Influencer marketing used to be a buzzword in the industry. But now, with everyone creating content—including a certain President of the United States—the power of media has shifted from a cluster of media moguls to a wide range of influencers, big and small.
So how do you tap into these influencers—and in doing so, become one yourself? Greg Mischio of Winbound will show you how, when AMA Madison’s Craft Marketing series continues on July 31 at Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company in Fitchburg. He’ll present “Influencer Marketing: 10 Ways to Extend Your Online Reach.” (Sign up here!)
Greg is the Owner and Strategic Director of Winbound and a sponsor of Craft Marketing. His company specializes in content marketing, working with influencers to get the word out about his clients’ products and services.
We asked him to share more about his upcoming presentation.
There is so much buzz about “influencer marketing.” How do you approach the topic?
First, I want to make sure people understand we won’t be talking about how to get bloggers to try your products and then share it with their audiences. I know there’s an art and science to that, but that’s not what we’ll be discussing.
We will focus on how to collaborate with influencers to create new content. Our goal is to tap into their expertise, and allow them to showcase it in the content we’re developing.
We both win when it comes to promoting the content. We share it with our audience, which allows influencers to expand their reach. And the influencer, in turn, shares the content with his or her own audiences.
Why do you think this is so important for today’s marketers?
In many ways, it feels like marketing is moving more into a bartering type of arrangement. Consumers aren’t necessarily resistant to advertising; everyone loves to watch the Super Bowl ads, right?
But that isn’t as effective as the “ad” content that is less blatantly promotional, and is more solution-oriented. You’re not really looking for spokespeople here. You’re looking for people who can help you solve your customers’ problems.
Thus, the arrangement with the influencer is more of a quid pro quo approach. I don’t pay the influencer in cash, but I do allow them exposure to new audiences and other types of digital currency.
Join us at Great Dane – Fitchburg
What do you mean by digital currency?
For a content marketer, we measure our success in terms of backlinks and social shares. The value of those can have incredible long-term benefits: Higher search engine rankings and introductions to new social networks, for example.
And, part of working with influencers is understanding which ones have valuable digital currency.
How do you gain favor with influencers?
That’s what we will talk about at the presentation. Some relationships can happen quickly, especially with other “micro-influencers.” Some will take weeks or months to get you engaging with big-time influencers.
We really find great value, especially when you’re just starting out, to work with those micro-influencers. Small audiences are great, especially when they’re enthusiastic followers.
How do you find influencers?
It’s funny—we don’t really use too many of the influencer marketing tools in our stack. We do a lot of networking and digital detective work to find influencers who can help us.
We’ll share with you ways to find these folks. You’ll be pretty surprised at how easy it can be! You’ll also learn about some of the do’s and don’ts.
Most importantly, you’ll discover why this is truly an exciting way to engage not only your own people, but also the whole supply chain that works with you to deliver to your clients. It really is a fun way to not only get the word out, but meet exceptional people and build relationships.
We really think it’s a blast!
Click here to sign up for AMA Madison’s July Craft Marketing event. Only 25 seats are available!
Greg Mischio is the Owner and Strategic Director of Winbound. Winbound is a content marketing firm that provides an all-in-one content marketing and conversion optimization package specifically designed for small marketing departments. Read his post on how to start content marketing. Twitter: @gregmischio