Transcribed

Influencers vs. Brand Advocates

INFLUENCERS VS. BRAND ADVOGATES A popular PR tactic is Influencer outreach, a post-modern version of a celebrity endorsement. While this approach can create social chatter, its impact is often short-term and ineffective for driving behavior. As marketers are starting to turn to Brand Advocates to generate not just buzz, but leads and sales, it's important to understand the characteristics and motivations behind Advocates and Influencers. INFLUENCERS BRAND A DVOCATES Consumer Trust 18% 92% Trust Influencers Trust Brand Advocates (source: Nielsen) (source: Forrester Research Inc.) INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES Typical Profile Pundit Highly-Satisfied Customer Blogger Celebrity INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES Defined By (Twitter followers, blog subscribers, etc.) How likely they are to Size of recommend Audience the brand INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES Motivation Grow Audience Help Friends (source: comScore) INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES Advocacy & Loyalty Short-term Long-lasting 12 JANUARY XIXIXIXIX X X INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES Genuine Passion (for brand / product recommended) Yes! Maybe INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES Incentives Needed Typically YES (free produects, trials, etc) Typically NO INFLUENCERS BRAND ADVOCATES WHY INFLUENCER OUTREACH IS OVERRATED True influence drives action, not awareness. We tend to confuse audience with influence, Having a large Twitter or blog following doesn't inherently make a person influential. It gives them an audience, and very few Influencers have enough juice to drive action in droves. Influencers have their own agenda. With Influencer outreach programs becoming more rampant, it's harder to get the attention of these in-demand luminaries. It often takes a free trip or trial or some other incentive to pique their interest and hopefully get them to promote your product. Brand Advocates are a sustainable marketing force. Advocates crave engagement from your brand. Unlike Influencers, they are eager to support, promote, and defend your brand on a long-term basis. Plus, their trusted recommendations affect each part of the purchase funnel, driving substantial business results. * Zuberance O CONVINCE&CONVERT Energizing Brand Advocates @zuberance zuberance.com Social Media Strategy & Consulting @jaybaer convinceandconvert.com

Influencers vs. Brand Advocates

shared by jaybaer on Jul 16

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Influencer outreach is a key element of many social media and modern public relations programs. But they often prove ineffective at driving behavior beyond social chatter. I wrote a post about why thi... s is so, called “Why Online Influencer Outreach is Overrated and How to Fix It” The biggest issue is that we tend to confuse audience with influence. Having a lot of Twitter followers doesn’t give you the power to drive action, it gives you the power to drive awareness. Those are different abilities with unequal degrees of usefulness, just like the power to fly (Superman) is better than the power to swim fast and talk to fish (Aquaman). The other issue is passion. True influence requires two things: audience and advocacy. Advocacy is driven by the depth of conviction, and influencers typically are less committed to the product or company than are actual customer advocates. In the original post, I recommend focusing these types of programs first on harnessing the passion of current customers, who make up for in passion what they may lack in audience, and then expand to influencers who bring the audience but perhaps less passion. Our friends at Zuberance.com (which helps companies activate customer advocates) worked up this infographic that illustrates the differences between influencers and advocates. Feel free to share it, embed it, etc.

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Convince

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Zuberance