GOOD INFLUENCE

A marketing firm leader explains how to use social media influencers, public figures, and celebrities in marketing campaigns.

Katz begins his guide in 1985, when he attended, near the start of his two-decade music industry career, a Live Aid concert. The event was an example of what he terms the “Influencer Effect,” or the “exponential impact” that public figures (in this case, musicians) have by “throwing their popularity, social capital, and platform behind a particular cause or brand.” Now the leader of a firm called Entertain Impact, a “social impact marketing and advocacy agency,” the author first discusses how influencer marketing “is effective, growing, and here to stay,” citing various generational, demographic, and marketing research studies. He then focuses most of the book on how to “engage a public figure, celebrity, or social media influencer who has a passion for your particular brand or cause, even if you do not personally know them.” Katz puts influencers in mega, macro, micro, and nano categories based on their potential audience reach (drawn from such data as Twitter followers and other influencer research resources) and notes the advantages of leveraging any or all of these groups in campaigns. He organizes the approach to influencer engagement and activation via what he calls the “D.R.E.A.M.” method, or “Design your Action Plan, Research your Influencers, Engage your Influencers, Activate Your Campaign, Measure your Impact.” Tips include that six to nine months is generally needed to build a campaign from scratch, allowing time for plan development and approval. Companies will need to identify and target many influencers up front in order to get some positive responses. They must be specific about the level of commitment needed from influencers, be it just a supportive tweet or an event appearance.

Katz has written a guide that is inspirational and practical. He offers the heartening perspective that campaigns leveraging influencers, who often greatly reduce or even waive typical fees for the right cause, can help change the world for the good. Then, through case study examples, cited research studies, and how-to tips, he provides ammunition to anyone working for a for-profit or nonprofit company who wants to convince management to use influencers and be strategic in reaching out to them. While a cheerleader for this kind of marketing, Katz is cleareyed about its challenges, noting that many of the new, emerging influencers on social media will require payment and that breaking news can always distract or disrupt a campaign. This book largely focuses on campaigns that have some kind of cause-related tie-in, including what Katz terms a “Multi-Pact,” or a business partnering with a nonprofit and an influencer, which results in “amplified commercial & social impact to the Nth degree.” But the book also features some excellent examples of low-cost, high-impact campaigns in the for-profit arena, such as Dove’s offering cash and products to 50 nano influencers “to hyper-focus on an audience and create word of mouth or buzz about their product.” Some of Katz’s suggestions, including to have S.M.A.R.T. (“Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time‐bound”) goals and a “Call to Action” in campaigns, are long-held marketing concepts. Yet they are essential to reiterate since they remain applicable in this exciting and growing part of the marketing world.

This guide combines useful strategies with a compelling case for leveraging the power of influencers.