You’ve probably heard the word ‘influencer’ a lot lately. Sounds like an important title, right? So who exactly is an influencer and how do they factor into the world of public relations? An influencer is someone who has the ability to influence or affect the opinions of other. At Fort Lauderdale PR firm Durée & Company, we understand that a successful PR campaign is one that casts a wide net and captures the audience’s attention in unique and captivating ways. But there is also an art to capturing attention, and finding the right influencer can often aid in this process.
Below, we’ve listed six main types of influencers, including how to best engage with them and get them to impact your business. In order to do that, you need to understand who they are and what they care about.
- The Walking Brand: For this type of influencer, reputation is everything and their name is often their equity. This can be a blogger or a business owner. If you can find a way to enhance this influencer’s personal brand, they will likely return the favor.
- The Industry Insider: This is someone who is constantly engaging in a given industry. This could even be one of your own employees! Employees can serve as strong influencers to your customers and are often experts on a particular product, brand or service.
- The Authority: One of the most valuable influencers, the Authority, can’t be bought! They’re interested in substance that brings value to their audience, so you will need to find ways to showcase their expertise. A guest blogger on your company’s site, perhaps?
- The Journalist: This may be stating the obvious, but don’t overlook the importance of traditional PR and utilizing journalists to help deliver interesting, exclusive and timely stories. One thing to keep in mind here: an authentic, and mutually beneficial relationship goes a long way!
- The Connector: Everyone has met a connector and knows that there is nothing more valuable to this person than their own network. The best thing you can do here is make any new introductions to this influencer and continue to nurture the relationship.
- The Celebrity: Celebrities are promotional goldmines, in that they have a massive reach, but this usually comes with a massive cost. If you have a celebrity as your brand ambassador, reaching your audience just got a lot easier. Although the cost may be expensive, celebrities can also help attract other influencers to your brand.
Publicizing a brand, service or product is all about connecting with people and sharing conversations. As influencers become increasingly valuable to the visibility of a brand, there is a growing demand to find the right ones. It may not be as hard as you think; you probably already know an influencer and it may be the coworker sitting next to you!
About Durée & Company
Durée & Company, Inc. is an award-winning full-service public relations, marketing and special events firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Aspen, Colorado. The firm serves the corporate, agency and non-profit arenas for local, national and international clients focusing on public relations for real estate, public relations for restaurants, public relations for law firms, public relations for charities, public relations for healthcare, and many more. Durée & Company services include Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Special Events, and Radio Promotions and Outreach.
