Jeff Pulver hosts Social Communications Summit

BarbaraEvents, Influencer identification

I’ve been away on personal business most of the month, and am catching up on what’s been going on in the world of influencer marketing. I’m pleased to see that Jeff Pulver has announced a new event, The Social Communications Summit or SocComm. He’s put out a call for speakers. If you’re aware of his ability to sway a market, … Read More

Influencer marketing – get the basic ideas

BarbaraInfluencer marketing, Public relations

You can ramp up quickly on some basic influencer marketing concepts and strategies thanks to webmasterradio.fm. Co-hosts Brandy Shapiro-Babin and Jiyan Wei conducted a lively interview with Influencer50 founder and president Nick Hayes last week. They covered good ground — who is an influencer, how influence works, why it’s important, plus some basic influencer marketing strategies. The podcast is part … Read More

Social media driving competition for purchase influence

BarbaraB2B, Consumer markets, Influencer marketing, Research, social media

Tom Smith’s guest post at Mashable makes the point that we now trust the opinions of strangers as much as we trust our close friends, thanks to social media. He’s highlighting findings from the Universal McCann study, “When did we start trusting strangers”. Don’t let yourself get lulled into thinking this phenomenon is taking place only in consumer markets. Social … Read More

Many ways to touch influencers

BarbaraBloggers, Influencer engagement, Influencer marketing

You would think that Chris Brogan, an impossibly wise and kind thought leader in social media circles, would never run into difficulties in engaging with influencers. Yet, he does. He shares a personal story about it, and how he succeeded, on this beautiful autumn morning. His story highlights one of the tenets of influencer marketing: human beings respond differently to … Read More

Your brand is dead, long live your brand

BarbaraBooks, Branding

Can you measure branding through tangible improvements in operations and the bottomline? Are your branding investments aimed directly at changing customer behavior? Is brand equity a myth that exists in the minds of marketers? These are some of the questions that Jonathan Salem Baskin raises in his new book, Branding Only Works on Cattle. He talked about his ideas for … Read More

WOMMA invites comment on Influencer Marketing Handbook

BarbaraBooks, Influencer marketing

Tarah Remington was in touch with Influencer50 today, with a heads up that the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has released a draft of the WOMMA Influencer Handbook for public comment. The handbook is about best practices in the use of influencer marketing: “WOMMA believes influencer marketing is real and here to stay. It is not a myth, or … Read More

Influencers in the Microsoft reseller channel

BarbaraChannel partners, Influencer engagement, Influencer marketing

Microsoft large account resellers (LARs) are among the most influential channel partners in the industry. Companies that benefit the most from LARs are those that understand how to work with LARs as sales influencers. LAR influence ranges from injecting consultative insight into a volume-licensing contract, to sharing competitive intel on mutual accounts. LARs can also give their downstream partners an … Read More

Gillen on direct marketers and influencers

Barbaradirect marketing, Influencer marketing

Paul Gillen draws a surprising line between direct marketing and influencer marketing in a guest post at Deliver. Connecting those two dots in particular — DM and influencer marketing — is heresy in many marketing circles. Common wisdom dictates that the influencer contact list and the direct marketing database should never meet. We’re seeing the beginning of the end of … Read More