With consumers becoming increasingly skeptical of traditional advertising, influencers provide authenticity and trustworthiness that can significantly boost a brand’s credibility and reach.

But identifying the right influencers, managing relationships, and tracking the effectiveness of influencer campaigns can be a daunting task.

This is where Onalytica steps in. Here’s why and how Onalytica is an indispensable tool for influencer marketing, especially B2B influencer marketing.

Let’s dive in…

1. Comprehensive Influencer Discovery:

Why it’s beneficial: The success of an influencer marketing campaign largely hinges on selecting the right influencers. A common misconception in influencer marketing is that influencers with the highest follower counts are always the best choice. In reality, relevance, engagement rate, and audience quality often matter more than sheer numbers.

How Onalytica excels: Onalytica’s influencer discovery mechanism is built on a nuanced understanding of what true influence means. Instead of just looking at follower counts, it uses a proprietary algorithm to assess:

• Relevance: Does the influencer regularly engage with topics that align with your brand’s values and objectives?
• Resonance: How impactful is the influencer’s content within their follower base? A high resonance indicates that their audience is not only large but also actively engaged.
• Reach: While the sheer number of followers isn’t the only metric, it still matters. Onalytica ensures that the influencers have a substantial reach within the desired demographic.

By prioritizing these metrics, Onalytica ensures that brands connect with influencers who can drive authentic engagement and produce tangible results. This comprehensive approach to influencer discovery sets the foundation for more targeted and successful campaigns.

2. Onalytica Offers Detailed Influencer Profiling:

Why it’s beneficial: Influencer marketing is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. The effectiveness of a partnership isn’t just about the influencer’s reach but also about their alignment with the brand’s ethos, target audience, and campaign objectives. Therefore, a deeper understanding of each influencer’s content, voice, and audience demographics is crucial for ensuring synergy between the brand and the influencer.

How Onalytica stands out: Onalytica offers an exhaustive profiling system that delves into the intricate details of each influencer’s digital footprint. Here’s what the profiling encompasses:

• Content Analysis: Onalytica evaluates the type and quality of content influencers produce. This includes their preferred mediums (blogs, videos, podcasts, etc.), content themes, and frequency of posting. This ensures that the influencer’s content style matches the brand’s aesthetic and messaging.
• Audience Demographics: Understanding the age, location, gender, and interests of an influencer’s audience is paramount. Onalytica provides this demographic breakdown, enabling brands to choose influencers whose audience aligns with their target market.
• Engagement Metrics: Beyond content, Onalytica analyzes how influencers interact with their audience. Metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and overall engagement rate give an insight into the influencer’s ability to spur meaningful interactions.
• Historical Campaigns: Onalytica showcases past campaigns and partnerships of influencers, providing brands with a clearer picture of the influencer’s track record, reliability, and versatility.

Through this detailed influencer profiling, Onalytica offers brands a holistic view, enabling them to make informed decisions. By ensuring that the chosen influencers resonate with the brand’s voice and values, brands can foster collaborations that feel genuine and organically drive engagement.

3. Seamless Relationship Management:

Why it’s beneficial: Influencer marketing is as much about fostering lasting relationships as it is about running campaigns. While the immediate benefits of an influencer collaboration might be evident through likes, shares, and conversions, the long-term value is often derived from building and nurturing strong ties with influencers.

Just like in any relationship, consistent communication, mutual respect, and understanding are key. Without the right tools to manage these interactions, brands risk missing opportunities, miscommunicating, or even damaging valuable relationships.

How Onalytica streamlines the process: Onalytica understands that the relationship between a brand and an influencer is a dynamic, evolving process. To aid you in this relationship management, the platform has integrated a suite of tools designed specifically for the nuances of influencer partnerships:

• Interaction Tracking: Brands can log each touchpoint with influencers, whether it’s an email exchange, a phone call, or a face-to-face meeting. This helps in keeping track of discussions, feedback, and agreements.
• Campaign Coordination: Onalytica offers features that allow brands to coordinate campaigns, assign tasks, set deadlines, and monitor progress in real-time. This ensures that both the brand and the influencer are aligned on deliverables and timelines.
• Feedback Mechanisms: Constructive feedback is essential for improvement. Onalytica incorporates easy-to-use feedback systems, ensuring that both parties can communicate their views and suggestions effectively.
• Reminders and Alerts: With multiple influencers and campaigns to manage, it’s easy for certain tasks or follow-ups to fall through the cracks. Onalytica’s automated reminders ensure that brands remain proactive in their relationship-building efforts.
• Historical Data Access: Being able to revisit past campaigns, agreements, and interactions is invaluable. Onalytica archives all interactions, ensuring that brands have a comprehensive overview of their relationship history with each influencer.

By providing these tools, Onalytica ensures that brands can effortlessly manage their influencer relationships.

More than just a platform for discovery and campaign management, Onalytica acts as a bridge, facilitating transparent, efficient, and lasting connections between brands and influencers.

4. Advanced Analytics:

Why it’s beneficial: In today’s data-driven marketing landscape, the importance of analytics cannot be overstated. Analytics not only measure the success of a campaign but also provide insights for optimization, strategy refinement, and better decision-making. In influencer marketing, where ROI can sometimes seem intangible, having robust analytics is critical to justify investments, track progress, and gauge the true impact of influencer partnerships.

How Onalytica elevates the analytics game: Recognizing the pivotal role of analytics, Onalytica has built an advanced suite of analytical tools that offers more than just surface-level metrics. Here’s how Onalytica provides unparalleled insights:

• Engagement Metrics: Beyond just counting likes and shares, Onalytica dives deep into how audiences are interacting with influencer content. This includes metrics like comments, saves, click-through rates, and overall engagement percentages.
• Conversion Tracking: For brands focused on direct outcomes like sales, sign-ups, or downloads, Onalytica tracks conversions originating from influencer campaigns. This directly ties influencer efforts to tangible business results.
• Audience Growth Analysis: Influencer campaigns often have a ripple effect, leading to increased brand visibility and audience growth. Onalytica monitors follower gains, newsletter sign-ups, and other growth indicators, attributing them to specific influencer efforts.
• Sentiment Analysis: Engagement numbers alone don’t capture the whole story. Onalytica’s sentiment analysis evaluates the tone and nature of audience interactions, giving brands a clearer picture of perception and brand sentiment.
• Competitive Benchmarking: Onalytica enables brands to position their influencer campaigns in a broader industry context. By comparing campaign results with competitors or industry standards, brands can determine their relative performance.
• ROI Calculation: One of the most sought-after metrics in any campaign is Return on Investment (ROI). Onalytica’s advanced analytics seamlessly calculate ROI, factoring in both direct and indirect returns from influencer partnerships.

By offering these advanced analytical tools, Onalytica ensures that brands are not navigating the influencer landscape blindly. Instead, they’re equipped with actionable insights, clear performance indicators, and the ability to continually refine their strategies for even greater success.

5. Integration with Other Platforms:

Why it’s beneficial: For a holistic marketing strategy, it’s crucial that various tools and platforms can integrate and share data seamlessly.

How Onalytica helps: Onalytica integrates with several other marketing platforms, ensuring that data flows effortlessly between systems. This enhances efficiency and ensures that influencer campaigns are well-coordinated with other marketing efforts.

6. Education and Support:

Why it’s beneficial: The dynamic nature of the digital world means that best practices, algorithms, audience behaviors, and influencer trends are in a constant state of evolution. For brands to truly leverage the power of influencer marketing, they need more than just a tool – they require guidance, knowledge, and timely support. An educated brand can make more informed decisions, adapt to changes swiftly, and craft more impactful influencer campaigns.

How Onalytica empowers brands: Onalytica doesn’t just stop at providing a platform; it assumes the role of an educator and supporter. Here’s how Onalytica’s commitment to education and support enhances the user experience:

• Resource Library: Onalytica boasts a comprehensive library filled with insightful articles, case studies, whitepapers, and research reports. These resources cover a wide range of topics, from the basics of influencer marketing to advanced strategies and emerging trends.
• Webinars and Workshops: Regularly hosted by industry experts, these sessions offer brands an opportunity to learn in real-time, ask questions, and gain insights directly from the pioneers of influencer marketing.
• Dedicated Support Team: Whenever brands face challenges or have queries, Onalytica’s dedicated support team is just a call or message away. Their swift response times and in-depth knowledge ensure that brands can navigate any roadblocks with ease.
• Interactive Tutorials: For those new to the platform or looking to explore advanced features, Onalytica offers interactive tutorials. These step-by-step guides ensure users can fully harness the platform’s capabilities.
• Community Forums: Onalytica has fostered a vibrant community of brands, influencers, and marketers. Their forums act as a space for discussions, knowledge sharing, collaboration opportunities, and peer support.
• Feedback Channels: Onalytica believes in continuous improvement. They actively encourage users to provide feedback, suggestions, and feature requests, ensuring the platform remains relevant and user-centric.

In essence, Onalytica goes beyond being a mere tool – it positions itself as a partner in a brand’s influencer marketing journey. Through its robust education and support initiatives, Onalytica ensures that brands are equipped not just with a platform, but with the knowledge, skills, and support network necessary for influencer marketing success.

7. Ethical Influencer Vetting:

Why it’s beneficial: In an age of fake followers and bots, ensuring that influencers are genuine and ethical is paramount. As you delve into influencer marketing as a strategy, this will become more apparent as you move forward.

How Onalytica helps: The platform has stringent vetting processes to ensure influencers are authentic and adhere to ethical standards. This adds an additional layer of trust and credibility to the influencers you connect with through Onalytica.

Conclusion:

Influencer marketing, when executed correctly, can yield phenomenal results for brands.

However, it requires meticulous strategy, research, and relationship management. Onalytica simplifies and enhances each step of this process with its intuitive features and robust analytics. It’s not just about finding influencers; it’s about finding the right influencers and fostering genuine, lasting partnerships with them.

And in this endeavor, Onalytica is a premier tool for influencer marketing and therefore invaluable ally for brands looking to use the strategy.

If you’re venturing into influencer marketing or looking to refine your existing strategy, Onalytica deserves a spot in your toolkit.

Got a question? Pop it into the comments below.

The post Why and How Onalytica is a Premier Tool for Influencer Marketing appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

While most marketers are familiar with B2C influencer marketing on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit, there’s another frontier that’s proving equally, if not more, potent for businesses: B2B influencer marketing.

This is where Thinkers360 steps in.

What is Thinkers360?

Thinkers360 is a comprehensive platform that connects B2B companies with industry influencers, thought leaders, and authors across numerous sectors.

Unlike traditional social media platforms like LinkedIn which focus on follower count, Thinkers360 emphasizes an individual’s depth of expertise, the quality of their content, and their real-world influence within specific industries.

It’s more than just another platform; it’s an important nexus where thought leadership meets impactful influence.

Let’s take a closer look:

1. Thought Leadership Hub: At its core, Thinkers360 is a curated network of industry experts, authors, influencers, and speakers. It’s not just about numbers or follower counts but about genuine expertise and influence in niche sectors.
2. Content-Centric Platform: Unlike many other platforms where follower count takes precedence, Thinkers360 places a premium on the quality, depth, and relevance of the content. This ensures that audiences receive valuable insights, making it a reliable source of industry knowledge.
3. B2B-Focused Dynamics: While many platforms cater primarily to B2C influencers, Thinkers360 is dedicated to the B2B sphere. This means it connects brands with influencers who have a deeper understanding of business complexities and can communicate effectively with professionals.
4. Collaborative Opportunities: Thinkers360 is not just about B2B influencer marketing in the traditional sense. It offers a myriad of collaboration opportunities, be it joint webinars, research initiatives, speaking opportunities, and co-authored content. The platform is designed to foster partnerships that bring value to both brands and influencers.
5. Analytical Insights: Recognizing the importance of data in today’s business world, Thinkers360 provides comprehensive analytics. Brands can assess the impact of their influencer campaigns, ensuring that they achieve the desired return on investment (ROI).

In essence, Thinkers360 isn’t just another online platform; it’s a paradigm shift in how businesses interact with influential thought leaders and where they can find, contact, and engage them.

It’s completely different than any other platform or tool in influencer marketing, particularly in the B2B space.

It’s a platform where real-world knowledge and expertise are recognized and leveraged to foster engagement to drive genuine business growth.

Why is Thinkers360 a Great Tool for B2B Influencer Marketing?

1. Niche-Focused Influencers: Unlike B2C platforms, Thinkers360 focuses on niche experts with specific and deep industry knowledge. On Thinkers360, you can connect with influencers who are genuinely respected in their sectors and can speak authoritatively and create high-quality content on specialized topics including CX, pricing, logistics, supply chain, data, AI, machine learning, and many others.
2. Quality Over Quantity: Thinkers360’s ranking system prioritizes the quality and impact of an influencer’s content over the number of followers they have. You are able to collaborate with influencers who not only have a wide reach but are also trusted sources of information.
3. Authentic Engagement: The platform promotes genuine collaboration between businesses and influencers. It’s not just about promoting a product but about building meaningful, insightful content together that resonates with a B2B audience.
4. Diverse Opportunities: Beyond traditional influencer partnerships, Thinkers360 allows brands to connect with independent analysts, authors, speakers, and consultants, offering a broader range of collaboration opportunities.
5. Data-Driven Insights: Thinkers360 provides businesses with analytics and insights to measure the success of their influencer campaigns. This helps businesses refine their strategies and maximize ROI.

The Power of B2B Influencer Marketing

B2B influencer marketing is more than just a trending strategy; it’s a powerful tool that bridges the gap between businesses and their target audience in a uniquely credible manner.

Here’s why it stands out:

1. Trust Acceleration: In the B2B sector, trust is paramount. Decision-makers rely heavily on expert opinions and insights. B2B influencers, due to their specialized knowledge and industry recognition, can rapidly foster trust among potential business clients and partners.
2. Relevance & Resonance: Unlike B2C influencers who cater to a broad audience, B2B influencers address a specific industry or niche. Their content is authoritative and highly relevant, resonating deeply with their audience.
3. Content Amplification: Partnering with B2B influencers allows for the creation and amplification of thought leadership content. This not only increases brand visibility but positions the brand as an industry leader.
4. Long-Term Relationships: The nature of B2B transactions often involves long-term engagements and substantial investments. Influencer partnerships can foster and nurture these prolonged relationships by offering continuous value and insights.

For a deeper dive into this realm, consider checking out our blog post on “The Rise of B2B Influencers,” Part One and Part Two.

It provides a comprehensive overview of how B2B influencer marketing is reshaping the landscape of business interactions and the undeniable benefits it brings to your marketing.

Once you’re ready to reach out to influencers, you should read our follow-up post How to Set Up an Influencer Marketing Plan.

In this post, we show you step-by-step how to craft your own influencer strategy.

Conclusion

In a world where everyone is vying for attention, Thinkers360 offers a breath of fresh air for B2B brands.

By emphasizing quality, authenticity, and genuine expertise, it has created a platform that genuinely benefits both businesses and influencers.

If your business operates in the B2B sector and you’re looking to make a meaningful impact, it’s time to explore the potential of Thinkers360.

Your future partnerships with industry-leading experts await.

Got a question? Pop it into the comments below.

The post Thinkers360: The Ultimate Tool for B2B Influencer Marketing appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

Here is a breakdown by medium from Marketing Charts:

Based on WARC’s extensive survey and study, the prominent companies – Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Bytedance, and Meta – are projected to account for 50.7% of the global ad spend this year.

Their combined market share is expected to rise to 51.9% in 2024.

Alphabet leads the pack, accounting for a significant one-quarter of the global ad spend. Meta follows, with a 13.5% share, up from 12.3% the previous year and forecasted to reach 14% by next year.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s retail media business is on an upward trajectory, with projections indicating a share of 4.7% this year and 5% in the subsequent year.

In terms of mediums, pure-play internet is expected to account for 66.4% of the total ad spend this year, and this percentage is forecasted to increase to 67.7% in 2024.

Influencers are bundled under the ‘pure-play internet’ segment and not singled out in this report but investment in their content is expected to continue to rise in line with these larger trends.

Social media is projected to represent a 20.9% share globally, and linear TV’s share is anticipated to decline from 18% last year to 16.3% this year.

Additionally, premium video is projected to represent 19.4% of global ad spending.

Traditional mediums, such as out-of-home and publishing, are hovering around the 5% range, and audio (encompassing radio and online audio) is anticipated to settle at 3.7% this year, with a possible decrease the following year.

We encourage you to check out the complete WARC report for a comprehensive understanding. In the evolving landscape of advertising, staying updated is crucial.

At The Influence Marketer, we’re your steadfast guides on this exciting journey.

Stay tuned as we continue to explore, analyze, and provide insights into the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, especially influencer marketing.

Got a question? Pop it into the comments below.

The post Ad Spend Is Soaring in 2023 and Digital Titans are Riding the Wave appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

Let’s take a look at the key ways to integrate AI into your influencer campaigns:

1. Precise Influencer Selection through AI Insights

Let’s begin with the cornerstone of influencer campaigns – selecting the right influencers.

AI adds a layer of efficiency by analyzing data to identify influencers who resonate with your target audience.

By considering engagement rates, demographics, and content relevance, AI algorithms facilitate informed decisions in forming partnerships.

2. Informed Decision-Making via Data-Driven Insights

AI’s introduction transforms decision-making into a data-driven process.

Historical data and real-time trends merge to craft campaigns aligned with consumer preferences and market dynamics.

This shift from speculation to data-backed strategy enhances the effectiveness of campaigns.

3. Enhanced Personalization in Content Creation

Personalization remains influencer marketing’s gem, refined by AI’s natural language processing capabilities.

AI discerns an influencer’s style, enabling marketers to craft messages that genuinely connect with their followers, especially in the B2C arena.

This customized approach fosters higher engagement and authenticity.

4. Performance Projection and Real-Time Optimization

AI empowers us to foresee campaign outcomes through historical data analysis.

Furthermore, during live campaigns, AI monitors real-time data, offering suggestions for timely adjustments.

This iterative process enhances campaigns as they unfold helping your team see what’s working and what’s not.

5. Verifying Authenticity and Trustworthiness

AI steps in to address the issue of fake followers and engagement.

Algorithms distinguish genuine from suspicious metrics, ensuring partnerships with credible influencers who genuinely connect with their audience.

This bolstered authenticity safeguards brand reputation.

No, it’s not perfect yet, but it is improving.

Remember that no matter how good some tools get, fakers will always be out there, so verify by checking stats using multiple tools.

6. Efficiency through AI-Streamlined Workflows

AI-driven automation streamlines workflow management.

Tasks such as contract negotiations, content approvals, and payment tracking can be efficiently managed.

This automation liberates marketers to focus on strategic planning and the creative aspects of the campaigns.

7. Post-Campaign Insights via AI Analytics

AI-powered analytics facilitate post-campaign analysis, measuring key metrics like reach, engagement, conversion rates, and ROI.

These insights help shape future strategies through informed decision-making.

Harmonizing Human and AI Expertise

While AI is a valuable addition, human expertise remains essential so don’t discount it.

AI complements human creativity and strategic thinking, working in tandem to achieve optimal results.

The ideal partnership involves leveraging AI’s capabilities alongside human intuition.

To conclude, the integration of AI with influencer marketing presents a transformative avenue for brands.

Those embracing this collaboration position themselves at the forefront of innovation.

As we navigate the digital landscape, remember that AI enhances our journey, but our unique insights and human touch continue to shape its course.

What do you think?

The post How to Advance Influencer Marketing Teams through AI Integration appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

With businesses moving the focus of their marketing and sales departments to various online platforms, this popular new marketing technique has become available. But what is a brand ambassador, and who can be one?

In simple terms, a brand ambassador is a person who positively influences a company or organization’s image and reputation. This is accomplished online, through the use of social media posts, blog posts, or emails that include photos depicting influencers interacting with the company’s products or testimonials from loyal customers. In essence, brand ambassador programs are word-of-mouth marketing on an internet-sized scale.

Right now, there are two main types of brand ambassadors:

• • Influencers
    Influencers are probably the type of brand ambassador with which you are most familiar. These are representatives chosen by the company or organization because of their ability to reflect the brand and reach various audiences. Celebrities have been used in commercial advertising for decades and the same mentality now applies to online personalities with a large following. Influencers include YouTubers, bloggers, and Instagram models. Influencer incentives usually involve an affiliate reward system such as commission fees or free and reduced-price products and services from the company.
  • Fans
    Companies and organizations choose these types of people as brand ambassadors because of their loyalty to their products or cause. Fans generally don’t reach the same size audience as an influencer might, but their content is more effective because it’s authentic, so hesitant customers trust them as a reliable source of information. You can see these brand ambassadors at work in the comments and reviews section on company websites and social media pages.

How can a brand ambassador help grow your business?

Brand ambassadors leverage something called influencer marketing. Influencer marketing engages audiences that a business or organization would otherwise struggle to reach. Using influencer marketing, a brand ambassador also has the unique ability to market your business in a way that appears more authentic than a sponsored post or ad.

Identify profitable ambassadors

The first step is the most important when selecting the right ambassador for your brand. Do your homework, otherwise you could end up losing money.

• Your brand ambassador should be relevant. Don’t get lost in the numbers. Relevancy is far more important than following. Especially if you are a niche brand, your goal is to find a brand ambassador whose social following matches your target audience as closely as possible.
• Credibility is key. You thought first impressions in person were important? Online consumers will give you even less of a chance, so look for someone you respect. Your brand ambassador will be many potential future customers’ first impression of your brand and you don’t want to blow it.
• Don’t forget about budget. A brand ambassador program is a business negotiation like any other and it should be treated as such. Look for ambassadors within your price range who are willing to work for the perks you’re able to provide.

How do I choose the right type of ambassador for my brand?

If you’re thinking about starting a brand ambassador program for your company or organization, it’s important to ask yourself the question; what do I want to achieve? The answer to this question will help you determine the best brand ambassador program for you. There are approximately four identifiable types of brand ambassador programs with plenty of wiggle room in between to customize and suit your needs.

Affiliate marketing programs offer brand ambassadors commission for promoting products or services. One of the most well-known users of affiliate marketing is Amazon. Amazon popularized affiliate marketing by making it easy for bloggers and other content-based websites to earn passive income. All you have to do is drop your personal link in the copy of your page or post and any visitors to your site who complete a purchase using that unique link send a percentage of the sale your way.

For obvious reasons, this brand ambassador program is one of the most popular and widely used among e-commerce brands because it’s so effective. Brand ambassador Instagram accounts are also cropping up at an astounding rate. Instagram took Amazon’s model and applied it to social media. As a photo-sharing platform, brand ambassador Instagram accounts are extremely effective for selling clothing and accessories as well as beauty and healthcare products.

With an affiliate marketing program, you’re outsourcing your marketing department to the entire online community, while incentivizing their efforts with rewards. It’s a classic pay-for-performance brand ambassador program that serves up a win for both brand and affiliate if it’s done right.

Requirements-driven programs are brand ambassadors who work for your company for a set amount of time. These ambassadors are typically well-known online personalities who are rewarded with free products. Sounds like an influencer? The concept is similar, but the difference is the requirements-driven brand ambassador only interacts with your brand until the requirements are met. This makes the requirement-driven arrangement less of a celebrity partnership and more like a brief boost in online engagement.

One of the major benefits of this type of brand ambassador is that in a short amount of time you can drastically increase your ROI while spreading the word to your target audience. Yet another perk is this method also makes it easy to keep an eye on how much you’re spending. With a previously-agreed-upon requirements and reward structure set up, you can control exactly how and where you’re spending your marketing money.

Informal brand ambassador programs, also known as referral marketing, takes one of the oldest marketing methods; word of mouth, and applies it to the wide world of online sales.

Have you ever been offered a percentage off your purchase if you refer a customer? That’s referral marketing at work. Studies have found that referred customers are not only more profitable, they’re also more loyal than non-referred customers. Google Reviews, Amazon, Yelp, and TripAdvisor are among the top business review websites. Facebook and Instagram check-in features allow patrons and their social networks an inside look at a consumer’s experience at various restaurants and event venues through the use of photos and reviews in social media post format.

Are you worried about your company or organization’s online reputation? It can be overwhelming to think about managing your online reputation which is why referral marketing software could be a valuable tool for your business.

Online referral marketing software allows companies to track customer behavior online. Many platforms track a wide variety of online review websites and allow you to respond to your audience not only via your business, but also through direct messaging. Analyze your return on investment and optimize your campaign as needed.

Informal brand ambassadors can use online referral marketing software to provide their family members and friends with customized links, referral codes, and advertisements using e-mails, blogs, and messages. The company then rewards the advocates when a purchase is made using the link.

College campus ambassador programs are an effective way for brands to cut through the noise and target a very specific audience. Building an effective college campus ambassador program is an involved process. For that reason, it’s not as popular as affiliate or informal brand ambassador programs. But a well-planned and organized campus ambassador program creates the potential for great financial success within your business. Here are four tips for starting your own program.

1. Choose a campus that fits your brand
   If you find a university that receives your brand’s message well, successfully launching your ambassador program will be that much easier. Do your research early. Applicant tracking systems will help you understand where you’re receiving a majority of your ambassador position applications from, then you can focus your efforts accordingly.
2. Select your subgroup
   Finding the right college campus for your ambassador program is only the tip of the iceberg. Look for the students on that campus who embody your company or organization’s vision. Make sure to select students capable of delivering that message. Students active in both academics and extracurricular activities make great brand ambassadors because they have large circles. Consider targeting influential students like club leaders, sorority and fraternity members, and student government participants.
3. Establish your reputation
   Nobody wants to jump on board with a company they’ve never heard of. Most public universities as well as many private colleges put on career and campus activity fairs at the beginning of the fall semester. Reach out early and often to the career development and student advancement office at the college or university you have chosen to pursue. Bring branded materials to events, organize competitions and activities, and advertise brand ambassador positions in various student news outlets.
4. Use referral marketing
   Once you’ve got a few active brand ambassadors, grow your presence on campus by incentivizing others to join. Use your website and social media to make the referral process as user-friendly and painless as possible. Then make sure to reward both parties for their efforts.

Motivate and Empower Your Ambassadors

Regardless of which type of brand ambassador program your business or organization decides to pursue, your ambassador does not work for free.

Incentivize engagement with rewards like free products, tickets to a local event, or free attendance to the next business conference you’re attending. Rewards not only give your brand ambassador something to chase after, it makes them feel like less of an outsider.

The more connected your brand ambassador is with your company or organization, the harder they will work for you.

Watch their engagement and measure effectiveness

Finally, make sure you are accomplishing your goals with your campaign.

A brand ambassador program is not a get rich quick scheme. If you try to treat it as a set-it-and-forget-it marketing solution, you will pay dearly.

Using various forms of ROI software, you can send your ambassador discount codes or referral codes to include in their blog posts, social media posts, and emails. These codes not only steer consumers directly to a purchase point, they provide you and your marketing department with valuable insight. You can measure exactly how much you’re spending versus what you’re earning as a result of your marketing campaign and make adjustments where they’re needed.

According to a Nielsen study conducted in 2015, 84 percent of people trust recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues over any other form of marketing. Brand ambassador programs wield the power of authenticity, so they’re sure to remain a relevant form of product marketing for the foreseeable future.

If it’s done right, your brand ambassador program will be an exciting new way for you to spread the word about your organization or business, boost revenue, and manage your reputation all at once.

The post Who are brand ambassadors? appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

The poll also showed that 92% of Americans go online daily. Out of such numbers, new marketing trends arise. At the forefront of those trends are digital marketing pioneers who steer the industry via speaking engagements around the world. Digital marketing keynote speakers are the industry experts you should be following to prepare your business for these trends. 

Personally, speaking at marketing events has always been one of the most rewarding parts of my career. It’s a great feeling letting audiences understand that they are not alone with their struggles. It’s also a great feeling to see their faces light up as I share new insights and practical tips with them.

While I love speaking at public events, I also take great pleasure in attending marketing conferences around the world and soak up as much knowledge as I can. Usually, I end up racing back to my office, looking to quickly implement what I’ve learned.

The best marketing keynote speakers in the world

Are you planning a conference or looking to book a marketing keynote speaker? The key is to deliver what your audience needs.

Below are five must-see marketing keynote speakers that I recommend. Any of these speakers can add prestige to your conferences. In addition, these speakers are excellent choices to teach your marketing team how they can stand apart from the competition. 

I’ve attended keynote speeches by all of these speakers and can personally vouch for every one of them.

Tamara McCleary

Tamara McCleary is a branding expert, influence marketer, and CEO of Thulium, a social media marketing and consulting agency. Onalytica ranks her among the top Top 50 Big Data Influencers of 2016 and one of the Top 25 AI/Machine Language influencers. In 2016, she was also named the #1 Most Influential Woman in Martech by B2B Marketing. Forbes writes about her often, including a recent article about how to identify real influencers and leverage their reach for your own marketing needs.

Her keynote topics typically cover how marketing and technology intersect. Past talks have covered the future of work, the future of marketing, and branding techniques using storytelling. 

During her career, Tamara has made keynote speeches at over 1,000 events to over 100,000 people. Her keynotes usually focus on transforming sales, marketing, and branding efforts using social media.

Gary Vaynerchuk

After Gary Vaynerchuk graduated from college, he followed his passion for wines. First, he converted his father’s liquor store into a wine retail outlet called ‘Wine Library’. In 2006, he hopped on-board the growing e-commerce trend to create Wine Library TV, a platform to not only sell wines but to also share his passion for them. 

He’s considered one of the first wine stars in the YouTube era and has been featured on CNBC, Forbes, and Entrepreneur.com.  

Soon after, he joined with his brother AJ Gary to launch VaynerMedia, an agency that helps established companies build up their digital brands using social media. His clients include General Electric, Budweiser, PepsiCo, Quaker Oats, and the New York Jets.

Gary also has a proven track record as an angel investor, having backed Uber, Twitter, and Tumblr in the past. Thus, it’s not surprising that his latest project is VaynerRSE, an angel investment company seeking to spend $25 million in capital to support the next generation of disruptive technologies. 

He has made dozens of keynote speeches through the years. Topics included Branding Through Social Media, Loving What You Do and The Humanization of Business. For a full list, check out a Youtube playlist covering all of his keynote speeches.

Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek first rose to acclaim in 2009 with his first TED Talk about how great leaders inspire action. That program became one of the most popular TED talks of all time, with over 48 million views.

He is the bestselling author of Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together Is Better and Find Your Why. His most recent book The Infinite Game was released in June 2019.  

He has given keynote speeches for some huge organizations including Disney, American Airlines, the United Nations, and the United States Congress. His previous keynotes have included such topics as Leadership vs Authority, Inspiring Action in Consumers, and Living for the Moment.

Mark Schaefer

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is also an acclaimed keynote speaker, author, and consultant. He works with some of the top brands in the world by delivering highly effective keynote speeches and workshops.

His clients include global powerhouses like Dell, the American Bar Association, Adidas, AT&T, and the U.S. Air Force.

He is also the author of seven best-selling books. These include Social Media Explained, Return On Influence, Born to Blog, and The Tao of Twitter. In addition, he is the co-host of The Marketing Companion, ranked by Outbrain as one of the top digital marketing podcasts in the world. 

His talks focus on social media methods, marketing strategy, and personal branding. Previous keynotes have included The Most Human Company Wins, The Future of Marketing is You, and The Future of Marketing. 

Whether you need a keynote speaker to ignite your conference or a full-day marketing workshop, he can create a program to meet your needs. Recent speaking engagements include Social Media Marketing World, American Bar Association, and Content Marketing World to name a few.

Mark has been a keynote speaker at a number of large conferences, including Social Media Week London and the Word of Mouth Marketing Conference in Tokyo. He has also lectured at Princeton University, Oxford, and many other prestigious schools.

Lee Odden

Lee Odden is the CEO of TopRank Marketing, a digital marketing agency that provides consulting services in content marketing, influencer marketing, email marketing, and conversion optimization.

TopRank Marketing has worked with a number of leading B2B and B2C companies, including SAPAriba, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Staples, Slack, General Mills, and State Farm. 

Odden also runs one of the most popular marketing blogs on the internet, Toprank’s Online Marketing Blog. 

He’s a highly respected public speaker who has made keynotes at several digital marketing industry conferences. These include the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, NMX New York, and the Communicators Conference. 

In addition to keynotes, Lee also conducts workshops at private events. Topics include The Future of Search Marketing, The Future of Content Marketing, and Building a Social Media Foundation for Executives.

Top conferences to look out for

In this section, I listed some of the top marketing conferences in the world. Some I have spoken at, and some I will be speaking at. The others are ones that I’ve attended or plan to attend in the future. 

If you’re looking for the best marketing conferences with the most cutting edge ideas, keep this list in mind.

Content Marketing World

https://www.contentmarketingworld.com/
Held in September 2019 in Cleveland Ohio, this is one of the best events to network with the best and brightest in the content marketing industry. My talk at this year’s event was about how to drive a real business impact from influencer marketing.  I spoke with Amisha Gandhi, the vice president of influencer marketing for SAP Ariba, and we shared stories of successes and failures from the field. These were the good, the bad and the ugly—from the inside. We discussed how to design creative influencer campaigns that generate buzz as well as real, measurable ROI.

This year’s event included over 120 workshops by leading brand marketers. Topics covered AI, ROI, storytelling, strategy, and demand generation. 

Brands attending the 2019 conference included Tyson, TripAdvisor, Volvo, Nestle, Dell, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart. 

Speakers at the 2019 conference included actor Mindy Kaling, musician Henry Rollins,  and Amber Naslund, LinkedIn’s senior content marketing evangelist.

The Influencer Marketing Show

https://influencermarketingshow.com/
The Influencer Marketing Show (IMS) is a significant event for marketing professionals looking to raise their game to a higher level. It’s a stimulating environment where top global brands, agencies, and content creators come together for two days of networking and building relationships. 

I spoke at last year’s conference on the value of cultivating long-term relationships with influencers. The IMS was a terrific mix of brand practitioners, agencies, and vendors that had a great vibe.  As an American, I valued the opportunity to connect and share ideas with my colleagues in the UK and Europe. I also enjoyed meeting with brands and hearing about their challenges.

Held October 22-23 in London, this conference focuses on teaching attendees how to engage with the top influencers on social media. Speakers will discuss strategies used by leading brands to create relationships with the right influencers that can help market their brands. 

2019 speakers include Alex Frolov (CEO of HypeAuditor), Christer Björk (global head of Sales for Mikz Alliance) and Mike Craddock (co-founder of the Kairos Group).

IMCX (Influencer Marketing Conference & Expo)

http://influencermarketingexpo.com/
This is actually one of the only conferences in the world wholly dedicated to the influencer marketing industry. 

Held this year in July at the Los Angeles Convention Center, this was a 3-day networking event for digital marketing professionals, social media influencers, and numerous big brands. For companies looking to learn more about leveraging Influencer marketing, this is one of the most important events of the year. 

My talk at this inaugural conference was moderating a panel of B2B influencer marketing experts, including Brandi Boatner (IBM), Amisha Gandhi (SAP Ariba) and Rammell Lewis (Microsoft).  The IMCX is a new conference in a new industry, so they are still finding their footing, but the speaker list was outstanding and the content second to none.

It’s an inspiring event for those looking to use influencer marketing to help them meet their marketing goals. It’s also an attractive option for exhibitors to show off their services to companies completely focused on improving their influencer marketing strategies. 

Next year promises to be bigger, better, and more streamlined.

Social Media Marketing World (SMMW)

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld/
This conference started in 2013 and is held each year at the San Diego Convention Center. Hosted by Social Media Examiner (the world’s largest social media marketing resource), this event helps businesses learn how to use social media to engage customers, drive traffic, and boost sales. 

2019’s event was held last March 20-22. It attracted top marketers from Amazon, Cisco, Microsoft, AT&T, and many other industry leaders. 

Next year’s event is scheduled for March 1-3, 2020. The keynote speaker for next year’s event is Michael Stelzner from Social Media Examiner. His talk will reveal what the newest trends reveal about social media marketing in the coming years.

SXSW (South by Southwest)

https://www.sxsw.com/
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual series of film festivals, music events, and conferences that happen each March in Austin, Texas. The event is produced by SXSW, LLC, which organizes conferences, festivals, and trade shows around the world. Of interest to marketers is SXSW Interactive, which focuses on emerging technologies with a trade show, networking events, and a startup accelerator. 

Essentially, SXSW Interactive serves as a platform to discuss how cutting-edge technologies influence digital creativity. Expect a series of presentations by emerging technology figures, plus showcases for new websites, video games, and startup ideas. 

During the 2019 SXSW Interactive, keynotes were delivered by a number of notables. These included Instagram founders Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, as well as Joseph Lubin from ConsenSys, an up and coming blockchain production studio. To check out the keynotes planned for the 2020 conference, click here.

Content Jam

https://www.contentjam.com/
This is Chicago’s largest content marketing conference. Held every October, more than 400 leading marketers and speakers gather to share ideas about content strategies, conversion optimisation, and trends analyses. At this year’s conference (October 28-29), experts in content strategy, conversion optimization, and KPI analyses will share insights, tools, and cutting-edge techniques.

This is a great conference to attend because of the talent it attracts. This is where top minds from across America come together to guide attendees through workshops, networking opportunities, and fresh insights.

Now in its sixth year of operation, Content Jam is produced by Orbit Media Studios. It typically attracts an interesting mix of mid-level marketers and senior-level executives who serve as influencers within their own organizations.

Incite Brand Marketing Summit

https://events.incite-group.com/west/
This annual event is being held this year on October 21-22, 2019. Designed by marketers for marketers, it brings together leading CMOs from the world’s top brands who share their insights and best practices with attendees. This year’s speakers include CMOs from Western Union, Northwestern Mutual, Monster Energy, Pepsico, and AT&T. 

This event is attractive because it brings an impressive roster of big brand CMOs together for industry keynotes, case studies, and workshops. Download the event brochure for full details of this year’s conference.

Other conferences

B2B Marketing Exchange

https://b2bmarketing.exchange/
Perhaps one of the biggest conventions for B2B marketers and practitioners is the annual B2B Marketing Exchange. It is a three-day event wherein industry experts share the latest cutting-edge tactics and technologies in B2B marketing. There are hands-on workshops, case studies, and B2B labs where attendees can learn from marketing veterans. The tracks that they offer are also well-suited for the whole team to learn from.

Next year’s B2B Marketing Exchange will be held on February 24-26, 2020 at Scottsdale, Arizona. Keynote speakers to look forward to are Todd Henry and Tamsen Webster.

VidCon

https://vidcon.com/
Every year, content creators, executives, brands, and thousands of attendees flock to VidCon. This is the world’s largest event for those who are passionate about online videos. Here, content creators can learn more about the ins and outs of online video production from leading industry experts. It’s also an excellent venue for networking with fans, fellow creators, and industry professionals.

This year’s VidCon has concluded last July, but interested individuals can still attend next year’s event. It is reported that VidCon 2020 will be held in Mexico City on April 2020.

Inbound

https://www.inbound.com/
Whether you’re a product manager, start-up founder, or creative marketer, Inbound will surely have something for you. This annual event is held in Boston and attended by marketers, salespeople, and customer success experts. Their line of keynote speakers are also excellent as well—Michelle Obama and Gary Vaynerchuk have been featured previously. It was four days of inspiring talks, great parties, and enjoyable entertainment.

Some of the notable speakers for Inbound 2019 included Katie Couric, Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, and Sal Khan.

The Gathering (Banff)

https://cultgathering.com/
A convention featuring the world’s cult-like brands, The Gathering is a must-attend event. Through high-caliber inner sanctums,  workshops, keynotes, and panel sessions, you’ll learn how to achieve cult brand status. You’ll also get to meet and greet the most influential brand decision-makers through gatherings and networking lunches. If you’re looking for an event full of ideas, passion, and innovation, buy your ticket for this year’s The Gathering.

To pump up your excitement, some of the speakers in February 2020 include Rory Sutherland (Ogilvy), Geoff Cottrill (Coca-Cola), and Alex Bodman (Spotify). The Gathering 2020 will be held in Banff, Canada.

MarTech

https://martechconf.com/
Marketing in the digital age can be challenging, which is why MarTech started. It aims to help marketers overcome challenges through marketing technology. Aside from expert-led presentations, there are also graduate-level programs, workshops, and networking opportunities for every attendee. Overall, it’s an educational convention for your organization’s entire marketing team.

MarTech is held annually in Boston, Massachusetts. This year’s speakers are none other than Mary Blanks, Jessica Bowman, Cesar Brea, and many more marketing experts.

Other keynote speakers to look out for

At most conferences, I meet digital marketing specialists with many different specialties. Some are keynote speakers, which I’ve covered in the previous section. Other specialists cover content marketing, SEO, or social media marketing. Below, I break down the top speakers from each of these sub-specialties.

Notable Influencer marketing keynote speakers

Ryan Schram

Ryan Schram is the chief operating officer at IZEA. He has over 15 years of experience in consumer marketing and technology space and has some interesting ideas on influencer marketing. For example, one of his ideas is that the rise of internet celebrities has had a negative impact on the authenticity of product endorsements. He also believes that, as people become desensitized to traditional media adverts, genuine influencers can breakthrough by building trust with their followers.

Cat Lincoln

Cat Lincoln is the founder & CEO of CLEVER, an influencer marketing agency. She has over 20 years of impressive Fortune 500 marketing experience. For example, at Wells Fargo, she managed their in-house agency’s multi-million dollar budget.

Highly sought after as a speaker, she has an impressive keynote resume. Her past keynotes were delivered at the New York Media Festival, the Alliance of CEOs, the PBS Brandmasters Seminar and the Wells Fargo Social Media Summit.

Philip Brown

Philip is a consultant with Traackr, a leading influencer marketing platform. He firmly believes that influencer marketing should go beyond content creation, and no successful influencer marketing strategy can live off of a smash and grab “pay for content” approach. Education on the topic is vital, for brands, marketers, and content creators—and this is Philip’s mission. Featured in PR Week, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, Brandwatch, and Eventbrite, Philip is a highly sought-after speaker.

Best content marketing keynote speakers

Seth Godin

Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and esteemed keynote speaker. He has written 18 best-selling books that include The Dip, Purple Cow, and What To Do When It’s Your Turn. He has also founded two thriving companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne, which was acquired by Yahoo. 

Godin’s keynotes have touched on education trends, creative innovation, the art of spreading ideas, and the impact of shared value systems. He’s a gifted speaker on the topics of branding and advertising, which are often peppered with big ideas for change.

Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is a YouTube Certified Expert in Content Strategy, Content Ownership, and Audience Growth. In July 2013, he started producing a weekly YouTube show focused on tactical evergreen content that eventually grew to 275,000 subscribers. His keynotes focus on video SEO, practical video production, and audience growth and engagement. These are structured to help other marketers to achieve their goals on YouTube while attracting their ideal audiences. 

As a creative entrepreneur, he has a firm understanding of the challenge between tempering artistic visions with clear and practical outcomes. His talks tend to focus on providing tactical advice to aspiring YouTubers, while at the same time motivating listeners to take action themselves.

Robert Rose

Robert is a content marketer, strategist, customer experience expert, and renowned keynote speaker. He’s also the founder and chief strategy officer of The Content Advisory, a consulting group within the Content Marketing Institute. 

Over the past 20 years, he has excelled by helping marketers tell their story more effectively. He has worked with hundreds of large companies, including 15 within the Fortune 100. 

Robert is one of the top marketing strategy, audience engagement, and content experience experts in the world. Hearing him deliver a keynote is a rare opportunity that should not be missed.

Tom Martin (Converse Digital)

After 20 years working for an advertising agency, Tom founded Converse Digital in 2010. Since then, Converse Digital has grown by 25% annually, without even running any ads or making any cold calls. 

Converse Digital is a team with experience in both traditional and digital marketing strategy development. This is because many of their clients are digitally challenged companies falling far behind the digital knowledge curve. 

His keynotes follow these themes by focusing on helping clients to understand tech trends enough to start growing their brands online.

Best social media marketing keynote speakers

Larry Kim

Larry Kim is the founder of  WordStream, a marketing software company that manages over a half-billion dollars in annual ad spend for over ten thousand customers. He is the current CEO running MobileMonkey, a tool that lets customers engage with customers using mobile messaging platforms. 

Larry has keynoted dozens of marketing events in recent years. He’s next scheduled to speak at 2020’s Content Marketing Conference in Boston.

Jay Baer

Jay is an esteemed keynote speaker and a New York Times best-selling author of six books. He has also founded five multi-million dollar companies.

Over his 26 years in the marketing industry, he has worked with over 700 companies, including 36 in the FORTUNE 500.

As an emcee, he has hosted events for IBM, Oracle, and many other leading brands, speaking in front of audiences as large as 15,000 people.  

In his keynotes, Jay teaches attendees how to grow their businesses by giving customers a unique experience that they will notice, talk about, and share with others.

Pam Moore

MarketingNutz CEO Pam Moore is a highly sought-after keynote speaker. She has made presentations for Sony, IBM, Chick-Fil-A, The British Council, and many other major players. 

She has over 310,000 Twitter followers and over 350,000 LinkedIn followers. Her podcast, Social Zoom Factor, is consistently at the top of the iTunes charts. Her presence on these platforms has helped establish her as one of the most prominent social media thought leaders in the industry. 

Her keynotes focus on building winning brands using modern technologies that deliver measurable results.

She is passionate about helping people to connect with each other in authentic, refreshing ways. That shows in her talks, which tend to leave audiences feeling energized and motivated.

Brian Fanzo

Brian Fanzo is a millennial keynote speaker who teaches businesses how to leverage emerging technologies to stand out from the crowd while engaging with customers. 

He started his career working for the Department of Defense in cybersecurity. Then, he moved on to become a technology evangelist for a cloud computing startup. He is currently the Founder of iSocialFanz, which helps launch digital and influencer strategies for the world’s biggest brands, like IBM, Dell, the UFC Hewlett Packard, and Adobe. 

He also hosts three podcasts (FOMOFanz, Just Try This, and SMACtalk). In addition, he has spoken at many of the world’s leading marketer events. These include Social Media Marketing World, South By Southwest, and the Mobile World Congress. Click here to review his top keynotes of 2019.

Michael Stelzner

Social Media Examiner, the world’s largest resource for social media marketing, is founded by none other than Michael “Mike” Stelzner. He also spearheaded Social Media Marketing World, one of the industry’s largest conferences.

Michael has written innumerable articles on social media marketing, as well as two helpful books: Launch and Writing White Papers. He also generates original research, news, and expert interviews to help marketers conquer the volatile world of social media. 

Known for his strategic approach and attention to detail, Michael has been a keynote speaker in several events and summits. Even the greatest industry experts look up to him for his professionalism, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking.

He is currently sharing his expertise on three shows: The Social Media Marketing podcast, The Journey episodic documentary, and The Social Media Marketing Talk Show.

Best SEO keynote speakers

Ryan Stewart

With over hundreds of companies that he helped launch to success, Ryan Stewart is a keynote speaker that anyone will want in their event. This seasoned marketer and entrepreneur knows the business, and he can propel the growth of any brand.

Ryan has over 10 years of marketing experience, so he’s one of the best speakers to talk about SEO. His talks are built on data-driven case studies as well as his personal experience as a consultant and business owner. 

Getting Ryan as a speaker will give audiences a wealth of knowledge on SEO. He is most passionate about helping brands and organizations grow their businesses using SEO and digital marketing.

Brian Dean

Dubbed as the “SEO Genius” by Entrepreneur.com, Brian Dean is one of the best SEO keynote speakers. He is the founder of Backlinko, one of the richest online resources for actionable SEO advice.

Backlinko is a treasure trove of Brian’s learning as an SEO expert throughout the years. Aside from this, he also has guestings at several shows and educational talks at events. His results-focused approach is what earned him his name in the industry, gaining the trust of companies, like Apple, IBM, and Amazon.

Professional marketers turn to Brian and Backlinko for proven SEO advice. Even a few minutes of listening to Brian’s talks would already offer tips and strategies on getting higher rankings.

Ana Hoffman

Looking for traffic generation strategies? Ana Hoffman is the perfect SEO keynote speaker for an event. After all, she’s not called the “Tzarina of SEO” for nothing.

Aside from being the founder of The Traffic Generation Café, Ana is also an SEO consultant and a blog audit expert. She gives free traffic generation advice in her blog, but her educational talks are equally exceptional. Her passion is helping businesses drive profitable traffic and ultimately build their success.

Ana’s SEO, blogging, and social media marketing methods will surely help anyone who is struggling with their online business.

Rand Fishkin

The co-founder of Moz who left and established his own software company SparkToro, Rand Fishkin is someone whose SEO expertise is simply unparalleled.

Rand has a video series on the Moz website where he teaches SEO in the most understandable way, within just an hour. Additionally, he has also been an SEO keynote speaker in several events. Entrepreneurs trust Rand to help them with their marketing efforts and keep them ahead of online marketing strategies.

People call him the “Wizard of Moz”, and it’s not surprising at all. Rand is the benchmark for excellence in the SEO industry. Getting him as a keynote speaker will leave the audience inspired and full of knowledge.

Shane Barker

Shane Barker is the go-to expert for digital marketing strategies that generate more revenue.

He has spoken at several conferences around the world, including the Influencer Marketing Days Conference. He was also recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Influencer Marketing. Shane’s specializations include leveraging influencer marketing for brand growth, boosting SEO, using micro-influencers, and creating effective content marketing strategies.

Shane’s experience of more than 20 years has helped brands grow their revenues. It’s certain that getting him as an SEO keynote speaker will help even more businesses.

Conclusion

In the coming years, we can expect a constant flow of new trends and technologies disrupting standard practices in the marketing industry. Marketers are always on the lookout for new platforms, techniques, and resources to take their game to a higher level. This list represents the most diverse group of industry expert keynote speakers in the marketing world. As you’re preparing for your next conference or training session, keep these speakers in mind—all are available for bookings. Common Questions:

1. How do I become a keynote speaker?

The first thing to becoming a keynote speaker is to establish yourself in the industry. Organizations want someone who is an expert at what they do. And, one way of proving that is by building a successful business as proof of your success.

2. How do I market myself as a keynote speaker?

Building your online platform is one way of marketing yourself across several channels. Create content that attracts event organizers, media publications, colleges, and other companies. You can also seek out upcoming events and pitch in yourself as a keynote speaker.

3. How do I advertise as a keynote speaker?

An effective way of promoting yourself is to set yourself apart from other speakers. What makes you unique and why should organizers hire you? You can create a “hook” which identifies you from others. Examples are the speakers mentioned above, like Ana Hoffman as the “Tzarina of SEO” or Rand Fishkin as the “Wizard of Moz.”

4. What does a keynote speaker do?

In a corporate or commercial setting, a keynote speaker talks about the agenda of the event or convention. They are responsible for highlighting the main theme and set the tone for the event.

5. What’s the difference between a guest speaker and a keynote speaker?

Keynote speakers are more important than guest speakers. However, a keynote speaker’s talk may be followed by a guest speaker. Ideally, the keynote speaker should draw attention to the event and encourage people to attend it. Guest speakers usually share outside opinion or provide entertainment.

6. How do I book a marketing keynote speaker?

Well-known marketing keynote speakers can usually be contacted through their website and other online platforms that they use. You can also ask organizers or companies to recommend keynote speakers that they have worked with in the past.

7. How much does a marketing keynote speaker cost?

Depending on their expertise and popularity, a keynote speaker’s price range to speak for an event ranges from $1,000 to $30,000.

8. How do I find a marketing keynote speaker?

Attending conferences and events is one way of meeting marketing keynote speakers. This way, you’ll get to personally attend their talks and decide whether they are perfect for your event.

The post The Best Marketing Keynote Speakers for Your Next Influencer Event appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

Working with influencers can give your brand a more trusted and credible image. People with a desire to look and feel good will often seek out top brands and personalities for inspiration.

In the social media sphere, a number of health and fitness influencers have amassed massive followings. Since health is such a diverse genre, these influencers cover a huge range of topics. These include mindfulness and meditation, Paleo and Ketogenic diets, plus a growing interest in foods that promote wellness.

Boiling down the top 10 health influencers of 2019 was no easy task. We started with a list of over 100 health influencers (make sure you check out our top list of influencer tools) with a presence on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

We also looked at the number of times each influencer was mentioned on Google news. In addition, we factored in their brand partnerships, their own branded products, and the overall quality of their health and fitness ethos.

This list excludes spiritual figures and healthcare executives. Even though they are just as influential, this list focuses on influencers who spread their messages primarily through social media.

Michelle Lewin

Michelle Lewin did not have the easiest life growing up with her mother and siblings in Venezuela.

However, instead of letting their situation bring her down, she used it to push her boundaries and thrive in the world of fitness, bodybuilding, and overall physical health care.

She first found her love for working out and taking care of her body as a teenager when her mother brought her to their local exercise center. This was further strengthened when she met Swedish bodybuilder Jimmy Lewin who she eventually married in 2010.

At an early age, she was already traveling the world to pursue a modeling career for various agencies, brands, and platforms, and even to participate in amateur bodybuilding competitions.

When she moved with her husband to the US in 2012, she also began joining several National Physique Competitions and International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness competitions which she won multiple times within a few year’s time.

As she was thriving in the bodybuilding and fitness scene, she was also actively documenting her journey on her social media accounts which made more people notice her. Her growing following of more than 13 million on Instagram, almost 9 million likes on Facebook, over 461,000 followers on Twitter, and over 382,000 subscribers on YouTube just shows how much people look up to her.

On top of her rapid success, it is her modest and never-give-up attitude that really endeared her to her fans and allowed her to snag a spot on our list.
“The most important thing is to keep a constant, be disciplined, find the way to reach the better version of yourself,” she said in this video. “You need to set the excuses aside and find some time for yourself.”

Product endorsements:

Fitplan and Mealplan: She has worked with several brands throughout her career, but according to an interview with Forbes, her main focus at the moment are her own brands, specifically Fitplan, which is a personal training app, and Mealplan, which is a meal plan and recipes app

Joe Wicks

Technology has given people more effective ways to get healthy and fit—Joe Wicks was one of the few who delivers without cutting any corners.

He started out his social media journey on Twitter where he showed his followers how they can get a healthy body on his posts called “Lean in 15”. On his posts, he shares easy-to-do recipes you can recreate in 15 minutes, helping you achieve a healthier lifestyle. His posts also include short high-intensity interval training sets you can do anywhere with minimal equipment involved.

He eventually gained a large following across his social media platforms with over 2.7 million followers on Instagram, 3.1 million likes on Facebook, 309,000 followers on Twitter, and 729,000 subscribers on YouTube. He is now widely known as The Body Coach.

In 2015, his “Lean in 15” social media videos became a fully published cookbook entitled “Lean in 15: 15-minute meals”, which sold over 900,000 copies. The following year, he became a TV presenter with his very own show “The Body Coach” on British outlet Channel 4, where he helps people achieve their best self through his programs.

What made him stand out the most, though, is how inclusive his recipes and workouts are and how he practices what he preaches. He shows his followers how effective his recipes are by doing it himself and joining them in their journey towards a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

He designed his program so that even the busiest people can incorporate it into their lives without sacrificing its quality. And, this is why he is part of our list.

Product endorsements:

Joe Wicks’ 90 Day Plan: Although he has worked with several brands throughout his career, Joe has decided to focus more on his own brand. He manages the 90 Day Plan, which includes over 90 brand new easy-to-follow recipes and workouts as well as his very own kitchenware line that includes cookware, ovenware, and even storage materials.

Kayla Itsines

Any list of health influencers would not be complete without Kayla Itsines, the founder of the SWEAT app and the acclaimed Bikini Body Guide (BBG).
Before she reached her current level of success, she has already dedicated her life to health and fitness.

At 18 years old, she was already a qualified personal trainer in Adelaide, Australia. She would train women of all ages and post their before-and-after transformation photos on her social media accounts, which eventually gained popularity and earned her more clients.

As her following grew, her partner and fellow personal trainer Tobias Pearce helped her devise a workout plan that can easily be done by her clients with minimal equipment wherever they may be in the world. In 2014, that easy-to-recreate program became the foundation of her best-selling Bikini Body Guide.

With more than 11 million followers on Instagram, 26 million likes on Facebook, 416,000 followers on Twitter, and 311,000 subscribers on YouTube, she has earned a spot as one of the most influential personalities when it comes to health and fitness, but she still remains to be humble and focused.

In an interview with Hello, she credited her followers and the women she trains as her source of inspiration. “The fact that I’m showcasing the success of other women. Rather than showcasing what I do, it’s more like, look at this girl, look at what she’s done” she said.

Product endorsements:

SWEAT and Bikini Body Guide (BBG): Itsines has been constantly improving her own brand ever since she started to gain a significant following on social media, and this can be seen in the success of her SWEAT app, a fitness guide with 28-minute workouts, Bikini Body Guide, a 12-week workout program, as well as her very own meal plan.

Massy Arias

Massy Arias did not live the healthiest lifestyle growing up in the Dominican Republic. In fact, she just found her love for exercising and living a healthier lifestyle after going through a bout of depression.

“I fell into a deep depression when my brothers both developed cancer. I was basically living in the hospital and in an awful relationship where I lost sight of my worth,” she said in an interview with Elle.

Her situation got worse after her brothers fell ill. She was rapidly losing weight, hair, and self-confidence during those trying moments of her life. So, one day, she decided to take things into her own hands and turned to workouts to find herself again.

She documented her journey on her social media accounts, and eventually, it garnered her more than 2.6 million followers on Instagram, 318,000 likes on Facebook, 80,000 followers on Twitter, and 58,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Through her fitness journey, she was able to rediscover herself and claim back her life. As people started seeing her progress, they asked her to train them herself.

Today, Arias continues to help people all over the world by training them and posting about effective workout routines, supplements, and meal plans. At 29 years old, she has shown the world that you can definitely bounce back with the help of the right lifestyle and determination.

Product endorsements:

Massy Arias, MankoFit, Tru Supplements: Massy Arias has been crafting her brand since she began in the health and fitness scene. She has seen great success in the workout plans, meal plans, and vegan and organic supplements that she has been endorsing.

She is also an active endorser of Covergirl and Fabletics.

Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson

He started out as a college football player and then became a star in the World Wrestling Federation as ‘The Rock’. After retiring from the ring, Dwayne Johnson became a blockbuster movie star in such films as Jumanji, The Scorpion King, and the Fast and the Furious 6.

He has over 100 million Instagram followers, but a lot of those follows are because of his film or wrestling work. He also uses his Instagram channel to showcase his hardcore workout routines. However, what really gets him on this list is a single post made while on the set of his HBO show Ballers. In the post, he opened up a dialogue on mental health by recounting a story of his mother’s attempted suicide.

The post got over 1.5 million likes and 100,000 comments. More importantly, it helped to remove the stigma about mental health discussions. “Struggle and pain are real,” he wrote in the post. “We’ve all been there on some level or another.”

Although a large portion of his social media content is devoted to promoting his movies, his workouts are a key ingredient as well.

Thus, he makes our list. Not for his entertainment fame, but rather for using his platform to encourage mental health dialogue and awareness. Given that fitness requires passion and motivation, his influence adds depth to the discussion, and also inspiration in the results.

Product endorsements:

Under Armour: This is one of the best celebrity-brand partnerships in the retail sector. Johnson’s own Project Rock product line features shoes, shorts, tights, and t-shirts. Recent additions include headphones, earbuds, and workout bags.

 

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Though my alma mater, University of Miami played their assess off, but lost this weekend to University of Florida. It was a cool honor to lend my VO for this special @espn intro that kicked off Saturday Night College Football. And although I failed at achieving my @NFL dreams – the relentless hard work, discipline and hunger to outwork my competition I learned at THE U, became my defining anchors for life. To my Miami players – there’s football and then there’s life after football. Grab both by the throat and never let it go. Have a great season and beyond. #miami #theU #4life

Публикация от therock (@therock) 25 Авг 2019 в 6:38 PDT

Adriene Mishler

Adriene Mishler is a multi-talented woman. She is an actress who appeared in films, such as Detective Calzone, Austin High, and Everybody Wants Some! However, when she is not on set, she is making free yoga videos that are easy to follow. These videos cater to everything you want and need, from losing weight to finding your inner zen.

“Find what feels good,” is the message Mishler spreads since she started helping people understand the practice of yoga beyond stretching and flexibility.

She has led millions of people across the world to fitness through her channel “Yoga with Adriene”, which has earned her more than 554,000 Instagram followers, 523,000 Facebook likes, 81,700 Twitter followers, and more than 5.3 million YouTube subscribers.

She creates videos of simple yoga flows that her subscribers can easily follow at the gym or at their own homes.

Product endorsements:

Yoga with Adriene: This is the brand she started with and has cultivated through the years. Under her brand, she runs “Find What Feels Good,” a yoga video subscription service, and sells clothes and accessories perfect for yoga.

Deepak Chopra

Long before health and fitness advocates started taking over social media, Deepak Chopra has already made a name for himself.

With a background in medicine, he started as a licensed physician when he first moved to the US and even became the chief of staff at the New England Memorial Hospital in the 1980s. However, during his time there, he became involved in the Transcendental Meditation movement, which changed the way he viewed human healing.

He then established the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center and wrote several books about alternative medicine and healing, which gained nationwide popularity. During the 1990s, Oprah Winfrey interviewed him due to his innovative ways and beliefs, and this propelled his career more.

Today, Chopra is a public speaker, author, advocate of alternative medicine advocate, and “the O.G.(uru)” with a firm belief that the “perfect health” can be attained as aging is “fluid and changeable.”

Eventually, he became the executive director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine of Sharp HealthCare and the co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing.

His musings, books, beliefs, and alternative ways of living has helped many people live a healthier life, making him one of the most influential people in the health and fitness industry today at the age of 72.

Product endorsements:

Deepak Chopra: His name and books are his own brand. Under it, he has multiple best-selling books, a resort and spa, a 21-day meditation experience app with Oprah, as well as videos and podcasts.

Simeon Panda

If you are into bodybuilding, then you have probably heard of Simeon Panda.

His love for weightlifting and bodybuilding started right in his own home. He began lifting when was just a skinny 16-year-old who wanted to improve how he looked. This further improved when he got to college and met a friend who inspired him to practice and lift more.

“I was training in my living room and a friend of my brothers who had not seen me in a while came over and was shocked and said I was huge. That really motivated me to go at it even harder,” he said in an interview.

The bigger and fitter he got, the more motivated he was to improve his routine. This went on until he started joining bodybuilding competitions where he was eventually recognized as a pro in Musclemania.

As the years passed by, he was able to develop his own name, brand, and following which earned him 5.4 million followers on Instagram, 5.5 million likes on Facebook, 102,000 followers on Twitter, and 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube.

Product endorsements:
SP Athletics: Aside from his workout programs, Panda is also the CEO and founder of some of the top athletic wear brands today. These include Just Lift clothing and gym accessories, Vanquish Fitness clothing, as well as the products under the SP Athletics line. These lines also partner with other brands, such as TW Steel.

Emily Skye

Before becoming the health and fitness powerhouse she is today, Emily Skye was deeply involved in the modeling industry.

However, the pressure of maintaining her the thin physique of models eventually took its toll on her, which cost her happiness and health.

“None of it made me happy, being skinny never made me happy, being as perfect as I could be never made me happy,” she said in an interview with Whimn Body and Soul.

Eventually, she decided that enough is enough. She took her life into her own hands and credited meeting her boyfriend and business partner, Declan Redmond, in helping her change her mind about health and fitness.

Since the changes, she’s put on 13 kilos while lifting heavy weights and doing some HIIT. She claims these changes have made her happier and healthier. What’s more, she no longer obsesses about her looks. Instead, her focus is on training for health and longevity.

Today, Skye has more than 2.6 million followers on Instagram, 10.5 million likes on Facebook, 113,000 followers on Twitter, and 74,000 subscribers on YouTube. And, she uses these platforms to help other women gain confidence in themselves through proper workout and nutrition.

She never forgets where she came from but, instead, she uses it to encourage other women who have gone through the same experience, making her a standout influencer.

Product endorsements:

Reebok: Aside from maintaining her own brand, Skye is also a brand ambassador for Reebok. They have worked together to create workout shoes and clothes to empower women to “be more human,” which is the brand’s philosophy.

Caleb Marshall

While other health and fitness influencers promote the lifestyle by going to the gym, lifting weights, or practicing yoga, Caleb Marshall promotes a healthier life through dancing.

Marshall first began posting fun dance videos in October 2014 on his YouTube channel “The Fitness Marshall”. He has been performing with his local show choir and for school events that it was only natural for him to gravitate towards dancing until his college days.

Although he was majoring in film production at the Indiana University, he still turned to dance as his main creative outlet. He eventually recorded his energetic and sweat-inducing choreographies which then gained traction online.

Today, he has more than 238,000 followers on Instagram, 955,000 likes on Facebook, 11,800 followers on Twitter, and more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube, who regularly watch his videos. In 2017, he even had the chance to tour the world and dance his heart out with his supporters.

However, over the past year, Marshall was faced with massive changes in his life that almost made him cease The Fitness Marshall. Thanks to his loyal “Booty Army” and their unending support, he did not drop it.

“I had spent the last year trying to be something for everyone else that I forgot they fell in love with The Fitness Marshall because I WASN’T trying to be anything for anyone,” he said in a post. “I want to do a better job of representing as many people as I can.”

Product endorsements:

Imperfect Produce & Booty Army merchandise: As a fitness enthusiast, it is important that your nutrition is in line with how hard you work, which is why Marshall partnered with Imperfect Produce to promote organic food that lessens food waste at the same time.

Along with this, he also maintains and develops his own brand that promotes self-love and a healthier lifestyle.

Conclusion

As this list shows, each health influencer on this list has a few things in common. First, they (obviously) focus on a particular aspect of health. Second, they touch on broad, relatable topics that widen their appeal beyond their health niche. Third, they all endorse very carefully selected brands.

The key takeaway is to recognize how to leverage your position on social media platforms. One option is to start your own influencer brand, build up a following and then use that platform to market your products.

A more effective method is obviously to partner with established influencers. Keep in mind that the influencers mentioned in this article are the best of the best.

Use these examples as references as you search for influencers that reach the audience you are targeting. There are literally thousands of budding influencers out there begging for resources to help them power their own brand.

Find them, reach out, and negotiate deals that fit with your budget. The sky’s the limit.

And if you ever need help in finding the right influencer for your campaign, contact me!

The post Top 10 Health Influencers of 2019 appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.

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Five years ago, B2B brands were still comfortable with their marketing formula.  It involved making product announcements, attending industry events, and going on roadshows to connect with their target market, but each year has been getting more challenging.

Content marketing is more aggressive than ever, and industry events keep getting more expensive.  All this makes getting the attention of B2B decision-makers not so easy.  They’re educated, sophisticated, skeptical of marketing tactics, and oversaturated with content.

However, the fundamental truth remains:  People like to buy from others.  It’s also compelling to get involved with influencers because they add that personal touch to a brand and its products.

The trouble is that B2Bs have a more challenging time getting started because their pathway isn’t clear. Articles on the topic are often clickbait, loaded with unrealistic statistics, and decidedly consumer-centric.

Therefore, I’ve compiled this list of 15 truths for all B2Bs looking to use influencer marketing.

Let’s get started:

1: Your sales process is longer

The average B2B sales process takes six months to complete – which is far different from the average beauty brand selling to millennials.

B2B brands have more touchpoints with the customer because purchase decisions require research, can run into millions of dollars, and can include an implementation process.

Also, relationships often play a crucial component in B2B purchase decisions involving a professional sales team and company executives.

Therefore, your business and how you work with influencers are also different.

2: You Don’t Need Instagram

Instagram is a visual social platform, making it well-suited to consumer products. Products often require little more than an alluring photo and caption to stoke interest and even sales. That’s why fashion, beauty, and travel brands do well with influencers there.

However, B2B brands are different and require a different approach.

For example, no one purchases a Caterpillar tractor costing $ 650,000 because of an Instagram post.

Therefore, comparing your business to how a consumer brand works with influencers doesn’t help you.

Consider (carefully) who your target audience is, where they congregate online, the content they consume, and who they follow for advice.

This will lead you to where you need to be.

3: Focus on relevance first

Relevance is the most essential quality to look for with influencers.

Social media reach can sometimes matter, but your efforts will go to waste without relevance.

For example, if your business is industrial chemicals, your influencers should know about your industry, how it operates, the industry issues, the regulatory environment, the major players, and have a track record of experience there.

Otherwise, you are throwing spaghetti at a wall, hoping it sticks.

4: Look to partners and customers

A simple and easy place to look for influencers is strategic business partners and customers.

You can find executives and employees there who blog, speak at conferences, author books, and have followings on social media.

Connecting with them can help you get introduced to third-party influencers they know and trust.

Use this to your advantage.

5: Leverage industry events

B2B companies allocate most of their annual marketing budgets to industry events.

The good news is that many influencers attend these events, too.

Find out who’s going and arrange to meet with them while there.

If the influencers aren’t planning to attend a particular event, perhaps you can invite them?

6: Start small and scale later

Getting started is simple and doesn’t require many resources.

Concentrate on building relationships with a core group of influencers to start.

As you get comfortable, you can recruit other influencers into your program as it matures.

Think of it like building concentric circles around one another and building slowly over time.

Don’t worry about scaling for the first six months.

7: Bigger isn’t always better

Influencers with large social followings attract brands like moths to a flame.

The allure of a large audience is often too tempting to ignore.

However, just because an influencer has a large social following doesn’t mean they can help you meet your objective.

For many B2Bs, influencers with smaller social followings can be more effective because they reach your target audience better.

Remember that relevance is the essential quality you want in your influencers.

8: Invest in education

Education is a two-way street.

Invest in your influencers to inform them about your company, products, services, philosophy, and goals.

Also, learn more about your influencers, their content, and their followers.

The more you know about them, the more you’ll be able to find ways to work together.

9: Personal touch over automation

Media stories about influencer marketing often tout the benefits of automation.

While it works for consumer brands managing large numbers of influencers, it’s not necessary for B2B brands.

You don’t need many influencers, so automation isn’t necessary and doesn’t make sense.

Invest in the personal touch and get to know your influencers.

10: Master the vetting process

Appearances can be deceiving online, so be sure to vet influencers carefully.

Check to see if they have the expertise they claim to have and are connected with other influential people in your business community.

Also, understand what kind of content they like to create, how often they publish, and the quality of their content.

Don’t forget to check for fake followers on social media.

11: Embrace storytelling

People like to buy from others because they tell stories about why and how they do things.

Influencers are storytellers by nature, so let them tell your brand story for you.

You’ll need to relinquish some measure of control over your messaging, which enables the influencers to be genuine in how they tell it.  It enables their creativity.

If you don’t allow them to express themselves in their own way, you’re being too controlling, and that defeats the purpose of influencer marketing.

It’s all about getting other people to tell your story for you.

12: Play the long game

The short-term mindset has no place here. Think about what kind of content you need, when you need it published, and where you’d like it to appear.

Customer journeys are longer for B2B brands, so work with influencers with that in mind.

Get to know the influencers in your niche, cultivate relationships with them, and look for opportunities to work together.

Look to develop content with your influencers that adds value and helps your customers understand why your brand is superior.

13: Communicate often

Once you establish contact with influencers, reach out to them even if you aren’t working with them on anything particular.

Follow them on social media and contribute to conversations there. Let them know you care about their content, their ideas, and the projects they are involved in.

Add value by offering your opinions and ideas and asking thoughtful questions.

Remember, active followers get more attention than passive ones.

Influencers will have a higher regard for you if you participate.

14: Invest in relationships

Getting to know influencers opens up new opportunities to create content, find other influencers, solicit ideas, conduct surveys, commission research, involve them in assets you create, and invite them to your events.

Invest in relationships, and you’ll get a great return on investment.

This is where the real benefits are. Cultivate your relationships with influencers like you would a garden.

15: Be mindful of conflicts of interest

Many influencers work with brands on a short-term basis, but occasionally, some contract with other brands long-term.

Therefore, vet your influencers carefully before divulging too much information.

Look at their content carefully for telltale signs that such a relationship exists.

If in doubt, you can reach out to them and ask.

Remember, they are professionals, too.

Wrapping Up

Following the lead of consumer brands doesn’t translate for B2B companies.  By adopting these principles, you’ll use the mindset necessary to work with influencers now and well into the future.

Got questions?  Let them fly in the comments below.

The post 15 Truths You Need to Know About B2B Influencer Marketing appeared first on // 551 Media LLC.