Influence made The Harvard Business Review 2009 List of breakthrough business ideas. As you know, I’m a fan of the idea that social media may expand traditional spheres of influence by eroding reliance on physical “nearness” (propinquity), to decision-makers. The HBR study by James Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis tightens the noose the other way: “New research shows that personal … Read More
LinkedIn for the influencer program backoffice
You probably think of LinkedIn as a recruiting and job hunting network. It also serves as a valuable backoffice tool for analyst relations, consultant relations, and fully integrated B2B influencer programs. The price is certainly right: basic services are free, and business upgrades are economical. Plus, the number of profiles keeps growing. As of last week, LinkedIn claimed more than … Read More
Don’t turn decision influencers into fans
It’s tempting to think of influencer programs as master plans for turning objective decision influencers into your company’s bona fide fans. The truth is, that’s not a desirable goal for your influencer programs. Valuable influencers maintain a high level of objectivity. Some call it integrity. Others describe it as independence or ethics. Whatever label you prefer, compromising it is a … Read More
3 pioneers of next-gen analyst relations
To industry observers the situation seems clear: changes taking place in IT buyer decision processes require corresponding changes in how vendors deal with influencers, such as the industry analysts. However, the changes in tech decision-maker processes have been gradual and have varied greatly by market. Plus, critical aspects of buying decisions remain hidden from external view. As a result, few … Read More
Putting your competitors to work for you
Your top competitors are as influential with your customers and prospects as you are. This raises an interesting question: how can you leverage competitors as part of your influencer marketing program? One proven tactic is recruiting influential staff from competitors. Another tactic is getting competitors to talk about your company in a positive way. To do this, you want to … Read More
Will social media change the way we measure influence?
Scott Brinker blogged about propinquity and Twitter last week. I’d never heard the word propinquity before. However, propinquity seems to be a label for a familiar concept — the notion that physical promixity promotes relationships. My parents harped about that while I was a teen. Happily, Scott takes a different tack. He suggests that social media applications such as Twitter … Read More
Right influencers and wrong influencers
It’s easy to fall into thinking that focusing on the top 15 or 25 or 100 influencers in a given market is a good idea for every company. That’s not necessarily so, unless you can vet their influence with decision-makers for your product or service in your market. Mack Collier points out a good example: his experience with the “Pepsi … Read More
Government influencers and business deals
One group of influencers is about to undergo sweeping change in the U.S.: government agencies and regulators. Government influence varies greatly by industry. Yet it is present to some extent in virtually all industries. In the book, Influencer Marketing, Nick and Duncan identify three likely roles for government agencies and regulators: proclaimers – those who mandate or “proclaim” how the … Read More
More analyst layoffs add to analyst relations challenges
Following on the heels of layoffs at Gartner and AMR Research, comes word that Yankee Group and iSuppli also reduced headcount. Yankee Group CEO Emily Nagel discussed the reduction in the company blog. Meanwhile, there is word of a reduction at iSuppli, a firm that just recently acquired Telematics Research Group (TRG). This much consolidation in the tech industry analyst … Read More
Building communities of one
Marketers tasked with building online communities learn quickly that size matters. Which would you rather aim for: building one community of 50 members, or 50 communities each with one member? Odds are good you’ll go for the one larger community. It’s a matter of survival, isn’t it? Your professional reputation, job security, and next quarter’s budget may hang in the … Read More