Spheres of Influence & Social Media Are A Powerful Combination

USA Today writer Jon Swartz penned an interesting article in the August 28,2009 Money section of the national newspaper discussing the growing trend of using social media to launch new products and initiatives. 

One case sited by Swartz was from Ford that gave 100 top bloggers a new Ford Fiesta to drive for six months as long as they would document their experience on the Internet with text and video posts. 

This marketing model employs a traditional concept of leveraging "Spheres of Influence" with social media.  Ford told the bloggers that they had unrestricted editorial controls on what they wrote which made the project even more appealing to social media followers.

For many companies, bloggers are the Internet's spheres of influence that can reach thousands of consumers in just seconds.  A recommendation from one of these social media addicts can drive tens of thousands of visitors to a website in just one day. 

Robert Parker, noted wine expert, is a perfect example of a Sphere of Influence.  When Mr. Parker publishes wine reviews, a wine with a 99+ point score, can often quadruple in price overnight forcing collectors to clear retail shelves of any bottles on the open market for their wine cellars.

For most businesses that are launching a new product or seeking to rebuild an existing brand , viral marketing with social media tools is a strategy that we find very effective.  

One of the first tasks is to identify the key websites that could be an influence for a particular product or service.  Contacting the editors or bloggers can be the tricky part because marketing professionals do not want to appear to be bribing the editors to review their product.

There is a careful balance of acknowledging that blogs and industry targeted websites needs new articles for their readers.  Marketers must never demand that bloggers review their product.  A polite letter of introduction with a product sample is best done after  initial interest is established via email or phone. 

If feasible, sending two samples is a great technique to increase your odds that a review will be considered.  Two samples allows the editor to test the product and also have one to give away to their readers in the form of a contest.

Most companies have limited budgets for marketing. A national product launch can often require a massive media budget.  Targeting online spheres of influence and using their network of readers and followers can be a cost effective way to establish credibility for your company on a national playing field.  This is not an overnight process but one that has significant long term rewards.

One recent example of how this strategy can work was demonstrated by a social media expert and friend based in California.  He promoted my Cash for Clunkers Infographic to his network of followers on Digg and Twitter.  In one day, his posts brought over 30,000 unique visitors to my website and created over hundreds direct links to the page on my website. 

My friend who is a sphere of influence, has so many followers that on any given topic, his recommendations can yield tens of thousands of interested consumers to click through an visit a website.  This is the heart of social media; trusted networks of consumers that respond to recommendation or actions of their peers.

The opportunities for online viral marketing are documented in the numbers.  Over 30 million consumers utilize Facebook on a regular basis and over 10,000 website utilize Facebook Connect as a login method.  Over 12 million small business profiles are registered on Linked-In and millions of Tweets are being sent to consumers every day.  With these statistics you can see why Ford and other major US companies are seeking to leverage social media for effective marketing strategies.

If you think about it, social media is the place where most companies need to add focus.  If millions of consumers are on Facebook every day, product ads running alongside of Facebook profiles could yield new brand awareness.  

How much is that worth to your brand when a sphere of influence with 100,000 followers is compelled to write a positive tweet about your products and services?  The impact of social media tools is a game changer in the advertising industry.

If you are looking for new ways to market your business products or services, contact the Pasch Consulting Group for innovations in content based SEO and social media marketing.