Influencer marketing tools are getting a new gear and it’s a good one. Up until recently, influencer relationship management (IRM) tools offered 3 speeds: identifying, monitoring and measuring influencers. That’s good, but not good enough. Corporate marketing teams focused on social media need to find ways to scale their influencer programs without sacrificing micro-segmentation and personalization. That kind of scalability … Read More
Building scalability into influencer relations programs
Influencer relations programs focus on 1-to-1 relationships and therefore can be resource-intensive. So it’s a good idea to figure out where you can achieve economies of scale and how to go about doing it. Here are 3 areas with big potential. Flexible, modular playbooks. A grand plan may work well with a handful of influencers, but it won’t scale across … Read More
Putting CIO peer groups into perspective
It’s a sure bet that when CIO and IT decision makers gather in groups, tech sales people circle nearby, angling to slip into the crowd. The common wisdom is that every member of these groups is a sales target. Each member is ripe with purchasing potential. That’s certainly a practical way for tech providers to look at IT peer groups. … Read More
Influencer programs and building public trust
Influencer programs can be a lever for building and sustaining trust. How well this works depends largely on how we enable influencers to build and convey trust in our brands. This is especially true given the global economic climate. We know that influencers are trusted advisors. The question is, how are we enabling them to develop and convey trust in … Read More
Thinking about communities of practice
Those of us who watch the watchers tend to use phrases like “the analysts”, “the media”, “the integrators”, “the bloggers”, “the academics”, and so on. Â In most cases, we use these phrases simply as short hand. Â We know that there are few common denominators uniting the people in these positions. Â However, that’s not the message we send to our colleagues … Read More
Defining the strength of influencer relationships
Human relationships tend to be complicated, and relationships with influencers are no exception. Yet, you need to know where you stand with an influencer and to share that insight with others in your organization. That’s why so many of us strive to describe influencer relationships in terms that are simple, meaningful and broadly applicable. There are many different systems for … Read More
Is your influencer network strategic or tactical?
In today’s Email Insider newsletter, guest contributor Chad White (Smith-Harmon) points out fundamental differences between email programs used tactically and those used strategically. His points resonate with influencer programs as well: Those that are using it [email marketing] tactically view email campaigns as isolated one-off events. An email is sent out and sales are tallied up. There’s no bigger picture. … Read More
Don’t miss Marketing Is Broken, Influencers Can Fix It on May 20 in San Francisco
Please join us for what promises to be a lively discussion about what’s wrong with marketing and how an influencer program can fix it. On May 20th, we are hosting a reception and presentation on influencer marketing at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Check out the details below. We’ve reserved complimentary tickets so email me (barbara.french@influencer50.com) or any of … Read More
Indirect influencers and decision-maker purchase criteria
Influencers often have a say in the purchase critieria used by decision-makers. Often their influence is direct, such as inputing to a request for bid. Indirect influence is an important factor as well. While the most widely known (or perhaps infamous) example in the tech market is Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, most indirect influences are far from obvious. Influencer relations programs … Read More
Social media tracking offers lessons for influencer programs
Companies providing social media monitoring tools and services provide many ways to find and monitor influential voices out on the web. One of the latest proclamations is from Visible Technologies, now promoting a social marketing ROI study: Leading companies ‘use multiple approaches to identify the individuals who wield the greatest amount of influence in any given topic area and to … Read More