You can get a good introduction to influencer marketing at the IABC 2009 World Conference. It’s just around the corner — in terms of timing, it’s next week; in terms of location, it’s here in San Francisco. This year, Nick will lead a session on influencer marketing. Don’t miss it if you are attending. He takes a 360 degree viewpoint … Read More
Word of mouth and influencer marketing interview on Love Digital
David Campbell, a digital marketing expert and one of Australia’s youngest agency heads, says the adage that word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing has been around a long time. But how do you actually activate it? How can companies and agencies stimulate word of mouth marketing and use influencer marketing? And, what are the implications for … 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
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
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
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
Marketing with a $0 budget
Imagine you’re the marketing lead at a small company and you’re gearing up to launch a product, service, or even the company. One morning, the CEO informs you, “The marketing budget is now $0, and we will figure out a way to get to market.” That’s one of 6 things that CEOs of small companies and start-ups should be saying … 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
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