Influence Now – How to Influence Small Business - Wing Digital Marketing
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This week, Wing Digital Marketing‘s fourth, #InfluenceNow Twitter Chat saw us tackle the topic of just how to influence small business.
The chat takes part weekly, Thursdays, 4pm UK time, 10am Central USA, and 12pm Brazil (that’s where we reside) and allows participants to drop-in and out of the chat as they please.
As the questions are posted onto our founder’s Twitter account, we simultaneously share the questions on the Wing Digital Instagram account in the form of Stories, and also, in a trial, as a video on TikTok.
Here’s the round-up from our discussion.
“This is something of a leading Q, we know, but the simple answer is YES. #influencermarketing is a marketing avenue and for small enterprises, it can make a massive difference. Trust in the research and trial within your budget” David Wing
“Of course, influence marketing scales or de-scales to any business size. The channel will be different, though. Facebook group or email list is more appropriate for a local audience” Cyril Coste
“Good point about channels being different. That can vary a lot depending on the business and where their audience(s) are located” Tom Augenthaler
“Absolutely. Use the search feature in every social platform to see who’s who within your area/town/city!” Evan Kirstel
“Reach, content, engagement, thought leadership, referral marketing, likes, shares, video creation, website traffic, social selling …. Need I go on?” Evan Kirstel
“You’d think not, but I feel we need to keep highlighting the benefits for the fearful” David Wing
“Agree with Evan Kirstel, in addition, a trusted influencer will bring credibility” Cyril Coste
“Agreed. Credibility is a big issue and not everyone understands that. Most big brands had to build credibility over time. #influencers can help do this” Tom Augenthaler
“It’s incredibly easy. Private DM or public @ mention! We are actually listening, unlike many brands” Evan Kirstel
!That’s how I started, back in the day. A polite DM that intros you, your biz and requirements” David Wing
“Polite AND professional being key attributes to these DMs. Also, let’s not forget email. If you can locate the influencer’s email address, it is usually one of the most reliable ways to interact with them”.” Tom Augenthaler
“100%, as long as you follow the steps. Nothing is ever guaranteed as a success, but as with Ads and other marketing efforts, incremental positioning based on planning will set you on the right path” David Wing
“Yes, it is. But don’t just jump into it without a plan. Know who you want to influence (your ICPs) and know which influencers are followed by those audiences. Then have a clear, defined objective along with a simple strategy to attain it. You’ll be good” Tom Augenthaler
“Influencer marketing is effective for anyone/everyone! If you own a laundromat someone in your town, likely a student, is a potential influencer with a large social audience! Plus will work for quarters ;-)” Evan Kirstel
“Not as many as really should, and I’ll tell you why…they don’t understand the benefits. They fear the time and money they would need to invest. Take an hour out of your week, google the industry, the ABCs and form an opinion of #influencermarketing” David Wing
“Consumer companies work with #influencers a lot. Think beauty, fashion, and travel. Just look at IG. On the #b2b side, some do (but not enough) and more are getting interested in it” Tom Augenthaler
“Not many. 2 main reasons: Stigma associated with B2C influencers and all the negative press coverage. But B2B is not B2C! Inability to calculate the ROI of a B2B influencer marketing campaign. This is where it’s important to work with experts in this domain” Cyril Coste
“Identify your potential influencers – Ensure their audience matches your target – Build a community with them – Experiment collaborations with them and adjust” Cyril Coste
“No matter what you choose, be clear about it. Most small biz want brand awareness, brand affinity, demand gen or lead gen. Your influencers, strategy and tactics will differ depending on what you choose” Tom Augenthaler
“They differ for each business, but #brandawareness is a solid start, especially for a startup brand. After that, you build. #InfluenceNow” David Wing
“They say ‘Be where your customers are’, so look around and see who’s interested in similar products to those you sell, which social media they prefer and build a brand presence based on your customer’s location” David Wing
“If you’re on a few platforms then assess the current state of engagement you have with your community on each. What works for your competitor may not work for you so get comfortable with reviewing your own social media marketing data each month” Chloe
“What social platforms do your current customers use? What social platforms do your target prospects use? The best way to know is to ask them!” Cyril Coste
“Small, to start with. As the stats start to tell the story, reinvest, expand and grow. On average, businesses and brands earn $5.20 for every dollar they spend on influencer marketing – @NealSchaffer#InfluenceNow” David Wing
“And if you think about the other benefits from collaborating with influencers, such as sourcing user-generated content as well as getting invaluable feedback, the ROI for some might be much higher!” Neal Schaffer
“I always tell brands who want to start an influencer program to test and learn! There is no need for a big budget to launch and test a program. Once you have identified how to make the program successful then, you can scale” Cyril Coste
Thank for reading our week 4, #InfluenceNow twitter chat review.
If you found this blog post useful, let us know in the comments and don’t forget to tune-in for Week 5 #InfluenceNow @djwing_wing where we’ll be discussing how Employee Advocacy with special guest, Andrew Seel.
