"Who are my influencers?" and "Who do my buyers listen to?" are two distinct questions. By framing it as the latter you are removing any assumptions that could make you overlook and miss the real people your buyers know, like and trust. This echoes the old age marketing notion that “the customer is always right” which couldn’t apply more in this case. Your company may have a list of people that are important for many different reasons, but have you taken the time to stop and ask the question; WHY? Why are these influencers important to the online conversation? If they are not critical to the online conversation your brand wants to be a part of then it’s time to find the influencers and online voices that are!
This is not to say that some of the people you have on your list of influencers are people your buyers listen to, but if you are unsure, take these next steps to audit your current influencers list. This audit will allow you to weed out influencers that you may be wasting your marketing efforts on, are no longer the right fit for your brand or your buyers no longer trust. Here are my recommendations on how to audit your influencer list.
4 Ways to Audit your Influencer List
1. Compare your blog content to the content your influencers are creating & sharing.
- Is there similar themes?
- Are they speaking in the same terms/tone/voice?
2. Review the content your buyers are currently sharing online.
- Are any of these content producers on your influencer list?
- Is there new content producers you need to add to your list?
3. Connect with your event marketing team.
- Are your influencers speaking at the event your buyers are attending?
- Which events are your buyer is going to?
4. Look at industry specific twitter chats.
- Are the organizers of these Twitter chats part of your influencer list?
- Who are the most engaged participates?
As you go through you influencer list, be honest and ask yourself if these relationships are still mutually beneficial. Are both parties still aligned in the conversation you want to elevate online? If not maybe it’s time to move on or there is an opportunity to build a new relationship with an up and coming influencer.How often are you auditing your influencer list and strategy? How do you decide who stays and who goes?
After honing in on the right influencers for your influencer list, you might be asking yourself "what's next?" Here are a couple hints: