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  • Blog
    • 2019
      • 01
        • Market Opportunity Assessment: Why You Need One & 5 Key Steps
        • Enrollment Management: Navigating Disruption to Achieve Success
      • 02
      • 03
        • 49% of retailers name in-store mobile experience a top priority
        • 2019 Digital Marketing Trends & Gen Z
      • 04
        • Enrollment Management: Shifting Demographics & Shrinking Population
        • Smart College Recruitment Targets Wisely Using Segmentation
      • 05
        • Email Marketing Tips
    • 2018
      • 01
        • The hidden cost of selling direct – the returns game
        • 2018 Lead Generation & Recruitment Predictions & Tips
        • How's your marketing?
        • The Offer - How To Make One They Can't Refuse
        • Successful Product Development
        • How Direct Makes Digital Better
        • Questions That You Need To Answer
        • Do You Know What Your Competition Is Doing?
      • 02
        • The Marketing Planning Process...Doing It Right!
        • Managing The Sales Pipeline
      • 03
        • Being Prepared for Change (Why You Need Market Intelligence to Drive Revenue Growth)
        • Competitor Update: Coursera Coming to Eat Your Lunch
        • Discussion: Why Should Your Institution Exist in the 21st Century?
        • Discussion: Should Your College Exist in the 21st Century?
        • Welcome Back: Former Students, Graduates
        • Adult Students: Thoughts on the Chronicle's Report
      • 04
        • Avalanche of Dreck...Are you part of the problem?
        • Profile of the Average Online Student
        • You Can't Make It Up In Volume
      • 05
        • Simple Guide to Creating Profitable Personas
        • Amazon Losing Billions - You Should Be Scared
        • Comment: Why Most CMOs are Failing
        • Marketing Personalization...Most of It Isn't
        • Amazon's "Try Before You Buy"
        • Are Shoppers Really That Resistant to Self-Checkout?
        • B.A.N.T. May Be Old, But It Still Works
        • All The Martech In The World Won't Make You a Marketer
        • 9 Tips For Writing Effective PPC Ads
        • Blogging: 5 Reasons Why & 5 Tips for Success
        • The 4 Step Welcome Email Series
      • 06
        • The Lead Management Game - Winning Or Losing?
        • Part 1: Podcasts Should You Start Your Own Podcast?
        • Part 1: Blogs: Should You Start A Blog?
        • 8 Simple Ways to Increase Enrollments
      • 07
        • PART 2: Podcasts: Develop Your Plan
        • Should You Buy or Generate Your Own Leads?
        • How to Overcome the 3 Reasons Most Miss Their Enrollment Goals
      • 08
        • Contact Strategy: People Buy From People
        • 2 Commonly Overlooked Causes for Enrollment Shortfalls - And How to Fix Them
        • Designing and Writing Effective Direct Mail Packages
      • 09
      • 10
      • 11
        • Developing Your Content Marketing Strategy
        • How Content Marketing Can Increase Enrollments, Retention
    • 2017
      • 01
        • Influencer Marketing: More Confusion Over Simple Concept
        • 10+ Reasons Why Most College Marketing/Enrollment Plans Fail & How to Avoid Them
        • Marketing Planning 101 - Are You?
        • Are CMOs' Jobs in Jeopardy?
        • Lead Flow Planning - Getting It Right
        • Omni Channel or Not? Retail Survival or Not?
      • 02
        • Announcing Our New Enhanced On-Demand Services for Adult, Graduate and Continuing Education Programs
        • Tips for Great Direct Response Radio
        • Email Design Tips
        • Data-Driven Marketing...It's As Old As Index Cards, And Then Some...
        • Why They ain’t buying what you’re sellin’
      • 03
        • New Degree Programs: What You Must Learn from Google, Amazon and Apple
        • Student Recruitment & Retention Goes to the Movies
        • Just Outsource It!
      • 04
        • Why You’re Not Answering Their Questions
        • Adult Students: Are You Serious or Just Screwing Around?
        • Is Your Brand Safe?
        • Ask Questions
        • Event Marketing for Adult Enrollments
        • Retail is Not Dead!
        • Pros & Cons of In House Agency
        • Is Affiliate Marketing for Your Business?
        • Webinar: 7 Proven Techniques for Increasing Adult Student Enrollments
        • False Victories
      • 05
        • Bring Programmatic Adv In House? Yes? No?
        • Call Attribution Tech - Do you need it?
        • Are you losing sales people?
        • Webinar: Adult Student Retention
        • Is ‘eMail Blindness’ Killing Your Business?
      • 06
        • Direct Mail Tips for More Effective Student Recruitment
        • Marketers Wake Up...Get Those Phone #s
        • The Secret to Successfully Providing Life-long Learning
        • Higher Ed Marketing Podcast 3: Web Forms
        • Higher Ed Marketing Podcast 4: Thank you page
      • 07
        • 2 Secrets to Achieving Adult Enrollment Goals
        • Social Worship
        • The Amazon Effect...Are You Ready?
        • Old Ways Don't Open New Doors
      • 08
        • Early Results: Adult Student Recruitment Effectiveness Part I of II
        • Early Results: Adult Student Recruitment Effectiveness Part II of II
        • Webinar: Competitive Intelligence 101
        • How to Say the Right Thing so More Adults Enroll
        • Clear Communications, not Content Marketing, is Key to Achieving Adult Enrollment Goals
      • 09
        • Are You Listening Carefully? Asking the Right Questions?
        • Missing Unrealistic Goals
      • 10
        • What Are You Putting Into Your Sales Pipeline
        • Competitive Intelligence - What is it? Why do you need it?
      • 11
        • Yes, You Do Have the Budget
      • 12
        • Enrollment Opportunity: Under-served Segments
        • Why Colleges Are Failing to Achieve Adult Enrollment Goals
    • 2016
      • 01
        • Direct Marketing Planning
        • How Many Leads Do Our Sales Executives Need?
        • The Drones Are Coming!
        • New Study Identifies Opportunities to Improve Student Recruitment
        • Outbound Telemarketing Missing Opportunities As Part of College Student Recruitment
        • Student Retention Tips for 2016
        • Advantages of Direct Marketing
        • 6 Tips to Improve Your College's Content Marketing Performance
      • 02
        • Lead Flow Planning - Getting It Right
        • Are You Sitting Around Waiting for Business?
        • Get More Our of Your CRM Investment
        • Tips for Building Affordable, Effective Marketing Research Program
        • Smart College Recruitment Targets Wisely Using Segmentation
      • 03
        • Marketer's Toolkit Goes Mobile
        • A/B Testing: Some Important Rules to Follow
        • Targeting is Not Rocket Science
        • Snap Chat for Student Recruitment
        • Colleges Must Lead the Way in Marketing to Millennials
        • How Many Leads Do You Need?
        • Do You Know What a "Lead" Is?
        • Do You Know How Many Sales Leads You Need? Find Out With...
        • Content Marketing: It's a Mess
      • 04
        • What Is The Best Marketing Channel?
        • Do You Need a Marketing Plan?
        • Data Analytics Improve Enrollment Performance
        • Why Facilitated Strategic Planning Workshops are Most Effective for Your College...
        • Common Social Media Challenges and Solutions
        • 8 1/2 Common Errors in the Student Recruitment Process
      • 05
        • Differentiation - Colleges Need to Be Uniquely Valuable
        • Non-Traditional Students: Tips to Attract & Retain
        • Market Planning Process
        • Market Analysis - Identify Your Target Markets
        • Catalog Business Plan
        • 10 Common Digital Marketing Mistakes & Solutions
        • Tips for Recruiting Millennials to Your College
        • How to Lower New Student Acquisition Costs
      • 06
        • Your Website Needs Help
        • Better Adwords Performance ASAP
        • Higher Education Marketing Assessment Tool: A Demo
        • Join Marketing Connection Today
        • Marketers Are Focused On the Wrong Things
        • Marketing...It's About the Numbers
        • Colleges Without Market Research: Penny-Wise, Pound Foolish
        • Top Benefits You Enjoy From a Mystery Shopper Audit
      • 07
        • The Future of Content Marketing
        • Pokemon Go: Student Recruitment & Retention?
        • Whatever the Channel: Marketing Success Depends on 5 Factors
        • When Your Customers Aren't Your Customers - Social Media Pitfalls
        • Content Marketing Success
        • Why You Can't Afford to Pass on a Retention Audit
      • 08
        • Your Trouble With Adwords
        • You Can't Recruit & Retain if You Don't Know Your Audience
        • Facebook Live for Student Recruitment
        • How to Make Significant Improvements to Student Recruitment Results
      • 09
        • Why Facilitated Strategic Planning Workshops are Most Effective for Your College...
        • Video Marketing: Tips for Greater Success
        • The Details Are in the Plans
        • Digital Metrics: How Much is Real & How Much is Bullshit?
        • Video Content Marketing: Tips for Greater Success
      • 10
        • How You Can Enroll More Non-Traditional Students
        • Your Email Metrics Are Wrong
        • Too Much Content Too Much Waste
        • How Asking the Right Questions Can Increase Enrollments
        • Content Marketing for Higher Education Recruitment and Retention
      • 11
        • 5 Ways to Increase Graduate School Enrollments by Leveraging Data
        • Big Data, Predictive Analytics & Marketing Research Strike Out in Election 2016
      • 12
    • 2015
      • 11
        • Black Friday - Cyber Monday - Trends
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Influencer Marketing: More Confusion Over Simple Concept

Jan 09, 2017

influencer marketing.jpg

 

I hate new names for old concepts.  It’s confusing.  It’s often times deceptive, immoral and unethical.

That said, let’s chat about “influencer marketing” because it’s a simple, effective concept once you get past all of the confusing B.S. that’s being written and said about it by “digital marketers”.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Here are a couple of definitions from some reputable sources…

Influencer marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to drive your brand's message to the larger market. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, you instead inspire / hire / pay influencers to get out the word for you.  (Source: Downloaded from https://www.tapinfluence.com/blog-what-is-influencer-marketing/ on December 23, 2016)

And then there's this one...

At ION, we have a simple definition for influencer marketing that is functional but also philosophical. Influencer marketing is about relationships, trust and shared interests. We think the only reason a social media creator should be speaking about a product or service is because they believe in it. They may or may not work directly with a brand to create content and align the message but it should be clear that they actually love what they are recommending to their audience.  (Source: Downloaded from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/influencer-marketing-what-you-think-its-much-better-eric-r-burgess  on December 23, 2016)

And just because you should always have 3 choices...

Influencer marketing involves talking to your audience, conveying your message through a voice they trust. When you ask people who are well-versed on a subject and have great reach (think about thought-leaders, industry professionals, bloggers, or even influential consumers) to create content or amplify content for your brand, what you are doing is utilizing influencer marketing to help grow awareness, build trust, and drive sales for your brand.  (Source: Downloaded from http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2015/07/14/influencer-marketing-done-well-converts-paid-media-to-earned-media/#75452a64544c on December 23, 2016) 

Getting any clarity out of any of those definitions?

Not to sound like my Dad, but when I started in marketing back in the 1980’s, we have two concepts that seem to be similar.  The first was “paid celebrity endorsements” and the second was “media coverage”, both generally handled by the PR department back in the day.

The more you read about “influencer marketing”, the more it sounds like “paid celebrity endorsement” because the organization is paying someone with a large following and/or strong awareness in the market to wear, use, say something wonderful about a product/service.

In some instances, you write what the “influencer” will say.  In other instances, you let the “influencer” produce the “content”.  For those of you that have bought time with your local radio or television station, you probably encountered this when you are the sole sponsor for the morning/evening sports or weather.  Sometimes the personality will ask for you to write something and other times they will “wing it” so it sounds personal, off the cuff, more honest.

The problem is in some instances, “influencer marketing” seems to want to hide the fact that the “influencer” is being paid.  The presentation is “…hey everybody, I just wanted to stop doing what I normally do and talk to you about my love for …”  And failure to disclose that you are a paid spokesperson and presenting the product/service as something you use and recommend out of the goodness of your heart is … deceptive.  Immoral.  Unethical.

You get the point.

Now, “media coverage” is when you reach out to the media and pitch a story that they elect to cover as part of their editorial efforts.  For example, you have a new product that has delivered positive results for several users and the local TV/Radio/Newspaper elects to create a story about the product and its impact.  You don’t pay them to do this.  And they write their own story – which can be positive or negative, depending upon what they uncover during their research.

The Argument Isn’t “Is this Paid or Earned Media”, The Argument is “Is this Misleading and Deceiving Your Audience?”

Again, what you name this tactic isn’t really all that important.  What is important is how you use it and the results of those efforts.

You want to pay an “influencer” to read your copy or present their own “content” – great.  But where are you going to draw the line regarding transparency?  Are you going to include “Influencer is a paid spokes-person for our product”?  Or are you going to try and pull a fast one on your audience, hoping that the rewards surpass the risk of getting caught and crapping all over the trust you and the “influencer” has been building and maintaining over time?

You want to work with an “influencer” and let them decide from an editorial standpoint rather than an advertising standpoint that your product/service/story is of interest to their “followers” and “readers” and “viewers”?  Then let them investigate and come up with the angle, the hook – then create the content and share with their audience/followers?  Great! 

Tips for Navigating the Quagmire

Marketing, communication and media is becoming more and more complicated. Many marketers and business leaders are finding it difficult to learn, embrace and maximize their use of new media. They struggle with understanding the difference, value and how to best use earned media, paid media and owned media .(Check out this for definitions of earned, paid, and owned media.)

Many brand and digital marketers are poorly confusing influencer marketing with earned media. Some of these marketers may be making innocent mistakes. However, some very well know the difference but are pretending that they don’t. As a result they are negatively impacting their brand perception and damaging relationships with the people who they claim they want to embrace and invite closer to their brand.  (Source: Downloaded from http://www.pammarketingnut.com/2015/06/influencer-marketing-is-not-earned-media/ on December 23 2016)Pam Moore, the author of the above, is very nice in the above presentation. 

 

I am more of a black-and-white kind of person so when she writes “…marketers and business leaders are finding it difficult to learn, embrace and maximize their use of new media…”, my reaction is that these people damn well know what they are doing. 

For some, it’s knowingly misleading and deceiving their audience.

Are you paying someone to do/say something to their audience/followers?  Then my suggestion is “make sure they know this person is your paid spokesperson.”

Are you paying someone to create their own content about your product/service that they will share with their audience/followers?  Then my suggestion is “make sure they know this person has been paid to create and present the content.”

Are you providing them with free product/service and asking for an endorsement? Then my suggestion is “make sure you’re transparent so your audience doesn’t feel like you are trying to mislead or trick them.”

Have you suggested a unique storyline for an influencer to explore and research and then create and share their own content with their audience? Then my suggestion is “be thankful and hope that you can then leverage this truly independent third-party content because it is positive and valuable for your own audience.”

Conclusion: Measuring “Influencer Marketing”

You shouldn’t be surprised to read about how “influencer marketing” outperforms advertising.  (Check out this article to make sure you’re not surprised!)

Audiences value 3rd party/independent testimonials and review because they assume the individual is doing so because of their experience and belief in what they are saying.  Present something as independent, but actually pay the individual to do so is misleading and can hurt customer trust/loyalty and your reputation.

People value celebrity endorsements even though they know the celebrity/influencer is getting paid and it’s really a form of advertising.  Sure there is a little less enthusiasm because people, for the most part, know the endorsement is a paid ad, but done right, your audience can be positively motivated by it.

But no matter what approach/approaches you take – paid and transparent, earned and unpaid - the key is being able to capture accurate data on the impact of the effort so you can determine how well this effort performed in terms of your key objectives.  Depending on the media and audience, you can [ex] provide the “influencer” with unique telephone number, email address and/or URL that they include in their content along with the simple call to action of “…to learn more call/email/visit…”

From the Author

 

Forrester.gif
http://blogs.forrester.com/interactive_marketing/2009/12/defining-earned-owned-and-paid-media.html



Tags: influencer marketing, earned media, paid media
Category: Strategic Marketing Planning

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Patrick McGraw is VP of Higher Educaton Marketing Services and has more than 25 years experience in market research, competitive intelligence, business intelligence including database marketing and CRM, strategic planning, brand development and management as well as operations/campaign management. His work has consistently helped his clients and employers develop and implement more efficient ways to attract and retain profitable customers, enter new markets and launch new products. His areas of focus include the education, hospitality, travel and tourism, hi-tech, telecommunications, financial services, and retail industries on both the agency and customer sides.


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