Overpaying Influencers When Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing

Cutting through the web noise gets easier when you begin influencer marketing.

Beyond creating shareworthy content on your own site, you pay bloggers (influencers) to write related content in which they either mention your brand or share direct links to your site or similar posts. (Guest blogging is something different.)

It’s a tough game to play since you want the content on your own site to be more remarkable than the site they were referred to you on. This, though, is another blog post. More importantly, influencers are there to amplify your content, but not without a price.

Some influencers work for a flat rate while others (most) charge based on the number of followers they have (in other words, the number of people they can tell you will likely see the content). If you’re getting skeptical now, good.

The problem with influencer marketing is agencies, brands and marketers alike filter influencers by their followership from the git-go.

I don’t want to see a garden influencer that has anything less than 4,000 likes on Facebook or 20,000 UPVs a month or 15,000 Pinterest followers.

The fault here is that influencers are not anyone with lots of followers. Influencers are those who have an audience who could feel part of your tribe if they would just learn about you. Influencer followers ought to be engaged with the influencer, be repeat visitors and be people who share the influencers posts already. Influencers with an engaged audience of 500 trumps influencers with a 15,000 following of people who don’t interact.

When it comes down to it. Care.

  1. Care about the content you’re putting out there
  2. Care about the influencers you’re hoping to connect with
  3. Really do care about them, engage with them, meet them for coffee if you can
  4. Care about the type of audience your influencer has, is it really the one you want?

 

Stay Positive & Now Go Start Influencer Marketing Right

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Time Spent At Average

Branding

Five years ago I was at the average marketer status. It was insanely easy to sell to me. It didn’t require much insight, care or passion to get me to give my email address, to subscribe, to purchase something that was “proven to make my life easier.”

A lot of brands and businesses, I think, are still trying to market to average people like I was.

There was a time that the masses were average so it was easy to turn profit. Now not so much. Something’s changed.

The issue facing big brands set in their ways is that the time spent at average (for an average person) is shorter than it has ever been. Fewer and fewer people are staying average.

People (you?) are seeing the benefit of pursuing their passion, of being a part of something for the long-run, of caring about being cared about (and by extension, how they’re marketed to).

The scared brands and businesses are spending their time and money marketing to people that they better stay average so they don’t have to change their way of marketing.

The rest, the leaders, the ultimately successful are finding a way to market to above-average people in ways that are unique to them.

 

Stay Positive & Built A Tribe, Not A Customer List

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15 Minutes Well Spent

15 Minute Meeting

A regular complaint I hear about organizations, brands and PR agencies is employees and members want more collaboration.

The digital team needs to work better with the PR team.

The customer service staff needs to work better with the sales team.

Things need to be more integrated.

Here’s your solution: investing 15 minutes in another team member changes the future of a project.

Connectivity promotes longevity. Consistency promotes efficiency.

Investing 15 minutes in a 1-1 conversation with someone from another department changes the dynamics. I’m more willing to put my heart into something you’ve asked for because we’ve connected. You know how to write an email that speaks to me better than before because you’ve got a read on me after 15 minutes of quality conversation together.

If everyone spent 15 minutes connecting with someone new each day, you would be impressed with how many issues are resolved, how many inconsistencies get dissolved, how smoother all the daily processes and work flows.

 

Stay Positive & 15 Minutes Changes Everything

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Five Marketing Facts

Marketing Thoughts

1) real-time marketing is only permitted when a brand has a go big or go home culture and has a strong trusting relationship with the PR agency they’ve hired

2) the newest type of marketer is the magazine editor-type of marketer; content, business and storytelling is everything

3) you must think mobile first

4) real meaning can’t be found through search, you’ve gotta create it yourself; it’s what people talk about online, it’s not what you find online

5) there is always more money to fund a great idea

 

Stay Positive & Truth Be Told

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Making The Postess With The Mostess

Human Truth

Designing sharable content, content that can go close to viral, content that people care to tell their friends about is quite easy if you look to human truths.

What human truth do people want to share with other people?

More importantly, what human truth do people want to share with other people that says something about the sharer.

Is it the truth about weird things couples fight about (and more importantly how you still care about each other after it)?

Now it’s on you to design how your business or brand fits into those human truths.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Just Be Human, Share Human Truths

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The Slow Death Of “Talking To” Events

Networking

There was a moment in my life that I wanted to be an event planner. Then there was a moment I was. Then there was a moment in life that I wanted to be the speaker at the events. Then there was a moment I was.

I’ve organized, spoken at, and attended hundreds of events (and continue to do so on a regular basis). I’ve noticed a trend that events with speakers are becoming less attended while events with panels and round tables are becoming more attended.

There’s a strong correlation between the opportunity of connection to the attendance and ultimate success of an event.

It’s merely one more indicator we’re in the middle of a connection economy. Those who work within it, who leverage the masses desire to connect will be best off.

 

Stay Positive & Talking With, Not To

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In The Box Podcast

Episode 33: Alone Time, Fear Of Commitment, Acting As If And More (Podcast)

On this episode of In The Box Podcast, we talked about Garth Time and Michael Time, how the heck we combat the fear of commitment, one way to start practicing what you preach, the benefits and potential consequences of acting as if, and lastly, one quality Michael cares most about if he were hiring.

Episode 33: Alone Time, Fear Of Commitment, Acting As If And More

Alone time – How important is alone time?

Commitment – What is one way to overcome the fear of commitment?

Practice what you preach – Best technique to practice what you preach?

Acting As If – What do you think about the idea of acting as if you are ______?

Bonus – You’re the boss. What quality would you look for most in a candidate?

 

Stay Positive & Listen On