The influencer ecosystem for enterprise cloud computing shifted here in the US today with Burton Group formally entering the tech research and advisory fray. The launch moves them directly into the line of influence with all of their clients, because they already cover the primary tech and service areas that make up cloud computing and because they are offering all … Read More
FTC eyes social media endorsements
Bloggers who are compensated for endorsing products and services could be held liable for any false statements they make, if newly proposed FTC guidelines are adopted. I’m pleased to see some movement beyond voluntary blogger transparency. I’m a fan of voluntary transparency. It puts peer pressure on bloggers to tell you about sponsorships and other compensation. It has uncovered several … Read More
Juniper’s fresh take on consultant relations
Juniper Networks is updating its consultant relations strategy to better reflect the role these influencers play in customer decision-making. The new consultants program, under the umbrella of its channel partners program, is aimed “at partners who influence a customer’s buying decisions but don’t actually take part in the sale.” This is an interesting approach to formalizing and updating consultant relations … Read More
Nick speaking at the IABC 2009 World Conference
Don’t miss Nick’s session at the upcoming IABC 2009 World Conference. This year, the IABC expects to host 1,600 communication practitioners from 40 countries for this event. Four days of learning, camaraderie and inspiration right here in San Francisco. Details on Nick’s session: T3 / Influencer marketing and the rise of decision maker ecosystems Date: Tuesday, 9 June Time: 11:15 … Read More
IIAR wants your vote on the analyst of the year
Jonny Bentwood was in touch with an invitation for you. He’d like your help in determining the IIAR’s “analyst of the year”. Technically, you’ll help determine more than one analyst of the year. They’ll name one worldwide, one for the Americas and another for EMEA. I suppose with enough votes Asia-Pacific could have an analyst of the year as well. … Read More
Shifting gears from analyst relations to influencer relations
I’ve been knee-deep in influencer identification projects this month. It’s my first foray beyond custom industry analyst & consultant lists since my vendor marketing days. The work has been fun and interesting and much more demanding (i.e. harder) than I expected. Frankly, I just didn’t realize how much work goes into finding the top 50 to 100 influencers in a … 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
Two thumbs up for IDC Directions 2009
I attended last week’s IDC Directions09 conference in San Jose, courtesy of IDC in light of my role as an industry analyst watcher and blogger. It was one of the best that I can remember, and I’ve been to a few over the years. The theme, content and speakers were good — but that’s not why I’m giving it 2 … Read More
Handling your company’s high-profile detractors
The annals of influencer marketing have their share of horror stories — influencers who won’t let go of a negative point of view, and won’t stop sharing it. It doesn’t really matter how good your influencer marketing program is. Sooner or later, an influencer will shift from neutral to negative. How will you handle the situation? In our Influencer50 client … Read More
Sway added to Alltop marketing collection
Sway has just been added to Alltop’s Marketing collection. Marketing.alltop aggregates the headlines of the latest stories from the best sites and blogs that cover marketing. It’s an excellent resource on a range of marketing topics. I’m proud that Sway is included. I often use Alltop collections in my online work, and recommend them in my offline life. That’s where … Read More