Notes for the presentation: Tips for Building Brand Loyalty with Social Influencers Museum Computer Network | November 2018 | Denver | Lori Byrd-McDevitt

1. NOTES:Tips for Building Brand Loyalty with SocialInfluencers
MuseumComputer Network, Denver, 2018
 Hi everyone. I’mLori Byrd-McDevitt,the Managerof Digital Content&Social
Mediaat The Children’sMuseumof Indianapolis.
 I manage all of the museum’ssocial channelsandthe blog,andI strategize
contentdistributionacrossourwebsite andeNews.
 I’ve beeninmyrole for 6 yearsnow,and my mostfavorite thinghasalways
beenworkingwithoursocial influencers.
 So I’mveryexcitedtoshare aboutthat withyoutoday andgive tipsto help
youcapitalize onyourinfluencercommunitytoo.
 For some context,here are some quickfactsaboutThe Children’sMuseum.
 In 2017 we were one of the 20 most visitedmuseumsin NorthAmerica
 We have 13 permanentgalleriesinadditiontoanew 7.5-acre outdoor
sportspark.
 We average overa millionvisitorsannually
 …and have over35,000 memberhouseholds.
Before we startat the beginning, Iknow the real firstthingyou’re askingyourself
isabout compensation.You mayfeel likeyoudon’thave moneyforthis.
 You hearthat influencers needmoneytosurvive,andyouworrythatif
youdon’thave a budget,youcan’tpay to play.
 Don’tletthat guiltyouintofeelingasif youhave to write themacheck
to engage withyou.
 There are a lotof waysto compensate aninfluencer,andyouhave a lot
of valuable in-kindassetstoprovide.
So as I’msharingsome examplesandtips,be thinkingaboutwhat
resourcesand experiences youhave thatinfluencers are lookingfor….
 Annual museummemberships?
 Invitestoexclusive events,societies,orclubs?
 Early filmscreeningsordebuts
o These couldbe crossoverbenefitswithdonorsandsponsors?)
 Influencer-onlyexhibitpreviews?
 Collectionstours,curatormeet-and-greets,andbehind-the-scenes
opportunities
 Productreviewsortesting,orjustgivingStore productsasgifts.
 Or even Fanrevealsintheircommunitiesof secret“eastereggs”during
exhibitdevelopment,orotherfun ideasyoucan cook up.

2. So how do we begintoconnectwith these…“Influencers”?
 I’dsay… Slow and steady...andconsistent...winsthe race.
 Your LOW-HANGINGFRUIT isgoingto be toKeeptrack of those who
email orDM you ontheirown.
o Askthemif they want to be put onyour exclusivesocial
influencerlistforfuture perks.(Ijustmaintainaspreadsheet
withinfoabouteachinfluencer).
 Don’tuse these emailsforanyotherpromotional purposes(oraddthem
to youreNews).
o Onlycontact that list if itis a direct,personal email aboutan
exclusivebloggeropportunity.Thisbuildstrust.
 Keeptrack of userposts(bothtaggedwithyour locationandyour
handles) thathave a lotof engagement,checkingtosee if the useris
local and regional andhasa lotof followers.
o Follow andDMthemand invite themtojoinyourlistof
influencersforexclusiveinvitesandopportunities.
o Thissort of invitationculturecanbe reallyupliftingand
empoweringforthem.
 Go deepwithresearchingfor exhibitswithspecifictopics thatmay have
niche influencers orsuper-fans.
o Those whoengage withyouwiththisexhibitcouldremainloyal
influencersforyoulong-term.
 Track the majorInstagramhashtagsin yourcity to stayconnectedtothe
popularInstagrammers.
o Personallyinvite themtoyoureventsandbuildarelationship
withthem.
o AttendTHEIR eventstoo,toput a face to your name.(YOU’REan
Instagrammer–don’tbe afraidto joinin!)
 Join FacebookGroups in yourcommunitythatmay have relevant
bloggersorinfluencersthatyoucan connectwith.
o Introduce yourself.(Justbe sure tofollow the grouprules!)
o Share opportunitieswiththem. Youmayfeel likeaninterloper,
but know thatthey’re seekingcollaborations.
o As longas you’re humanandauthentic(notpromotional),
puttinga face to that org social account can feel like acool “in”.
 Keepyoureyesandearsopen.
o Once you start throwingevents,otherswillstartcomingoutof
the woodwork.
o Often, yourcore influencerswill suggestevenmore thatcan
helpyournetworkgrow exponentially.
Who countsas an Influencer?
 That’s upto you andyour goals.
 Whenyou’re justgettingstarted,anyone whoreachesouttoyouand is
willingtoshare yourcontentforyoushouldbe givena chance,no matter
theirfollowercount.
o Everyinfluencerneedstostartsomewhere,too.
 Thisis Anna,who’sbeenaninfluencer of oursforforever.
o At under900 Instagramfollowers,she maynotseem like your
traditional big-deal influencer.
o But she’sa powerhouse withherloyalty,connections,andabilityto
accuratelyshare our message withoutevenbeingasked.
Whocountsasaninfluencer?
According to BIG brands…
● INFLUENCER: 1 mil + followers
● MICRO-INFLUENCER: 10–100k followers
● NANO-INFLUENCER: 1,000 followers *NEW*

3.  What’smore importantisthatthey’re relevanttoyourbrandand that their
audience will care aboutwhatthey’re sharingaboutyou.
o You alsowouldn’twantyourcontentbeingassociatedwithan
account that youwouldn’totherwise be proudtobe linkedwith.
 If you’re a largerorganizationthatreceivesmanycold-callsorcanned
emailsfrombloggers,youshouldaskthemtoillustrate theirvalue toyouby
providingtheirMediaKit.
o Anybiggerinfluencerwillhave amediapackage withtheirwebsite
stats,followercounts,andotherbasicinformation.
 I oftenrequestfollow-upbyemail withtheirpreferredsocial media
handles,website, andemail.
o Thisshowsme they’re seriousaboutworkingwith us,andalso
savesme a lot of time.
Once you findthem, whatdoyoudo withthem?
 The Children’sMuseum’sgo-toinfluencerperkisthe exclusive exhibit
preview party.
 It’sa few nightsbefore the exhibitopens,andit’splannedasa
networkingevent forthemtoconnectwithone another,as well.
 For largerexhibits,theygetafull dinnerandgoodie bags,inadditionto
plentyof time forphotosandlive video,andaccesstoexhibitteamstaff.
 There are alsolargergiveawayswithproductfromthe store.
 Unique activitiesdependingonthe exhibit –costume contestduringthe
POPopeningandan astronautmeet-and-greetduringourspace exhibit.
 Our hashtagtrendson Twitterlocallyateachof these events.
 We donot explicitlyrequestcoverage ontheirsocial channels,itjust
naturallyhappens.
 Thiswas our initial waytoinvite thisaudience in,toshow themthatwe
value theirsupport,andtomake themfeel like apart of the museum
family.
Eventslike thisestablishgoodwill. Yougive a little.But you geta lot.
Our exhibitpreview partieshave been goingonforoverfive yearsnow,and
have become somethingof a tradition inthe influencercommunity.
 We now have about50 core,loyal influencersthatconsistentlyattend
mostevents,and130 local and regional influencerswhoremainactively
on our list.Throughthe yearswe’ve beenintouchwithover200.
o Thisdoesn’tinclude families,whoattendeventswiththem.
 The openingof our new,outdoorsportspark – whichessentiallycaused
us to double insize,wasourmostmassive preview partytodate,and
whatwe considertobe our mostsuccessful inregardstoattendance
and results.
 Withover225 attendees.
 30 separate influencersrunningInstagramStories.
 97 photosand videosbeingpostedinthatnightalone.
 And13 longer-formblogs,vlogs,andFacebookLIVEcontentresulting,
some of which were fromsignificantinfluencersthatwere huge getsfor
us.

4. One tipfor a successful exhibitpreview event -- TeamupwithPR.(If YOU’RE not
alreadyPR.)
 Influencerslove the mediabeingattheirpreview partiesbecause it
makesthemfeel reallyspecial,andgivesthemanetworking
opportunity.
 Medialove the influencersbeingthere becauseitgivesthemachance to
have interestingfolkstotalktofor theirstories.
 You getto share the resource loadandplanningwithanotherteam.So
that’sa win-win-win.
Once you’ve connectedwith yourinfluencers andhave thrownafewevents,
thenconnectionsstartturningintocollaborations.
 You can start to ask for more,while still continuingtogive.
 Testa projectwithinfluencerswhoyou’ve learnedcanbe greatbrand
ambassadors.
 Be clearinyour expectationsandguidelinesupfront,andthensee how
these chosen few handle it.
 Whensomethinggoeswell,run withitina biggerway!
 These beautifulladies,SierraandKaty,are an example of that.
o Theyare not onlysocial influencerextraordinaires,they’ve also
become true friendsthroughthe years.
o I can pull upmy personal FacebookandDMthemto run a
questionbythematany time andthey’ll be upfrontwithme
withfeedback,orthey’ll share apostwiththeirchannels.
o Andthey’re notthe onlyones.
Here are some unique wayswe’vecollaboratedwithinfluencersthroughthe
years…
 They’ve beentappedtobe brandambassadorsat adults-onlyevents,
sharingaboutthe funon theirpersonal social channelsinexchangefor
tickets.
o We trustthemenoughto notbe inappropriate.(AsaChildren’s
Museumthisis importanttous.)
 They’ve writtenHolidaytoyreviews ontheirblogsforourstore.Inone
case,a toywasn’tthe qualitytheywere expecting.
o Insteadof blastingitontheirblog,theycame to us firstto letus
know.
 Theyare oftencommercial andphotoshoottalent,whichishelpful forus
inbroadeningourmarketingmaterialsandit’sfunforthemtobecome
little local “celebrities.”
 Because of the loyaltyandtrust we’ve built,theyare naturallyoureyes
and earsin Facebookgroups,onthe NextDoorapp,or otherprivate
online settingswhere complaintsordebatesmayoccur.
o Theywill alertusto issuesandoftenwill come toourdefense on
our behalf.
 While we greatlyrespectourinformal emaillistwe’ve establishedover
the years,on rare occasionswe’ll share veryimportantor timelynews
that we feel they’ll findvaluable toshare withtheiraudiences.
o For instance,whenwe extendedthe hourstoour Haunted
House to “save Halloween”whenthe citycancelledTrick-or-
Treatingdue to a terrible storm.Ourinfluencerswere ourPR
cavalry.

5. If the corner-office is talkingabout“communitybuy-in”youshouldalsobe
talking“influencerbuy-in.”
Whenplanningforournew dynamicpricingadmissionmodel,we anticipateda
lotof backlashdue to confusionaboutthe change…
 One way toget aheadof the negative communityresponse wasto
capitalize onoursocial influencers.
 We hadselective meetingsaheadof the announcementwithkey
bloggers,including“The Queenof Free,”Cherie,shownhere,whochose
to use hercolumnin our citytourismblogto share the information.
 She isat the pointof no longerdoingunpaidblogginggigs,butdue to
herrelationshipwithusandthe circumstancesof the announcement,
she sharedthe news because she feltwasmutuallybeneficial.
 We alsocreateda social mediakitthatwe distributedtoourinfluencers
on the morningof the announcement,withanopeninvitationtoaskus
any questionsif theyhadany.
Thishelpedusgetstartedon the rightfootin manyof the FacebookGroups,
where thingscanget outof handquicklyif there isnegativityorconfusion.
 It comesup inmeetingsoften,“HeyLori,can we use yourinfluencersto
getthe wordout aboutthis?”
 But we are verycareful withthemasa resource andsee themas friends
whotrust us as muchas we trustthem.We remindourcolleaguesof
that frequently.
 Andrarelycall upon ourlistof influencersfora”favor” unlessit’svery
important.
The ultimate collaborationwithourinfluencerscame inthe formof our
CommunityBloggingprogram, whichwe call the BlogAmbassadors.
Ratherthan bloggingonTHEIR blogs,thisiswhere theyare writingforthe
museum’sblog.
We selectourAmbassadorsthroughanapplication-basedcall out.
 Initiallywe reachedouttoaround75 active bloggersandreceived24
applications,which,at1/3 of the community – wasmuch more than we
anticipated.
 In exchange fora membership andotherperks, fourbloggerswrite one
bloga monthfor six monthsabouttheirexperience inthe museumand
how it theninspiredthemtoextendtheirlearningathome.
 Thisis an example of the brandedgraphicswe use ondifferentsocial
platforms,whichare personalizedforeachblogger.
 We’ve begunusingaMemorandumof Understandingwithourbloggers
so that we can furtherclarifythe expectationsonbothsides.Thisjust
helpsprovide more structure,withoutbeingtoooverlyformal.
 We’ve now runfive separate classesof BlogAmbassadors,beginning
withour pilotin2013 andour latestthat kickedoff ourSportsLegends
Experience with8bloggersoverthisyear.
 For the sportsexperience,we hadover30 applicationsandimmense
buzzin the community.There wasmuchfanfare whenthe 8 were
announced,andwordevenmade itto New YorkCitywhere our PR
Directorwas doingdesksidevisitsandwastold,“I heardyouannounced
your latestblogambassadors –soundslike agreatline-up!”Ithinkthis
was one of my proudestmoments.

6. All of that said,we’re still lookingtothe future of thisprogramand whatwe can
do to make our influencercommunitystrongerand more connected.
 Eventhoughwe’re innoway shuttingdownourmuseumblog – the
premise of a“Blog Ambassador”doesn’tcarryas much cloutas a general
“Brand Ambassador”forthe museum.
 What doesthislooklike?We’re stillfiguringthatout.
Thishas implicationsforourinfluencerexhibitpreviewsandotherevents,as
well.
 Look at the differencejustafew yearsmakes.Bloggersaren’tjust
bloggersanymore.
 They’re influencerswhomaybe have ablog, (butprobablynot).
 We needtoclarifyourexpectationstoensure we’regettingthe mostout
of whatthey’re willingtooffer.
Quickly Read Slide.
One bigchallenge we’ve found istracking successinregardsto metrics.
 We usedtosimplyshare how many blogscame out of an event,
 or how many attendeesdid giveawayswithticketswe provided.
But nowit’sjust in-the-momentpostsand live contentthat disappears.
 While othersare doingwhole vlogsandputtingeffortin,orFacebook
Liveswithlotsof viewers.
 Some influencersthatare biggermayjustdo one InstagramStory post.
o Thisyear we’re consideringdoingaplatterof optionsthatour
inviteeschoosefromandare requiredtodo inorderto attend.
 But whatdoesaccountabilitylooklike?
 One answerwe’re consideringisrequiringreport-outsforthingslike
InstagramStory stats.
These are thingswe’re thinkingonaswe prepare for2019 and the future of our
social influencers,
 Because as we all know, the social mediaenvironmentisalways
changing.
 I’dlike toendby saying -- don’t worry about the dollar signs,thiscan be
aboutthe experiences,the relationshipbuilding,andbringingthe long-
term, human connectionback intoyour museum.
 AndI wouldlove totake some time to share any thoughts withanyone
abouthow thiscould be appliedintheir museum,no matter its size.If we
have time for questions,I’dbe happyto answer.