Organic influence is rarely addressed on this whole influencer relations spectrum. Most of the relationships brands have with influencers is all about the paid opportunity.
You know, when a fairly large brand hires influencers to stump for that brand and the influencer gets paid to do so? There has to be a disclaimer for that or else the FTC will breathe down the necks of brands and influencers, too.
That said, P&G launched a huge influencer campaign with mommy bloggers. The brand was touting its new diaper and moms were all over it. Turns out the diaper wasn't working and babies behinds were getting painful rashes. Ouch. P&G turned it up a notch and enlisted support from an entire cadre of mommy bloggers to listen and turn it all around.
That's a good paid influencer story.
What's a good organic influencer story? In this episode of The Heart of Marketing, Jayme Soulati shares her story about becoming an influencer in public relations via development of her personal brand as a blogger. You'll hear about how that happened and the result.
This influencer thing? It's all the rage right now, and in Episode 86, we share some good thoughts about the topic, too. In this episode, we give a shout out to Mark W. Schaefer and his cohost Tom Webster on The Marketing Companion podcast who just realized the fun of audio emojis. John Gregory Olson is the KING of audio emojis and has been doing them for exactly 87 episodes!
When you listen, think of what we say as this:
1. Does my business need a boost with an outside influencer to help share stories about my brand to their customers who may become mine?
2. Do I have a budget to spend on a paid influencer campaign?
3. Can I do organic influence based on my ability to parlay my personal brand throughout a wider net?
If you're stuck with this whole influencer thing, give us a shout. We can help you on the show with some thoughts because 3 heads are better than 1!
This episode of The Heart of Marketing with John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati explores the circle of influence, that old-new buzzword coming back and remaining in vogue.
Back in the day, when social media was nascent, Klout took control of influence. Then folks began to dissect this gamification as foul. Triberr roared with bloggers and an influence program that paid bloggers to write for startups and brands wanting more clout. Kred was born to compete with Klout, and ohmygoodness, each of these three still exist but are mere shadows.
Then Facebook reared its _____ head (you fill in the blanks), to adjust its algorithm (surprise!) again by putting friends and family first at the chagrin of publishers.
What that means is the need to develop an influencer campaign.
If you'd like to learn more about what that looks like or even means for your business, listen in.
We'll take a look at:
1. Vetting an influencer
2. Disclaimers for influencers you hire
3. What does influencer mean, really
4. Some tips on launching such a campaign
5. Why you may consider it
Think about your colon health. This episode is about that. If you're 50, you know you're supposed to have a baseline colonoscopy about that time, right?
Well, hats off to the makers of Nolan The Colon, a 20 ft. inflatable colon wending its way to a venue near you.
Traditional public relations (PR) has always worked, but it got put aside during the onset of digital marketing. Now that we're in the post-social media era (where social media is no longer new and it's become integrated into the rest of the marketing world), marketers and public relations professionals need to be creative again and use the media tour, the event strategies, and the unique to entice consumers to pay attention.
It's all about clutter right now, and when an event strategist uses good old public relations, hat's off!
Jayme Soulati is a veteran PR professional and John Gregory Olson is a digital marketer who integrates all the blended marketing into his campaigns. Together they are The Heart of Marketing, and this podcast would not be alive and well without you.
Listen in for ideas you may want to consider for your business, whether or not it's health oriented or not. Because, consumers like a walk through a polyp-littered colon, right?
Bet you didn't know that gems in this case means the real deal -- baubles, jewels, and even more to the point -- engagement rings!
There's a young man disrupting the traditionally stodgy jewelry industry with his house calls, custom designs based on storytelling the romance, intricate one-of-a-kind wedding sets for the bride and groom, and an infusion into the family jewelry business (we hasten a guess).
Zameer Kassam is a millennial with a Harvard Business School education. Slated to jump into his family jewelry business, he decided to sow his oats elsewhere. But, his designer mentality beckoned, and he began designing custom engagement rings for friends who took his nuptual business viral. You know how word of mouth works, right?
Assam is bucking all the traditional roadblocks and taking the customer experience to the comforts of home. Using imagery, stories, interviews, and video all in the name of love, Kassam is developing a customer experience for life. He'll not only get the wedding ring to design, but what happens when it's the 10-year-anniversary, when the babies are born and when it's Mother's Day?
Probably the most uncomfortable customer experience for a man is having to open that door into a jeweler for the first time to find the engagement ring. POUNCE! The poor guy is assaulted by lurking sales professionals wanting to lure him into an expensive bauble with no prior knowledge.
Enter Kassam. He's taken the jewelry-buying experience to new and comfy heights. The professionals writing about him suggest it's a new way to do PR.
I disagree, but not so much in this episode. We in PR have been telling stories for years; it's just the packaging of the storytelling that makes people think it's new.
Thumbs up for Kassam, for sure. He's finally disrupting an industry so staid and old guard that hopefully those guys will sit up and take note. It's about time.
How can your business disrupt the tried, true and tired? Think on it as you listen to this week's episode of The Heart of Marketing with John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati.
Thanks for listening!
Resources
Read the Forbes post on Kassam's story.
A Word of Mouth episode to learn more about viral marketing.
We owe Christopher Beam, a journalist with Bloomberg BusinessWeek great applause for his story, Ancient Branding Secrets of The Shaolin Temple, that provides the core of today's episode on The Heart of Marketing.
Jayme Soulati and John Gregory Olson take a reverse look at media relations from the perspective of the journalist as he shares the story about Shi Yongxin and his escapades to turn a small monastery in China, The Shaolin Temple, into a tourist attraction in Australia.
The commercialization of culture could be the crisis communications story because Yongxin does everything wrong and gets caught in the process (yet his plan continues). The story is so fascinating and Jayme intended to share the elements of national news you need to know before earning a story in BusinessWeek or the Wall Street Journal.
This episode shares more tips for companies and business owners about the pitfalls of being targeted by media to tips for preparation should it happen. Jayme, a former media relations agency pro in Chicago's PR firms, talks about story elements, whether the media can be trusted, how social media is a negative during scandal, and more.
Resources
IKEA and the New Rules of News
Everyone’s a publisher today, but not everyone is an expert at earned media. In my Chicago agency days, I sold news. I was considered a PR flack by the journalists who hated me (yes, they really did). Each of us newbies had to call George Lazarus, may he rest in peace, of the Chicago Tribune advertising column and feel his wrath. After that, we had arrived; but I digress.
IKEA announced it has added veggie balls to its menu, and in the Wall Street Journal a tremendously large photo of the new menu item was featured alongside an equally large story.
Why was IKEA, a privately held Swedish corporation, featured so prominently? Because it has all of the elements required for an international story in tier-one media, including:
1. international scale
2. Data and research in multiple countries
3. Trends (foods going vegan)
4. Size of company and revenue
5. Futures perspective and roll-out
Other news stories may not have these elements to become hot news; however, when you’re exploring distribution of a news release, many of these factors should come into play.
As my co-host, John Gregory Olson of JGO Digital said so eloquently, “Public relations is no longer about seeing a company’s thought leader on TV, it’s about buyer connectivity.”
That’s the crux of the disruption in public relations that I’ve been living and breathing since 1984. It’s always going to be an exciting time in marketing, so carpe diem and put your best foot forward for yourself and your company.
About the Co-Hosts
I am Jayme Soulati, president of Soulati Media, Inc., a blended public relations marketing firm with national clients. I am a message mapping master, professional blogger, writer and strategist,
John Gregory Olson is my co-host on The Heart of Marketing podcast, and he is the consummate digital marketer and keen strategist and planner. He has corporate and agency experience and now as CEO of JGO Digital, John rescues organizations from poor marketing.
Resources
IKEA Media Relations on a Slow News Day