Graphic Arts Magazine July / August 2019 | Page 33

Feature density of their followers’ networks of social media contacts. It’s called the majority illusion. And it’s a paradox with an exponential multiplier effect. Here’s the math: An influencer with 100 followers who each have one connection each has a potential influence sphere of 100. But, an influencer with 50 followers who have ten connections each has an influence sphere of 500. It’s the density of the followers’ network – the reach - that is important, not the number of followers the influencer has. Good influencer characteristics are: Wide, loyal, active networks of followers. Have dense networks of Twitter followers, Facebook friends or heavy blog traffic. These follower networks amplify the influencer’s message. Credible content Influencers are recognized opinion leaders and good storytellers whose content strikes a chord with their audiences. Early adopters set trends, not fads Influencers are among the first to try new products, post authentic reviews and establish trends. Courtship To establish a sustainable relationship, businesses need to court an influencer. Spoiler Alert – if a business owner is just looking to create a spike in profits, don’t waste time looking for an influencer. Hire a viral celebrity, pay a king’s ransom and hope for a flash-in-the-pan spike in @graphicarts sales. Selecting the right influencer requires a slow, steady courtship − one that allows for each party to develop a mutual respect for the authority, cred- ibility and symbiotic benefits that will accrue to each party. It’s naïve to believe that joining forces with an influencer is an easy way into the pocketbooks of followers. It’s not that simple. For a business to ally with influencers or the influencer with a brand, trust and respect have to be earned. That all takes time. Forward-thinking companies treat social media influencers as brand ambassadors, not paid advertising. Social influencers can be bloggers, content creators, and micro-influencers. The fastest growing category is micro-influencers. They are everyday people who gained an online reputation as experts in their field. Using their abilities, knowledge and skill they write engaging, informative and truthful content about products that drive their devoted followers to change behaviour. Influencers create one-of-a-kind content and then share it with an audience they’ve painstakingly won over. Influencers invest time, money and creativity into this process. Some micro-influencers happily promote a brand for free, while others may charge a fee. It makes sense that influencers charge for their work of helping you deliver the per fec t custom-made message to your target market. Marriage Smart companies recognize that, once the ring is placed on the finger, the relationship still needs to be managed and cared for. Alice Audrezet and Gwarlann de Kerviler found that influencers appreciate it when their style and voice are taken seriously by the brand. They report that over time influencers become friends with the people in charge of the brands through a highly customized communi- cation. In many instances the brand and the influencer become synonyms. Like when people say they’re going to 'Xerox' a document instead of photocopying it. Maintaining a harmonious and productive relationship with influencers requires constant attention, knowing each other’s interests, strategies and goals. It also means tracking new social networking analyses that requires quantitative and qualitative performance metrics, such as referral traffic, brand awareness traffic, engagement rate, trackable links and conversion goals. Check out Socialbrite’s 14 Free Tools to Measure Your Social Influence. Influence: what it is and what it isn’t In 2017, Häagen-Dazs partnered with millennial lifestyle influencers in New York City to get conversations happening around ice cream. They did and it worked. Overall, the campaign generated 14.3 million impressions and 27,400 social engagements. That’s leverage. Influencer marketing is not one-off advertising. It’s about building a relationship that, when nurtured, increases profits. Caterina Valentino, PhD, is an Instructor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University and the Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University. She can be reached at [email protected]. GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | July / August 2019 | 33