Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Consultant,
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How to Get an Influencer’s Attention

March 24, 2010

Influence is everywhere, but it’s up to you to spot it. As information flow is infinite, many find that it is of utmost importance to capture the attention of the select few who serve as influencers — these are the people who can actually stop their followers in their tracks to help spread your message. Perhaps this might serve as the start of a real relationship. If nothing else, these influencers will help to share your story with their own audience.

I contacted a number of influencers to see what grabs their attention. I selected influencers in all different “walks of life” and areas of influence, from the blogosphere to the power users of Digg to founders of successful startups and authors of bestselling books. The question I asked, simply, was “how do you recommend people grab your attention?” The question was purposely left open-ended; I wasn’t necessarily seeking out attention in the form of a product pitch, despite the fact that many of those asked are prominent bloggers. As such, the responses are varied — just the way I wanted it. Here’s what they told me:

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Dissatisfied Customers + Word of Mouth = Marketing Gone Bad

July 18, 2007

The worst possible thing you can do is to slight someone else at the expense of convenience. The result is bad publicity, regardless of the benefits you believe it yields for the short term. If you screw up, it’s a public relations nightmare. Can we say damage control?

Here are three cases that were blown way out of proportion but could have been handled a lot better if the companies thought of the consequences before acting. There’s a bottom line: it’s a lot harder to sweep your mistakes under the rug, especially as a company in a world of conversing markets.

Case #1: Sprint Terminates Customers’ Accounts for Complaints

It’s been all over the Internet already. One of the more recent fiascoes occurred when Sprint forcibly disconnected service for 1,200 customers. From News4Jax.com, Sprint released a rather disturbing statement, saying:

Rather than continue to operate in a situation that was unsatisfactory for Sprint and our subscribers, we chose to terminate our relationship with those customers to allow them to pursue other options.

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I Am Clueless About Your Product. Sell it to Me Correctly.

February 21, 2007

Eye OpeningOne of the biggest mistakes you can do is use terminology that goes over the heads of your prospective clients. Time and time again I am asked to review a website and I end up reading copy that makes me feel stupider than I felt before I visited the site. What the heck are you really selling? How will it benefit me? Why should I buy it?

What is the goal of your website? If it’s informational, give me the right information. If you fail to do so, I cannot learn from you. I will go somewhere else. Thank you for your time.

I have checked out numerous sites of people who are not actively seeking to change their web presence at all. In good intent, I have given the solid advice that it would be in these people’s best interest to have a website that people can understand. With this, there’s greater likelihood for conversion. Understandable content, or good copy, is critical. Further, if you’re exactly what your searcher is looking for, the right copy will rank you higher. If this is a long tail search, so be it. Even better. Without any copy, you might as well not have a web presence at all.

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Going Above And Beyond Your Call of Duty

December 2, 2006

There are thousands of competing businesses. Each can say they offer so-and-so, but there’s going to have to be something that differentiates Company A from Company B.

I’ve been observing company behavior and recognize that an important differentiation is when you go above and beyond what is required of your job description and show extreme dedication to an individual’s needs.

Seth Godin wrote about this aspect earlier this week. I wholeheartedly agree. As a customer, I feel more inclined to send praise to a manager when I see a representative go above what is necessary to make sure I am satisfied. I am more inclined to continue my business with this company again. I am more inclined to recommend other people to this business.

Doing the bare minimum is still probably good enough.

But following up, doing work beyond the minimum — that is what ultimately establishes a personal connection between you and and your clients.

Working late nights and long hours and taking that 5 minute period out of your lunch break to make sure that your customer is happy with your work is an important element of strengthening your business relationship. Further, it lets your customers see you in a more positive light because you are doing something that you may not necessarily be getting paid extra for. It shows your customers that you care and that their happiness is important to you.

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