The Power Of Influence
Last July, I published an article that offered 10 practical ways to gain an influencer’s attention. To date, that article has been shared nearly 6,000 times.
Why did it strike a chord with so many people?
I think it’s because more and more business owners are beginning to realize the value of influencer marketing.
Simply put, influencer marketing is the process of identifying, targeting, and connecting with individuals that have influence over your target audience rather than trying to reach that audience all on your own.
Influencer marketing is smart marketing.Click To TweetConsider this article the remix. The upgrade.
The eleven new ways to gain an influencer’s attention.
And all without selling your soul.
How to Do Influencer Marketing that Works
The following examples of influencer marketing came from my observations of online marketing world.
Some of them come from brand new marketers doing a lot of things right.
Some of them come from well-established marketers who are influencers themselves. Just goes to show that influencer marketing (human marketing) never ends.
Do something no one else would
Have you ever seen anything like this?
Back when I published the original “Be Memorable” post, Martin Shervington left this comment. When I asked him what he meant (surely he didn’t mean what it sounded like, right?), he simply said “I meant exactly what I said.”
Most people would say, “Hey Ana! Great post! I wrote something similar over here -> insert self-promotional link.”
Not Martin. Martin offered to redirect his own article to point to mine because he felt it would benefit his readers.
You better believe that got my attention.
Want to get noticed? Do the things nobody else does.Click To TweetPay attention, then display expertise
In March, Google’s John Mueller stated that load times over 2 seconds cause Google to limit how much of your site they crawl. As usual, I immediately
As usual, I immediately reported the news in a Google Plus post.
By the third comment, John Mueller had already chimed in. He pointed to the difference between “page load time” and “server response time,” and then asked if anybody would be willing to write up a post that discusses it.
Look at how quickly MaAnna Stephenson from BlogAid.net jumped on the ball…
Not only did she offer to take John up on that challenge within minutes of it being offered, but she had the entire post written and published within the hour.
You think that made an impression on John Mueller?
Add a useful tip to a post
Not long ago, I published a tutorial on how to (and why) to use Periscope.
Since Periscope was already a hot-button topic on Twitter at the time, numerous conversations were taking place around it.
Mark Alves found one of these conversations, brought in my tutorial, and then mentioned me while adding a super-useful tip of his own.
Check it out…
@bfelice @singingcarolyn Just found this great #periscope tutorial. Covers the essentials. #chsocm http://t.co/EzaAU92YJg #chsocm
— Mark Alves (@markalves) March 29, 2015
Needless to say, I added Mark Alves’ tip to my Periscope tutorial.
Like I added Jeremy Lesarge‘s tip to this post:
♨ HOW TO: Create Your Own Custom Vanity URL for Branding and Traffic
…and a few other tips throughout various posts at Traffic Generation Café (with links back to tippers, of course!).
The ABCs of Influencer Marketing: Always Be ContributingClick To TweetFind an interesting way to share a post
Learn to think outside the box.
Or, as Ileane Smith did on Instagram, learn to think outside the square.
Check out how Ileane chose to use Instagram to share a Google+ HOA led by Thomas E. Hanna…
Or look at the way that Dennis Seymour from Leapfroggr.com shares just about every one of my Weekly Marketing Skinnies…
I love it! It’s fun, it’s creative, and it’s unique.
Being unique gets you noticed.
Influencer marketing tip: being unique gets you noticed.Click To TweetLeave a meaningful comment when no one else does
Martin Beck is a Marketing Land reporter with a very direct writing style. It happens to be a writing style I love.
So when he reported on Facebook’s “topic data firehose” with this article that was met with crickets, I took the opportunity to let him know how much I loved his style.
See the conversation here…
When you are the sole voice in the room, it opens the opportunity for banter. Or drinking, as the case may be.
Cheers!
Learn more about leaving comments that matter in this post by Kevin Duncan:
♨ The Ultimate Guide to Writing Comments That Open Doors with Popular Bloggers
Be Proactive
Here’s an influencer marketing tip: influencers have needs that YOU may be uniquely suited to meet.
Influencers have needs that YOU may be uniquely suited to meet.Click To TweetSo keep your eyes open. When you see the opportunity to serve the influencers in your niche (or anyone else for that matter), taking the initiative can pay big dividends.
When I announced the launch of TrafficologyBlueprint.com, one of my first hurdles was to come up with a logo.
Traffic Generation Café reader and Traffic Hacks newsletter subscriber Sourav Saha recognized this.
Check out this email I received…
That’s a great logo, especially from someone who is not even a designer.
Thanks, Sourav!
Ask permission to link
Everybody loves to be linked to. After all, part of your goal as a blogger is to create content worthy of earning those links.
So it may sound silly to ask permission to link out to someone, but as far as I am concerned, it’s effective.
Look at how Tony Adams and Neil Ferree did this…
Not only did their politeness make me take notice, but it drew my attention to the content they were creating.
Even better, they essentially told me why it would be valuable to share that material without actually asking me to share it.
The most underutilized tool in your Influencer Marketing Toolbox: asking permissionClick To TweetSend a nice Thank You note
Adrienne Smith takes the time to personally thank everyone who shares her posts on Twitter.
More importantly, she does it in a way that makes you feel like you are the only one sharing her article.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.
Adrienne is a powerful influencer in her own right. One of the main reasons she is so influential is because she takes the time to treat others well – from the blogging beginner to the internet superstar.
Look at how she thanked me for sharing her posts…
She doesn’t just do this with me, either. Look at how she thanked Kurt simply for retweeting a post of hers…
Saying “thank you” is powerful.
Offer a sincere compliment
Everybody loves a little flattery, but only when it is genuine and appropriate.
Look at how Kurt Frankenburg from Shoestring 101 managed to connect with an influencer on the scale of Pat Flynn:
Say ‘thank you.’ Engage deeper. Tag an influencer when appropriate. But most of all: be sincere.
Sincerity makes friends.
Influencer marketing tip: sincerity makes friends.Click To TweetMake ‘em look GOOD!
I love what Michel Reibel began doing when I started using Periscope on Twitter.
He didn’t just take a screen shot of me talking. He told me he was taking a photo and then asked me to smile for it.
Then he shared the photo on Google Plus and tagged me in it.
Take a look…
Michel not only took the time to promote me, but he took the time to make sure I looked good when he did it.
Sharing photos of my broadcasts definitely got my attention, but when he started asking me to smile so he could get a good shot?
That’s how he made sure I wouldn’t forget.
Tell ‘Em You Love ‘Em!
I always love when somebody shares an article of mine, but I particularly love when somebody tells me (and others) why they choose to follow my blog.
Kurt Frankenburg (Twitter: @shoestring101; blog: ShoeString101.com) and Konrad Sanders (Twitter: @KonradSanders; blog: Creative-Copywriter.net) both do an incredible job of this.
Take a look…
And…
This goes beyond the one-click share. It tells me that what I do is helpful and why.
It only takes a moment, but it definitely earns my attention.
Here’s another example of building a strong relationship: Dustin Stout giving a shout-out to Brian Fanzo.
Hey @iSocialFanz i just wanted to say… pic.twitter.com/gaTHy1Q9du
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) June 18, 2015
So tell ‘em you love ‘em, and promote ’em while you’re at it.
Influencer marketing tip: tell ‘em you love ‘em, and promote 'em while you’re at it.Click To TweetThe Influencer Marketing Takeaway
Relationships online are not all that different from relationships in the real world.
If you want to get noticed, take the time to be valuable. Be creative. Make the person feel special. Find ways to help them.
On the web, some people will never notice, just like some people never notice in the real world.
But some will. Some will notice and thank you. Others will notice and befriend you. Still others will notice and partner with you.
And there in the mix, you may just discover your Wozniak.
