As Influencer Marketing continues to gain more steam, engaging the right influencers on social media within seconds or minutes of a relevant post they make can have a big impact on how marketers can unleash the power of social sharing. At Earshot, we have seen share rates on social media increase by more than 2.5x when micro-influencers are engaged by a brand within 10 minutes of a post. The impact of a thoughtful reply or a well-timed ‘like’ for brand awareness can make a big difference on how consumers perceive whether a brand is really listening to them and the likelihood of them sharing content with their friends and followers on social media.
And as most marketers know, the most effective type of influencer marketing is when it’s authentic sharing from the person and not driven by incentives or other artificial motivations. On social media, there is a unique opportunity to deepen the trust with influencers and increase the chances of capturing the right kind of earned media by engaging at the right place, right time. This doesn’t always have to be when an influencer is talking about the brand or sharing positive sentiment. Providing instruction in a time of need (e.g. an insurance company providing helpful advice to people in a town ravaged by a tornado) or adding to the conversation when it’s complimentary to the brand and fit for commentary (e.g. a beer brand providing grilling tips to people talking about outdoor barbeques) can be an incredibly effective way to build and deepen that trust with influencers. It’s sometimes tougher to measure, but ultimately, it’s trust that leads to brand recall, brand affinity, and repeat purchases.
As an example, an Earshot customer recently used real-time location + profile data + brand follow information + brand interaction rate to identify a specific type of influencer traveling through an airport for a brand-relevant surprise & delight campaign. The engagement was so successful that this influencer shared her experience across all of her social networks and spoke about it later that day at a conference where she was a keynote speaker. The effective reach was invaluable and it was the timing of the engagement that made all the difference – the engagement was helpful, timely, and the surprise & delight made this influencer’s travel experience better and connected to this major transportation brand.
The challenge is that it’s not only tough to find these influencers, but to find them at the right time and right place when timing can make such a big difference. Marketers must now take their influencer marketing strategy to the next level and leverage new tools that can stitch together different variables about the person, the real-time conditions, and the relationship between them for their specific brand. It’s no longer just follower count or Klout score that defines a true influencer on social media – brands now need to connect the dots on everything from the quality of their followers, the likelihood of that person sharing content, or if the person interacts with brands at all. Combining these specific data points about the person on social with insights on the post itself such as logo detection, location, and time of day become important in finding those moments to amplify the brands’ message.
The rise in ad blocking and the power of word of mouth marketing have given to a new rise to influencer marketing like never before, yet there are thousands of micro-influencers that brands still don’t even know about. They are on social media every day sharing their experiences directly or indirectly related to many of the brands they use. They may have a highly engaged audience, but they are hard to find and even harder to nurture a relationship with if not timed properly. Marketers must now look to find tools to zero in on these people of influence more quickly and easily so that the process of vetting becomes more efficient and they can engage during these moments in real-time. Combining everything from logo detection to location to the propensity to share is essential to mining the universe of social media to find the people and the moments that matter.
Over time, incentive-based relationships with influencers will become obvious and stale to their followers. The savvy consumer can see through it quickly and any endorsements fall on deaf ears. On the other hand, unplanned “moments” to connect with context happen every second of every day on social media and represent one of the most powerful ways to strengthen and grow any influencer marketing strategy. As influencer marketing continues to play an even bigger role for marketers in the coming years, one of the keys will be to discover and engage those influencers when the impact of messaging is strongest. This means having a 24/7 pulse on what is being said on social media so moments to engage are never missed whether it’s in direct response to a brand mention or less obvious opportunity to add value.
David Rush (@davidmrush) is the founder and CEO of Earshot, a social media marketing platform that enables brands to discover, prioritize, and engage customers in real-time. Learn more about Earshot at earshotinc.com and follow us on Twitter @earshotinc.