No one decides to buy based on ads anymore. We ask friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, reviewers and experts for advice. Today it’s people not advertising that build great brands. Influencer marketing is a powerful way for brands to leverage these shifts to attract new audiences, engage them and spur action. The problem with influencer marketing is it’s being treated as a thinly veiled ad. Just like the transactional arrangements for advertising, companies are paying influencers for tweets, blog posts, snaps, vlogs and personal appearances. And guess what? It doesn’t work and brands are often left feeling frustrated because they paid an influencer who at best didn’t deliver results and at worst went rogue. In place of that tired, recycled formula, brands need an innovative approach that recognizes influencers as collaborators and influencer marketing as co-branding. In this energy packed session full of actionable insights, we’ll explore this new approach giving you the skills you need to use influencer marketing most effectively.

1. @leighgeorge
Everything You’ve Heard About
Influencer Marketing Is Wrong.
Let’s Do It Right!

2. @leighgeorge
52%
of consumers are
actively avoiding your
ads
Source: true[X], 2014

3. @leighgeorge
48%
pay for premium
services that don’t
have ads
Source: true[X], 2014

4. @leighgeorge
14%
of people can recall
the last time they
saw an ad and
identified the offer it
was promoting
Only
Source: Infolinks, 2013

5. @leighgeorge
Today’s influencer
marketing
is based on
POPULARITY
NOT influence

6. @leighgeorge
Brands are
treating
influencers
as a PAID
CHANNEL

7. @leighgeorge
PEOPLE
ARE NOT
MEDIA
CHANNELS
you can pay
to run your
message

8. @leighgeorge
What should EFFECTIVE
influencer marketing look like?

9. @leighgeorge
of people turn to
social networks
for guidance on
purchase
decisions
74%
Source: Forrester, 2015

10. @leighgeorge
Influence is
based on
EXPERTISE, not
popularity

11. Our buying decisions
are led by people
we trust
@leighgeorge

12. @leighgeorge
Influencer
marketing is
CO-BRANDING

13. @leighgeorge
Influencer
marketing needs
a strategy, not a
media plan

14. @leighgeorge
Set
measurable
goals

15. @leighgeorge
Know
your audience

16. @leighgeorge
Create a
budget

17. @leighgeorge
Start with criteria
so you’ll know
what to look for
in an influencer

18. @leighgeorge
Steal these
criteria!
Brand Values
Tone-of-voice
Content themes
Past brand
collaborations
National vs local
Actionability

19. @leighgeorge
Find the right
MATCH

20. @leighgeorge
Be sure you know
what your brand
brings to the table

21. @leighgeorge
Make it worth
their while

22. @leighgeorge
Personalize your
outreach

23. @leighgeorge
Choose
carefully

24. @leighgeorge

25. @leighgeorge
Get it in
writing

26. @leighgeorge
Collaborate on
the right story to tell

27. @leighgeorge
What’s
the plan?

28. @leighgeorge
Don’t just
measure—
LEARN

29. @leighgeorge
• Brand communication alone is no
longer effective in driving action.
Today we avoid ads and act based
on trusted communications
• To take advantage of these trends,
develop an influencer marketing
strategy that allows you to co-brand
with an influencer whose purpose,
communities and values align with yours
• An effective strategy includes measurable
goals, a clear vision of your target
audience and a collaborative
approach

30. @leighgeorge
• Plan to find the right influencer to
collaborate with by using specific
criteria that are important to your brand
and help you filter possible partnerships
• Take a relationship-first approach to
influencer campaigners. Show a
commitment to investing in the influencer
relationship. This is not a one and done
activity
• Continually refine your strategy and
optimize results by applying what you
learn to future campaigns

31. Let’s Stay in Touch
Leigh George, PhD
Email: leighgeorge@findfreedom.co
Twitter: @leighgeorge
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leighgeorge

32. @leighgeorge
• Slide 5: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertadams/2016/04/14/the-top-10-
instagram-influencers/
• Slide 6: http://www.theblogmaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Blog-
Media-Kit-Example-Metropolitan-Organizing.jpg
• Slide 7: https://www.youtube.com/user/RomanAtwoodVlogs
• Slide 11: http://parisgirlcouture.blogs.france24.com/sites/blogs.france24.com/
files/storyblogimgs/user714/KARL%20LAGERFELD_9_3.jpg
• Slide 12: http://exploregram.com/our-evrgrn-oasis-in-dc-one-weekend-two-
cornhole-boards-three-signature/
• Slide 14: http://soshable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Audience.jpg
• Slide 19: Kit and Ace
• Slide 21: https://www.popoptiq.com/on-cinderella-and-feminism-how-branagh-
and-weitz-altered-the-glass-slipper/
Image
Credits