Marketing via Twitter Begins with Key Influencers

“Can I use Twitter for marketing?”

If I had to guess, that question is #1 or #2 in the minds of marketers who discover Twitter. It’s probably a tie with “What’s the ROI?”

On the ROI front, beats me. That’s a math question. I don’t do math after Labor Day. Jason Falls does a great job looking at the ROI question over at Social Media Explorer.

But can Twitter be used for marketing? The answer, I say, is a resounding “YES!”

But how?

Key Influencers – Who Are They? What Do They Do?

Influencer marketing essentially identifies individuals who have influence over a product’s potential buyers, and targets marketing activities twoard these individuals rather than the larger consumer base.

Traditional PR has always been a sort of influencer marketing. In most cases, the influencer was a third party, such as a reporter, columnist or other publicly visible (and presumably “objective”) individual.

Today, though, as traditional mainstream journalists lose their significance, a whole new cast of influencers is emerging. Prominent bloggers take the place of the old talking heads, but more and more, key influencers are regular folks with a small, but attentive, circle of influence.

What Role Does Twitter Play in Influencer Marketing?

Before Twitter, folks would turn to friends and neighbors for advice on purchases. We’d sit at kitchen tables, or chat over the fence, or grab a beer together. If my buddy suggested I should try Bud’s Buzz Beer or that new Chinese restaurant, I’d give it a shot.

Twitter expanding our circles of influence. Each of us is now the kingpin of our own circle of influence, and an audience member in hundreds of other networks.

What sets Twitter apart from other social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook is that Twitter is transactional. You don’t simply “friend” a person and forget about it. Every Tweet is an offering. Maybe it’s a recommended reading. An opinion. A question. A cry for help. To be a member of the Twitter community, you must constantly make and accept offers.

(Editor’s note: The brilliant politics professor Naeem Inayatullah made me think about offerings almost a decade ago, long before Twitter.)

Because Twitter is transaction based, every interaction I have with Twitter builds, reinforces, or diminishes my trust in others, or their trust in me. Over time, we build an audience of followers who trust our offerings, and we follow those whose offerings we value and trust, too. The result is a community whose members give awesome weight to each others product reviews and recommendations.

Need proof that genuine connection with influencers leads to results? Watch John Easton’s video about what happened when PRstore’s Lisa Hoffmann befriended British marketer Jim Connolly

So, How Do I Market to Key Influencers via Twitter?

Marketing on Twitter must be different from the interruption marketing of the broadcast era. It won’t work stand at your Twitter megaphone and shout your pitch into the void. If all you do is tout your website (or product, or service, or…), you’ll find yourself talking to an audience of one.

A better approach is to embrace the community-first social media mantra of “listen first, then participate, then publish.”

Here’s a little step-by-step plan:

Identify your influencers. I’m assuming here that you know who your target audience is. If you do, tools like Twitter Search are a simple way to discover who is discussing the topics relevant to your brand. Find out if these people are influencers or followers. Scan their Tweet streams to see who they listen to and who listens to them.

Follow them. Yeah, it’s that simple. If you’re using a desktop tool like Twhirl or TweetDeck, it’ll be much easier to notice when your key influencers post new Tweets. Just listen for now. Pay attention to who they Tweet to, how often they Tweet, whether they use @replies or just original Tweets. Learn what matters to them. Learn if they have any pet peeves.

Join the community. Remember that bit about every Tweet being an offering? Well, when someone offers something to you, accept it graciously. Offer something in return. Offer an answer to a question, or share your influencer’s blog post with your own followers. Engage with the influencer’s other followers.

Approach your influencer. In most cases, if you’re making valuable contributions to his/her community, your key influencer will take notice. Once you’ve earned their trust, your influencers will be more likely than not to let you introduce yourself and your product. Put your pitch on the backburner for just a little bit. Get to know each other. When the time is right, ask your influencer if she’d be willing to try your product and share her thoughts with her followers. Be grateful and gracious.

Like any marketing tactic, this isn’t a bulletproof plan, but I’m sure you’ll find it works a lot better than shouting for attention.