COMM0014 – Blog #4 – Problem solved.

Earlier this year, Amanda Lindhout was invited as a guest speaker at work. After going through her her biography in the event invitation, I felt the urge to read her book before she would come. Since I read at an extra slow speed, I decided to look for the audio book version on Audible . In only 2 days I managed to “read” the book, just in time before her visit. My reading speed was not an issue anymore; problem solved.

My picture of Amanda Lindhout used in a Social Media post from work on Facebook.

I was hooked. Suddenly my commute was more enjoyable, and I could go through a book in less than 6 months! While I was not very keen on another monthly subscription, Audible’s initial offer was very generous; 3 audiobooks for free over 3 months.

They followed up with an email strategy that worked where other had failed; they were sending me personalized suggestions of book to read with the possibility of sampling them. With over 5 millions followers on the Audible’s Canadian Facebook page, they are truly engaging with their audience effectively. In this article from Mediakix , they explain how Audible is using Influencer in marketing campaigns on Instagram and Youtube to encourage new clients to try Audible and feed the discussion. Audiobooks are like movies in a sense that they are easy to share and comment on and the company can easily afford to have influencers do that for them.

Personalized suggestion from Audible received via email

When my offer came to an end, I decided quit to save money. Once again, they had an offer that was hard to resist and to this day I am still with them and have gone through many books since. I believe their marketing is very effective and not aggressive but yet generous. At least it works for me…

Here are a few of the books I have been listening to. Which one was your favorite?

Can’t hurt me – David Goggins 

A house in the sky – Amanda Lindhout

Here I am – Alan Huffman

The Operator – Robert O’Neil

 

The power of influencer marketing: your low cost marketing alternative

“Influencer marketing is a form of marketing in which focus is placed on influential people rather than the target market as a whole on social media. It identifies the individuals who have influence over potential customers, and orients marketing activities around these influencers. “ – Wikipedia

What’s in it for both parties?

Influencers crave the limelight and love to be able to give their loyal following discount codes while trying new activities, but brands definitely benefit equally.
Can you imagine having an entire influencer’s reach with just the cost of sending your product, not to mention having that user generated content and positive, authentic word of mouth buzz? I follow a few influencers in my area because I find them fascinating but I can see the followers join to take part in cross promotional giveaways and stay to follow along with their adventures.

92% of consumers say they trust word-of-mouth or recommendations from friends & family above all advertising” – Nielsen

Microinfluencers

From Barette Wissman’s 2018 article “Micro Influencers: The Marketing Force of The Future”, a micro influencer“ is “Someone who has anywhere between 10,000 and 500,000 followers on social media channels. It’s not necessarily the number of followers as much as how engaged that audience is. Micro-influencers have specific niche audiences and are deeply connected to them.” which makes their influence so powerful.

Even I have witnessed the influencer effect with my 600 fans through the use of Instagram stories. For my 15^th work anniversary I did 15 fun outings; one of which was trying acrobatic yoga at Ottawa Circus School. In response to my recap of the experience in a short video and a couple images, I had several friends and random followers message me asking for details and saying they wanted to go too. Imagine I was sponsored by the school and also had a discount code – how many of my followers would have jumped on it. (pun intended!)

Where to find influencers?

Are you a brand looking for someone to shout from the roof tops about your brand? A great place to start is with hashtags. Follow relevant hashtags, see what kind of audience a potential influencer has and if their following is your target demographic.
It’s easy to vet if they’d be a good fit by sending one product and measuring the success of those mentions. It’s also a great way for both parties to benefit from the cross promotion and reach of each other’s audience.

The value of digital marketing has blown traditional advertising out of the water, and at such an affordable cost, making it easier for smaller businesses to take advantage as well.

If you weren’t familiar with influencer marketing before, how do you think influencers help build brands, and as a company would this be an approach to marketing you would try?

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Facebook: The Power of Influencer marketing, your low cost marketing alternative that you probably haven’t tried yet: https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/2019/04/02/influencer-marketing/

Twitter: influencer marketing; your affordable untapped opportunity to reach your target market https://bit.ly/2V9TCHQ #influencer #socialmediamarketing