What can we learn from influencers?

Speakers: Emma Crosby - Presenter/Broadcaster, Casey Wishart & Partners; Jennifer Lee - Head of Content & Campaigns EY Financial Services EMEIA; Clare Francis - FTSE Board Member & Advisor; Satwant Wishart - Co-Founder and CEO, Casey Wishart & Partners; and Roslyn Casey Shaw - Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Casey Wishart & Partners

Emma Crosby: Today influencers are everywhere, in every form.  

From mega to micro, in followers… from make-up to macroeconomics, in focus.

And whether we take their advice or not, the market's expected to grow into a $21 billion industry this year, because influence sells.

Text on Screen: The power of expertise marketing

Emma Crosby: 63% of consumers say they trust influencer messages, i.e. people more than brand messages.

So how can businesses use influencers to build on this trust?

Jennifer Lee: For a thought leader to become an influencer, they need to create content.

Clare Francis: Often, within any large organisation, it's often those with the IQ that really need to be able to connect with clients. But often, they need a little help and support with the EQ.

Jennifer Lee: The challenge is helping them to remember that their audience does not necessarily have the same level of knowledge.

We're not talking about dumbing down. We're talking about making something accessible.

Satwant Wishart: In some countries, B2B and financial influencers are called KOL's or Key Opinion Leaders.

These people have often made a name for themselves off social media, and they're the ones who can very quickly become influencers on social media.

But they don't necessarily need or want a huge following to do that.

Roslyn Casey Shaw: Let's move past the polarising term - influencer - and call it what it is: content maker.

Now that social is the default marketing platform, organisations need to identify which of their experts is most suited to being a content maker.

And then they need to formalise that within their role and give them the time and the resource and support to do that really well.

Satwant Wishart: There's a lot of power in micro or nano influencing. That's when you target a much smaller audience, but they're often far more engaged.

Jennifer Lee: To be an influencer, in that sense of the word, you need to almost go out on a limb.

Clare Francis: You need to be able to walk the walk, as well as talk the talk.

Roslyn Casey Shaw: If somebody is raising their profile and taking a point of view, they are going to be exposed - so you've got to have their back.

Emma Crosby: According to research by Brunswick, financial readers trust socially connected leaders more than an executive who doesn't use social media by a ratio of 6:1.

What's more, 86% said it's important for business users to use social media to communicate.

Clare Francis: In today's world, it's even more important to be both authentic and forethoughtful.

The ability to be able to communicate those key messages is going to be crucial in the next chapter.

Emma Crosby: So, the business benefits of an increased social presence are clear, but many executives find the reality of being present on social difficult.

Satwant Wishart: Whether it's TikTok, LinkedIn or a blog, the first thing to do is to find the key opinion leaders or subject matter experts within your organisation and help them to create content.

Not only is it going to help build trust relationships with clients and improve your brand perception, it's going to help to retain top talent, drive innovation, and, importantly, it's going to appeal to your customers of the future.

Roslyn Casey Shaw: We're going to bet five years from now most large organisations will have a head of expertise marketing.

Now this is different from head of thought leadership, because they're elevating the expertise of the organisation via an individual's tone of voice.

It's an exciting shift and we're enjoying being part of this.

End frame: Casey Wishart & Partners.
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