The Book - update, case studies and reviews

The Book is imminent, which in publishing terms means two weeks or so. It's due on the 3rd December in the UK, and 14th January in the US. Don't ask why...

The book's available for pre-order on various amazon sites. Because of the Christmas rush, we won't be doing much in the way of formal promo until January, though I am discussing some of the book's main themes at the CMO Summit next week, as an exclusive(!). I'm also at the Word of Mouth Marketing Forum in January.

One of the main features of the book is the use of case studies. We have twelve of them, and I've previously announced that Wipro, Adobe, Palm and Yahoo! are among them. I can now divulge that IBM and Nortel will also be included, along with several firms that declined to be identified for competitive reasons. More details on all the case studies is available here.

Finally, we're delighted to have had the book reviewed by a dozen or so CMOs and other notables. The book reviews are posted here, and will also feature on the book cover. We're really chuffed that so many took the time to read the draft and provide comments. Nick and I are indebted.

CMO Council Summit talk

I suppose these days I should refer to this as a "gig." But I just can't shake the image of rock stars in leather trousers. I digress.

I'm invited to address the CMO Council's Summit next week in Berlin - I'm in the after-dinner slot. It's a great opportunity to meet lots of Marketing chiefs in one place - should be a good event.

If you're going, let me know - perhaps we can hook up.

Spinfluencers

I'm directed by The Leading Edge to the Spinfluencer blog. "Spinfluencer" is a great name (wish I'd thought of it, damn you!), and it got me thinking about how the marketing industry (and PR in particular) is struggling to incorporate influencer strategies into their traditional kitbag of activities.

I think marketing has got an image problem. Sales people find marketing pointless or irrelevant most of the time. Customers are suspicious and mistrust what they're being told. And proving RoI on marketing spend remains, for most, a "one day, maybe" aspiration.

I trust the irony of marketing's dilemma is not lost...

So putting together our thoughts for the book, Nick and I wanted to distance ourselves from traditonal marketing. Influencer Marketing is all about making messages more believed (because they're communicated by influencers, not by you). It's about aligning marketing with sales. And it's about demonstrating RoI, tangibly. Holistically, Influencer Marketing is about changing the way that organisations think about marketing.

One thing that holds this all together is the understanding that influencers are different. You can't "pitch" to them - they're way too smart for that. You can't train them to say nice things about you - they're not amenable. And you can't pay them - because that undermines their influence and is thus counter-productive.

While the term "spinfluencer" is memorable it has, for me, all the wrong connotations. It implies traditional marketing, spin and fluff, and it reinforces the negative image of the industry. Any marketing or PR agency that wants to understand influencers should be moving away from this approach.

When I browsed the Spinfluencer blog I found it to be interesting, well-written and insightful. I recommend it. I just hope they don't regret choosing the name.

The "Wave" is picked up by Paul Gillin

I'm flattered that Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers, has linked to the post on influencer roles.

I've just read The New Influencers. I highly recommend it to anyone struggling to understand the influence of social media (which is most of you, and me too!). If Naked Conversations got you started on blogging, then The New Influencers will make you see just how important bloggers can be.

Thanks, Paul.

Influencers roles: When and how do influencers influence?

If you know anything about influencers you’ll know that they are a mixed bag. This of course means that they come from different disciplines and professions, since diversity is at the heart of a functional influencer ecosystem.

This diversity also extends to how and when influencers exert their influence. In researching the book, I charted a typical decision making process (because what we’re all trying to do is influence decisions) and then mapped out a range of influencer roles across this process. The result is this:

There’s a lot in this picture, but let me explain the various roles that influencers might play:

• Idea planters are the thinkers in your industry. These people ask “what if?” They are the sources of uncertainty. Authors and thinkers like Seth Godin, Tom Peters, Trevor Bayliss, and Nicholas Negroponte are all idea planters.


• Predictors tell us what (they believe) will be adopted soon. They ask “what next?” Much of this kind of influence comes from the supplier community, which is essentially telling us what’s next in their product pipeline. But this market priming is held in check by third parties such as analysts, financiers and other commentators such as bloggers and management gurus.


• Trend setters are the early adopters. They set themselves as reference points and create the direction for the rest of the market. They are important because they not only validate the market but also communicate success to the market. They are influential due to their early adoption, and the fact that they spread the news of their success.


• Proclaimers: Some influencers just stand up and proclaim that the world will be how they want it to be. They mandate (as far as they can) the what and how. Proclaimers most often work for government agencies and departments, regulators and legislators, or standards bodies, but may also include buyer groups or co-operatives, and industry commentators.


• Aggregators/communicators: One of the most important roles an influencer can play is that of information gatherer and disseminators. It’s where the media and analysts get the majority of their influence: their knowledge of the detail of the market allows them power as to who has access to that knowledge. Non-media aggregators/communicators might include events, industry commentators, buyer groups, government agencies, industry bodies and industry analysts.


• Scopers: At some point a definition of the decision to be taken has to be made. That’s the role of scopers, to map out the limitations, parameters and dimensions of the problem and its likely solutions. Scopers tell us “what now.”


• Recommenders suggest what you should do. They are sometimes, but not often, able to dictate a decision. Most often they will make their professional judgment known, and then leave the final decision up to the ultimate decision-maker. They are therefore usually somewhat passive in their influence, which is advisory in nature.


• Persuaders tell you what you must do. They are not passive at all, conveying precise direction rather than advice. These are your closers, salesmen in Gladwell’s terms, the people who are able to make or break a decision.


• Negotiators: Once the supplier is picked the fun begins. How are you going to implement the decision, and how much do you, or should you, pay? Cue the negotiators, who decide how and how much, advising on the financial elements of the deal, as well as the mechanics of how to construct a deal.


• Validators say “it’s okay,” and are the safety net for a decision-maker. Not the oft-perceived rubber stamp, they give any decision the health check, to make sure the decision-maker has covered all options. They can halt a deal, or send it circling back for additional scoping or negotiating.
  

Some key points:

• Roles can be played by different influencer types (analysts, journalists, academics, etc).


• One influencer could play several roles.


• Not all roles are played in every decision process.

The wave and its implications are explored in more detail in the book. We also map out overlap between influencer types (who they are) and influencer roles (what they do).

Use the Wave to examine how and when influencers influence. It’s proved useful in our influencer identification and engagement programs.

(Most of the content of this post is ©Elsevier 2008, usual copyright rules apply. Thanks.)

Daft question #3 - Are bloggers influential?

I get asked this all the time - are bloggers influential?

The only polite response I use is to answer with a question - "Influential on whom?"

In a client project we did earlier this year, there were zero influential bloggers (on UK CIOs in large enterprises).

In a case study for the book, there were dozen of influential bloggers (on tech-focused database administrators).

So the next time you see this sort of nonsense, ask yourself "Influential on whom?"

Then worry about how you might measure influence (clue: it's not the number of links...).

Nike’s influencers

The Journal reports on Nike’s use of influencers in training shoes (aka sneakers). Nike is well known for its use of celebrities to promote its products – Michael Jordan is the best example. But it’s the growing use of “under the radar” influencers that is interesting in the article.

Some observations:

• The use of influencers applies both to B2C and B2B markets. The influencers, and the engagement rules, may be different but the basic concepts are the same.
• The use of celebrities is fraught with risk: the article cites several cases where celebrity sponsorship has had to be pulled hastily when the celebrity misbehaves.
• It’s vital to know your market segment. Tattoo artists are hugely influential in some segments. Graffiti artists in other segments. Bloggers in others, still. Remember that influencers don’t travel well between segments, including geographic-based ones.

Most importantly, targeting influencers works.

On the diversity of influencers

At Influencer50 we bang on about different kinds on influencers and why the world has moved away from focusing on journalists and analysts. And we don’t just mean bloggers and other social media users, which represent only a small proportion of influencers (especially in B2B markets). We’ve identified over 20 different types of influencer and probably are still missing some.

But why does this matter? Clearly, it matters if there are influencers out there that you’re not in conversation with. But why do influencers come from numerous sources? Why is there no small group of “super-influencers” that dominate a sector?

The reason is that diversity within an influencer community improves the overall functioning of the wider market. Having diverse backgrounds and agendas (and opinions, more than likely) means that a cross-section of influencers’ perspectives is maintained, which is good for broad-based discussion. It also means that the influence of a few personalities can be kept in check, lest bias be introduced. This is particularly important in decision making.

It turns out that a market, or a decision-making unit, will seek out a diverse array of opinions because it’s the wise and safe thing to do. It shouldn’t be a surprise, therefore, that influencer communities are not dominated by journalists or analysts, or any other type of influencer.

What’s difficult is identifying the less-than-obvious influencers. Identifying analysts and journalists is too simplistic and misses the bigger picture.

There are a couple of reference works in this area: The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki is very accessible, and the recent article in HBR on The Wisdom of (Expert) Crowds by Robert S. Duboff is interesting too.