Influencing the Influencers
In the past, looking for leaders in target markets was key. Some brands resorted to tapping celebrities in hopes of gaining a little influential glow from the popularity. Yet being a “leader” doesn’t always mean someone actually influences product buying or service usage.
Nielsen research shows that 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know. They also trust peer experiences in the form of online reviews. Friends and family (and online friends) are a key influence in driving brand choice and relevance.
According to a white paper by Brian Solis (“The Influencer Marketing Manifesto: Why the Future of Influencer Marketing Starts with People and Relationships, Not Popularity”), the “biggest barriers to work with influencers revolve around choosing who and how to engage.” Letting go of message control is also a difficult part of the influencer marketing campaign.
Influencers say that working through a PR agency or “influencer marketing platform” is the most effective way to work with brands. However, finding agreement between corporate goals and influencer results can be a hurdle: Marketers believe the most important platforms are 1) Facebook, 2) Twitter, 3) YouTube and 4) Instagram; while influencers see importance in 1) personal blogs, 2) Facebook, 3) Instagram and 4) Twitter. The personal blog is where a real influencer builds his or her own personal brand has a bully pulpit to voice their beliefs.
So why do people become influencers? Did you think it would be any reason other than money? Nearly 70% of influencers said they wanted to earn revenue. But they also wanted to make an “impact or affect change” or build popularity or be recognized as a “thought leader” in their field.
Influencer marketing is plowing new ground. There will be rocks and FTC guidelines (yes, disclaimers). There will also be some fertile ground that will yield for years to come.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.