Influencers Unplugged

Julian Aldridge with Ammo Marketing hosted an interesting panel of influencers at Ad:Tech San Francisco this week. Imagine a wide range of active influentials reclining on hip couches talking about how they interact with others. First Julian made the point that marketing to influentials is an upside-down marketing funnel. You target and talk to a few who will carry your message for you. Here’s what we learned about influentials:

• You cannot tell an influential by looking at them. One of the members of the group was a horse dentist by trade who put on extreme sporting events.
• You cannot draw the dots between what an influencer did for a living once and what they’re doing today.
• Influencers are passionate about something and tend to monetize this passion over time.- Influencers don’t see their passions as a side job.- Influencers are looking for experts to help them manage their life. One panelist talked about having “curators” for parts of her life.
• Influencers are major media consumers—magazines, web, video, music. Don’t stop what you’re doing through other media channels.
• They are highly discerning: They smell bullshit. But they’re great filters for information and opinion.
• Influencers move in multiple different social circles.
• “Social altruism:” It is important for them to help others.
• The have a thirst for knowledge
• They are builder and combiners of things

TIP: Be a curator or concierge for influencers.