12 Step Insider Guide to B2B Social Influencer Marketing

B2B SOCIAL INFLUENCER MARKETING Your 12-step insider guide

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CONTENTS

Introduction 3

MeettheInfluencers 4

Your 12-step guide 1.KnowwhatyoumeanbyInfluencerMarketing 82.Setyourgoals,objectivesandKPIs 93.Identifyyourinfluencers 104.Doyourhomework 115.Engageyourinfluencers 126.Don’tselltothem! 137.Createcontenttheywillwanttoshare 148.Offertherightvalueexchange 159.Respecttheircraft 1610.It’smorethanacampaign 1711.Measuretheimpact 1812.Actonwhatyou’velearned 19

Conclusion 20

Get Started 22

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...whenyoucontemplateanInfluencerMarketingprogramme,you’retalkingaboutengagingandworkingwithatiny3% of people who

command 90% of the influence in any user group.

Howdoyoufindthem?Andhowdoyouwintheirconfidenceandconvincethemtoworkwithyou?

WeaskedfourofthebiggestinfluencersinB2Bmarketingwhatmakesaninfluencertick,whatmakesthemsayyes,andwhatwillmakethementer into a long-term partnership with a brand.

Readonfortheresult. Your 12-step Influencer Marketing guide, packed with golden nuggets and priceless advice, straight from the horse’s mouth.

FIRSTLY…


WORKING WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EXPERTS TO

ACHIEVE BUSINESS GOALS. INFLUENCE IS THE ABILITYTO EFFECT ACTION.‘‘‘‘LEE ODDEN, CEO, TopRank Marketing

FAVOURITE SOCIAL SPACE: Instagram for personal; LinkedIn and Twitter for business


THE ABILITY TO CONNECT EFFECTIVELY WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE ABLE TO INFLUENCE OTHERS

IN THEIR CIRCLE

‘‘‘‘NEVILLE HOBSON, Senior Business Consultant, IBM Social Consulting

FAVOURITE SOCIAL SPACE: Twitter – for personal and business


HACKING INTO THE 45-80% OF RESEARCHTHAT B2B BUYERS ARE INCREASINGLY CUTTING YOU OUT FROM‘‘‘‘TIM HUGHES, Business Development Director, Oracle

FAVOURITE SOCIAL SPACE: Twitter first, then LinkedIn


WORKING WITH PEOPLETHAT AUDIENCES BELIEVE IN, WITH YEARS OF TRACK RECORD

THEY TRUST‘‘‘‘THOMAS POWER, Chief Digital Officer, Electric Dog

FAVOURITE SOCIAL SPACE: Twitter by far

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1 KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY INFLUENCER MARKETING

BewareoffallingintothetrapofdefiningInfluencerMarketinginthenarrowtermsofpayingacelebrityYouTubertotalkaboutyourbrand.NevilleHobsondescribesInfluencerMarketingas”theabilitytoconnecteffectivelywithpeoplewhoareabletoinfluenceothersintheircircle.”InB2B,InfluencerMarketingisaboutworkingwithkeyindividualswhoseindependentcredibilityandauthorityamongsttheirownestablishedaudiencemeansthattheirfollowersarealreadyreceptivetotheirideasandrecommendations.

”It’s the ability to

connect effectively with people who are

able to influence others in their circle”

Neville Hobson


2 SET YOUR GOALS, OBJECTIVES ANDKPIs

ApproachyourInfluencerMarketingstrategyinthesamewayasyouwouldanyother.Or,asLeeOddensayssimply,”decidewhatyouwantoutofitbeforeyougoin”.Thatmeansdefiningyourobjectives.Whetherit’sgreaterbrandawareness,betterengagement,moreleads,allthree,ormore,determiningyourbusinessgoalsandKPIsattheoutsetwillkeepyourprogrammeontrackanditseffectivenessmeasurable.

“Decide what you want out of it before you go in”

Lee Odden


3IDENTIFYYOUR INFLUENCERS

Influencerscancomefromavarietyofsources.Theymightalreadybeadvocatesofyourbrand,theymightworkforyourbrand.Theycouldbeestablishedindustryexpertsandcommentators, bloggers, educators, customers… Use your existingcontacts;networkateventsandgoonlinetofindoutwho’sgotshareofvoiceinyourtargetspace.UsesocialtoolslikeTraackr,forsocialinfluenceandsociallistening,orKloutforinfluencerscoring.Awordonadvocatesthough:advocacydoesn’tnecessarilymeaninfluence–unlessthatadvocatehasthecredibility,respectandreachtoextendyourmessagebeyond their immediate group.

“Go for the number one influencer in your niche”

Tim Hughes


4 DOYOUR HOMEWORK

Onceyou’veidentifiedyourinfluencers,don’teventhinkaboutcontactingthembeforeyou’velearnedasmuchaboutthemasyoucan.

”Doyourresearchfirst.Somepeopledon’tevenlookatmyLinkedInprofileorblog.”–NevilleHobson.

OrasTimHughesputsit,“80-90%ofapproachesarefrom“tyrekickers”.Myareaissocialselling.Idon’ttalktopeopleaboutmycompanyoritsproducts.”

Butdoingyourhomeworkdoesn’tjustmeandrawupabluffer’sguidefromaninfluencer’ssocialprofile–makesureyoureadandfamiliariseyourselfwiththeirwork!

“80-90% of approaches are from tyre kickers”

Tim Hughes


5 ENGAGE YOUR INFLUENCERS

Sothatyou’renotapproachingyourinfluencerscompletelycold,startbygoingtotheirfavouritechannelsandjoiningtheconversationsthey’retakingpartin.Retweetthem,sharetheircontent,mentiontheminyours,ratetheirblogs,reviewtheirbooks,respondtotheirposts.Bepatient.Babystepscangoalongway.Whenyou’rereadytoapproachthem,bepersonal(noblanketemails),interesting,relevantandauthentic.Here’swhereyourhomeworkpaysoff:“WhenoneCEOcontactedme,hisfirstquestionwasaboutmyfavouritevinylrecord.He’ddonehisresearchandfoundoutwhatI’mpassionateabout”-TimHughes.

“When one CEO contacted me, his first question was about my favourite vinyl

record. He’d done his research and found out what I’m passionate about”

Tim Hughes


6DON’TSELLTOTHEMANDDON’TASKTHEMTOSELL!

Theintentionisforyourinfluencertohelpyouincreasetheawareness,associationandconsiderationofyourbrandinacertainspace–nottosellforyou.Anddon’tselltothem!

“Iwasapproachedbytwomarketingagenciesthisweek.Theysaidthey’dlovemycompanytobuytheirservices!”–TimHughes.

Theoutcomeyou’relookingforisacollaboration,butoutofcourtesy,besuretodemonstratethatyou’retakingintoaccountyourinfluencer’sskillsfirstandyourownneedssecond.

“I was approached by two

marketing agencies this week. They said they’d love my

company to buy their services!”Tim Hughes


7 CREATE CONTENT THAT THEY WILL WANT TO SHARE

Ifyou’recreatingapieceofcontentthatyou’dlikeaninfluencertocontributeto,commentuponandsharewiththeirnetworks,thenyouneedtocreatesomethingtheywillbecomfortableputtingtheirnameto.Ifyouaresharingcontenttheyhavecreatedforyou,don’ttakethecreditfortheiropinionsoradvice.Anddon’toverdotheSEO!Makeeverythingeasyforyourinfluencerstoshare.Attheveryleast,providealinktothecontent,butit’sworthgoingasfaraspre-writtentweets,oranembedcodefortheirwebsite.

“Don’t overdo the SEO by linking my words to

other posts or sites!”Lee Odden


8 OFFER THE RIGHT VALUE EXCHANGE

Whenyou’reborrowinganexpert’stime,audience,credibilityandinfluence,youneedtobeclearaboutwhat’sinitforthem.Andthemotivationwillbedifferentfordifferentinfluencers.Forsomeitcouldbeexposurefortheirbrandorbusiness,forothers,helpwithbuildingtheirpersonalbrand.Fromyourbackgroundresearchyouwillprobablyhaveagoodideaaboutwhat’slikelytomakeyourinfluencersayyestoyourproposal,butdon’tshyawayfromdiscussingit.Thecleareryoubothareaboutthevalueexchangeattheoutset,thebetter.Butdon’texpectthemtodosomethingforfreethatyoureallyoughttopayfor(speaking,largecontentpiecesetc).

“It’s not about money”Neville Hobson


9 RESPECTTHEIRCRAFT

Don’tmicromanageyourinfluencersorexpectthemtosaytheexactwordsyou’vetoldthemtosay.You’veengagedthemforthetrustandauthoritytheyhavewiththeiraudience,sodon’texpectthemtojeopardisetheircredibility.AsThomasPowerputit:“Influencersarelikescoutswhohavegoneaheadofthebrand,thencomebacktoleadthebrandupthehill.Abrandisbuyingthecompanionshiptogettothatoutcome.”

Allowinfluencersfreereinandtrustthemtotakegoodcareofyourmessage.

“Influencers are like scouts who have gone ahead of the brand, then come back to lead the brand up the hill”

Thomas Power


10 IT’SMORETHAN ACAMPAIGN

Influencermarketingisaboutbuildingalong-term,mutually beneficialrelationship.Onceyou’vebeguntoworktogether,nurture therelationshipbothonandoffline.Exploreongoingopportunities- co-creationofcontentorotherofferings,exclusivecontent,collaborationatevents.Keeptheconversationopen-endedandtherewardscouldbesubstantialonbothsides. “Many of the people I’ve met online have

become friends offline”Tim Hughes


11 MEASURETHEIMPACT

MeasurethesuccessofyourinfluencercampaignagainsttheKPIsyousetattheoutset.Ifyourobjectivesarearoundbrandawareness,youcouldmeasureimpressions,pageviews,webtraffic.Forengagement,measureshares,comments,mentions.Forleadgeneration,measureyourdownloads,emailsubscriptionsandsign-ups.Andforsales,measurebothonlineandoffline;upsellorcross-sell…

“Measure the success of your influencer campaign against the KPIs you set at the outset.”

Neville Hobson


12 ACT ON WHAT YOU’VELEARNED

Arrivingatatrulyrobustinfluencermarketingprogrammetakesagreatdealofthought,planning,timeandhardwork.Somakesureyouusetakelearningsfromitandusethemgoingforward.

“In a mobile social world, few brands hold attention and... attention is the product.”

Thomas Power


AND FINALLY…


...influencers can amplify your message, add third party credibility to your brand and send your exposure sky high. But Influencer Marketing is more than a campaign. You’ve entered into one of the most important and human relationships your brand will ever have and its success rests on a continued two-way benefit. Nurture your relationship and it will continue to bring rewards well into the long term.


GETSTARTEDMOIGlobalrunsinfluencerprogrammesforsomeoftheworld’slargesttechnologycompanies. Togetthemostoutofyourmarketingcampaignswhynotleanonourexperiences.Getintouchtoseehowwecanhelp:

MatthewStevens,Business Director, Global

[email protected]

07899944228

@AgencyMatt

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12 Step Insider Guide to B2B Social Influencer Marketing

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Transcript of 12 Step Insider Guide to B2B Social Influencer Marketing