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Discovering Blogger Outreach Marketing

Blogger Outreach Marketing

Everyone wants to increase exposure for their business with a clear roi. Blogger outreach has become a trending new phenomenon to be reckoned with. It’s a great way to align a brand with the right audience. Ever notice that your content may not attract potential clients when using basic search engines like Google, who tend to mainly use the same three article repeatedly even when changing the words around. Somehow it stills keeps retrieving the same three articles that you already read over and aren’t leading you anywhere.

Blogger outreach usually works in a more efficient manner; you can call it “the plug.” Technically speaking blogger outreach is used in a network port that gives you the opportunity to consult with many different bloggers who align with your brand. The strategy of working with online influencers such as bloggers helps build a brand ambassador network, promote new products, earn authentic mentions and get noticed by a variety of new consumers. The way blogger outreach works is a very organized and strategized way. Giving you the ability to kill 5 birds with just one stone. Cliche? Yeah i know, but let’s be honest; no one really has time to be searching different bloggers for one client and going back and forth with almost no success or no influencers.

Let me explain, blogger outreach is a networking style that gives many outlets in just one network source. First plan out a campaign which is going to attract your clients, or bloggers. This is the space that is recommended to be a little creative with so that you are reaching out to all types of influencers who are connected to your brand. Once a good campaign is planned out, the next step will be using keywords that will identify the right bloggers through a blogger outreach tool. Searching based on niche topics and blog rolls. Usually about 5 to 6 keywords that can be found in a blogger’s article.

Once a campaign and possible influencers are lined up the next step will be to create a pitch. Creating a personalized email that contains what you’re offering and why they would want to work with you, as well as what you want them to do for your brand. After you send it, one of the best part about this is the ability to create a follow up email. Which will be sent automatically when the network does not get a response in x amount of time. Yes i know, amazing.

Blogger outreach-when done correctly-can bring a lot of traffic and visibility to your brand. Give the bloggers you work with the assets to write about an entire experience with your brand. Send what you promise and make it awesome. From awesome content to new brand items to infographics to exclusive interviews. Offering the ability to promote when you earn media from bloggers by sharing it on your own channels. This helps your posts get exposure and helps the bloggers get exposed to new audiences. It’s a great potential platform for communicating with potential customers.

Last but not least, why does this make blogger outreach one of the best connecting/promoting ports for your brand? Well simply because buyers like to review product before buying. Making bloggers easier to search for by granular contextual criteria than influencers on other platforms.
Bloggers are some of the most sought out resources when consumers are researching brands and products. Bloggers are active on a variety of social channels so they are a great springboard for campaigns that span across many digital channels. Bloggers write about niche based topics instead of genre allowing marketers to find influencers who have a very targeted audience. Wasn’t lying when I said blogger outreach is the plug.

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Top 5 Internet Marketing Insights for 2017

“Google will buy Twitter for tens of billions of dollars. Twitter won’t change much, but there will be more ads. The ROI for buying advertising in Twitter will go up.” This is a quote by Andy Crestodina who is the co-founder of Orbit Media and is considered a leading industry expert.

2017 seems to be the year of substantial increases of innovation in the Martech and Adtech industry. Understanding these new market trends will help teams as they begin to plan a 2017 budget even though some of the new technologies they will need are still on or just leaving the drawing board. Many industry professionals are interested in seeing how Microsoft will utilize the big data they have to create a stronger ad program within their recent acquisition of Linkedin. The thought of combining a huge social network of over 400 million users with one of the largest search engines in the world is every digital marketer’s wet dream. That goes without saying the endless possibilities that will emerge with combining those resources with Windows, Office, Dynamics, and Cloud. Can you imagine writing a blog post or article on Office 365 and being able to just right click to find an expert quote from Linkedin?

Trend #1: Double down on Automation and Social analytics

I’d like to remind everyone that Social Media is still in its beginning stages even though some of us feel that large companies such as Facebook and Twitter have been around a long time they are still in their infancy stage. Such as the beginning of any relationship, martech and social media are still getting to know each other, but social media advertising is projected to generate $11 billion in revenue by 2017. It is one of the largest opportunities of marketing exploration for the upcoming year, and as I mentioned before some of these social websites still have many ideas on the drawing board that will greatly benefit Internet marketing. A DMA research study showed that 70% of companies are still not collecting data from social media channels, so it is important that budgets are allocated towards social media analytics. Many companies are still unable to create and implement a robust social media automation that actually works. Different platforms and tools are still growing to help with prospecting and delivering content to the right customers in the moment they need engagement. Industry experts agree that a more valuable concrete solution is desperately needed to take advantage of this relatively untouched resource. They hypothesize the best solution is some sort of a collaboration between apps, networks and platforms all integrated with a marketing dashboard for end to end reporting of the impact social analytics has across the customer journey.

Trend #2: Invest more in the video and podcast bandwagon

These avenues are and will continue to become the best ways to engage audiences using visuals, colors, sounds and/or music. This also works in tandem with trend #1 because a great video will help build brand loyalty and trust by enriching a prospective customer’s journey. Convenience and sometimes necessity are enabling more video and podcast use, especially among those with a preference of “watching the movie” or “listening to the audio book” rather than actually “reading the book.” According to the newest edition of the DMA statistical fact book, 4 times as many consumers prefer digestible video content to plain text. Even Nicola Mendelssohn from Facebook says it will “probably’ be “all video” in 5 years. There is also an Edison research study that revealed approximately 46 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly, and the average user listens to six a week. Huge corporations are already taking advantage of this such as GE and Netflix who each have their own podcasts with registered listeners. As for future video content, Yahoo is a pioneer and has begun to allow you to take out full-screen auto-play video ads on their homepage. You may sometimes even see pop up type movie previews before accessing their main site.

Trend #3: Becoming as ‘human’ as possible in a digital world as fans want to know the people behind the brand and feel that they are understood.

It is widely accepted that the Internet knows more about you than the coworker sitting 2 feet away from you, so it is easy to understand the increase in paid searches and pay-per-click type of advertising over the last several years. Unfortunately, this strategy can become expensive if you do not have a flawless keyword strategy, and not to mention that there many flaws ranging from generating irrelevant site visits to making people feel they are being spammed in their web searches. Reaching your target market in a more organic type of way using blogs and user reviews has been the best way to establish legitimacy in your respective industry. Focusing more on the journey of a prospective customer and painting a perspective of helping them to buy rather than just selling them is something to look forward to in 2017. An excellent method of establishing this is through a more interactive mobile app with innovative sales and promotions geared towards making a consumer feel like they are part of an exclusive group. For example, the T-mobile Tuesdays app has an offer every week from free dominos pizza to a free Samsung Galaxy phone. There is also Target’s rewards app which uses advanced beacon technology to put offers directly in the hands of their customers as they walk through the store.

Trend #4: Focus more on the Pragmatic approach to building your brand

Stay consistent and make sure your message is always clear through all channels on what your brand is and what it is not as this vision will be your guide towards sound decision making. The right message at the right time can guarantee success where as bad timing or the wrong message will incur a huge setback or even total failure. Take care of your employees and empower them to carry on the clear and compelling message to all customers and stakeholders. The pragmatic approach will continue to increase faster than content of audience-based advertising. Most of the successful companies in the upcoming year will deliver this seamless, relevant user experience to drive true outcome-based results.

Trend #5: Stay Mobile friendly and start becoming wearable friendly

This is a bit of old news but just in case you haven’t heard, make sure Google thinks your site is mobile friendly. It is surprising that many companies are still dragging their feet on this as well as on increasing their Google ranking, but this should be a top priority for any and all brands. It is also very important that content be coded extremely well for customers to be able to transition smoothly not only from a desktop to mobile, but also from any of those 2 to a wearable device. In 2017, it is projected that 1 out of ever 4 U.S. consumers will be using a wearable device, so be sure to take this into consideration when planning a future budget. This means there will be even more data on every move the specific target market is making, and we must be prepared to produce and distribute content to fit each individual target buyer accordingly.

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Macro Social Influencer’s True Value

Macro Social Influencer’s most of the time are celebrities, professional athletes, & musicians that have a vast following outside the internet. The macro influencers following on the internet, is vast and crosses over a larger age range, geographic target, & has influence covering multiple industries.  The question many companies come to when evaluating the value of a macro influencer, is will cost of the macro influencer provide a positive ROI.   This article is for companies that can afford macro influencers.  If a company cannot afford to pay an influencer $3k + per influence, then the company would not have to strategize over a macro influencer’s ability to produce a positive ROI.  This is an overview to help strategize looking into the value of a macro influencer.

Being that a macro influencer has a much larger demographic base, the most important variable to be evaluated is the base (entire following), broken up to see how many target markets are touched and the total of the following for each target separated. A cost cannot be put on the macros total base (altogether). Different groups have different values because they are harder to be influenced. It is important that the value placed on a macro influencer (digitally), is done through separating the entire following into the appropriate target markets and then auditing their values (separate line items) together. By separating the target markets by line item with individual values, this is the only way to get a true value on a macro influencer.

Following the paragraph above it is important to deduct the target market that is not of value. With macro influencers crossing over into wider ranges of demographics, there’s a certain percent that does not match a company’s target market. However, when valuing a macro influencer, the value tends to be paid on the entire following, even the percentage of the following that a company does not need.   By deducting the total amount of target market that is not needed against the target markets that are, a true value can then be determined. A true value will give a company a number to negotiate from that is real for the company. If a company does not develop a formula like this than often the value of a macro influencer is not correct and a premium is then paid that is not justifiable. Sometimes a premium gets paid because the target markets a company wants to influence, are at a level that places the macro influencer in an exclusive category (positioning). When that happens a company often overlooks the markets that are not of interest and will pay a premium to the macro influencer regardless. Most of the time this is not the case and true market value is an important number to justify the macro influencer’s value. The importance of the true number often plays an important role on the company receiving a positive ROI. It’s the starting point of macro influencer risk (influencer risk will be discussed in another article).

With macro influencers touching a much larger demographic, which leads to a much larger cost to have them influence, more research needs to be placed into the demographics of the macro influencer. Larger does not always mean better, exposure. This is a big mistake that many companies make. It is extremely important to look into this figure especially when the cost is of an amount that is substantial. Many other variables play into the selection of a macro influencer but the influencers true value, should be the number point of interest as discussed in this article. Regardless if the influencer is a macro or micro, it is always important to all companies to ask themselves the question: If a company cannot see its product, service, or message genuinely being used, appreciated, or promoted by the influencer; Then the Influencer, most likely may not be the right match for the company.  Keep in mind the influencers following will see right through it, & the company will not get the ROI its looking for.

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Instagram Influencer Marketing : Breaking Down the Numbers

Instagram Influence Marketing

With Instagram Influencers playing such an important role in the influencer market place, it’s important to understand “who” exactly Instagram Influencers & followers are, & “how” exactly they are using the platform. This article is a brief quantitative breakdown of what Instagram actually is & what makes the social vehicle work. In this article the “who” represents the Influencers & their followers. In this article the “how” represents the way an influencer & follower post, inculcate post, & engage in post. Instagram has become one of the most popular social platforms on the internet. The platform should be examined closer, especially if a company is going to strategically utilize an influencer marketing campaign on Instagram.

The first area to research is the “who”. With over 400 million active users, 77.6 million of those users are found in the United States. It’s strongest demographic is teens 15.5 million . The increase of teens using Instagram outside of the United States has increased 85% since 2013. 90% of Instagram’s user base, falls under the age of 35 years old. 14 million active users can be found in the UK, while the country that uses instagram the most in the Middle East & Northern Africa is Saudi Arabia. This gives a better understanding of “who” the instagram influencers & followers actually are.

The second area to research is the “how”. Instagram users post photos and videos onto the platform. It is important to note that photos make up 91% of all instagram post . The 400 million active users produce 75 million instagram post daily . 47% of the U.S. access the platform via their smartphone, while the other 53% access the platform through a tablet. The average engagement rate for an instagram post is 1.1% . The engagement of a post is measured through likes, comments, & shares. A formula evaluating Instagram engagement has even been developed. The formula is called “Comment Weighing” . Comment Weighing is the process of identifying the quantity of comments a post receives, and then dividing those comments into value groups (this will be explained in another article). This should give a better understanding of “how” instagram influencer’s & followers are using the instagram platform.

As instagram continues to grow so does the value of it’s influencers . Instagram has a nicely shaped target market & healthy platform usage. Understanding both the “who” & the “how” will help a company better develop the appropriate Instagram influencer marketing campaign. Other important information has been found pertaining to what makes Instagram Influencers successful . It is encouraged to continue to do more research into the platform . The platform is on the rise and has been forecast to continue to rise in the foreseeable future. In conclusion, companies should be utilizing Instagram influencers more heavily, while taking a more magnified strategy when utilizing Instagram influencers within a marketing campaign.

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What is Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has become the new talk of the internet marketing realm.  Influencer marketing isn’t as new as one would think, however the results of it’s success have begun to turn heads with in big corporations.  This article’s purpose, is to be a brief overview of what Influencer marketing actually is. 

Influencer marketing’s main goal is to get back to the root of social media’s authenticity.  This is where people post organically about something that is near and dear to them (photos, commentary, videos. etc.) & the message comes through as genuine because it is. Whether it’s about fashion, weight loss, parenting, etc., the people posting tend to have a large niche following, because other like-minded people have interest in what they’re posting, blogging, or videoing about .  These people doing the posting, blogging, & videoing are called “influencers”.

Now, the goal of the company doing the marketing, is to find these “influencers”, that may have some type of connection to their product, service, or message that they’re marketing, & have the “influencer” post , blog, or video about it to there specific following.  The better the influencer, the better results (engagement, shares, interest, etc.).   

Influencer marketing is not for every company.  It takes a lot of work to set up the influencer network properly, with a unique budget allocated to the system, campaign, & management.  There is no short cut with influencer marketing, which is great because it keeps the marketing authentic.  Companies like Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Twitter, & Yelp have been talking about how they work hard to keep reviews found on their search engine or platform authentic. If influencer marketing is done correctly, the potential to push a market, product , or message genuinely is massive.  

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Influencer Marketing: Finding the Right Social Influencer

Finding an influencer to represent a product, service, or message; Through, post, blog, or video isn’t a minor or easy task.  Many variables need to be addressed when choosing the appropriate influencer.  An important variable to look at first, is the demographics of the influencer’s following. Specifics when evaluating the influencers demographics can be vast.  Start by looking at the primary location of the influencers following, platform popularity, & top age ranges.  As mentioned above, many variables play into identifying the right influencer. This article will only be discussing demographics & the specific subsets of demographics listed above.

Influencers can be found all over the world but a product, service, or message maybe only needed to be influenced regionally or nationally.  Knowing the country that an influencer is popular in is easy to figure out, but it’s imperative to know what parts of the country make up the primary following of the influencer. An example of this is finding an Influencer that has a great following for a specific market or subject with a primary following found in the Pacific Northwest.  The target or subject maybe perfect but the geographical primary location of the influencer’s following, may not match the one that is being targeted.  This is why understanding an influencers geographic popularity is important.  Often the easiest tool to review is the analytics. Most influencers will provide you with his or her specific following details (platform or search engine analytics).  Other ways to research this is by finding where the influencer is based out of. Many times the core following of a micro influencer revolves around where the influencer is living.  Reviewing past posts, blogs, or videos could reveal regional slang or mentions. If further research is still needed, try perusing through the influencers engagements and/or comments.

Influencers use a plethora of platforms to connect with their followers. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Youtube, WordPress, etc.   It’s important to take into consideration where the influencer has the most popularity. Each platform prepares a message differently. It is significant to figure out which platform is best to showcase a specific companies’ product, service, or message.  Influencers typically have popularity in more than one platform. However, they usually have one primary platform that shines over the others.  Knowing where the company will best be represented is a great variable to evaluate. Some platforms bring new excitement to users, some are used out of comfort, while some signify popularity to niche sub cultures.  This could also reveal a new value associated to the influencer.  By taking a look at the overall demographics of a platform and comparing them to the demographics of the influencer’s following, may be able to show a solid platform following or a rarity.  A rarity pertaining to the following of the influencer may raise question, or add value to the influencer.

The most popular age ranges of the influencer is another important variable.   Micro influencers typically have an age range that prefer to follow them.  Majority of the time the age range falls in line with the age of the influencer.  Sometimes an influencer may be popular discussing an industry, subject, or topic that is popular amongst an age range different than their own.   Knowing the age range is important. Make sure this variable matches correctly before choosing the influencer.

As mentioned above finding the right influencer for a company is a detail oriented task. Demographics are extremely important & a great first variable to look at when searching for the perfect influencer. In conclusion, a company should take its time when choosing an influencer.  If a company cannot see its product, service, or message genuinely being used, appreciated, or promoted by the influencer; Then the Influencer, most likely may not be the right match for the company.  Keep in mind the influencers following will see right through it, & the company will not get the ROI its looking for.

 

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All Influencers Are Not Created Equal: How to Analyze Social Influencers

When it comes to choosing the right influencer for your product, service, or message choosing the right influencer is extremely important.   Keep in mind certain industries & topics have a larger selection of influencers to choose from. While some industries & topics are very limited. Obviously, the bigger the pool of influencers the pickier one can be when making selections. If the influencer pool for a certain industry or topic does not showcase an influencer that looks promising, it’s best not to settle on a sub-par influencer. The strategy then would be, to look at a macro influencer that crosses into the industry or has credibility indirectly on the topic. If there is still not a viable option, then be patient and continue to research other influencers. Let’s take a look at different variables that come into play when researching which influencers are best.

Look at the influencer’s following, in its entirety. Typically, an influencer has a primary platform that their following uses. However, their core following often follows them on other platforms too. Look at the primary platform and all other platforms used, to better quantify the overall following of the influencer. Next you want to look at the influencers average engagement per blog, video, or social entry. If an influencer has a following of 100k on Facebook, & an average engagement of 2k per entry that gives you a better understanding of how active the influencers following really is. It can also reveal which topics, photo types, etc. get the most engagement for that specific influencer. Many other quantifications can stem from the influencer’s total following. Take the time needed to evaluate.

Influencer vs. Influencer often sizes up how valuable an influencer is with regards to an industry or topic. Influencers are very proud of what they place onto the internet and pride themselves on their following but often overlook the importance of hierarchy. Why is this important, because an influencer may value themselves at a price point that is not justifiable. One easy way to justify an influencers valuation is by comparing their stats to some similar influencers. Some qualitative factors need to be pointed out because no influencer is exactly the same but a range of where an influencer should be is ultimately what you’re looking for. Also keep in mind a micro influencer is a micro influencer, and a macro influencer is a macro influencer.     Often micro influencers get this confused and believe that they are in fact a macro influencer when in reality they are not. It’s not to say one is more valuable than the other but it’s important to size up influencers based on what they really are. Some influencers are jaded on reality but it doesn’t mean the company selecting its influencers have to be.

These are just a couple variables that should be researched when selecting the right influencer for a company. It’s important to understand every influencer is a little different and just because they have a successful following in regards to a specific industry or topic doesn’t mean they would be a perfect fit for every company with in that industry or topic. If a company cannot see its product, service, or message genuinely being used, appreciated, or promoted by the influencer; Then the Influencer, most likely may not be the right match for the company.  Keep in mind the influencers following will see right through it, & the company will not get the ROI its looking for.

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Influencer Marketing Ethical or Deceitful?

In the past year the authorship of articles having to deal with influencer marketing has sky rocketed. As more comments, shares, & engagements arise one statement finds itself to be most popular. Should companies be utilizing influencer marketing or is the internet marketing tool/strategy unethical.  In order to answer such a loaded question, the influencer, the follower, & the company need to be examined closer.  In the past, “certain companies” have used “specific campaigns” utilizing marketing tools & strategies that may have been seen by some to be misleading. However, to assume a specific tool or strategy misleads a consumer 100% of the time, regardless the company or influencer involved, may be a bit inaccurate or skewed.

When critiquing an influencer, the question that comes up: If an influencer is 100% genuine about a topic or subject matter, does their message become less genuine once they receive payment or free product from a company that they’re posting, videoing, or blogging about. The answer is no. Influencers do not just pop up overnight. Specifically, micro influencers spend a lot of energy creating quality postings. With quality comes credibility, with credibility comes traffic, & with traffic comes a regular following.  This does not come from deception it comes from genuineness & authenticity. Most micro influencers understand, the moment regular followers detect that they are not being 100% genuine, a credibility loss then occurs. A decrease in credibility, correlates to a direct decrease in regular following.  The regular following of an influencer is the most important thing an influencer has. They would never purposely do something that would result in a loss of followers.  With that being said, majority of the time the amount of company products, services, & messages that a micro influencer turns down, is at a far higher percentage than, of the ones that an influencer actually takes on.  Macro influencers have a little more wiggle room because of the vast following they have. However, they still take into consideration what they choose to influence.

When critiquing a follower, the question that’s comes up: How much does a follower need to know to ensure the follower understands whom he or she is following.  The time someone spends on the internet is very precious and internet browsing is nothing new.  The follower completely understands whom they choose to follow is a decision made, 100% by themselves. If a follower is not sure about a specific topic or subject matter discussed by an influencer, they have the ability to engage with question or comment directly with the influencer, and/or share the influencers post with friends and family to get perspective on what is being stated or shown.  When it comes to minors on the internet public and private filters are used to ensure influencers that post about adult subject matters are not easily accessed.  Followers ultimately hold the control pertaining to influencers.  If a follower has an inkling that an influencer is being disingenuous they have the ability to call out the influencer publicly, privately, & stop following them.   

When critiquing a company, the question that’s comes up: How much does a company really care if an influencer is genuine or not, when writing a post, video, or blog.  They care greatly. Why; because, the amazing thing about influencer marketing, is if an influencer is not speaking genuinely about a product, service, or message, the tool/ strategy will not work.  If you have read any of the past articles written about influencer marketing pertaining to companies, you will always see the same comment quoted here, “If a company cannot see its product, service, or message genuinely being used, appreciated, or promoted by the influencer; Then the Influencer, most likely may not be the right match for the company.  Keep in mind the influencers following will see right through it, & the company will not get the ROI its looking for”.    It’s very simple the product, service, or message has no short cuts when it comes to influencer marketing.

Companies should be utilizing influencer marketing as a marketing tool or strategy. Not only should it be used, it should be encouraged. If anything, Influencer marketing is bringing additional ethics to the internet, and we should embrace the tool & strategy, and build off of it.   

 

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Influencer Marketing: Micro Influencer’s are Different

When searching for social influencers for a influencer marketing campaign the big question companies ask themselves is: Should we go with a macro or micro influencer. The budget for the two are very different, as well as the type of influence.  A macro influencer is often a famous celebrity, athlete, or musician.   Also a macro influencer just like the name promotes, has a vast following that he or she influences.  On the other hand, a micro influencer has a very targeted following & is not famous amongst the masses.

Micro-influencers typically have genuine passion for a specific topic or industry, to which they work very hard to advocate this digitally. It’s an effort that comes with time and multiple postings, videos, pics, etc. At one point, the influencer’s popularity begins to (trend), within a niche market and the following then expects a continuation to read more, see more, & experience more of what the influencer is posting.   Again, micro influencers are not celebrities, & may only proclaim expertise, with passion towards a specialized industry or topic. This comes off as more trust-worthy to many followers. This is one reason why people like to follow these types of influencers.  In a lot of ways, it’s the perfect cocktail (1-part expert, 1-part average consumer, 1-part authentic, & 1-part genuine), mixed together to make a perfectly stirred individual to promote or review a product, service, or message to their following.

Micro Influencers may be able to get a product, service, or message out to a more defined following over a macro influencer at a better rate (CPE). This may work better for a company on a tighter budget or aiming at a more defined target market. However, It’s still important to remember regardless if a company goes with a micro or a macro influencer: “If a company cannot see its product, service, or message genuinely being used, appreciated, or promoted by the influencer; Then the Influencer, most likely may not be the right match for the company.  Keep in mind the influencers following will see right through it, & the company will not get the ROI its looking for”.