Why Are You Working with Influencers?

Let me get this out of the way: If your approach to influencer relations means applying the traditional media relations model - that is, a one-way transfer of information - but with an added financial transaction component, you’re doing it wrong.

Now I want to buy a bridge…

This might apply more to the high-transaction-price-but-still-mass-market consumer products space (think compact SUVs, for example) than to items you can buy with a fist full of coins, but I think my argument would still stand.

Amidst a contracting media landscape, many communications practitioners have expanded their purview beyond journalists to hit their awareness metrics. While this has spread quickly in some sectors, others have been relatively slower to adapt. I wrote about this broadening scope in a previous post.

I’ve been asked many times: “How do we get into the influencer space?” My answer is always the same: Why? What do you hope to achieve? And how will you recognize success?

I don’t mean to be difficult, but a direction without a destination is sure-fire way to get lost.

To stay within the automotive industry for a moment, vehicles fit within the broader consumer goods space. However, they often represent the second-largest financial commitment for most households. From that perspective, you would be hard pressed to convince me that anyone has bought a particular car or truck based on a photo posted to Instagram, however beautiful said photo is.

Instead, try strategically weaving an influencer campaign into a bigger initiative. Now, your approach might be different if the focus is on an incremental addition to a product portfolio than if it’s a sustainment campaign or even a product enhancement, but the basics remains the same. That is: building a sandbox for your new business partner to play in, and providing the opportunity for them to get creative in the delivery of your message.

So, ask yourself: What is the organization struggling with the most? What do you wish more people knew about the organization/product/brand?

From there, you have a starting point to build a strategy to address the challenge; and influencer relations can potentially be one of the tactics.

Marketing Profs recently published a post classifying influencer types into four categories. I think it oversimplifies things a bit, but it does drive home the point that your approach is dependent on the objectives you’re trying to achieve.

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