Social Influencers in Canada & the US are a chatty bunch

I don’t often come across Canadian Social Media statistics (and I’ve researched!) and I’m delighted to see this study from a white paper from ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting,  (via eMarketer.com) which outlines the impact of  “Influencers” (aka Brand Ambassadors or Raving Fans). 

Influencers can often be identified as people who make a difference in their community:  they join local committees and/or are involved in causes.  They love to connect with people and want to be the first “in-the-know”.

 And while this study showcases what makes Influencers “tick”, there are no commonalities except for only ONE thing: they have to be passionate about the subject/category in order to “spread the word”.

Within the study, Epsilon,  points out that Social Influencers:

• like to share when they have a problem with a product/service,
• believe people follow their advice,
• like to be “in-the-know”,
• are also more likely to try something new as opposed to general Internet users.

So what types of marketing appeals to Influencers? In the world of Social Media:

• Blogs: 14% of Canadian Influencers  and 19% of American Influencers read blogs.
  (as opposed to random samples which were 12% CAN and 17% US).
• Facebook: 15% of Canadian Influencers and 14% of American Influencers read information on Facebook pages of brands/products (as opposed to random samples which were 12% CAN and 10% US).
• 40% of Canadian Influencers and 34% US Influencers read family/friends Facebook pages (as opposed to random samples which were 36% CAN and 29% US).
• The statistics for reading and interactivity for Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace were very low.
• Email newsletters: Canadian Influencers are more likely to sign up: 45% as opposed to the average 40%.

In the offline world, coupons and in-store promotions are more likely to capture the Social Influencer’s attention:

• 25% Canadian Influencers and 24% US Influencers told someone about the in-store offer (as opposed to 18% for random both US and Canada).
• 75% of Canadian and US Influencers had read/heard/received an in-store offer (as opposed to the random sampling of 70% CAN and 71% US)

The report also noted that connecting with Social Influencers using various forms of communication, both online and offline, ensures maximum reach and exposure. But regardless to how the Influencers received the information, 90% of their word-of-mouth is done in person or on the phone.  

Also noted in this report (according to AC Neilson), Influencers made 16 times the recommendations than the control group.

So there you have it folks, chatty people are your best form of advertising. You probably knew this all along.

Now I want to hear what YOU do to reward your Influencers! Do you provide them with exclusive offers? Do you let them know about upcoming events and information before you let the rest of your customers know? What methods have worked best for you?