Influencer marketing can be one of the valuable tools in your marketing arsenal. If done correctly, it can help drive positive word of mouth recommendations for your business. This deck includes engagement tips and statistics on recommendation relay rates.

1. IDENTIFYING & ENGAGING
INFLUENCERS
Hello!
Your trusty presenter: Carin Galletta Oliver
@InkFoundry
carin@inkfoundry.com
Find the most influential individuals for your company

2. WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING
✤ Influencers are the biggest revenue resource for your company
✤ Reduces marketing resource waste
✤ Empowers your biggest fans
✤ Amplifies positive word of mouth
✤ Generates offline action

3. TRUST DRIVES PURCHASE
CONSUMER TRUST BY CHANNEL
Recommendations from people known 70% 70%
?
Consumer opinions posted online
Brand websites
69%
Editorial content
Emails signed up for 90%
54%
Search engine results ads
41%
When it comes to
purchase recommendations,
consumers trust friends
more than any other source. Source: The Nielsen Company

4. WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING
The Word of Mouth Marketing Association defines an influencer as:
A person who has a greater than average reach or impact through word of
mouth in a relevant marketplace.
WOMMA defines influencer marketing as:
Influencer marketing is when a marketer identifies, seeks out, and engages
with influencers in support of a business objective.

5. 17%
17% drive
50+% of purchases
INFLUENCERS MATTER
The Keller Fay Group recently reported influencers account for approximately 17 percent of the population, but they are responsible for driving billions in annual
revenue. A recent Ink Foundry survey of frequent diners indicates more than 50 percent of dining decisions are made because of a recommendation from a family, friend
or coworker.

6. RECOMMENDATION RELAY RATES
ACTIVATING INFLUENCERS CAN STRENGTHEN
TOTAL REACH
6388 people
YOUR MARKETING BUDGET
GEN TWO
4898 people
Average Pass Along:
3.66 per person
GEN ONE
1340 people
Average Pass Along:
8.93 per person
START
150 people
Source: Dr. Walter J. Carl - Northeastern University

7. DOES POPULARITY RULE?
✤ Old vs. New
✤ High School Cheerleader Model vs. Contextual Influence
✤ Old thinking believed that if the popular high school cheerleader liked
something then everyone else would too. Influence was thought to act like an
umbrella and cover everything.
✤ We know better now: The most influential marketer in a consumer's life is a
credible peer in their social sphere with demonstrated authority and passion
in a particular category.
✤ Influence is contextual

8. STEAK
Vegetarian
= low context
= no product passion
= untrusted in category
= no experience
UNLIKELY TO INFLUENCE A STEAKHOUSE VISIT
FASHION
Boutique owner
= high context
=passionate product user
= trusted in category
= loads of experience
LIKELY TO INFLUENCE A FASHION PURCHASE
INFLUENCE IN CONTEXT
Different communities have different needs and leaders

9. BRAND PARAMETERS DETERMINE INFLUENCE
✤ Your brand determines who is most influential for you
✤ Example:
✤ Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Winebar goals & profile
✤ Position: Female friendly
✤ Target: Freshmen foodies
✤ Goal: Reach new audiences

10. WHO IS MORE INFLUENTIAL?
The
FoodAprecianado VS. WineBratSF
• Not on any ‘tops’ lists • Appears on several ‘tops’ lists
• Lightly trafficked blog • Popular blog, more followers
• Small digital footprint • Very engaged community
• Very engaged community • Skeptical of chain restaurants
• Generally glowing reviews • Several negative reviews
• Casual dining aficionado • Posts about extremely high
brow wines and restaurants
Likely to be a Fleming’s influencer
NOT a Fleming’s influencer

11. INFLUENCER TOOL BELT REQUIRED
✤ Use listening and search tools to find influencers.
✤ Most social media tracking tools identify influential sites and not influential
individuals.
✤ You’ll need to combine data sets and analyze results to find individuals.

12. Find Listen Evaluate
Hey man,
Use your head!
TOOLS WE USE

13. EVALUATING INFLUENCERS
1. Identify top category communities: weight some more than others
2. Active individuals: Who is engaging?
3. Sentiment: Look for mostly positive posters
4. Authority & Volume: Engagement with others is key
(loud & chatty doesn’t equal authority)
5. Passion: Look for effusive language
6. Location: Are they within your company’s area of influence

14. Tips For
Engaging
Influencers
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Photo: Vintage Ty & Laramie, courtesy of Ward Swan

15. KNOW YOUR INFLUENCER
✤ Research, research, research
✤ Listen, listen, listen before contacting them
✤ Do they work with a competitor?
✤ Is there anything in their posts that would come back to bite you?
✤ Many bloggers list instructions on how they would like to be contacted &
worked with, read the about page
✤ Save yourself some embarrassing moments by doing your due diligence

16. 7 ENGAGEMENT TIPS
1. Provide value: What value do you bring to them?
2. Understand platform etiquette: Know the rules of the social channel you are contacting
them on
3. Introduce yourself: On whose behalf are you contacting them
4. Make it personal: Send a note citing something you liked about their blog or posts
5. Be clear: Don’t make them guess what you want
6. It’s all about them: Tell them why you chose them
7. Don’t pester: No amount of follow up will earn your brand a recommendation if they
didn’t like the experience

17. FTC DISCLOSURES
✤ Ensure your influencers follow the FTC Guidelines for adequate disclosure
✤ Those guidelines include:
✤ Disclosing ANY material relationship they have with your company
✤ Example:
✤ I received a bottle of wine to review for this blog.
✤ The FTC holds brands responsible for bloggers who don’t disclose

18. ENGAGING DIFFERENT INFLUENCER
TYPES
✤ Hidden influencers
✤ The most valuable of all influencers
✤ Reach extends to social groups, marketers otherwise can’t reach
✤ Product passion drives their recommendations
✤ Friends, family and co-workers actively seek them out
✤ Engagement tip: Provide an exclusive WOW experience

19. ENGAGING DIFFERENT INFLUENCER
TYPES
✤ Bloggers
✤ Bloggers are rising in influence in many categories
✤ Fairly easy to evaluate using tools (including your own analysis)
✤ Access to large groups via social footprint
✤ Engagement tips: Give them plenty of time to participate,
provide a way to help them get traffic to their site.

20. ENGAGING DIFFERENT INFLUENCER
TYPES
✤ Gatekeepers
✤ May never spend a dime with you, but can be responsible for significant
revenue
✤ Characterized by having unique access to the decision maker, a
proprietary way to reach them, as well as, a compelling motive to make
the recommendation
✤ They have the most to lose
✤ Engagement tip: Be the safe choice for them and make them
feel valued

21. BRAND DETRACTORS
✤ Next webinar: Responding to negative posts on social networks
✤ February 23, 2012 @ noon

22. QUESTIONS?
Thanks!
You can also email me at
carin@inkfoundry.com