Influencer Marketing (Re-)Defined

Digital Influence – Key Takeaways
INFLUENCER MARKETING
(RE-DEFINED)
by Joel Backaler, author of
DIGITAL INFLUENCE:
Unleash the Power of
Influencer Marketing
to Accelerate Your Global Business
Copyright © 2018 Joel Backaler | joelbackaler.com

Real business isn't done in board meetings; it happens in the small, personal interactions that allow
us to prove to each other who we are and what we believe in, honest moments that promote good
feelings and build trust and loyalty.
Now, scaling those interactions is not only possible – provided you use the right tools the right way
– it's necessary. In fact, those companies and brands that refuse to try could jeopardize the potential
of their business, and in the long term, even their very existence.
Quote Source: Vaynerchuk, Gary. The Thank You Economy. New York: Collins Business, 2011. Print.
Image Source: LeWeb Conference Paris – Creative Commons License
WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING IS ESSENTIAL
FOR EVERY ORGANIZATION TODAY
“
Gary Vaynerchuk
Chief Executive Officer, VaynerMedia

“WHO ARE
INFLUENCERS?”
First we need to answer…

“We’re talking about
celebrities, right?”
Image Credit: ”Kim and Khloe Kardashian” by Eva Rinaldi (CC BY-SA 2.0)
“No, more like
Instagrammers???”
“NO… NO… BLOGGERS???!!!”

It’s actually a little more complicated than that…

The term “influencer” is used for so many different types of
people in so many different situations that…
Nobody envisions the same “influencer” when the topic
comes up in conversation.
Each person will naturally have their own perceptions of
what an influencer is based on their individual:
» context and
» background.

DIGITAL INFLUENCE – KEY TAKEAWAYS
The reality is,
“influencers” are
extremely diverse…

INFLUENCERS HAVE TWO DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS:
2. They can influence the actions of target community members
1. They are known for something within a target community

5 DRIVERS FUELING THE RISE OF
MODERN-DAY INFLUENCER MARKETING

INTERRUPTION MARKETING VS
INFLUENCER MARKETING (1/2)
We are transitioning from an era of…
01
Interruption marketing, where advertisers
intentionally disrupt people’s activities to plant
a branded message into their subconscious,
to…
one where community and word of
mouth play a much more significant
role – especially influencer marketing.

INTERRUPTION MARKETING VS
INFLUENCER MARKETING (2/2)
I call it ‘Interruption Marketing’, because the key to each and every ad is to interrupt
what the viewers are doing in order to get them to think about something else.
Image Source: Creative Commons – Joi Ito
01
Seth Godin
From his book: Permission Marketing
“

Word of mouth has been around since early
man gave the first recommendation to a trusted
peer.
Internet-enabled word of mouth can now
spread messages from one to many
instantly. It builds influence at never-before-
experienced speed.
WORD OF MOUTH 2.0 (1/2)02
W
hat’s Changed

WORD OF MOUTH 2.0 (2/2)
We’ve always known that word of mouth is the most impactful way to communicate.
For brands this means we need to create an interesting story that other people will talk
about – that has and will always be at the center of everything we as marketers do.
02
David Roman
Chief Marketing Officer, Lenovo
“

DECLINE OF GATEKEEPERS (1/2)03
Individuals previously required
permission from gatekeepers to
access large audiences:
» TV Producers
» News Editors
» Movie Executives
Individuals can build a large, active audience
through his or her own efforts with:
» Blogs,
» YouTube,
» Facebook,
» Twitter,
» LinkedIn,
» Instagram
» WeChat
» And other social media channels
Gatekeepers still exist, but they no longer pose as significant a barrier as they once did.
But today…

DECLINE OF GATEKEEPERS (2/2)
If I wanted to be known 25 years ago, I’d have to be in the newspaper and on TV
programs very frequently and there would have to be some gatekeeper. Someone else
would have to make a decision for me to be known.
We don’t have to go through gatekeepers and wait to be picked – we can pick ourselves.
03
Mark Schaefer
Chief Executive Officer,
Schaefer Marketing Solutions
“

CELEBRITIES ARE NO LONGER THE ONLY
POPULAR VOICES THAT MATTER (1/2)
04
Mainstream celebrities were the original
influencers, and they still have an
important role to play…
The door is wide open for a much more
diverse set of individuals with engaged
audiences to share the spotlight and
collaborate with brands.
Every niche interest has a selection of
relevant experts or entertainers who
command attention and drive action –
even to a greater extent than mainstream
pop-culture icons.
But now
…

CELEBRITIES ARE NO LONGER THE ONLY
POPULAR VOICES THAT MATTER (2/2)
TV is resilient, but the only thing that’s really resilient is the Super Bowl – that means
the Super Bowl is a museum to a previous era. It’s fun to go visit once a year, but those
days are gone.
What matters these days are community, word of mouth and real value. Influencers are
a key part of that equation. Social media lit the fire on this – influence is much more
democratized.
04
Jeremy Epstein
Chief Executive Officer,
Never Stop Marketing
“

ADVANCE OF THE CREATOR’S TOOLKIT05
Professional-looking content – videos,
images, audio recordings, white papers,
webinars, and so on – were previously
out of reach for everyday people.
Today it’s easier than ever for anyone to:
» use affordable production tools
» “rent” specialized talent on demand
Thus allowing anyone to produce high-
quality, impactful content to fuel audience
growth and drive engagement over time.
But today…

WE CAN FINALLY COME UP WITH
A DEFINITION FOR INFLUENCER MARKETING
With an understanding of:
1. What makes someone an Influencer, and
2. What drivers have led to the rise of Modern-Day Influencer Marketing,
We can finally answer the original question posed at the beginning of this presentation
– ‘What is Influencer Marketing’

INFLUENCER MARKETING (RE)DEFINED
in·flu·ence·er mar·ket·ing (noun):
Influencer Marketing is the act of identifying,
researching, engaging, supporting and activating the
people who influence your target audience to achieve
an organizational goal.

IT ALL STARTS WITH GOALS
Organizations can set Influencer Marketing goals related to a wide range of areas.
The only real limit is a brand's creativity, but the following are a series of areas where
Influencer Marketing has proven to be successful:
ü One-Off Sales Promotion
ü Corporate Reputation Management
ü Search Engine Optimization Content
ü Product Development Feedback & Insights
ü Product Reviews When Entering New Markets
ü Amplification of New Product Launches & Events

SO ‘INFLUENCER MARKETING’
IS MORE THAN JUST PAYING
INSTAGRAMMERS TO POST
CONTENT?
Exactly. Now you get it!
Yes, Influencer Marketing is much more than a new form of
paid advertising.
You may hear a lot about one-off, transactional campaign
collaborations between brands and Influencers, but the
reality is…
Influencer Marketing can be much MUCH more strategic.

In my book Digital Influence: Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing to
Accelerate Your Global Business, you can learn about:
• the difference between paid and organic influencer marketing,
• how influencer marketing is driving growth for B2C, B2B, and international
companies of varying sizes,
• and go a lot deeper into the concepts introduced within this presentation.

DIGITAL INFLUENCE – KEY TAKEAWAYS
LEARN
MORE
Or visit www.DigitalInfluencerBook.com for more details

Influencer Marketing (Re-)Defined

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