A FIELD GUIDE TO

ONLINEINFLUENCERS

ANATOMY OF AN EFFECTIVE INFLUENCER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

10 TYPES OF ONLINE INFLUENCERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-13

10 BEST PRACTICES FOR INFLUENCER ENGAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

INFLUENCER VETTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2DigitalVoice@Ketchum .com

BRAIN: CREATIVITY

EYES/EARS: ABILITY TO IDENTIFY AND REPORT ON AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

CROTCH: KEEPS CONTENT APPROPRIATE

KNEE: THOROUGH WITH MINIMAL KNEE-JERK REACTIONS

HEART: PASSIONATE WITH THE ABILITY TO ADVOCATE

MOUTH: ABILITY TO SPARK CONVERSATIONS

ANATOMY OF AN EFFECTIVE INFLUENCER

ARM: A LONG REACH

HAND: FRIENDSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS

GUT: HAS INSTINCT AND EXPERIENCE

LEGS: CONTENT HAS LEGS AND IS WIDELY SHARED

FOOT: WIDE SOCIAL FOOTPRINT

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10 TYPES OF ONLINE INFLUENCERS:

Bloggers are writers who share their own experiences, stories, observations, opinions, reviews, and other forms of content on their own or others’ websites. They cover a wide range of topics — with food, style, reviews, DIY, and parenting being among the most popular.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− Bloggers rank as the third most influential digital resource (31%) when it comes to making purchase decisions, following retail sites (56%), and brand sites (34%)*

− More than 50% of bloggers have more than one blog**

− Over 90% of bloggers in fashion, lifestyle and beauty now expect to receive payment or compensation in return for blogging***

− According to WP Virtuoso, there are over 152 million blogs on the web

Source: *blog.ifabbo, **socialmarketingwriting.com, ***Marketing Magazine

BLOGGERSBLOGGER

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Executives are the leaders responsible for running various aspects of a company or corporation. When a business executive is activated as an online influencer, he or she can help convey company values, humanize the brand, and further establish thought leadership and POV.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− 2/3 of consumers say their perception of a CEO impacts their perception of the company*

− According to a BrandFog study, 2/3 of UK respondents and 3/4 of US respondents say that a company is more trustworthy if its C-suite executives and leadership use social media to communicate their mission, values and purpose*

− Only 20% Of CMOs use social media for customer engagement; even fewer (13%) claimed to have implemented advanced analytics to capture customer insights across all touch points*

Source: MarketingLand*

EXECUTIVESEXECUTIVE, JEFF WEINER

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Employee advocacy is described as the exposure and conversations that employees generate for their companies using their personal online assets such as email, chat, discussion boards, blogs, social networks, and more. When activated, employees can become powerful online influencers with wide reach and strong credibility.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− Employees have on average 10x more social connections than a brand does*

− Brand messages are shared 24x more frequently when distributed by employees*

− 98% of employees use at least one social media site for personal use, of which 50% are already posting about their company*

Source: *LinkedIn.Pulse

EMPLOYEESEMPLOYEE ADVOCATES

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Considered among the most effective influencers long before the internet came along, celebrities have gone online to build their fan bases, promote themselves, and their projects. Without a doubt, celebrities are able to reach massive numbers of people through their social channels. However, their elevated status tends to hurt their ability to drive engagement or conversations, since people don’t expect to converse with them as they would with other types of influencers.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− Totes Isotoner, a Cincinnati company that manufacturers umbrellas, used Rihanna to promote their products and create custom umbrellas featuring sparkly fabrics and glittery charms; the company describes its relationship with Rihanna as invaluable; the company now reaches younger shoppers and experiences greater traffic on its website*

− According to Ad Age, recent studies of hundreds of endorsements have indicated that sales for some brands increased up to 20% upon making an endorsement deal*

− 1 in 10 people claim to engage with ads because they like the spokesperson or celebrity*

Source: *MarketingCharts

CELEBRITIESRIHANNA FOR TOTES

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The accessibility of equipment and distribution platforms like YouTube have given rise to video stars who produce high-quality visual content and specialize in specific areas such as comedy, beauty, or music. With large and loyal followings of dedicated fans, many of these video stars command top dollar for brand content partnerships, advertising, and product endorsements.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− A survey, conducted for Variety, found that YouTube stars scored significantly higher than traditional celebrities across a range of characteristics and are considered to have the highest correlation to influencing purchases among teens*

− The survey also found that teens enjoy an intimate and authentic experience with YouTube celebrities; they appreciate their more candid sense of humor, lack of filter, and risk-taking spirit*

− Justin Bieber has one of the fastest growing celebrity YouTube channels, with over 20.4 million subscribers**

Source: *variety.com, **socialbakers

VIDEO STARS YOUTUBE VIDEO STAR, PEWDIEPIE HAS THE MOST SUBSCRIBERS ON YOUTUBE

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Short-form influencers creating photo and video content on platforms such as Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat have amassed huge followings and are considered some of the most influential among the online influencer community. Skewed toward a much younger audience, short-form influencers create content centered most around humor, fashion, music, and food.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− The average engagement per Instagram post has grown by 416% in just over 2 years*

− Nash Grier is the most popular Vine star in the world with over 12.6 million followers***

− The 30 most popular Vine stars in the world all have followings of over 3.3 million users***

− Former speaker of the House John Boehner was the first political Vine star***

Source: *hootsuite, **expandedramblings.com, ***expandedramblings.com/vine-statistics

SHORT-FORM VINE STAR, NASH GRIER

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When focused around a specific event, campaign, or product, consumers can become a very influential force in company’s marketing arsenal. Businesses that can identify passionate consumers and encour-age them to share their experiences and opinions on their social networks are able to generate authentic conversations and excitement that few other tactics can replicate.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts*

− On social media, 58% of consumers share their positive experiences with a company and ask family, colleagues, and friends for their opinions about brands*

− 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word-of-mouth when making their buying decision*

Source: *Ambassador Blog

CONSUMERS CONSUMER INFLUENCERS

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CHATALYSTCHATALYSTS

Chatalysts can be considered consumers who are on a mission and empowered by social media. Everyone has that one friend on social media who is the de facto guru of all things fitness, a defender of a political world view, or will readily jump into any debate about the best smartphone operating system. Call them super fans, enthusiasts, or know-it-alls, they are certainly disproportionately loud and proud. When these people are fans of your brand, they share your message and get involved in any way they can. They also can be the loudest to criticize.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

Some popular online communities that Chatalysts are active on:

− Catster.com with over 150,000 unique visitors each month

− Pet Lovers with 880,287 Facebook fans

− Vegan Recipe with 339,863 Facebook fans

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SUPER INFLUENCER/JOURNALIST, ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Defined quite simply as journalists, the “super” in this moniker comes from the fact that aside from their social channels, these influencers have the added advantage of having traditional media outlets as a platform to exert their influence. However, even without traditional publications, these influencers are highly valuable because their social media audience often includes other journalists or people who are highly interested in the subject matter they cover. When we talk about influencers who influence influencers, these folks are among the most valuable.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− 78.5% of journalists regularly use social media to check for breaking news stories*

− 59.7% use social media to keep in touch with their audiences*

− 44.4% of journalists use social media to follow someone in their field about their company*

Source: *PRNewser

SUPER INFLUENCERS

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EXPERT, SETH GODIN

While engaging content can make someone a viral sensation overnight, there is still something to be said about simply being an expert in something. Au-thority matters. In the social media ecosystem where everyone has an opinion, an informed opinion coming from an expert can still carry a lot of weight. Regis-tered dietitians, for example, can be very influential about what people think about certain foods; a stat-istician can change the conversation about political elections- knowledge is power.

INTERESTING FACTS/STATS:

− According to a survey conducted by EML wildfire in London, expert reviews are the single most influential source of information for consumers looking to buy technology products*

− According to a study by Inpowered, expert content has an 88% greater impact than brand content and 50% better than user generated reviews**

− Expert content has a 50% greater impact than brand content and a 20% better response than user reviews**

Source: *uberated, **Forbes

EXPERTS

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10 BEST PRACTICES WHEN USING ONLINE INFLUENCERS:

GET IT ALL IN WRITING . It’s important to provide guidelines to influencers early on so that they’re aware of what to avoid and what to emphasize in their content.

PAY FOR QUALITY AND CONTROL . As with anything else, you get what you pay for.

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THE CREATIVE . It’s important to set clear guidelines at the start of your relationship, but to give up creative control once the bell rings.

NURTURE THE RELATIONSHIP . It’s an opportunity to nurture your relationships with your influencers to create lifelong brand advocates.

PROVIDE AN EXPERIENCE . Influencers are storytellers, and what better fodder is there to create stories than unique experiences?

BE A FAN . In the same way that it is important for the influencer to be a fan of the brand, it is important for the brand to be a fan of the influencers it works with.

CHECK ALIGNMENT . Influencer should have existing passion for the brand/life-style, credibility to speak for the brand, and/or a voice or personality that matches someone who would be speaking on behalf of the brand.

GATHER FEEDBACK . In addition to speaking for you, empower your influencers to listen and report. You’ll find that they can help you make adjustments that better resonate with your audience.

GIVE YOUR INFLUENCERS A BEHIND THE SCENES POV . For influencers to be connected and vested in a brand, it’s important to make them feel like they are brand insiders.

DON’T BLINDSIDE THEM . If there is any current, future, or past issues about your brand that might affect the public’s sentiment or the conversation, be upfront and disclose it with the influencer.

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Disclosure: The question of whether an influencer should disclose a relationship with a brand must be answered with a resounding “yes.” However, the lack of enforcement of disclosure results in many influencers and brands choosing to ignore it. Because brands can be liable when their influencers don’t disclose, many brands are rightfully apprehensive when it comes to influencer marketing.

INFLUENCER VETTING / 3 FILTERS

BEFORE YOU BEGIN− Determine your objectives. The most common objectives are: • Pure exposure • Cool factor/buzz • Call-to-action • Spark/influence the general conversation • Create content/generate ideas− Determine your investment comfort levels.

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES: THINGS TO LOOK FOR− Great content: sometimes a creator might not be super influential, but their content is perfect for your brand.

If your goal is to match your brand with great third party content (for example, recipe ideas), this might be reason enough to work with that person.

− Influential friends: it’s always a big win when you get in on the ground floor with an influencer who is on the rise. One way to pick these influencers out of the crowd is to look at who is interacting with them or following them on social media. Even if you see only 2 or 3 “A-list” influencers interacting with them, it could be a sign that they are someone to watch now.

− Lots of interaction: if an influencer doesn’t have great numbers, but everything they put out there sparks a disproportionate amount of conversation or engagement, you should also seriously consider them.

− How does the rest of the world perceive them? Do a Google search on the influencer to see where they are mentioned. Sometimes a smaller influencer may have content shared or syndicated by a major site like Huffington Post or Mashable. Sometimes they make TV appearances. These are all things that could launch them to the next level in due time.

FIRST FILTER: PURE REACH− While there are many factors

that determine the right influencer fit, reach is a good first pass assessment.

− Watch out because fake social media followers are easy to buy. This is why the filters below are so critical for accurate vetting.

SECOND FILTER: ENGAGEMENT− Now that you’ve determined the

number of people this influencer can reach, you have to determine what that reach will result in. Will people notice, care, respond, interact, and share? For some objectives like pure exposure, this isn’t as important. For others, like changing the conversation, this is extremely important.

THIRD FILTER: CONTENT− Review the tone and nature of

their content; can it work well with your brand?

− Look for red flags. Has this influencer gotten into “internet fights” with others or badmouthed other brands?

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