It’s no secret that influencer marketing is a hot industry. It’s forecasted that influencer marketing will be a $10 billion industry by the year 2020. This means that many brands including your competitors are likely already implementing influencer marketing. So, with the marketplace being almost saturated, your brand really needs to stick out to make…
Influencer Marketing
Top 3 Influencer Marketing Problems of Today and How to Deal with Them
What are the issues plaguing influencer marketing this year? How can brands and marketers deal with such challenges? In this article, you’ll discover the top three influencer marketing problems that come with implementing an influencer marketing program and how to overcome them. #1: Fraudulent Social Media Activity & Fake Followers Fraudulent accounts today are overpopulating…
More Followers = More Sales and Other Influencer Marketing Myths
There are a lot of ways to start utilizing influencer marketing as part of your brand, and unfortunately, not all of them work as well as they could. As such, there are also a lot of myths floating around the emerging practice, and it’s really important to figure out what’s what before you devote time,…
Survey Results: How Influencers Want to Work with Brands
Influencer marketing is a hot segment of digital marketing. This strategy serves many purposes from creating brand awareness at scale to generating sales to earning visually driven media that can be used on your brands website, social, marketing materials, etc. Over 81% of consumers have reported making a purchasing decision based on a recommendation from…
The Definitive List of Influencer Marketing Tools
Whenever I speak on influencer marketing, I inevitably get asked: Are there any influencer marketing tools that can my life easier? After all the work involved in influencer identification alone could require a tremendous amount of time, especially once you understand my influencer marketing definition and its broad implications. And that is only the beginning…
How To Become A Social Media Influencer and Make Money From It
Believe it or not, a lot of marketers – and younger professionals – often ask me this question. So here you go, my advice on how to become a social media influencer, and following the advice below, actually make some money from it. Gone are the days when you have to leave the comforts of…
How Social Media Influence is Impacting Our Purchasing Decisions
Just how much influence do social networks have on our everyday lives? A lot, as many recent studies have shown. Social media reaches a vast pool of potential customers willingly sharing their locations, age ranges, and preferences that allow marketers to precisely aim their advertising campaigns at just the right demographic and area. Aside from…
The Definitive Guide to Instagram Affiliate Marketing
One of the ways in which influencers from all industries are trying to monetize their social media influence is through Instagram affiliate marketing. With Instagram becoming so popular globally and having an active and engaging audience, Instagram affiliate marketing is one of the top ways in which influencers can monetize their social media followings – 1…
What is Influencer Marketing? Your Definition is WAY Too Narrow: Influence is EVERYWHERE in Social Media
About a year ago, I announced that I would be writing my next book on influencer marketing The Business of Influence. But rather than creating a blog post about this new book, I created a campaign on Publishizer, a platform I highly recommend to anyone interested in writing a book. After selling hundreds of books…
The Influencer Marketing ROI of Creating and Publishing a Roundup Post
You’ve probably seen blog posts before saying, “10 Experts Choose Their Favorite Social Media Speaker” or “27 Influencers Share Their Favorite Influencer Marketing Book.” These are examples of what one would call a roundup post, and they are a powerful form of influencer marketing when strategically planned and implemented correctly, especially but not limited to…
An Insider’s Look at the Influencer Marketing Industry
Recently, I had the pleasure and honor with working together with one of the leading influencer marketing technology companies, OpenInfluence, one of eight leading platforms that were chosen by Pinterest to become official influencer marketing partners. The culmination of my work together with OpenInfluence was the co-creation of an ebook looking at how AI is revolutionizing…
The Struggle is Real: Finding Influencers That are Right for Your Brand
On the surface, influencer marketing seems simple enough. Find an online influencer, pay them some money and watch them drive new faces to your product. Of course, anybody who has ever tried influencer marketing knows that it is far easier said than done finding the right influencer for your brand. The truth is that not…
Free Influencer Marketing Ebook: How AI is Revolutionizing Influencer Marketing
Don’t want to read the whole post and just want to download the free influencer marketing ebook? No worries: Click here to download the free influencer marketing ebook right away! As I proceed forward in writing my book on influencer marketing, The Business of Influence, I continue to be amazed at how widespread influencer marketing…
Influencer Marketing is About Community, Not a Campaign
(this post first appeared on TechHQ here: http://techhq.com/2018/04/influencer-marketing-is-about-community-not-a-campaign/) The number one question I get asked from marketing executives as a social media speaker these days is all about influencer marketing, so much that I have decided to dedicate writing a book on the topic (The Business of Influence) because I believe influencer marketing is one of the least…
How to Easily Find and Connect with Influencers on Twitter
Why connect with influencers? Have you ever heard the expression that sometimes one plus one equals three? It’s bad math but a great concept that can help you grow your business or personal brand fast. When you combine your efforts with someone else in your niche – not a competitor but someone with a similar…
Fake News: The Hidden Face of Influence Marketing
The dark industry of fake news In 2017, ¨fake news¨ was voted the word of the year by the Collins dictionary. No wonder, in recent years it is one of the most popular ¨buzzwords¨ on the Web and social networks. This is not a recent phenomenon. Trump did not invent the tactics of false news,…
20 Influencer Marketing Trends to be Realized by 2020
The risky challenge of social media predictions for influencer marketing trends When you write a monthly column on a platform of professional bloggers, you’re called on to make predictions. It can be a very risky adventure. However, if we look at the changes that are taking place and the emerging trends, it’s possible to get…
Deciphering the Five Levels in the Pyramid of Influence in Influencer Marketing
Sometime ago I began to develop my own version of Maslow’s hierarchical pyramid of needs, adapted to social media. My goal was to be able to identify more precisely when influencers stand out and reveal themselves in the learning and adoption curve of social networks and different platforms, and in doing so create a modern…
How the Value of Influencer Marketing Brings True ROI to Your Business
The value of Influencer Marketing has significant and tangible benefits for business and is not a trend that will fade away anytime soon. Brands are a singular entity amongst hundreds of millions of users in social media. It can be a lonely and somewhat depressing experience when you can’t create any traction on social. Instead…
The Evolution of Influencer Marketing in Social Media
In April, I highlighted the 5th anniversary of my contribution to this blog. An important milestone in my career that I wanted to mention because it shows me once again that blogs prove to be a key influential marketing tool. This key that allowed me to open many doors of digital marketing, and develop a…
Confluence Marketing : The Convergence Of Content And Influence
The Yin and Yang of Digital Marketing Today, content marketing and relationships with influencers form a winning combination. They’re an inseparable pair for businesses and organizations. The relevance of the content allows brands to stand out on social networks. The quality of the relationship with influencers favors a better distribution and message reception with targeted…
The Gap Between Influencer Marketing and Sponsored Reviews
More than 75% of brands and companies recently surveyed indicate they will increase their budget for content production and influencer marketing. However, influencer marketing has suddenly become so popular, to the point of becoming the most overused ¨buzzword¨ of the year. There seems to be some confusion between sponsored reviews campaigns with strategies for optimizing…
How Affiliate Marketing for Fashion Brands Helps the Fashion Industry Stay Ahead of the Game
For marketing planning, it’s always wise to pay close attention to trends and influencer marketing strategies in the fashion industry as it tends to have to adapt quickly and stay ahead of the curve. With the nature of how fashion works, the industry has to change faster and responds quicker to trends than other verticals…
The Rise of Niche and Micro Influencers
Micro influencers are on the rise – and they are proving to be a boon to the influencer marketing industry. The Identity Crisis of Influencer Marketing Over the past few years, influencer marketing has become one of social media biggest buzzwords. This trend has literally ignited businesses and agencies. In the wake of the tremendous…
How Marketers are Calculating Influencer Compensation Based on Performance
As a marketer have you ever been given a price for a piece of influencer created content that has made you nervous? Have you flinched at paying for a piece of content that hasn’t been created yet or have worried that your spend may not pan out like you hope? Determining a win-win influencer compensation…
Ten Influencer Marketing Predictions That Will Rule the Future
What will change? Every fall, when it comes to the statistics, I realize how the performance predictions and undersanding influencer marketing trends are challenging. In the era of digital Darwinism, no one can accurately predict what will happen. A crystal ball does not exist, and there are no shortcuts. All we can do is observe…
Why Affiliate Marketing is Influencer Marketing’s New Best Friend
A few months ago I was consulting with a client who told me that they were giving their influencers individualized links to track their performance and then were paying the top performers. I said, “oh so you’re implementing affiliate marketing?” The client said, “no that is spammy this isn’t spammy.” That was kind of a…
The Five Pillars You Need to Understand for Influencer Marketing Success
The rise of the influence of connected consumers is key to influencer marketing success. Over the years, with the proliferation of social platforms and apps available on the Web, communications and marketing have experienced radical changes. Connected consumers, now better informed are forcing companies to adopt less invasive approaches to inbound marketing and social selling….
How to Supercharge Influencer Marketing Engagement with Your Content
While many companies are spending budget money “buying” relationships with “influencers” chasing KPIs of “social reach,” others (including myself) are including the concepts of influencer marketing in their day-to-day organic social media and content marketing activities. This is done through the simple concept of utilizing content to engage with social media users. Once you understand…
6 Influencer Marketing Challenges Facing Public Relations Departments
Over the last 20 years, the rise of the Web and the emergence of social media has fundamentally changed the role of public relations (PR). To regain the confidence of consumers, who trust peer – to – peer recommendations (P2P) and expert opinions more than publicity, organizations and brands must now appeal to influencers to…
Climbing Up the Social Media Influence Ladder
The Emergence of Social Media Influencers Twenty-five years after the advent of the World Wide Web, the Internet, and social media are omnipresent in our society. They influence how we operate and our behaviors in most aspects of our daily lives; from home to school, work to personal relationships and leisure. There’s a transfer…
Influencers: Paid or Earned Media?
Influencer marketing has never been more popular with businesses and organizations. Consumers no longer trust the brand or media and corporations. Marketers and public relations people have understood the importance of going through the influencers to reach their customers again. However, entrepreneurs and leaders of corporations still misunderstand the role and function of influencers. The…
Does Your Influencer Marketing Strategy have a Content-Centric Approach?
Influencer marketing and content marketing: Two key areas that will continue to see increased budget spend for companies of all sizes. While businesses are struggling to get greater ROI from their spend in these areas, one easy way of getting more bang for your buck is to think of combining the two seemingly different concepts…
How to Reach Out to Social Media Influencers and Bloggers – Podcast Ep. 120
Today I want to talk about how to reach out to social media influencers, bloggers, and anyone else you want to cover your story. It’s important to remember that these social media influencers are busy people, and you’re asking them to take time to use your product, and maybe even tweet or write about it –…
Six Steps to Strategically Building an Influencer Marketing Program
Welcome to the era of Influencer Marketing. The rise of social media has allowed more people to share more information to a wider audience. This paved the way for a new breed of celebrities: The digital influencers. Today, with virtually everyone using social media for a variety of purposes, any one of us might influence someone…
What I Learned About Blogger Outreach from Surveying 4,000 Bloggers
I recently published the results of a survey in which I reached out to 4,000 bloggers and gathered their perspective on their role in influencer marketing. This information has been very valuable for all influencer marketing professionals because it’s not very often that you get outreach advice from the people you want to team up with…
12 Subject Lines for Better Blogger Outreach
One of the biggest pain points in blogger outreach is getting the attention of the bloggers you know are the perfect fit for your brand. If you follow this blog or the content I write on blogger outreach you should be all caught up on the best practices in pitching bloggers. But, one of the things…
Companies are Embracing Influencer Marketing [Report]
![Companies are Embracing Influencer Marketing [Report]](https://i0.wp.com/nealschaffer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Companies-are-Embracing-Influencer-Marketing-Report-1200x630-V1.jpg?resize=225%2C118&ssl=1 "Companies are Embracing Influencer Marketing [Report]")
State of Influencer Engagement – New Study by Augure on Companies Using Influencer Marketing For the second consecutive year, Augure has just published the results of its annual study on the state and the practices of influencers relations. Over 600 professionals in communications and marketing, in 32 countries and 30 industries, participated, and it shows…
The Pyramid of Relationships with Social Media Influencers
Last year at this time, I began to present some online elements of my new book: Generation C – Influencer Marketing at the Digital Age, which has just been published (in French*) at Editions Kawa in France. Starting with the centerpiece: The Pyramid of Building Relationships with Influencers in Social Media, corresponding to the five…
The Fast Growing Influence of the Social Media Ambassador
In 2014, the concepts between ambassadors and influencers in social media have found themselves, now more than ever, central to the concerns of businesses and brands. With traditional marketing failing to reach customers and make an impact, marketing agencies, and public relations began to appeal to influencers and ambassadors, hoping to generate word-of-mouth and get…
Draw Me a POEM: Define Media Influence
To stand out in the age of social media, companies should focus their strategies on content and influence online marketing, and aim to position themselves among the influencers in their area. As traditional advertising has little impact and the recommendations of peer-to-peer prevail, companies must focus on the quality of their content to reach the…
Three Major Challenges of Influence Marketing for Companies
A study by Augure PR Communications & Marketing (France) on influencer marketing for companies Earlier this year, I was approached by the PR communications and digital marketing firm Augure, in France, to participate in a study on influencer marketing for companies. This comprehensive study, conducted among nearly 650 marketing professionals and communications in the world,…
How To Define Influence In Social Media
From Machiavelli to Robert Cialdini, the notion of influence has continued to fascinate the general public and professionals alike. Even thought leaders have analyzed and scrutinized the concept hundreds of times over, but its definition is always dependent on the context in which it’s being used. So how to define influence in social media today?…
Influencers vs Brand Ambassadors: What is the True Value of Influencer Marketing?
At a time when the biggest social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest) are starting to make a move towards e-commerce, the value of influencer marketing is more than ever a major issue for most companies. Traditional advertising barely has an impact on purchasing and word of mouth and peer recommendations (P2P) have emerged…
Social Media Influence: Understanding the New Generation C
Generation C and User Influence To understand what’s at stake when considering the influence of social media, companies and organizations must first try to understand user motivation. In the era of social networks and mobile communications, new Internet users are taking the reins of a new economic power; this power belongs to Generation C. This…
What’s The Meaning of a Klout Score? The Pros and Cons of How Social Influence is Measured
Almost six months ago I blogged that marketers would decide on the fate of Klout. However, with the continued buzz about Klout scores that I hear from new and potential social media consulting clients, as well as the continued presence of its main competitor PeerIndex and the emerging metric for influence Kred, the debate over…