50 INFLUENCERSon

INFLUENCEMARKETING

A QUOTECOMPILATION BY WISHPOND

On Strategy

“Have an influencer strategy. I would say 99% of businesses that say they want to partner with influencers actually have no strategy. Start with why you are engaging with influencers (what it is going to do for your business).”

Joe Pulizzi- Founder, Content Marketing Institute

Lee Odden- CEO of TopRank Online Marketing “Grow your influencer

network long before you need them. The day to create an army of influential advocates isn’t the first day of the war. Find common interests and develop rapport.”

Lee Odden preaches when working with clients

on influencer marketing. “Work with an influencer,

they’re friends for a day. Help someone become

influential, they’re a friend for life.”

“With scarcity of time, many influencers are being more selective about what they say “yes” to. They make these choices not just for efficiency but also to ensure quality of association. Factors like how well known the brand is, the quality of the project, and compensation all factor into decisions about participation in an influencer marketing program.”

Lee Odden Also Says- CEO of TopRank Online Marketing

“Rather than simply blasting [Influencers] with email, work on developing a relationship first by interacting with them. Start by leaving comments on their relevant blog posts, replying on Twitter, [...] etc. Once you have taken the time to actually get to know them, when you do approach an influencer about covering your product or service, it will not seem like a cold call pitch.”

Brett Relander- Founder of Launch and Hustle

“Do your research. Don’t just leave it up to the affiliate network or PR firm to vet bloggers or social media users for you. Take a look at the influencer’s blog and/or their social media presence, and only add the ones who truly resonate with your brand to the outreach list. ”

Jess Estrada- Fashion Blogger

“If you can engage the influencer’s passions, and work with them to craft a compelling logical appeal, then you can leverage the credibility of the influencer to actually sway hearts and minds.”

Tom Webster- Vice President, Edison Research

“Social media is not just an activity; it is an investment of valuable time and resources. Surround yourself with people who not just support you and stay with you, but inform your thinking about ways to wow your online presence.”

Sean Gardner- Social Media Influencer

“Influencers hold the keys to the readership kingdom, but engagement doesn’t start with a pitch. Make a list of people who it’s possible to build relationships with that would benefit both of you.”

Alex Turnbull- CEO and Founder, Groove

“The future is not about marketing to influencers - it’s about marketing with them.

Treating influencers as an extension of your company - rather than a distribution channel - will result in a more impactful experience for influencers and consumers alike.”

Emily Garvey- Dir. of Marketing, Starwood Hotels.

“What we sometimes forget is on the other side of every social media profile is a human being. Start more conversations for conversation-sake. Maybe initial conversations don’t directly benefit your marketing strategy, but they let the human on the other end know you’re interested in them.”

Ginny Torok- Social Media Strategist, Traackr

“Think about adding your influencers to your CRM to manage your contacts and outreach activities. You can use the system to store pitch ideas and also set up nurture campaigns to stay top-of-mind with your influencers.”

Amanda Maksymiw- Content Manager, Lattice Engines

“When it comes to measuring influence, it is important to remember that the primary objective of an influencer program is not just to influence the influencer. The real objective is to influence the influencer’s network, as this is the point at which the impact of influencer engagement is both felt and measured.”

Tim Williams- Founder, Ignition Consulting Group

“A cold request to “promote my stuff” is not the highlight of your influencer’s day. Engage influencers before you need them. Be helpful. Promote their stuff first. Mutual value increases receptivity.”

Ardath Albee- B2B Marketing Strategist

“The hardest thing is when I get a request from someone I’ve never heard from before. They haven’t tried to build a relationship at all, but they’re asking for my time. For me, time is money. I love to give back and help, but I’d also appreciate the flip side of that.”

Ardath Albee- B2B Marketing Strategist

“If you want your content to stand out from the noise, you can do that in four ways - use drama, use humor, use celebrities or use influencers. [Influencer marketing] is not going away and it shouldn’t.”

Jason Falls- Digital Strategist

“I feel like it is a duty to present unique points of views on the questions we are all asking as an industry…

For me it just comes down to whether I feel like I have a point of view on the topic or not. When I do, I am honored to chime in.”

Michael Brenner- Head of Strategy, Newscred

On Giving to Get

“If you want an influencer to be a shiny cog in your content distribution machine, be one of the hardest-working cogs in theirs.”

Doug Kessler- Co-Founder, Velocity Partners Ltd

“One key in influencer outreach is the research you put in before you reach out and ask. Have a very good feel for where they’re headed, what their goals are, and what they care about.”

Robert Rose- Content Marketing Institute

“When activating an influencer, ask yourself how you’re helping them accomplish their own goal. If you don’t know, find out; if your ask helps them, you’re gold; if it doesn’t, you should probably think hard before engaging them.”

Pierre-Loic Assayag- Founder and CEO, Traackr

“The cornerstone to success for influencer marketing is relevance: relevance of the influencer around your topic, brand or issue set, and your own relevance to the influencer.”

Pierre-Loic Assayag Also Says- Founder and CEO, Traackr

“It’s important to focus on finding ways to help the influencer.

Help them build their brand. Help them reach a new audience. Help them gain access to insights and content for their audience.”

Michael Brenner- Head of Strategy, Newscred

“If you want to connect with influencers, you need to understand what they want most and give it to them, no strings attached. Often, influential people love to be exposed to new audiences, see their name in lights and share their wisdom.”

Michael Stelzner- CEO, Social Media Examiner

“Sometimes marketers confuse influencer marketing with manipulation, bribing or worse.

Influence is something you deserve by being relevant for others.

The support of an influencers needs to be deserved by marketers as well. Indeed, by being relevant.”

J-P De Clerck- Digital Marketer, I-Scoop

“Adding influencers to your content initiatives in the form of quotes, callouts, and short interviews help validate your own good content while helping to promote the influencers in your industry. It’s a win-win-win -- for you, the influencers and, ultimately, your audience.”

Jason Miller- Manager of Content, LinkedIn

“The biggest key to influencer marketing is building relationships, and having a real exchange between the company and the influencer. Too many focus on what the influencer can do for them rather than how they can help the influencer. ”

Ann Handley- CCO, Marketing Profs

“The key is that the influencer has to get something more out of it than just free stuff. When done right it is a two way relationship that is ongoing. Both sides get something out of it and it feels like you are being respected and appreciated by the brand.”

C.C. Chapman- Founder, Never Enough Days

“Companies need to realize that the influencers they want are busy people and thus their time is valuable. If they are going to give up any time to attend an event, create content on behalf of the brand, or be expected to do anything really, they need to be compensated in some way or another.”

C.C. Chapman Also Says- Founder, Never Enough Days

“I love that people care enough about what I think to ask me to participate and quote me, though most requests are done the wrong way. That being said, a good number are simply delightful in their approach. I love that.”

David Meerman Scott- Keynote Speaker and Author

“You don’t want to stop talking with an influencer the minute you have his/her email address and they start sharing your content.

Continue to contribute to your site, continue to talk with them at conferences, and continue to share their material [...] You have to remember that these relationships need nurturing to be successful.”

Amanda DiSilvestro- Content Marketer, HigherVisibility

On What Not

To Do

“Too many [marketers] make presumptive requests with little upside for the person they’re asking. Too many have ridiculously high expectations or (sometimes) ridiculously vague expectations.”

Ann Handley - CCO, Marketing Profs

“Quite a few [marketers] are outright liars. They said they ‘read my blog’ or ‘love my work’ but the nature of the request clearly indicates they found me from some list and are emailing a lot of people.”

David Meerman Scott- Keynote Speaker and Author

“You can’t find a list of influencers, reach out, and check them off as boxes and expect them to engage with your company or product. Like any relationship, it takes time and real interaction for someone to become comfortable and trusting of you or your brand.”

Mike Fraietta- Social Business Strategist, Social Edge

“I’m happy to participate [in influencer programs], but generally speaking all companies would be better off building relationships with and amplifying advocates who REALLY care (like your customers, employees and business partners) than trying to hitch their wagon to people who have already been amplified.”

Jay Baer- President, Convince & Convert

“We need to move beyond public personas and into micro influencers; and we need to stop confusing popularity and amplification with influence.”

Danny Brown- Author, “Influence Marketing”

“Communication and relationship building is easier than it has ever been. You can easily get started with social media or blog conversations, and that's great. Don't overlook the power of the old fashioned way though. More personal interactions still have the biggest impact.”

Eric Enge- CEO, Stone Temple Consulting

“Pay-to-Play” as a substitute for “Love-to-Play”: Many influencer marketing players focus on incentivizing industry influencers to engage with a brand. Although this could give a brand high reach and exposure in the short-term, it is not authentic. Using incentives to buy advocacy from influencers has not proven to be a sustainable strategy.

Branderati- Advocate Influencer Marketing

“The biggest mistake marketers make with their influencer marketing strategies is focusing solely on people with high Klout scores [...] Unfortunately, an influencer can have a high Klout score but zero influence over your target audience.”

Sam Fiorella- Partner, Sensei Marketing

“Stop ‘big name hunting.’ They’re all ego-trapped out. Focus instead on next-generation leaders and you’ll have them all to yourself.”

Joe Chernov- VP of Content Marketing, Hubspot

Words to Live By

“When you align with an influencer, not only do they bring their audience, but they also bring their audience’s network as well. Because of the loyalty of their audience, an influencer has the ability to drive traffic to your site, increase your social media exposure, and flat-out sell your product through their recommendation or story about their experience.”

Kristin Matthews- Marketing Manager, GroupHigh

“It’s a virtuous cycle. Brands identify those who are influential. That strokes the egos of the influencers while also helping to perpetuate their influence by building their personal brands. Those influencers are then more open to contributing or authentically helping the brand. And the cycle repeats.”

Michael Brenner - Head of Strategy, Newscred

Lee Odden preaches when working with clients

on influencer marketing. “Work with an influencer,

they’re friends for a day. Help someone become

influential, they’re a friend for life.”

“Work with an influencer, they’re friends for a day. Help someone become influential, they’re a friend for life.”

Lee Odden - CEO, TopRank Online Marketing

“Those looking to employ influencer marketing should choose wisely and also broaden their universe and help new influencers emerge. And, [as influencers] it’s even more incumbent on us to help those new influencers emerge.”

Robert Rose- Chief Strategy Officer, CMI

“I’m not sick of being asked to participate, because that’s really a #FirstWorldProblem, you know? It’s kind of tough to keep a straight face when you utter the words, ‘my life sucks because too many people want to know what I think.’”

Jay Baer- President, Convince and Convert

“In many respects, influencers are key to making sense of the billions of pieces of content and words that are published throughout social media services. They are the ones we follow, trust and ultimately help decide what will succeed or fail.”

Mark Evans- Principal, ME Consulting

“No actual influence occurs until the influencees produce a measurable action. If real influence depends so much on the influencees, why are most vendors still so focused so much on the influencers?”

Michael Wu- Chief Scientist, Lithium Technologies

“An influencer to me isn’t just someone who can increase my shares on Twitter, but people who buy my product or service actually look to for advice. These influencers may not be widely popular on social, but can move the needle for you.”

Jesse Noyes- Director of Content, Kapost

“People build relationships face-to-face. By making real-life connections your communications become P2P content that breaks through the clutter in their inboxes and on social media.”

Heidi Cohen- President, Riverside Marketing

“It’s about finding opportunities to build relationships with people who touch your potential customers in some way. These are the people who will help you achieve more, with less. If you earn their trust, you will be invited into those new audiences you crave.”

Evy Wilkens- VP of Marketing, UNYQ

“Influence marketing is an art and science. The art is the crafting and creation of content that adds value to people’s lives, personally or for their business. The science is the tactics and tools of building tribes and followers on the big social networks.”

Jeff Bullas- CEO, JeffBullas.com

“People are overwhelmed by information density and look to social proof for guidance on who to follow. But in the long term, lasting influence comes from trust, not your number of Twitter followers. “

Mark Schaefer- Marketing Consultant

● http://www.business2community.com● http://simplymeasured.com● http://blog.hubspot.com● https://blog.kissmetrics.com● http://www.searchenginejournal.com● http://moz.com● http://curatti.com● http://launchandhustle.com

Sources:

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