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6 Types Of Influencers And How To Identify A 'True' Influencer

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I recently interviewed Tamara McCleary, a leading influencer of CMOs, on how China is leveraging influencer marketing to drive awareness in a more effective and efficient way than the West—which focuses on advertising (see article here). To follow-up, McCleary provides insight below on how marketers can do a better job of finding real influencers and leveraging them.

Kimberly Whitler: How do you identify a true influencer?

Tamara McCleary: Who are they engaging with and who engages with them? So, as a marketer for products and services, we could have the most amazing product, but if nobody knows us, then we won’t succeed. How do you get to be known? Engaging with influencers who are connected to the consumers of the products and services that you are trying to target. Today, we can identify this and measure this, and anybody managing marketing should be doing that analysis. And this is what the Chinese understand. Their primary vehicle for driving both awareness and consideration is influencers.

Whitler: How are influencers different from other types of individuals? For example, I’m invited to a lot of CMO events and at these events there are a number of different types of individuals: CMOs who speak (e.g., the CMO of a well-known company will present), service provider leaders (e.g., IBM), industry analysts (e.g., Gartner), industry experts (e.g., CEO of some trade organization) and others. Are all of these individuals the same in terms of the value they create? How are influencers different?

McCleary: I love your question Kim, because not all “influencers” are created equal. We’ve all been to those conferences that try to harness the power of social equity through bringing in the big brand speaker, and interestingly enough, the person in the high level role at the big brand. I caution any executive who is living their influencer status solely through their title and brand; what happens if they change jobs through choice or non-choice? Of course, true celebrities don’t have to worry about this, but what about the CEO, CMO, CIO, CDO, CXO, etc., who isn’t a celebrity but maintained that feeling while connected to their role and the celebrity brand? It’s imperative that we think of influencers and thought leaders as the people behind the influence. How is an individual a thought leader beyond their title and brand? What do they bring to the party so-to-speak? And speaking of what an influencer brings to the party, influencers come in all shades across a spectrum of thought leadership. Here are a few examples of the differences and variability between influencers.

1. The Celebrity: Massive audience. May possess great cache from title, and brand. It’s not who they know, it’s who knows them. Celebrities don’t have to engage, people flock to them. Think Will Smith, Richard Branson, etc.

2. The Journalist: Audience through content and publishing. Their influence is through delivering trusted content and or opinions. Think of your favorite journalists, publications you read.

3. The Industry Expert: For the expert influencer, size really doesn’t matter. It’s quality of audience. They may have a small following, but a highly engaged following. The Expert wields much influence with their audience through perceived value of their insight, guidance, and expertise.

4. The Analyst: May or may not have a large number of followers, and may have thought leadership cache for brand and title held. (Think Gartner Analyst here… but if they’re not cultivating their thought leadership beyond the Gartner brand, it might dissolve once they leave the cache of the organization.) Thought leadership for an analyst influencer is built through delivering on a persona of a trusted mentor or consultant with specialized knowledge from an inside source.

5. Stellar Personal Brand: Massive audience built over time. Wields influence through trusted relationships with their audience. Extremely powerful thought leadership as personal brands are built around meticulous. These influencers are influential by the trust they have built.

6. Malcom Gladwell’s “Connector”: A formidable influencer based on long-term helping relationships. The Connector knows everyone and everyone knows them. The Connector influencer-type brings great value through connections they have made and will continue to make.

An influencer may possess more than one type of thought leadership. For instance, a Celebrity might also be an Expert, or an Expert might also have a very strong Personal Brand.

To circle back to the original question, influence comes in a variety of packages so it behooves organizations and event coordinators to attract, engage, and utilize a variety of influencers. It’s a mistake to fill all of your keynote slots with celebrities, as much as it is to fill your stage with only experts. In the end, it’s important to evaluating what you hope to accomplish and deliver. A celebrity might put butts in seats, but influencers who come with potent personal brands, or connectors with connections, will keep the conversation and the momentum going about your brand beyond the event and the stage. When we talk about the power of diversity, I can think of nothing more powerful than harnessing the potency of a diverse group of influencers to get the word out in the most profound, long-lasting and satisfying way.

Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler and @TamaraMcCleary