8 Things Influencers Can Do for Your Brand

UNLEASH THE POWER OF INFLUENCER CONTENT

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PRESENTED BY TapInfluence and Jay Baer

Satisfying the consumer’s need for useful content requires an authentic, organic, and dedicated voice that leverages the reputations and experience of people your customers trust. A key source of that consumer content comes from social influencers, those with loyal audiences on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and Vine. Find the influencers and social media personalities who fit your marketing objectives and help create stronger relationships with your customers.

JENNIFER SWARTLEYVP Strategy & Business Development | TapInfluence@jenswartley

Jennifer heads TapInfluence’s New York office and has more than 15 years of experience helping enterprise brands like General Mills, Toyota, and Microsoft understand how to connect with audiences through content. She has held senior leadership positions at iCrossing, Meredith Corporation, Readers Digest, and Conde Nast and holds a Marketing and Communications degree from New York University.

JAY BAERPresident | Convince & Convert@jaybaer

Jay Baer is a renowned marketing strategist, speaker and New York Times best-selling author who travels the world convincing businesspeople to make their companies more valuable by focusing on help, not hype. He is President of the social media and content marketing consultancy Convince & Convert. A digital marketing pioneer, Jay has consulted with more than 700 companies since 1994, including Caterpillar, Nike, Visit California, Allstate, Petco, Columbia Sportswear, and 30 of the Fortune 500.

www.tapinfluence.com

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CONTENTS 1 > The Challenge pg 3

2 > Reach Consumers Online pg 4

3 > 8 Things Influencers Can Do for You pg 5

4 > Reach vs. Resonance pg 7

5 > Case Study: Black Box Wines pg 8

6 > Meet Engagement Goals pg 9

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THE CHALLENGEPeople trust people, not logosMarketing programs rooted in traditional advertising are facing increased scrutiny, as word of mouth marketing becomes a more trusted source of information.

THE ONLINE COMMUNITY IS A NOISY, CROWDED PLACEConsumers are forced to filter out information to overcome the noise and commotion. That’s why it’s imperative that your message comes from a familiar and trusted source.

THE CHALLENGE: TODAY’S MARKETERS HAVE A LOT ON THEIR MINDS

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Marketing managers, social media managers and similar roles are responsible for creating a constant stream of content to fill their pipeline and meet engagement goals. But to accomplish this, they must also overcome today’s erosion of consumer trust in brands.

92% of global consumers say they trust user-generated content and word-of-mouth more than they trust advertising.

–Neilsen

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1,500 pieces of content, on average, are competing for the attention of each Facebook user every time they log on.

–Facebook, 2013

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STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH INFLUENCERS HELP YOUR MESSAGE REACH CUSTOMERSPartnerships with influencers can help your brand communicate on the consumer level in order to achieve a variety of desired goals.

I know Joanna’s a mom like me, so her product recommendations carry more weight.

HIGH TOUCH

LOW TOUCH

REACH RESONANCE

HOW CAN MARKETERS REACH THEIR CONSUMERS ONLINE?

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Your brand needs to find people that your audience already trusts and follows. You need voices that cut through the clutter to deliver your messaging. You need real people who can appeal to consumers through similar experiences and circumstances.

You need influencers.

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The Face

The Megaphone

The Connector

The Reporter

The Designer

The Neighbor

The Artist

The Defender

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BE THE FACE Working with influencers to establish a face for your brand takes a recognizable figure with a built-in following who applies their story to your messaging. Simply attaching a trusted face to your brand can be enough to get skeptical consumers on board.

BE THE CONNECTOR Utilizing influencers for a connection can help to build new relationships within new audiences on networks such as Instagram and Vine, for example. And because you came with someone that audience knows and trusts, those new relationships will be built on a solid foundation.

BE THE DESIGNER Influencers inherently know what will resonate with your target audience because they are a part of that audience. So influencers acting as designers for your brand (on Pinterest, for example) can create new products that they know will resonate with consumers.

Humanize your brand using a face with an audience

➊ ➋

➌

Introduce you on a new social platform

Create new products people want

BE THE CREATIVE Working with an influencer to produce content will generate promotional materials that both your company and the influencer can share with followers. Although this content was produced with marketing intent, using an influencer will help to make the material feel at home alongside the other content they produce.

➍Produce content with context

8 THINGS INFLUENCERS CAN DO FOR YOU

Before you can find influencers online, your company needs to identify its goals. There are eight different ways influencers can support your brand.

74% of consumers rely on social networks to guide purchase decisions.

–SproutSocial

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BE THE MEGAPHONE Working influencers into your marketing mix helps them understand the voice of your company, what the messaging should be and how to get the word out. Tell them what your brand wants to say but give them the freedom to say it in a way that’s more authentic to their audience.

BE THE REPORTER Influencers can act as journalists, documenting your events to build up anticipation with photos on Instagram or videos on YouTube. This tactic gives consumers real people to associate with, and learn about, new things going on with your brand.

BE THE NEIGHBOR The goal in using influencers as neighbors is to guide community conversations and content based on communal topics on Facebook, Google+, etc. They’re the ones who answer questions and tell personal stories that like-minded people can relate to on a very familiar and daily level.

It’s important to understand and highlight the social platforms that are most relevant to your audience. For example, Baby Boomers may favor Facebook, while Millennials can best be reached on Instagram, YouTube and Vine.

Spread the word to their audience

➎ ➏

➐

Cover your event using voices on the ground

Spark conversation in your community

BE THE DEFENDER Bringing influencers into your marketing organization to help with crisis management can mitigate the hype surrounding those situations. If consumers aren’t going to your brand for information, you want to be sure to inform the trusted sources they are going to for answers.

➑Arm your crisis management

8 THINGS INFLUENCERS CAN DO FOR YOU

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This can be represented on a scale that denotes the total amount of followers influencers accumulate vs. the devotion of their following.

DOES YOUR PROGRAM REQUIRE GREATER REACH OR GREATER ACTION FROM A SMALLER GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS?Answering this question will help you to be successful. Offerings with a low barrier to adoption such as a free trial or a packaged good may require greater reach. More expensive purchases that require more consideration, such as a major appliance, may require more devotion.

CELEBRITY STATUS

QUALITY CONTENT CREATORS

BUZZ BUILDERS & PROMOTERS

ADVOCATES & EMPLOYEES

When choosing influencers, marketing professionals need to understand that influencers come with a range of attributes and strengths. Some online personalities can deliver vast audiences and huge reach while others, such as employees and friends, deliver more authenticity and trust. A key element in the success of your influencer marketing program is finding the right mix for you.

REACH RESONANCE

81% of US respondents indicated their friends’ social media posts directly influenced their purchase decisions.

–Forbes

REACH VS. RESONANCE

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How influencer marketing made a big splash in a little time for Black Box Wines

50 Influencers 60 Days

• Blogs• Facebook• Twitter• Instagram• Pinterest

Influencer marketing can help marketers by increasing reach, views and engagement with original content. Many industries are experiencing success partnering with influencers, including food and beverage, fashion, entertainment, fitness, education, technology and parenting.

31%44%56%

223%

INCREASE in overall pages viewed per visit over the same period last year.

INCREASE in “share of voice” in June due to the number of mentions of Black Box Wines in blog posts.

INCREASE in overall time on site over the same period last year.

INCREASE in positive mentions of Black Box Wines.

AMPLIFYING CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT A CASE STUDY FOR BLACK BOX WINES

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THE GOAL ISN’T TO BE GOOD AT SOCIAL, BUT GOOD AT THE BUSINESS BECAUSE OF SOCIAL

Partner with the strategic experts at TapInfluence who can help you ladder up metrics driven by influencers to larger business objectives. You have to tell the story in the language your business is speaking to show how these efforts are working to move the needle.

MANAGE CONTENT AND INFLUENCERS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY• See which influencers

are most effectivebased on reach, viewsand engagement

• See which socialplatforms areperforming best

• Get actual dollar valueof content created

• See trends onhow content andinfluencers perform over time

• Make smart decisions based on real-time data

No longer a burden, social marketing can become a focal point of your marketing mix.

MEASURE AND OPTIMIZE CONTENT TO MEET ENGAGEMENT GOALS

I went to my boss and showed her all our engagement but still can’t capture more budget…“

71% Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals.

–Hubspot

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You’re ready to build a relationship with influencers, but where do you start? Strategic experts at TapInfluence can examine your current social media and online marketing efforts to determine how influencers in their network can reach your audience. They can help you create an influencer marketing plan to start communicating with your audience through trusted and effective influencers.

For more information on finding and utilizing sources for influencer marketing, connect with us online at www.tapInfluence.com/contact or contact us directly at: info@tapinfluence.com (720) 726-4074

WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?

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UNLOCKING TRUSTED SOURCES FOR CONTENT