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Influencing the C-Suite: 3 Tips for B2B Influencer Marketing

By Aisha Belagam

Fashion bloggers jet setting to tropical destinations wearing the trendiest floral prints. Genetically blessed Instagram influencers promoting weight loss pills after an early morning session at Equinox. From selfies to flat-lays, these are the types of personalities and formats that typically come to mind when you hear the term ‘influencer’. But these personalities won’t do much for your B2B marketing strategy.

As with B2C, B2B influencer marketing is about connecting with influential people in your community and leveraging them to build trust and credibility, driving your message. In this digital age, where social media is becoming a regular part of everyone’s lives, influencer marketing is becoming a vital part of the communications strategy. And yes, you can and should use it for B2B companies. The C-Suite is engaged on social media and 84% of CEOs and VPs say they use social media to help make purchasing decisions. Here are three tips to consider when developing your B2B influencer marketing strategy:

1. Where are they and who do they look to?

Who and what influences your target audience? Don’t get deflected by focusing on who has the most followers. A million followers do not necessarily equate to a huge influence on your target audience. This isn’t a popularity contest. Plus, upcoming thought leaders are more likely to have the capacity to pay attention to your brand. Focus on influencers who receive a large amount of engagement on topics relevant to your vertical. These are the thought leaders you’re looking for. The analysts, industry experts, authors, speakers, and media folk who are actively involved in industry discussions, leading the way with their expert insight and educated opinions. You’ll find most of them on LinkedIn and Twitter.

2. Look within

Who understands your brand better than your team? No one. That’s why you should leverage the CEO, employees, and clients as part of your strategy.

Employee advocacy is a powerful thing. Encourage your employees to promote your brand, whether it’s through social posts and blogs, at speaking opportunities, or by getting involved at industry events. Empower those with the most knowledge, the ones who work on your brand daily, to become the thought leaders opining and engaging, increasing your brand’s visibility.

C-level executives are an integral way for B2B brands to make a personal connection. They are the thought leaders bringing the brand to life. Using C-level executives is a key way to build relationships with analysts and the media, increasing coverage and establishing credibility.

Share results. Success stories from your customers can be packaged into consumable case studies, infographics, and testimonials. It’s great to have your team promoting your brand, but there is an obvious bias. Your customers, on the other hand, don’t have the same stake in your company and their experiences add a layer of authenticity.

3. Don’t just promote your own agenda

Build a real relationship with your influencers so they are engaged before you need them. It’s a two-way street. Think about how you can help them while promoting your brand. Reference them as experts, quote them in your blog posts, give them access to your products or services, engage with their social content, and stay top of mind. When the time comes, they will be more familiar with you and more likely to go the extra mile to help your brand.

Influencers can help a B2B brand through numerous channels. Think about your goals and identify what your brand needs. Influencers can do everything from collaborating on social content to hosting a webinar, from being an ambassador at your tradeshow to quoting you in their latest interview.

As interest in traditional forms of advertising plummets, influencer marketing is becoming a more important part of the integrated strategy. Collaborating with influencers in the ways outlined above can help your brand become more influential in itself.

Want to learn how your brand can leverage influencer marketing? Drop us a line. With proven influencer marketing results with national brands in both the B2B and B2C sector, we can work with you to develop and implement an integrated strategy that brings your brand targeted, measurable results.

How to Strengthen your Business with Diversity

By Ronda Williams—Marketing & Administrative Coordinator

Twitter: @R_Williams11

Diversity is defined as…

“an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities.

(W)OC has a diverse team of experts in various fields including communications, social media, public relations, graphic design, videography, and more. Not only is our team diverse but the industries we cover are also; this makes for a complementary partnership. Who says you can’t be an expert in more than one field?

The Facts about Diversity:

According to the Harvard School of Law, “the presence of an industry expert independent director is associated with an increase of 4.6% in firm value.”

Whether it be a firm, agency, or business having an industry expert will add to the value of your company.

Another fact says, “40% of respondents in a recent survey of S&P 500 firms identified industry expertise as a desired background.”

We all could learn a thing-or-two from the business strategies of the S&P 500 firms.

Diversity in a Contagious Atmosphere:

At (W)OC we have a positive atmosphere that makes for less stress and allows us to GSD (Get Stuff Done). Everyone here works together in the benefit of achieving the tasks at hand.

Mark Nadler says, “You want people who understand the business and the industry that you’re in so they can think strategically.”

Having a team that is comprised of a diverse background makes for a winning team that can strategize together for the big win.

To put it simply, “a diverse team makes for a strong team!”

He goes on to say, “the roles of the individual board member, the outside person, is to pull the two sides together, to create a link and to bridge different opinions and different points of view.” Again, backing up the concept of,

A diverse team = A strong team!

At (W)OC we help strengthen each other with our expertise. We’re always lending advice and coming together for a team huddle to create winning strategies for our client partner’s. Having that one team member that is an expert in such industries can be helpful to bring together both sides of a vision.

To learn more about the diverse industries that we cover please visit, www.WrightOnComm.com or give us a call at (858) 755-5411 and let us help bring your visions to life!

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Does Listening to Music at Work Increase Productivity?

By Ronda Williams Marketing & Administrative Coordinator’

Twitter: @R_Williams11

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” -Plato

Here at (W)right On C ommunications we are encouraged to turn up our music and jam out as we work. When you enter our office you might hear Julie Wright “fist pumping” to some EDM as she finishes up a report or Grant Wright “deep in focus” with some smooth jazz while he draws up a proposal. Then there is Keely Smith singing to Adele or Chance Shay listening to his “brotha-from-another-mother,” the artist formerly known as Kanye West. No matter what time of the day, we’re all listening to music as we work.

One morning I was wondering if listening to music while you work increases your productivity, so I started to research and here is what I found:

It’s good for repetitive work!

“Various studies have indicated that, in general, people who listened to music while they worked on repetitive tasks performed faster and made fewer errors.”

How music affects the brain…

According to examinedexistence.com,

“The meter, timber, rhythm and pitch of music are managed in areas of the brain that deal with emotions and mood.”

So listening to music while you work should not only increase your productivity but also put you in a better mood. This article goes on to say,

“A great way to relieve the tensions that bring you down is to listen to music. Soothing tunes can help relax your tensed muscles, as well as pace down your breathing rate.”

Having a relaxed mind and muscles can also help prevent prolonged work injuries to your arms and wrists.

Crew.com quoted neuroscientist and musician, Jamshed Bharucha, as saying:

“Creative domains, like music, allow humans to connect in a synchronized way, helping us develop a group identity and makes us more likely to work together – which was an immensely important advantage for keeping the human species alive.”

Not only will listening to music while you work put you in a better mood but it will increase team morale in the workplace.

Just remember that you are in control of your mood and stress levels at work. Tomorrow is a brand new day so try something new and listen to some music while you’re getting stuff done.

Want to read more of our blogs? Visit our blog home page or stop by our social channels (see below) and see what we’re up to.

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The 5 Best Ways to Manage Your Time

By Danielle Cobb, Communications Coordinator

Looking at your entire day from a bird’s eye view can be a daunting task. When your to-do list keeps getting longer and the day shorter, staying focused on the job ahead often seems impossible. In reality, you can’t do everything in one day.

Learning what’s important and what can wait until tomorrow is crucial to productivity, and your sanity for that matter. Over time, you pick up different tips and learn what works best for you. Here are some time management hacks I’ve learned along the way.

Get Organized

Organization is key. It’s a motto to live by, if not one of the most important lessons to learn.

Start the day by making a to-do list, then prioritize tasks by what absolutely needs to get done and what can wait until later. To make life a little easier, group similar items together. If you know you have 20 emails to write, knock them out in one sitting and check it off your list.

Tackle Heavy Hitters Early

Instead of putting off big tasks until later in the day, tackle them first thing in the morning. Some call this “eating the frog first.”

We often procrastinate and leave the most important items until last, yet the longer we delay, the harder they become. You’ll have peace of mind knowing the tough stuff is out of the way and the rest of the day will be that much easier.

Take Breaks

Our minds aren’t meant to run continuously at full bore all day long. And if you’re like me, staring at a computer screen all day doesn’t help.

Take a break to recharge and refresh. You’ll come back energized and with a fresh perspective.

Though it might seem like a good idea to power through, your brain may start to retaliate around 2 p.m. Even if you don’t take a traditional lunch break, it’s good to get out and take a walk or workout.

Your mind will thank you.

Minimize Distractions

When you’re constantly checking and answering emails, perusing social media, or checking your phone, it’s incredibly difficult to get anything done; and producing great work is nearly impossible. Try to minimize distractions by setting aside time throughout the day to check these things. Maximize productivity by blocking off time to focus on specific tasks. If you have a project that really needs attention, disconnect yourself entirely (even if it’s just for half an hour) so you can bang it out. You’ll save time and be able to get a lot more done throughout the day.

Get Adequate Sleep

This may sound like a no-brainer, but getting a good night’s sleep is important for productivity during the day. Quality shuteye will help you stay focused and be on top of your game. Lack of sleep doesn’t only affect work life, but your personal life and overall wellbeing.

Managing your day for maximum productivity and efficiency can be tough. The tips above are what I find to be most helpful, but if you have some secrets of your own, please share them in the comments below!

Check out some similar blog posts below:

Kicking The Shit Out of Option B

Your Competitive Advantage is Being Human

Maximize Productivity Organization productivity Time Management Work Smarter

Being a Know-It-All Isn’t such a Bad Thing

The know-it-all: you know that person. It seems everyone has one or two in their life. The not-so-humble person who elicits an eye roll every time he/she begins to speak. The person who pontificates on everything, and the minute you bring up something new, they claim to have known about it yesterday. They’re annoying, right?

But in the field of communication, we have a responsibility to be know-it-alls in the least obnoxious way. What do I mean?

Chance Shay and I went to a presentation on influencer marketing where Mark Fidelman quoted Google’s Eric Schmidt, saying that every two days we create as much information as we did from the beginning of time up to 2003. Every day it seems that there is more and more information to be consumed, and it’s tougher and tougher to cut through the noise. That presents a challenge for marketers because it makes it more difficult to reach customers in a meaningful way. But it’s also a challenge because technology is forcing us to do more than ever before. We have to be the experts. We have to filter through the junk for our clients so they don’t have to. We have to be ahead of trends so we can present the best possible ideas for our clients. Phew!

It’s a tall order, but that’s why I make it a personal mission to be a know-it-all. And in the best way possible: you won’t find me bloviating at the water cooler. But I do like to share trends and important articles with my clients the second that they’re relevant. I also think it’s important to incorporate up-to-date information into my work in real-time so I’m serving clients to the best of my ability.

That means taking time daily to stay on top of it all. But I’m no magician and I don’t have a 25^th hour in my day. To make it work without being a time suck, I use a number of resources and work-hacks. Here are some of my favorites:

The Skimm: a daily enewsletter that skims the headlines & provides the most important information in a simplified manner.

The Muckrack newsroom: I visit this once a day to read the stories that are the most tweeted by major journalists.
To accompany that, I subscribe to the Muckrack enewsletter. I hate email newsletters just like any other schmuck. So if I sign up for one, I like it to do multiple things for me. This one also highlights the day’s most important news but it also reports on changes at major publications.
Newsle: enewsletter with news stories that feature your Facebook friends & email contacts. This serves as an alternate way to monitor for client stories, but it’s also a great tool for networking. What better way to reach out to a contact than by sending a quick note? “I saw your article in Forbes! Congratulations! And by the way, I’d love to catch up soon.”
Twitter lists: I have created twitter lists for media, colleagues in the industry, brands I’ve got my eye on, and clients/partners. I also get push notifications to my iPhone every time @BreakingNews tweets.
Feedly: the RSS reader of choice to keep up on all my favorite industry blogs, including but not limited to: Mashable, TechCrunch, PRDaily, All Things D, The Verge, Fast Company, Venture Beat, Forbes, NYT Bits, Inc., Waxing Unlyrical, Sarahsfav.es, Spin Sucks, Brian Solis, and more.
MediaGazer & TechMeme: MediaGazer aggregates the day’s top news stories and TechMeme does the same for the tech industry.
Cir.ca iPhone app: a beautiful iPhone app with the day’s top headlines, presented in a user-friendly format. Perfect for when I’ve got five minutes in between meetings or I’m waiting in line at the grocery store.
The Li.St: One of my favorite enewsletters from media veterans Rachel Sklar and Glynnis MacNicol (Huffington Post, Mediaite, Business Insider, Mediabistro). It comes out only a few times a week, but I read it to the end every time.
TED and NPR iPhone apps: I only have time to consume my beloved TED talks or NPR while I’m driving, running, or at the gym. These apps make it possible.