Influencer Marketing: 10 Questions for Successful Plans

I do not want you to buy my product. I do not even want you to use my product. I want other people to buy and use my products and services because of you.

Influencer marketing is fundamentally different. You are marketing to individuals that influence a decision made by someone else and your goal is to see that influence benefit you.

So how do you plan and measure an influencer marketing program? Here are 10 questions that will help refine your goals, the barriers marketing needs to overcome and how you can measure your campaign. From there, you can begin to develop your strategy and plan.

Question mark made of puzzle piecesWhat other key discovery questions would you add? These are questions I have developed through my work with clients over the last few years and I believe they area a good starting point. However, they are far from complete and welcome your additions or refutations in the comments below.

Your Target and Goal

  1. Who do you ultimately want to influence?
  2. Who are the people (influencers) that will influence your ultimate target audience?
  3. How do you want them to use their influence?

Influencers can range from individuals recognized within their personal networks for their expertise or opinion to journalists and analysts that may move an entire market. Multiple groups of influencers should be treated individually through all of these discovery questions.

Each type of influencer has different limits in how they will use their influence. For instance, journalists and analysts will rarely become vocal advocates in their area of expertise. Their influence stems in part from maintaining the perception of providing an unbiased perspective, which vocal advocacy undermines.

Your Marketing Challenge

  1. Why are they not already using their influence this way?
  2. How are they using their influence today?

Your core challenge is to change the way this group of people uses their influence today.

Influencer Insights

  1. What influences your target influencers?
  2. What is the basis for their influence?
  3. When is their input welcomed or sought out?

Measurement

  1. Can you see when influence is used to your benefit?
  2. How will the benefit of this influence be reflected in your business?

Measurement can be the marketing activity that overcomes the identified challenges (such as educational content downloaded or number of attendees at your influencer summit), influence as it is applied (such as inclusion in analyst reports) or the direct benefit of that influence to your business (such as word of mouth or unattributed leads or revenue).

Your Turn

Is influencer marketing a key part of your marketing mix? If so, what other questions would you add to this list? Share your view in the comments below or with me on Twitter (@wittlake).

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