When it comes to catching a key influencer, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Early morning wake up call… You can’t just sit on the shore hoping they’ll jump out of the water and land in your lap. You must get out there and fish. Why? Because studies show that only 13.4% of web users create 80% of the content influencing people. Plus, of these 6.2% are responsible for 80% of the social media influence (Source: SocialMediaExaminer). Yep, worth it.
Sometimes it feels overwhelming though, because there are too many possible key influencers out there. Zeroing in on the right ones, the right way cannot be overlooked. Many of us spend an incredible amount of time making our key influencer hit list, but then what? Narrowing your focus even further is where pro-bloggers are separated from the blog box-checkers. So, let’s throw those pesky fish into a strategically organized pipeline just like we do with audience target marketing.
Here is an analogy I use that is not only catchy, but simplifies how to engage your key influencers. It is wrapped up in a great fish tale.
5 Key Influencer Target Segments | Fish for Thought
Take your expansive list of key influencers and break them into these following segments.
3 Big Fish: These are 3 large targets that are game-changers. You hook one of these babies, and they’ll blow your numbers out of the water. They may take years of hard work to land. But if you diligently keep after them, maintain them in your sites, and keep nurturing a connection, your dedication will get them launching into your boat.
10-20 Fish on a Line: Depending on how much you can handle, you want a list of around 10 to 20 key influencers you’ve identified and set an attack plan to lure them in. You should know every little detail about what matters most to them. Then execute your plan through unwitting commitment. This is a focus heavy endeavor that you can never leave unattended.
20-50 Fish in a Barrel: These represent a wide mix of fish. Some are extremely qualified as they may have connected with you in some way showing interest (favorites, shares, comments, follows). Timely follow-up here is key—meaning immediate, within 2 hours or at the very least that day. You’ll need to quickly assess their value, then drop them into one of the other segment strategies.
50-200 Fish in a Pond: This grouping typically represents the entire list you pull from. Here is where the majority of your larger scale “macro” activities are focused. All areas reach into this pond as they flow from their areas. Replenishing this fishing hole is a constant. Remember to throw back any fish, at any time. There are always better fish to fry.
200+ Sea of Opportunity: You should always be identifying other key influencer opportunities. Learning what currents are affecting them and driving their needs. Here is where innovation happens and large-scale community increases are waiting untouched. Test out unique targets from other horizontals to understand if they are worth going after with more fervor. Maintain relevancy. Numbers don’t matter if there is not worthwhile fit.
Now that you have an organized way to breakdown your list, become a “reel” expert in netting key influencers by putting together a strategic plan of how to engage each one of the these segments differently. You want them to feel the change in their experience based on your attention level between each stage. Outline clear steps, execute, evaluate, then adjust. Over and over again. You want to become a master.
Here is one way to look at building out your tactical plan.
- Determine what is the Catch of the day.
- Go fish.
- Fish where the fish are (or influence where the influencers are).
- Have the right bait.
- Know when to fish or cut bait.
Getting a key influencer to bite isn’t easy. If fishing were easy, it would be called catching. To make it easier on you here are some great key influencer content marketing tools that compare, analyze, and manage high levels of data into simple consumable frameworks that will get you going:
Well, I hope this strategy helps you mount some of those trophies on the wall so you can sit back and admire them with pride one day.
