Presentation on the concentration of social influence on the social web by Agent Wildfire's Sean Moffitt - updates for April 2011 www.agentwildfire.com

1. Engaging Influencers April 2011 Sean Moffitt @SeanMoffitt President & Chief Evangelist, Agent Wildfire

2. We find and work with these Influencers

3. Some of these people are not like the others….

4. 52 BC – Cicero “A community is like the ones who govern it.”

5. 1690 – John Locke "We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our moral character, from those who are around us.”

6. 1844 – Ralph Waldo Emerson "Who shall set a limit to the influence of a human being?" "The best efforts of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence.”

7. 1962 – Everett Rogers “The diffusion of innovation is based more on sociology and psychology than on technology.”

8. 1991 – Geoffrey Moore “This consumer is part of the herd. They're word-of-mouth creatures, ... They're asking their friends and colleagues, 'Are you using the camera on your cellphone yet? Me, neither.' But if they ask around and people say, 'Yeah, I use it all the time,' then they'll rethink and try it out.”

9. 2002 – Malcolm Gladwell The Law of The Few: “The answer is that the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point

10. 2008 – Seth Godin “The new opportunity is that it's easier than ever to find, organize, and lead a tribe. The Web has enabled an explosion of all kinds of tribes -- and created shortage of people to lead them. This is the growth industry of our time.”

11. 2011 – Sean Moffitt “By force of talent, charisma and enthusiasm, they sway others’ decisions on what to buy, think and do. We call them Influencers. They are much more connected and informed than the mainstream and, depending on how you treat them, can be major allies or pesky foes.”

12. The open web has not reduced, but instead, exposed the importance of influencers….

13. 0.7% of Wikipedia users edit… 50% of the articles 1.7% of Wikipedia users author… 70% of the articles

14. 2.2% of Twitter users account for… 58% of the tweets 1.7% of Twitter users have … More than 1,000 followers Only 1.5% of Tweet conversations… Are three levels (replies) deep

15. 0.7% of Facebook pages have… More than 100k fans 8.7% of Facebook Users … Update their status daily Only 0.9% of Facebook Users have… More than 500 friends

16. 0.8% LinkedIn members … Visit each day 1% of LinkedIn members… …are responsible for 34% of the site’s traffic

17. High authority bloggers post … 300x more frequently than low authority bloggers Only 9% of top blogs… Get over 10,000 visitors per month

18. 13.8% of online population… …create 80% of the online influence posts 6.2% of online population… …create 80% of the online influence impressions

20. Influence ≠ Followers

21. Influence ≠ Popularity

22. Influence is Interest Specific

23. Influence Can’t Be Peddled

24. Should we really be surprised that some people/customers are more influential than others?

25. Now we can provide the raw evidence

27. And shouldn’t we want to account for them as being more valuable?

28. Brand Advocacy - as a marketer, Influencers are your “people market” multipliers Brand Buzz- as a media person, Influencers are a grassroots complement and amplifier Brand Perception – as a PR person, Influencers are game-changing allies Brand Content – as an agency or innovator, Influencers are potential creative partners and crowdsourced sources of solutions and ideas Brand Insight - as a researcher or innovator, Influencers are a savvy alchemy of outsider wisdom and feedback Brand Support- as an organization, committed Influencersare extraordinarily effective and valuable brand ambassadors and cust. service agents

29. Should we care? Why do we care?

30. The marketing influence model is being turned upside down

31. Influence is not Distributed Equally…

32. Spreading messages effectively on the social web happens in two steps … The Crowd The Influencers

33. You can’t chase everybody… “The suggestion that a firm merely needs to participate in a conversation is a little naive. Microsoft was mentioned 2.5 million times in the blogosphere the previous year, and we have eighty-nine thousand employees. How can you realistically be expected to operationalize a response to all of them?”

34. Why are they so damn valuable?

35. E C S R Four sources of Influencer power x x x = Reach Exposure Credibility Suasion

37. More colleagues and associates

38. More affiliations to groups of interest

39. More links to other influencers

41. Followed Back %

42. Influence of Followers/Friends

43. Website traffic/Inbound Blog links/Blogrolls

45. Exposed to more interests

46. Make sense of the world more easily

47. More prolific content production

49. Unique Retweeters/Commenters/Likers/Senders

50. Content production – blog, photo, video, audio

51. # of Updates/Post frequency

52. Membership in niche networks

54. More authoritative

55. Honest and care

56. Relevant and Timely

58. @ Mention Count

60. Likability

61. Reciprocation and involvement

62. Expressiveness/strong communication

64. Positive/enthusiastic sentiment

65. Follower/Follow Ratio

66. Influence of Likers/Commenters/Retweeters

67. Lead various groups/associations

69. The Influencers – Word of Mouth Powerbrokers

71. “The Message Credibility” – 3.6% of population - Gatekeepers, Databanks, Authorities, Filters, Gurus, Torture Testers, Filters “The Message Magnets” 0.8% of the population - Endorsers, Mega Hubs, High Priests, Fame Magnets, A-Listers “The Message Spreaders” - 1.8% of population - Organizers, Sneezers, Bees, Social Glue, Converters, Chatterers, Promiscuous, Connectors

73. Tastemaker Motivations: To innovate, to create, to push the envelope, to be different Tastemaker Roles in Word of Mouth: · Prosumption—building new stuff, collaborative production · Innovation Sounding Board—providing stimulus for innovation · User Generated Content—creating marketing content Profile Questions for A Tastemaker: - Are you adventurous? - Will you try anything once? - Do you refuse to participate in mainstream activities? - Would you rather lead than follow? - Have you vacationed outside of home countryin the last 12 months? - Do you like to create new stuff in your spare time?

74. Trendspotter Motivations: To be aware, to be first in line, exclusivity, privileged access, new styles, change, the unusual & pioneering Trendspotter Roles in Word of Mouth: · Beta Testers— optimizing preliminary product · Advance Previews—the first to be exposed · New Trialists—testimonial group for new products Trendspotter Profile Questions: - Do you always want to be the first to own new things? - Are you a source of fresh intelligence to your friends? - Are you very aware of latest styles and fashion? - Can you instinctively predict what’s next? - Do you love the unexpected? - Are you on the cutting edge of culture and society?

77. Social Ringleader Motivations: To be social, to share, to gift, to connect, to rally teams and groups, to provide a public service, to organize Social Ringleader Roles in Word of Mouth: · Word of Mouth Influencers— seeded brand ambassadors · Referral Network — inviting others to join cause - Viral Marketing —pass along content to others Social Ringleader Profile Questions: - Have you had a conversation with a new person recently? - Do you find it easy to make friends? - Do you have a lot of friends you regularly connect with? - Do you entertain/hoist events frequently? - Do you have lots of different types of people in your social circle? - Do you go out of your way frequently to help others?

78. How to treat them? Collaborate with them?

79. Involvement from Influencers – A Different Mission Scout/ Mystery Shopper Thinktank/ Sounding Board Turning Influencers as Potential Users, Customers and Consumers User Customer Consumer Into Authors, Advisors, Producers, Scouts, Testers and Collaborators & Broadcasters Collaborator/Producer Community Member/ VIP Insider Influencer Evangelist/ Ambassador/ Advocate Into Community Members, Advocates, Ambassadors and Evangelists AdvisoryCouncil/ Cause Torchbearer Seeded Adopter/ Beta Tester

80. Live in their tribe …. - Read their content, listen to their exchanges - Make a scouting report about their likes, dislikes and interest - Know who they hang with - Link to their content, credit their work - Go easy - Make a friendly first connection

81. Treat them like VIPs…. Tell them stuff the general public doesn’t know Celebrate their talents and the new tribe they’re in Involve them in what you’re doing, before you do it Make them look good to others Be clear about what’s involved – no strings attached

82. Don’t be a burden…flirt before you go steady Be clear about what’s involved – no strings attached Give them tools and forums to make their participation easy Thank them, regardless of outcome Get the most passionate, progressively more involved

83. How do you activate in real life?

84. Five steps involved  Target/Identify influencers  Scout/engage/validate interest  Seed/”make the ask”/officialize involvement  Disseminate/Badge Support/Launch Engagement Hubs/Build content/Take Offline  Reward/celebrate top performance/ create ambassadorships

85. Never Forget – Humans are Hard Wired Social and Influential Animals 62

87. Let’s Start The Conversation… Inquire: smoffitt (at) agentwildfire.com Phone: 416-255-4500 x226 URL: www.AgentWildfire.com www.wiki-brands.com Blogs: http://BuzzCanuck.typepad.com/ www.spreadslikewildfire.com Explore: The Buzz Report (e-newsletter) Signup at www.AgentWildfire.com Learn: Executive WOM Seminars