Recently, Grow co-founder Cassie Hughes and Esperanza Teasdale of PepsiCo Americas Beverages spoke at the Event Marketing Summit on the Power of Influence in launching, refreshing and extending brands.
Shortly before the conference, McKinsey and Company had made word of mouth marketing (and the power of influencers to ignite it) the topic of their Quarterly Newsletter, which we gave a nod to in our recent newsletter.
With 10% of the population credited with influencing the other 90% on what to purchase, consume and experience, it’s clear that effectively tapping that 10% can pay incredible dividends. The question on everyone’s mind when it comes to influencer marketing is – how do you know who is an everyday influencer?
It’s an important question, and the place where a lot of programs don’t deliver. The quality of any influencer program begins with the quality of the influencers themselves. Without thoughtful investigation and selection you could end up with what we have coined an “outfluencer.”
Let this excerpt from Cassie and Esperanza’s speech serve as a helpful guide to understanding the difference.
An ‘Everyday Influencer’ is someone who…
- Is recognized by their peers as those individuals who have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on
- Embodies and has a natural affinity for the brand, service and offering
- Has deep peer networks with which to share their experience
- Is truly passionate about being the first to discover something new and share that news with others
An ‘Everyday Influencer’ is NOT…
- Someone you have to pay to endorse your brand
- A handraiser who constantly wants to try new products for free
- A person who is repeatedly pulled from an overused database
