b2b social influencer marketing · 2 \\b2b social influencer marketing contents introduction 3 meet...

B2B SOCIAL INFLUENCER MARKETING Your 12-step insider guide

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CONTENTSIntroduction 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…

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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4 DOYOUR HOMEWORKOnceyou’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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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9 RESPECTTHEIRCRAFTDon’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

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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

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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

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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

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AND FINALLY…

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...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.

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GETSTARTEDMOIGlobalrunsinfluencerprogrammesforsomeoftheworld’slargesttechnologycompanies. Togetthemostoutofyourmarketingcampaignswhynotleanonourexperiences.Getintouchtoseehowwecanhelp:

MatthewStevens,Business Director, Global

Matthew.Stevens@moi-global.com

07899944228

@AgencyMatt

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