What’s the Value of Influence?
By: Lindsay Bell
“Influence – the power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability, or position”
Social media is all abuzz these days with talk about influencers – the social media rockstars with tens of thousands of followers and friends. Word of mouth marketing isn’t new, but today with social media its reach is out of this world. Smart, socially savvy corporations are hitching their wagons to these people, in order to spread their gospel. But – as with every trend – it pays to stop and think for a minute, before hopping on the train.
There are a few things businesses need to think about before reaching out to an online company advocate:
- How will you measure the influence of your influencer?
- What do those big follower numbers really mean?
- How do you track whether sales are directly related to an influencer’s positive blog post or great tweet?
- And with the rapidly changing tides of public opinion these days, should you invest heavily in an influencer who might have a short shelf life?
Our Social 2011 panel What’s the Value of Influence? is set up to tackle those questions and more. Panelists Chuck Hemann, Vice President, Digital Strategy & Analytics, Ogilvy PR Worldwide; author Philip Sheldrake; and Andrea Werdling, Director of Online Experience for Beachbody will be exploring the differences between influence and popularity, best practices for identifying key influencers, as well as looking at how businesses are measuring the impact influencers are having on their community.
At the end of the day though, no matter who spreads the word about your product or service, that product or service had better deliver.
Author Geoff Livingston nailed it not long ago with this: “A tow boat can only take a freighter out to sea, but if the actual ship is not sea-worthy it will sink with or without the tow. Similarly, influencers can only draw attention to something, but they can’t make a business, cause or idea succeed over the long term.”
What are your thoughts on influencers, good and bad? Are they just the latest thing, or an important part of your business strategy? And what other questions would you like our panelists to speak to? As always we value your input, so feel free to leave suggestions and comments below.
Tags: influencers, Radian6 Social 2011
Hi Lindsay,
With the rise of social media technology, word of mouth marketing and influencers and 'talkers' are becoming more and more important. I think we all know that these days it's becoming less about what we say about ourselves but more about what others say about us.
However, you are right to point out that there are some popular people out there that have no influence and so there is a risk to ROI in that.
Therefore, what I would suggest is that when reaching out to 'influencers' companies should think about how they reward potential influencers using an old-school sales type of structure: basic and performance related rewards as a way of managing risk and 'measuring' influence.
Could that work?
Adrian
Hi Lindsay,
I think you make some great points about correlation and picking the right people. But, here's the thing, don't large businesses when they buy TV or radio space or celebrity endorsement or sports or event sponsorship and then see sales go up on the back of it….don't they correlate the two? Isn't there the same dangers with influencers?
Adrian
Hi Lindsay,
I think you make some great points about correlation and picking the right people. But, here's the thing, don't large businesses when they buy TV or radio space or celebrity endorsement or sports or event sponsorship and then see sales go up on the back of it….don't they correlate the two? Isn't there the same dangers with influencers?
Adrian
Hi Lindsay,
Agreed a dinner party discussion would be grand
I'm not a fan of reinventing the wheel but there is a danger that that is what will happen as many people may look to create a new language, new set of tools and new ways of making money from something that is essentially the same thing. Hmmm.
There is also another angle on this whole influence thing that I was talking to a friend about last night and that is of direct and indirect influences ie. I may see, hear, overhear, read or experience something that may cause me to take action but then again I may not but may do at some point in time. How do we measure the difference and separate the two? Also, how do we track the ripple effect of influence or sponsorship etc? What I mean is …what happens if I read something by someone that I like and take action on it but then recommend it to friends over a beer or something else non-digital then how do we track this type of influence?
Finally, will you be involved in the panel?
Adrian
Hi Lindsay,
Agreed a dinner party discussion would be grand
I'm not a fan of reinventing the wheel but there is a danger that that is what will happen as many people may look to create a new language, new set of tools and new ways of making money from something that is essentially the same thing. Hmmm.
There is also another angle on this whole influence thing that I was talking to a friend about last night and that is of direct and indirect influences ie. I may see, hear, overhear, read or experience something that may cause me to take action but then again I may not but may do at some point in time. How do we measure the difference and separate the two? Also, how do we track the ripple effect of influence or sponsorship etc? What I mean is …what happens if I read something by someone that I like and take action on it but then recommend it to friends over a beer or something else non-digital then how do we track this type of influence?
Finally, will you be involved in the panel?
Adrian
Good grief, as Charlie Brown would say!
I have that classic "snake eating tail" image in my head. Because you're absolutely right! We could just go deeper and deeper philosophically into what makes people tick, and how many layers you can add onto "influence" (as you said, the ripple effect) before it stops being the thing that influenced us in the first place..? Very existential, wouldn't you say? I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation Adrian!
That said, no, I'm not involved in this panel. I am moderating one on "Staying Private in an Un-private World" however (see above). Best, Lindsay
Lindsay – Thank you for the post, and for highlighting our upcoming discussion. What I hope we deliver to folks are some more concrete action steps to defining, finding and then utilizing an influencer list. There is so much confusion out there about this topic that I think people are close to throwing up their hands and doing whatever the heck they want. Not only is that dangerous (on a million different levels), it probably won't be very productive for their social media efforts. Looking forward to the discussion in a couple of weeks!
My pleasure Chuck, and thanks for stopping by to comment. I agree that there are just so many layers to this topic, much like social media as a whole. I think having a panel like this one is an excellent opportunity to go to the pros, meaning you and your panel members, and try and break down and decipher some of the misconceptions, as well as provide that concrete guidance for people. As I mentioned above, this isn't one of the panels I'm actually producing, but I find it fascinating and very much am looking forward to it. As well as meeting you and the others. Best, LB
Good grief, as Charlie Brown would say!
I have that classic "snake eating tail" image in my head. Because you're absolutely right! We could just go deeper and deeper philosophically into what makes people tick, and how many layers you can add onto "influence" (as you said, the ripple effect) before it stops being the thing that influenced us in the first place..? Very existential, wouldn't you say? I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation Adrian!
That said, no, I'm not involved in this panel. I am moderating one on "Staying Private in an Un-private World" however (see above). Best, Lindsay