Ian Lurie will be speaking on Influencer Marketing at the Engage Conference, which will take place March 9, 2017 in Portland. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please click here.
1) Please give us your background and let us know what you do for a living.
I run a digital agency in Seattle: Portent, Inc. I’ve been doing that for 21 years. Way back before that, I majored in History and got a law degree. But I grew up around computers. So I’ve got this weird nerd/liberal arts thing going on, and it shows in what I do at Portent. I teach the team, write, do some client work and do my best to grow as a leader. I also research and do my best to stay on top of industry trends. My favorite marketing areas are definitely search, social and content. Always have been. Before the Internet, even.
2) What channels are strongest for influencer marketing?
Yes.
Wait, that’s not a good answer. What I mean is, all of them. You reach out to influencers where they or their audiences are. A lot of people equate “influencer” with “social media influencer.” But there are so many other kinds of influencers, and few marketers think about them. It’s exciting to get a tweet, or a post, or whatever. But what about the person with a 100,000-person e-mail list, or the performer who’s going on stage tomorrow night, or the popular NPR host who’s looking for a good topic.
They’re all influencers. They move in social media, search, journalism, and offline channels. You need to consider all of them.
3) Many influencers will expect some sort of compensation in return for wielding their influence. How would you respond to such a request?
I’m very cautious about paying people to pitch a product. They’re not acting as influencers. They’re acting as salespeople. Which is fine. But expect different behavior. And expect a different response from them when their audience comes back with questions.
In my experience, an influencer is enthused about the product, or intrigued, or something else, but they’re sincere about their interest and remember you for a while. Paid spokespeople often do a great job, but when they’re done, they’re done.
Todd Mintz knows PPC…knows Social Media…knows SEO…knows Blogging…knows Domaining…and knows them all real well. He runs growth marketing for )and is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon’s Search Engine Marketing Association, and he can be found here on Twitter and Facebook.