Brand Influencers and Success in Social Media

In sports, a team captain is an individual who others regard as a leader, a person who is responsible for team building, motivating and speaking on behalf of others. In social media, the same role exists – only on the web, team captains are called brand influencers. And the best thing you can do for your business is to find out who these influencers in your industry are.

Brand influencers are people who advocate for your brand. Because businesses have limited control of online conversations about their brand, it is smart to target those brand influencers and encourage them to promote your brand to consumers. By utilizing brand influencers, your business is taking a proactive approach to improving customer satisfaction and meeting goals.

Social media campaigns are effective when their brand talks directly to its social influencers.  As discussed in my July blog, the social media campaign for Old Spice was effective because the brand talked directly to their social influencers. They did so by targeting, talking to and engaging with influential people over the web. Old Spice was able to create a positive buzz about the product, encourage interaction with their brand and promote the image they had developed.

Today, promoting your brand does not necessarily demand a large budget. What businesses are required to do, however, is find a creative way to communicate to the top influencers. This means companies must spend time listening to conversations about their brand and engage with their consumers at the appropriate times in strategic ways.

Companies that focus on effective influencer strategies rather than effective control strategies will be the most successful. Determine your team captains, develop a plan for communicating with them, and see where the game will take you.