A nudge campaign – your own influencing an influencer marketing campaign

When pursuing an influencer or even a customer I employ what I have coined a “nudge campaign.” The idea is to continually nudge the prospect until the opportunity comes to invite them into the fold. The nudge involves delivering something of value, on a consistent basis, that is relevant to the opportunity with your company. Content is what is generally delivered and email is the usual conveyer, but you can use your imagination. I use email because it is quick and I can do it in the moment, especially since I often have many nudge campaigns going at once.

So let’s say you have an influencer in mind that you want to endorse your product. I recommend a direct approach to start; ask them. Explain why you want them, letting them know what is in it for them (WIIIFT), how endorsing your product can perhaps give them more credibility, or lead to other opportunities, or aligns them with their own messaging and positioning as an expert. If they say no then thank them and ask why they said no. One conversation I often use is: “in the spirit of improving our outreach was there a particular reason you decided not to get involved or was it the approach itself…” you get the idea.

That is usually the start of a conversation; it is human nature to want to help. I caution here that asking why they said no is not done as a manipulation, you really need to sincerely understand what was in their decision making process. The asking for feedback piece of this is what I call my “daily audit,” I continually ask what people are thinking when they say no (or yes) to see what is resonating or not.

Once you have them in a dialogue you can now continue that dialogue over time. So when I am doing my daily reading (Check out Public Relations: Pitching the Big Guys – How to Get Their Attention for advice on this and some additional insights on creating an ongoing dialogue) and I come across some news item that is relevant to that influencer I email it to them with a short comment. I like to include something in the comment that reminds them of my company. I also like to include my own insights about the piece they are receiving so they see me as someone who could have an intelligent conversation with them. You can do the same thing with a potential customer; offer them something that is relevant to what they do in their job, like a competitive news item, or a relevant industry trend article. Deliver something they can then pass on to their boss and you have made their job easier.

Another way is to track the target influencer’s writing by doing a Google alert on them. If they don’t write a column, then they likely have a blog, are quoted in other articles or an article was written about them. Send a comment on these items. When an accomplishment of theirs comes to light, send a note of congratulations. You are now on your way to having a friend and eventually that friendship will bear fruit. You have nudged your way into their hearts and minds.

Comments

[gorgeoux]

I couldn't agree more. I use the same technique for the same reasons and outputs. At the same time, I feel I could be more focused on it and deliver more help/ insight, more often. Campaigning is a great term because it gives me the process type. Thanks :)