Introduction to influencer programmesI. Importance of influence II. Types of influencer campaignIII. Measures of success IV. What next?

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Sophie Griffiths

The importance of influence and influencer engagement

“The ability for brands to connect with influential consumers is set to become standard protocol. With an effective influence

strategy, businesses will spark beneficial word of mouth, create brand lift, and ultimately influence the actions of other brand lift, and ultimately influence the actions of other

consumers much more authentically.”

Brian Solis, American industry analyst and principal at Altimeter GroupMarch 2012

We are all influencers of and being influenced by each other

One advocate can create slight resonance, many advocates can create huge resonance

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But successful targeting of an influential advocate can save businesses time and money versus the need to constantly reach regular consumers who have a more limited reach…

“Businesses have a finite amount of money and time; therefore, they must identify the most connected people they can to help expand their reach. In social networks, brands can connect with everyday people who are the celebrities of their networks. The value to businesses is that they can have access to the respective Rolodex of consumers and reward them as a

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access to the respective Rolodex of consumers and reward them as a result.”

Dr Bernardo A. Huberman, Director of HP Labs’ Social computing Lab.

A message from an influencer about your brand is more likely to be trusted than a direct message… and trusted than a direct message… and who people trust in delivering a message is also changing

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Edelman trust Barometer: 2012

Age old principles spark new conversations

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So influencer outreach can have a positive effect on business in the following ways

1. Extending reach by tapping into relevant third party audiences

2. Enhancing brand authenticity through relevant and trusted third party endorsement

3. Increasing consumer engagement with a brand3. Increasing consumer engagement with a brand

4. Driving positive sentiment within targeted communities

Types of influencer campaign

PAID OWNED EARNED

Influencer outreach can happen in multiple media channels

Seeding of the brand story in targeted communities to create engagement and viral reach

Identifying and engaging with the “superfans” in a brand’s own channel network

Spontaneous or planned PR reach from mentions via channels beyond your ultimate control

Measures of success

In order to measure success we must first define influence

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Influence is a measure of “social capital” – how an individual entity is rated based on certain social criteria. The above framework aims to define those criteria

Influencer campaigns will set out to successfully target the influencer who ticks all the right social criteria (depending on business objectives)

Reach Relevance Resonance

PopularityThe state of being liked,

admired or supported by many people Proximity

Location can be relevant if

Authority If an individual invests in a certain subject over time,

they naturally earn a level of authority which in turn builds

respect

FrequencyThe rate a social object, topic

or person materializes in social streams

PeriodThe length or portion of time

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Location can be relevant if the campaign is local or

requires a particular setting / environment

Goodwill Investing goodwill in one’s

community increases appreciation and therefore

the likelihood of engagement

respect Trust

The firm belief in the reliability, truthfulness, ability

or strength of someone Affinity

Connected consumers establish affinity with their communities, and it buoys

their position

The length or portion of time it remains visible after the

initial appearanceAmplitude

The level of the influencer’s engagement within a

network

Measures of success will determine influencer criteria

• Brand lift/awareness• Brand resonance• BTA reach • Sales/Referrals• Sentiment shift• Thought Leadership/Authority• Demand

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• Demand• Trends• Audience

What next?

Mapping your influencer programme

• Benchmark – understand where you are today in terms of sentiment, awareness and consumer behaviours/attitudes

• Audience - define who you are ultimately trying to reach and why• Strategy – connect the dots between you/the brand, connected consumers

and their communities • Influencer ID – choose exactly which influencers you want to target • Influencer ID – choose exactly which influencers you want to target • Campaign – decide which sort of campaign – paid, owned, earned • Measurement – integrate milestones and mechanisms to measure KPIs and

outcomes

Sources

• http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/marketing_is_dead.html• http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/09/ten_ways_to_get_people_to_chan.html• http://www.slideshare.net/Altimeter/the-rise-of-digital-influence• http://media-cache0.pinterest.com/upload/15621929928433939_p0wMWvAz.jpg