How to Unlock the Power of Influencer Marketing

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Amanda Russell is a university professor, speaker, marketing strategist, and author. She joins the Social Pros Podcast to share her wide-ranging experience and expertise in influencer marketing.

Her fantastic insights include what influencer marketing is vs. what it isn’t, the common mistakes businesses make, and how to get influencer marketing right.

Amanda shares the three top misconceptions people have about influencer marketing including what it is and the best way to use it to boost your brand. She also challenges the idea that social media = influencer marketing. She says that just because someone is a content creator does not mean they are just an influencer.

“The core of marketing is understanding people and what drives them to action. Influence is the ability to get the desired action or behaviour.” – @InfluencercodeU

“If you have the culture in place, then you can breed as many advocates, ambassadors, fans, lovers of the brand as possible and they’re all going to be walking billboards.” – @InfluencercodeU

“It’s so easy to say, these are all the greatest people that we should align with, then it’s a really different thing to form those relationships.” – @InfluencercodeU

What’s your one tip for becoming a social pro? Amanda’s top tip is to invest in the power of people and to add value. She says if you do something nice for someone, they’ll remember you months down the line. They’re much more likely to reciprocate and forge a connection. If you could do a Skype call with any living person, who would it be? Amanda would pick Queen Elizabeth because “there’s something about the life she’s had to lead.” She thinks it would be interesting to hear how she really thinks, knowing all the bureaucracy and politics because “she has never said a word one way or the other.”