Marketers trying to boost their earned media online are on the hunt for influencers, those customers who are ready and willing to spread the word to others about products and services. According to “The Influencer: A Consumer Voice with Legs,” a white paper from ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting, this key group of customers is most identifiable not by demographics but by behavior.
Influencers exist across age, gender and income breakdowns, and they do not interact with any particular media channel differently from the average user. The characteristic they share instead is the desire to talk to others about their experience with products and services.
Influencers were more likely than the general market to say others frequently took their advice and that it was fun to get people to try new products. They looked for new experiences, liked to know about new products first, and told their friends when they had problems with a brand.
The report described influencers’ desire to participate in word-of-mouth as “inherent,” and noted that influencers often restricted themselves to talking about only those product categories that were personally important to them. For example, a new child gets moms interested in the baby products category, and they go on to become passionate advocates within that category.
Social media marketers may hope to get influencers on board as online brand advocates, but most word-of-mouth still happens offline. Coupons and offers are one way to help bring influencers’ message to the Web.
“Marketers should target who they want to reach, examine the various channels and then integrate the two to assure they are hitting all touch points,” the report said. “For example, since influencers like to talk person-to-person, direct mail may be a highly effective method for getting your physical message from the influencers to their networks—while still being able to direct their interaction with your brand in a way that meets your goals, that is, drive them to your corporate Website or Facebook page.”
