I love when I am able to write what I consider to be bold and attention grabbing headlines so I guess I better follow it up with something of substance.

The concept of this post is extremely simple…You may think that you are the one shaping the identity of your brand and the way that it is perceived by consumers, but in actuality it is me (well not just me, but me and people like me who could be classified as “super influencers”) who might actually have more influence on how others perceive your brand than you do so it is to your benefit to arm me with as much editable content as possible.

I say this for several reasons but for the most part because (1) it is backed up by facts and (2) I know many of you can relate to the anecdotal idea that you have a “tech” friend, a “business” friend,  a “medical” friend and it is that person who’s opinion you accept as being the bottom line within their area of “expertise”…We can call these the “super influencers”

So let’s start with some cold hard facts (these facts comer from this Universal McCann paper) that at the bottom line show the growth of user generated content online and introduce the idea of the “super influencer”

  • In the previous month over 44% of Internet users have shared an opinion about a product or service by Instant Messenger and 42% have done so by email
  • While search remains the number one way to find out about a product or brand, email recommendations have virtually tied this number (80.2% vs 82.1%) with an 80% monthly reach
  • Writing blogs has risen from 28% to 44% & Uploading a video clip from 10% to 42%
  • Bloggers are very active in sharing opinions and recommendations with 32% having shared recommended websites, 29% their favourite music and 28% on products and brands
  • Super Influencers are those who generate the most content, do the most research and generally consider themselves at the forefront of new technologies.

So as I said before, you may think you are shaping your brand through your corporate website the occasional blog entry and a monthly newsletter but in actuality it is these super influencers (and they do not only exist in tech, your doctor friend could easily be one) who are producing the content that other less knowledgeable users are seeking.

Users do not want to simply read your corporate website, they want real opinions from actual consumers and it is your job as a marketer to not only identify these potential super influcencers, but also to give them the tools with which to help evangelize your product.

Super Influencers Are Going To Create Content – Deal With It, In Fact Help Them

You must face the fact that if I want to write about your product or brand on my blog, in my emails or even in a panel discussion I am giving, I absolutely will and I will speak about it with whatever level of knowledge I have and using whatever tools I have at my disposal.

I am the type of person you should be looking to appeal to with everything from easily accessible graphics (do you really want me to source your logo myself) to pre-written questions and answers about your product or brand (so I don’t have to guess if someone asks me a question you happen to get all the time).

Take a look at the graph at the bottom of this post and you will see that there is no way around the fact that content will be created. Therefore as a marketer it is your job to embrace these super influencers and their desire to create content. It is extremely simple to start and I will kick it off by giving you three easy steps to implement now, I guarantee this tiny effort will yield nice net results.

  • Change Your Media or Public Relations Page To Read “Media & Bloggers” - I know this seems like a tiny change but it signals that you understand that not everyone who wants to discuss your product or brand will be writing for the New York Times. It is a little thing, but it’s a respect and recognition thing and people appreciate it.
  • Give Away Your Logo & Product Images – Do you really want people to use a Google Image search and put up a version of your logo that is 5 years old? How about misidentifying one of your products with the wrong image (or even worse one you pulled for legal reasons)? – The content is going to get created whether you participate or not so why not at least ensure that it looks correct.
  • Search Like Crazy & Create Google Alerts - If you do a bunch of Google searching (specifically blog searching) and set up proper Google Alerts for your brands and products you will inevitably find those “super influencers” who are already generating content and buzz around your brand. Read their posts and then engage them and let them know you would be happy to help the next time they are looking for information about your company. Again, a little effort for a huge win.


*** First time reader? If you liked this post (or if you hated it) please drop a comment, tweet it or take a moment and grab the rss feed and follow me on Twitter or friendfeed - Thanks! ***

If you enjoyed this post I recommend: