Influencer Marketing for Dummies; a must have resource for PR professionals and businesses that want to work effectively with online influencers (bloggers).
This Christmas, I came down with the flu. I’ve never had the flu before, so I was quite surprised at how hard it hit me. I’m a pretty healthy person and haven’t been sick in years, but this time, I was down for the count. Well, down for me.
Unfortunately, and fortunately, it happened while the kids were on school break and my husband was on vacation. This meant that I wasn’t in charge of the kids — he was — and I could just participate in things on an “as needed” basis. During the flu, I managed to go for a s-l-o-w walk in the woods with them one day, took a trip to the Bronx Zoo on another day, and on the last day of their vacation, I even managed to catch Star Wars: The Force Awakens with them.
But even though I was able to sneak in some physical activity, you know like walking, there were also many more hours where I was sitting quietly, trying to get better. It was during this time that I was rapidly reading my advance copy of Influencer Marketing for Dummies.
This soup-to-nuts guide is must have resource for any PR professional or business that wants to establish solid working relationships with online influencers — more commonly known as bloggers, to most people. As someone who is both a blogger and a social media professional for local non-profits, I was really interested to see what the women behind Clever Girls, an influencer marketing agency that we work with had to say on the issue. If anyone had something interesting to say, it was them. After all, their agency reaches 75 million women every month, and Clever Girls was the agency that ran the insanely successful #Batkid campaign on November 15, 2013 for one of the largest and most elaborate Make-A-Wish projects ever staged.
Again, if I wanted to listen to someone — or someones — it was going to be Kristy Sammis, Cat Lincoln, Stefania Pomponi, and their team, Jenny Ng (who we work with directly on Clever Girl projects), Edita Gassman Rodriguez, and Judy Zhou.
As I read the book, from cover to cover, I couldn’t believe how many times I caught myself shaking my head in agreement with them and then starring the section and moving on. The book is literally starred to death. I’m not going to give away all of the tidbits inside, but there were definitely a few that hit home, especially in regards to “the numbers game,” and respecting creativity and understanding the monetary value of the content that online influencers produce for your brand or business.
3 KEY POINTS I LOVED FROM INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR DUMMIES
1.) The Numbers Game.
During their discussion of finding people who create great content, they straightforwardly point out that just because a blogger is huge doesn’t mean that he or she is your best bang for your buck. Numbers don’t always mean that they’re relevant to your target audience. In their example, they use a fictitious company that’s launching a new gluten free protein bar. They go on to say that just because this stellar influencer has over 300,000 monthly blog visitors, doesn’t mean that the company should hire this blogger if the blogger does not discuss fitness or packaged products. Instead, the company should establish a relationship with a much smaller blogger with maybe 25,000 monthly blog visitors whose blog does discuss fitness and gluten free living.
2.) Respecting Creativity (Content Creation and Voice).
Another excellent point covered in their “What Influencer Marketing Is Not” section straight out tells you what not to do when working with online influencers. Actually, there are many what not to do points, so pay attention as you read! One of my favorites says,
“Influencer marketing is not a commercial. An influencer marketing program will only be successful if the influencers are allowed to do what they do best: Connect with their audiences. The more authentic a brand allows an influencer to be, and the more freedom an influencer has to share the brand message in her voice, the more the message will resonate with the influencer’s fans. The more scripted or forced the messages becomes, the less effective it will be.”
3.) Understand the Monetary Value of the Commissioned Work.
I am so surprised that so many PR professionals and companies still do not understand the need to compensate online influencers for their work. And, I applaud Clever Girls for taking a solid stand on this matter. Whether you’re reaching out to a food blogger, a crafts blogger, a parenting blogger, or a lifestyle blogger – you’re reaching out to them because you want the attention of their readers. Your brand knows that they can tell a great story about your product in a way that your brand doesn’t have access to – so why would you think that you don’t need to compensate them for this? It’s kind of absurd.
We’ve all heard PR professionals and brands lament, “But I don’t have to pay magazines to feature this new exciting product” — but the problem with this mentality is that you’re stuck in the direct marketing world. In direct marketing, your brand may not pay for coverage, but the magazine that you pitched is paying the editor to cover new trendy products, so the editor IS getting paid. You’re just not paying them directly (unless it’s an ad spot), so it skews your idea that they work for products…and hugs.
But when you cut out direct marketing and enter the realm of online influencer marketing, you need to compensate the influencer that is doing all of the work for you. You need to compensate them for their time, their creativity, their work, and their audience’s time. It’s so incredibly important that everyone hears this loud and clear. If anything, make sure you read the “Return on hugs?” section in Chapter 15: Setting and Measuring the Right Goals.
“Remember: This is work. Would you expect a hug from your boss as part of your paycheck every two weeks? We didn’t think so.”
I’m pretty honored that Clever Girls reached out to us to review Influencer Marketing for Dummies and that they value our opinion as online influencers. Blogging is a very competetive industry and it helps everyone when an reputable agency like Clever Girls decides to write a book that helps supports the people that work for them and the brands they represent. Regardless of whether you’re a PR professional, a company, or an online influencer wanting to learn how the other side works, pick up a copy of Influencer Marketing for Dummies. I guarantee you’ll have just as many starred pages as I do.
But before you go, we’re actually hosting a Giveaway to help support the launch of this new book. One lucky reader of ours will win one copy of Influencer Marketing for Dummies. Winner must be age 18+ and a resident of the US. Good luck!
Be good to one another,
Denine & Daniele
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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