removed from the actual purchase decision. Consultants, analysts, journalists, academics, regulators, standards bodies are examples of business influencers.
Not all business influencers are equal. Some have more influence than others, and some mechanism of ranking is required, to distinguish between key influencers and less impactful people. A model for ranking business influencers has been developed by Influencer50, thus:
- Market Reach – the number of people an individual has the ability to connect with.
- Quality of Impact – the esteem in which an individual’s view and opinions are held.
- Frequency of Impact – the number of opportunities an individual has to influence buying decisions.
- Closeness to Decision – how near an individual is to the decision-maker.
Several companies including Liquid Intelligence in the US and Vocanic in Asia have developed their own proprietary methodologies for identifying and targeting influencers for a brand.
Fred Reichheld, a consultant at Bain & Company, has developed a methodology to determine the extent to which firms’ growth is influenced by customers’ propensity to make referrals to colleagues.Reichheld, Fred. The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, Harvard Business School Press, 2006 Reichheld distills his research down to a single question: how likely is it that you would recommend company X to a friend or colleague? From answers to this question, a
Net Promoter Score is determined, which correlates strongly with a firm’s growth rate.
Influencer ecosystems and roles
Sources of influencers can be varied. Marketers traditionally target influencers that are easy to identify, such as press, industry analysts and high profile executives. For most B2C purchases, however, influencers might include people known to the purchaser and the retailer staff. In higher value B2B transactions the community of influencers may be wide and varied, and include consultants, government-backed regulators, financiers and user communities.
As well as a variety of influencer sources, influencers can play a variety of roles at different times in a decision process. This idea has been developed in a new book called Influencer Marketing by Brown & HayesBrown, Duncan and Hayes, Nick. Influencer Marketing: Who really influences your customers?, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008. They map out how and when particular types of influencer affect the decision process. This then enables marketers to selectively target influencers depending on their individual profile of influence.
The influence of
bloggers and other
social media users is a topic of much discussion. This is covered in depth in Paul Gillin’s The New Influencers Gillin, Paul. The New Influencers, Quill Driver, 2007. Brown & Hayes also cover the subject but are less convinced of the importance of the impact of social media, particularly in B2B settings.
References
See also
External links
- Word of Mouth Marketing Association
- Influencer Marketing book web site
- ALT TERRAIN LLC Influencer Marketing and Influencer Media Company
- Influencer50 is an Influencer Marketing firm
- Vocanic is an Influencer Driven Word of Mouth Marketing firm
- Liquid Intelligence is an Influencer Marketing firm
- Ammo Marketing is an Influencer Marketing firm
- Duncan Brown has a blog on Influencer Marketing
- The Power of Influence A blog about Influencer Driven Word of Mouth Marketing
- The Ultimate Question site