Micro Influencer Marketing Georgetown University XCPD-732 Social, Mobile and Search Marketing November 3, 2018, 10:30 AM Professor Shashi Bellamkonda.

1. Micro-Influencer Marketing is
1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration
XCPD-732 Social, Mobile and Search Marketing
Georgetown University School of Continuing
Professor Shashi Bellamkonda
November 3, 2018, 10:30AM
Studies
Hashtag: #gtmim
Twitter: @chrisabraham
Google+: google.com/+ChrisAbraham
Facebook: facebook.com/chrisabraham
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisabraham
Slideshare: slideshare.net/chrisabraham

2. Your Speaker: Chris Abraham
▪ Principal Consultant
▪ Avid Blogger/Contributor:
@chrisabraham #gtmim

3. My Personal Digital PR Philosophy
▪ Find people where they live (and meet them
there even if it’s a forum or message board)
▪ Explore the long tail micro-influencers (there
are millions of people blogging, sharing, and
posting online – and PR tends to pile on the
same 100 “influentials”)
▪ “We want you to take 50 million of us as seriously as
you take one reporter from The Wall Street Journal”
➢ (#83 of the 95 Theses from The Cluetrain Manifesto)
▪ Spoil everyone (like you would Guy Kawasaki)
▪ Be grateful (nobody is required to help you)
@chrisabraham #gtmim

4. Why
▪
You Should Reach Past the
Influencer marketing tends to focus on only
identifying and engaging top-25 influential
bloggers
A-List
▪ Out of those 25, maybe 3 will cover your
story over the course of a campaign
▪ We collect every influencer who has ever
had a thematic interest in our customers
▪ We collect them all – all of them – into a
"universe" – a list
▪ We reach out to each and every one of
them – no fewer than 2,000 but often 5,000
– via email
▪ But then that’s where the work starts
@chrisabraham #gtmim

5. Why
▪
You Should Reach Past the
The initial blast is akin to speed-dating
A-List
▪ Most good pitches don’t require a personal
relationship
▪ Success depends on five things:
▪ Freshness & quality of the list collected
▪ Generosity of the “gift” being offered in the
pitch
▪ The ability of the email to reach the inbox
▪ The charm & responsiveness of the
responders
▪ Following up twice after the initial email
outreach
@chrisabraham #gtmim

6. On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog
@chrisabraham #gtmim

7. Campaign Questions
▪ Goal: what is it you need to do?
▪ Monitor: what are you looking to find?
▪ Discover: where are people talking?
▪ Learn: who are these talking people?
▪ Collect: what groups do you need?
▪ Engage: how best to connect?
▪ Outreach: how best to pitch?
▪ Analyze: how did you do?
@chrisabraham #gtmim

8. Goals: What Do You Want to Accomplish?
▪ Build brand awareness?
▪ Increase community engagement?
▪ Prospect new brand ambassadors?
▪ Drive sales, traffic, membership?
▪ Drive conversation volume?
▪ Improve organic search?
▪ Get a feel for your neighborhood?
▪ Launch a new product, service, investment?
@chrisabraham #gtmim

9. Monitor: Listen/Look Before You Leap
▪ Google Search is the best tool to get a feel
▪ When it comes down to it, Google does an amazing job
of giving you a 30,000-foot view of the blogosphere
▪ Spend some time understanding the space
▪ It’s not always obvious how people engage with you,
your brand, your space, or your industry. Allow your
community to lead your exploration; do not be willful:
people don’t always use your language
▪ Include message boards, forums, etc., in your recon
▪ Try out all the tools: it’s a buyer’s market
▪ SDL SM2, Radian6, Sysomos, Sprout Social, Lithium
@chrisabraham #gtmim

10. Internet Rule #34: If It Exists There Is Porn of It
@chrisabraham #gtmim

11. Discover: Finding People Where They Live
▪ Social media is much bigger than Facebook
▪ There are a multitude of social networks, self-run message
boards, threads deep in reddit, and ad-hoc discussions
everywhere online (Dailymile.com, etc.)
▪ If it exists, there is blog of it (Rule 34 variant)
▪ There are more than a billion active blogs worldwide
▪ Always start with Google
▪ Influencer discovery
▪ Traackr – traackr.com
▪ GroupHigh – grouphigh.com
▪ Little Bird – getlittlebird.com
▪ InkyBee – inkybee.com
@chrisabraham #gtmim

12. Discover: Finding People Where They Live
@chrisabraham #gtmim

13. Learn: Do They Want to Be Engaged? And How?
▪ Blogs (including online journalists, curators,
aggregators, group blogs, and bloggers)
▪ Can you find their name and email address?
➢ If contacting them is hard, maybe they don’t want to be
▪ Look for a “how to engage/pitch” message
➢ Follow their directions to a T (or don’t engage them at all)
▪ Forums (including bookmark & link aggregators)
▪ Engage forum owners directly, don’t jump in there!
▪ Social Networks (including FB, Twitter, etc.)
▪ Engage before befriending before pitching
@chrisabraham #gtmim

14. Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists
▪ The A-list/Tier-1 (the crème de la crème of influence)
▪ Generally professional bloggers and journalists, including the blogs and profiles
of mainstream media platforms, celebrities, high Klout scores, high-traffic blogs,
authors, actors, scientists, pundits, newsmakers, and people with mad followers
▪ Will blog for free, but only if they’re compelled to (exclusive content, big news,
financial releases, new investment, etc.)
▪ Never, ever, include A-list bloggers in a bulk email pitch – hand-written only
▪ Prepare your kid-gloves and your checkbook – find ways to woo them
personally (over lavish meals, inviting them to HQ, or meeting them down at one of
the many conferences they attend)
▪ Become a persistent “bestie” – either as someone who is a communicator
pitching them good, consistent, and valuable content or, even better, a personal
friend who doesn’t just collect them as a method of access or a sign of prestige
@chrisabraham #gtmim

15. Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists
▪ B-D-List/Tier-2 (the mid-section of the long tail often asks for money)
▪ While not all B-D-list bloggers lead with an advertising rate sheet, many do
➢ Most PR campaigns aren’t budgeted for advertising spend so I don’t pay for posts
➢ Ideally, earned-media is the goal of PR campaigns, so it’s up to you
➢ Many of the B-D-list bloggers can get you what you need for less than a strong ad buy
➢ While disclosures are essential everywhere, they’re doubly so for “advertorial” content
▪ I tend to put any blogger who asks for money into a DNC* list
▪ Midrange bloggers are easier to access, harder to garner earn media mentions
from, but a worthy investment of time and attention toward a long-term relationship
➢ People help out their friends, so becoming close may curry favor for earned media pitches
▪ I generally include B-D-list bloggers in general long-tail bulk email outreach
*Do not contact list
@chrisabraham #gtmim

16. sCollect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic List
▪ E-Z-List/Tier-3 (the long-tail, including ~1 Billion online micro-influencers)
▪ While a billion active blogs are well out-of-scope, please remember:
➢ No matter how obscure your product or service, there’s probably a blog about it
➢ The original Rule #34 is: “If it exists, there is porn of it;” same for the blogosphere
▪ Collect email addresses, influencer name, and maybe location only for E-Z-list
➢ While I might be willing to chase down the contact info of A-D-list bloggers via forms or
hunting them down via LinkedIn or Facebook Messenger, Dailymile mail, or Twitter DMs, I
only engage long-tail micro-influencers if they share their email address gladly
➢ If bloggers don’t make it easy to contact them, they may not want to be contacted; and, if
you contact someone who doesn’t want to be, there will be serious blowback
▪ Send everyone in your list a bulk email pitch but be ready to engage in person
➢ Don’t worry, most people aren’t fanboys – a cold-pitch is fine if your “gift” is generous
@chrisabraham #gtmim

17. Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists
@chrisabraham #gtmim

18. Engage: Pitch It Slow and Right Over the Plate
▪ Tell, don’t sell
▪ Lead with the news, not the used car
▪ Pitching is speed dating
▪ You don’t need to overwrite
▪ Allow people to be intrigued
▪ Less is more
▪ Attention span is limited
▪ Pre-masticate message into easy-to-understand
pabulum
▪ Don’t include attachments or inline content
▪ Don’t BS, brow n nose, lie, or flatter
▪ "Please don’t say you read and love my blog,
then pitch me on something that I never cover
here" -- Mack Collier
@chrisabraham #gtmim
▪ Don’t be afraid to play the fool
Self-deprication and mea culpas
▪ Hugs not horns (always be kind)
It’s never you, it’s always them…

19. Outreach: The Catch Is the More Important Part
▪ The informational microsite
▪ Internally, I call it an SMNR
➢ Social Media News Release
▪ The kitchen sink theory
▪ Don’t limit the SMNR to just the pitch
▪ Influencers are often libertarian contrarians
▪ Give a lot to look through – give them options
▪ Steal me, steal me!
▪ Optimize content to be copied-and-pasted
▪ Pre-embed embed codes
▪ Pre-link and optimize for SEO, etc.
@chrisabraham #gtmim

20. Outreach: The Magic Happens in the Inbox
@chrisabraham #gtmim

21. Outreach: Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM)
@chrisabraham #gtmim

22. Analyze: It All Comes Down to the Bottom Line
▪ Track using site analytics tools
▪ Google Analytics tracking code in the SMNR
▪ Server-side analytics tools: AWstats, Webalizer
▪ Track both SMNR & target site
▪ Track using media mention tools
▪ I presently use SDL SM2 (Alterian SM2)
➢ Primary, secondary, tertiary, etc., mentions
▪ Lots of free and fee-based tools
➢ Google Analytics is becoming more SM-savvy
▪ Track using specialized landing pages
▪ Using affiliate tricks-of-the-trade
@chrisabraham #gtmim

23. Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding
133 earned media blog posts, 1,350 Tweets, 40 other
@chrisabraham #gtmim

24. Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding
@chrisabraham #gtmim

25. Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding
@chrisabraham #gtmim

26. Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding
@chrisabraham #gtmim

27. Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding
@chrisabraham #gtmim

28. Current Client: Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil
▪ Currently, Gerris Corp is working on an earned
media campaign for Skinny & Co. coconut oil.
▪ Client is the perfect client for earned media:
▪ Product is timely and sexy
▪ Client is generous with all influencers
▪ No influencer floor
▪ Beautiful packaging and top-quality product
▪ Month 1 - 185 product requests, 323 responses, 158
posts
▪ Month 2 - 122 product requests, 203 responses, 121
posts
▪ Month 3 - 128 product requests, 183 responses, 156
posts
@chrisabraham #gtmim

29. Current Client: Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil
▪ As a thank you to all the
bloggers and
influencers, we always
try to give them all some
link love via Gerris and
my personal blog.
▪ We encourage Skinny &
Co. to thank, engage,
comment, Like, share,
reshare and retweet any
and all earned media
content they discover
and we share.
▪ While I am far from
perfect, I try to do
anything I can outside of
the product to show
personal appreciation.
@chrisabraham #gtmim

30. Final Words
“Hugs not horns”
– Chris Abraham
“Be
meet
kind, for everyone you
is fighting a hard battle”
–
(or Plato or
Philo of Alexandria
Ian MacLaren or John Watson)
@chrisabraham #gtmim
“People are people so why should it be
You and I should get along so awfully”
– Martin Gore

31. Any Questions?
@chrisabraham #gtmim

32. Contact Me Any Time
This presentation is already up on SlideShare:
slideshare.net/chrisabraham
Website: www.gerriscorp.com
Email: chris@gerr.is
Mobile: +1 202-352-5051
Twitter: @chrisabraham
Google+: google.com/+ChrisAbraham
Facebook: facebook.com/chrisabraham
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisabraham
Blog: chrisabraham.com/blog
@chrisabraham #gtmim