Professional versus Influencer

…And the blurred line! In the middle of a mentoring session this week, just as I was extolling the virtues of Instagram, the client stopped my train of thought with this great question:

I’m a professional, not an influencer…how do I keep that line while still promoting myself online?

Influencer Marketing

Over the last few days, I’ve been mulling the answer to this question over and over in my mind. It’s such a valid question and I’m surprised that I haven’t thought more about it. It’s a common worry for many of my clients, but is often expressed more in terms of a wish to keep professional life separate from their personal life.

Let’s start with a look at how the roles of professional and influencer are defined:

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a professional is someone who does a job that needs special training and a high level of education.

A professional in a particular field conforms to the technical and ethical standards of that profession. They go through a defined period of training aimed at acquiring a skill that will be applied to solve a problem, generally in exchange for payment.

According to the Influencer Marketing Hub , An influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience.

Influencers are usually hired and paid according to their degree of impact on the population (or target market of the company). This generally equates to their number of followers and likes/views that they have on social media.

They trade their experiences and lifestyles for visibility. The more visible they are, the more money they are paid to advertise a product, be a brand ambassador, and many other #perks!

Professionals on the other hand, are hired to offer a particular skill for which they have trained and obtained a certificate of learning. They have to acquire a skill and prove that they master it by practicing it over a prolonged period of time. The longer their experience, the more expensive their service generally becomes.

And therein for me lies the difference – a professional is paid to authenticate a product/service, whereas an Influencer is paid to solely promote it. It’s a very important difference, when you really think about it…and unfortunately, many people really don’t anymore.

So how do you define that line between professional and influencer in your own businesses marketing?

I think most people in business now appreciate the need to show personality and to build their brand’s story. This usually involves sharing some element of our personal lives – maybe our dog, our hobbies, or sharing our social causes and beliefs. And it nearly always involves putting our face and voice online, particularly in this age of stories, reels and Tiktoks.

There are a few key things that businesses can do to help them define themselves as professionals, while still being engaging and showing personality:

  • Use your website and social media bio to promote your qualifications and experience.
  • Deal in fact only – back up your opinions with your professional learnings.
  • Don’t get caught up in fads. Stick to what promotes both your business and personal ethos most authentically (maybe say pass to the latest Tiktok challenge!).
  • Worry about your clients, not the general masses. It’s business you want to attract, not likes and follows.

Despite the differences between professional and influencer, there’s an increasingly blurry line at times. Many professionals are now also influencers, and many do a great job at merging both to educate and engage with target markets. There can be a lot of value in that. But I do think it’s important for a professional to decide where the line is for them and, of course, that will vary from person to person.

So I was glad when my client raised that question this week. It’s definitely something I needed to be more aware of and to address more often with clients, especially in this ever-changing world of social media marketing and those blurry lines between work and life.

My final pointer to professionals is to believe in yourself – sounds obvious, but a lot of us get intimidated by Influencers. Don’t be, their job is different to yours! Those who have done a course with me will know that one of my favorite sayings in digital marketing is ‘Likes are for vanity, engagement for sanity’. That’s a mantra I live by – and I’d strongly advise you do too!

Influencer Marketing
Karen Twomey MA BSc works as a freelance digital marketing consultant, trainer and mentor. For more information on how Communications Hub can help your business get in touch.

Karen Twomey – An introduction!

I think like most businesses, mine evolves and grows with every year that passes- and so too do my services. So let me take time to reintroduce myself, Karen Twomey!

After lots of years of focusing on delivering training in all areas of digital marketing, both online and in-person, I’ve found myself doing more one-to-one work over the last few months. This has mostly taken the form of consultancy and mentoring…and I have to say, I love it!

Karen Twomey

There’s a lot of value that can be added to a business, whether you’re a start-up or existing brand, by investing in an hour or two of one-to-one digital marketing consultancy. Here at Communications Hub we can tailor-make an online marketing plan to suit your time, skills and needs, and focus on the key digital platforms that will ensure the best return on your time. So whether it’s Twitter or TikTok, we’re here to help and guide you through.

So, if you’d like to know more about Karen Twomey and what Communications Hub can do for you, check out this short video I’ve put together or come say hello on LinkedIn! And after that – get in touch!

Karen Twomey works as freelance Digital Marketing Consultant, Trainer and Mentor with businesses, social enterprises and community groups. For more information on any of our services see www.communicationshub.ie or email karen@communicationshub.ie

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it

Last weekend I attended the All Together Now festival set in the stunning landscape of Curraghmore House in Portlaw, Co Waterford.

Having purchased our tickets months back, we were eagerly anticipating what was promised to be a weekend of “like-minded people, music lovers, passionate performers, families, artists, musicians, creators, rebels, and refugees of a changing festival landscape…”

Wow, high hopes indeed.

My husband was lucky enough to escape from the ‘kiddie run asylum’ we call home on Thursday night and went off with some friends to get set up in anticipation of my arrival the next day.

Chomping at the bit on Friday, I all but did a drive by dumping of the kids at the grandparents’, and took off all smug and chilled in the knowledge that within the hour I’d be getting my festival vibe on with a nice cool can of Heineken.

Little did I know…

All Together Now

The traffic woes of the forsaken All Together Now festival goers have been well documented and, as there’s a good chance I’m still suffering from Post Traumatic Stress disorder from what should have been a 1 hour maximum drive instead taking 5 1/2 hours, I’m not even going to go there again.  You can Google it if I’ve lost you.

Yes, I did mean FIVE AND A HALF HOURS.  The last hour of which I spent in desperation for a wee.  Which at least helped pass the time as I contemplated all kind of acrobatics to relieve myself into the only vessel I contained, an empty coffee cup – you’ll be glad to know I resisted, just about.

So anyway, I got there, and to a toilet.  It wasn’t the end of the world.  Sh*t happens and all that.

What really did suck though was the completely inadequate response from the organisers of All Together Now, who basically ignored what was happening and went on a social media shutdown.  They only updated their accounts later that night to blame the delays on the number of people attending.

Now, I’m no expert in event management but when you sell 22,000 tickets for your event, you better prepare for 22,000 people to attend.  Later Friday night they shared how amazing Fontaines DC were, which was scant consolation for those still stuck in traffic and missing the fun.

You probably don’t need me to tell you the response this generated across their social media platforms all weekend…

All Together Now

But hey, we’re all human, we all make mistakes.  The thing about mistakes though is that most of them can be forgiven…if you take responsibility and apologise.  Blaming other people for your mistakes is just plan rude.  And in the words of Patti Smith – the people have the power – especially in the world of social media.

After mature reflection (and a possible change of PR companies), the organisers of All Together Now did take responsibility and went on a damage limitation strategy.  Fair play, and better late than never.  They put on a great festival in so many ways and hopefully they’ll learn some valuable lessons from this year’s fiasco.

It did leave a bad taste though  – not to mention a very negative online footprint (we won’t even go there on the environmental footprint).

As someone who works in PR/Digital Marketing I always tell my clients that mistakes can and do happen.  There’s a fail safe formula for dealing with them though – acknowledge, apologise and promise to learn from it.  Simples.

All Together Now

COMMUNICATIONS HUB specialise in Digital Marketing Training, Social Media Training and Online Management for Business. 

 

Why YouTube?

Does your business have a YouTube channel?  If not, here’s a few good reasons why you should!

Over 77% of the population use YouTube every week – so whether you know it or not, you’re probably a regular user of the platform too!

YouTube was established in 2005 and has grown from strength to strength over the years – much helped, of course, by the explosion of video as a content marketing strategy.  It is now the world’s second largest search engine (after Google) and the second most visited site after Facebook.

The average YouTube user spends an unbelievable 21 minutes per browsing session – compare this to Facebook at 11 minutes, Instagram at 6 and eBay at 6! (Similarweb.com 2019).

YouTube

 

In fact, over one billion hours of videos are now watched on YouTube every day with 1.9 billion monthly active logged-in users.  Of those 75% report watching YouTube on their mobile devices (Hubspot 2019) – a fact that should be kept in mind when designing YouTube content and adverts.

Useless Fact

The most watched video on YouTube is Despacito by Luis Fonsi.  Gangnam Style was the first you-tube video to be watched over a billion times.  It took five months to hit 1 billion views – in comparison to Despacito which took just over 97 days!

YouTube

Moving swiftly on…

YouTube ads can be In-Stream, In-Search and In-Display and research has found that they are 84% more likely to hold attention than TV ads.  After all, who watches live TV anymore!

YouTube ads can be especially good for building brand awareness, influencing behaviour and driving customers to your website…and who doesn’t want more customers, right?!

Of course, I can’t write a blog on YouTube without mentioning the important fact that it’s owned by Google and rates very highly in terms of SEO and SERP.  Couple that with the fact that video gets up to 60% more interaction than images online and it makes Youtube a no brainer for any digital marketing strategy!

I bet you’ve been singing this in your head since I mentioned it, right?  Here you go…

#YouTube #DigitalMarketing #VideoMarketing

Karen Twomey MA BSc is a freelance Digital Marketing Consultant and delivers a part-time QQI L5 Digital Marketing course in Mallow College of Further Education and a Digital Marketing Institute Professional Diploma in Cork Training Centre.  She also provides bespoke one-to-one and group training sessions.  For more information contact karen@communicationshub.ie

Facebook Training Workshop Mallow

Time to improve your online skills?

This upcoming Facebook for Business Workshop in Mallow will help you improve your use of social media, increase your online reach and help you to create effective content.

Facebook Workshop Mallow

The workshop is one of a number of social media training courses that will take place in CoWork Mallow, with an Instagram for Business workshop scheduled to take place on Wednesday 20th March.

Spaces are limited to 6, cost €60 per person and must be pre-booked by emailing karen@communicationshub.ie or phoning 0877642575.

Take the first step today, and help your business stand out from the crowd!

Karen Twomey is a freelance Social Media Consultant with Communications Hub  and provides one-to-one and group social media training sessions as well as social media management.

 

Is Your Business Being Left Behind?

COMMUNICATIONS HUB specialise in delivering digital marketing and online training campaigns and pride ourselves on using creative marketing to push beyond the boundaries of traditional marketing.

We work with SMEs and local organisations to help promote their brands online in a cost-effective and efficient manner, helping them to future-proof their business.

Want to manage your own online marketing?  We specialise in delivering one-to-one and group digital marketing and social media training and run various courses throughout the year, including a 12 week night course in Digital Marketing in Mallow College of Further Education.

Communications Hub is managed by Karen Twomey who has a Masters in Public Relations with New Media.  She has worked for many years in area of sales and marketing and brings a vast knowledge of business and customer service to the clients she works with.

What Communications Hub can do for you

So whether you’re starting a business, launching a campaign or simply re-branding, we can help.  Contact Communications Hub today and take the next step in growing your business!

Call us on 0877642575 or email Karen@communicationshub.ie

Communications Hub

#CommunicationsHub #DigitalMarketing #OnlineTraining

Upcoming Social Media Training for Business

Need some help getting your business online? This 2.5hr social media training course will improve your online skills and help your business/organisation to stand out on social media.

Topics covered include:

* An overview of social media platforms, their audiences and use in
the Irish market
* How to create and upload engaging content – text, photos & video
* An introduction to Blogging, Email Marketing & Search Engine
Optimisation
* How to save time using content calendars and online scheduling

It’s the ideal course for anyone who wants to get to know a little more about social media from a professional perspective and improve their online marketing.

COST: €30 per person

For further information contact Karen Twomey on 0877642575/karen@communicationshub.ie or see our website www.communicationshub.ie

Latest Social Media Stats for Ireland

The latest Ipsos MRBI stats on social media use in Ireland don’t yield many surprises – not least the huge growth that Instagram has enjoyed in Ireland over the last few months.

Instagram is now officially the fastest growing social media platform in Ireland and has grown by a huge 7% from November 2016 to November 2017 – leaving the once ‘Golden Child’ Snapchat in its wake, with a growth of only 3%.

The other big winners of 2017 were Pinterest – which experienced a much-needed boost of 5% to make it the 5th most popular social media platform in Ireland.

Likewise, Twitter has enjoyed a growth of 4% in account ownership, although it has been pushed into 3rd position in terms of daily use of a social media platform, having been overtaken by everyone’s current favourite, Instagram.

The biggest loser of 2017 has been Google+, an increasingly redundant platform save for its ties in terms of its Google/ search engine optimisation association.

Facebook has experienced a drop of 2% in account ownership and a further 2% in daily usage.  Although, with 65% of the population still having accounts and 69% of those using it daily, it’s far from its demise.

Below are the stats for account ownership in Ireland up to November 2017

account ownership nov17
Ipsos MRBI Nov 17

And daily usage up to the same period

Communications Hub

So, what does this mean for Irish businesses in terms of digital marketing going forward?

  • Video is still King
  • Infographics reflect the trend for bite-size info
  • In the moment/Live content is still the most engaging type of content
  • Micro-blogging is going from strength to strength
  • Less is more – and less than that is more again

So there you have it  – social media continues its charge forward and is cementing its place as the most popular and effective marketing tool in Ireland.

Karen Twomey is a freelance Public Relations and Social Media Consultant with Communications Hub  For further information Tel: 087 7642576 or email: Karen@communicationshub.ie

Social Media for Business Course 22nd Feb & 1st March

Need some help getting your business online?

This 2.5hr course will improve your online skills and help your business or organisation to stand out on social media.

Topics covered include:

  • An overview of social media platforms, their audiences and use in
    the Irish market
  • How to create and upload engaging content – text, photos & video
  • An introduction to Blogging, Email Marketing & Search Engine
    Optimisation
  • How to save time using content calendars and online schedulingSocial Media for Business is the ideal course for anyone who wants to get to know a little more about social media from a professional perspective and improve their online marketing.

When:   Thurs 22nd Feb from 10.00am – 12.30pm or
Thurs 1st March from 7.00pm – 9.30pm

Where:   Fermoy Community Youth Centre

Cost:   €30 p.p.

For further details or to book a place, see the below links:

Thursday 22nd Feb: https://www.facebook.com/events/397318247375666/

Thursday 1st March:
https://www.facebook.com/events/746585708864667/

Or contact Karen Twomey on 0877642575/karen@communicationshub.ie or see our website www.communicationshub.ie

In a world of Kardashians, be real

An American Family is often credited as being the first proper reality TV series to hit screens in 1973.  It was a fly-on-the-way documentary that followed the lives of ordinary couple Bill and Pat Loud and their five children.  Containing arguments, affairs, and ultimately divorce, it caused a furore in America and changed the face of television forever more.

The model of reality TV didn’t change much over the years and became a ‘social norm’ for those growing up in the noughties, which saw an explosion in such series.  Programmes like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Big Brother and Masterchef were churning out reality tv stars by the week and, suddenly, we had a whole new type of celebrity.

We found ourselves swamped with reality tv stars everywhere we turned – tv, magazines, every type of opening imaginable and, of course, online – and so was born the ‘Influencer’.  It was the growth of social media though that really exploded the power of these influencers and brands began falling over themselves to be associated with the ‘celeb of the moment’.

As with all fads, the reality tv sector eventually reached saturation and we started to tire of the ‘z-listers’.  We wanted something new, something authentic and real.  We grew tired of scripted ‘fake reality’,  we wanted real people in real life circumstances.   And so dawned the era of social media influencer – real people, just like you and I.

Popular online influencers tend to be bloggers or vloggers on certain topics – fitness, clothes, make-up, parenting, cooking – the list is endless.  It takes a huge amount of hard work to make it as an online influencer and build a following large enough to attract brands to use your influence as paid promotion.

This type of marketing has exploded in recent years and focuses on influential people, rather than the target market as a whole.  A brand identifies individuals that have influence over potential buyers and orients marketing activities around these.  It works because people buy from people they trust.

Social Media Influencers focus on particular genres and build a following of similar minded people.  They are in a position to build ‘real’ relationships with people who brands also want to build relationships with.  Influencers reach consumers via their blogs and social networks and their marketing clout has been steadily growing along with the popularity of platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.

According to recent research, 70% of millennial consumers are influenced by the recommendations of their peers in buying decisions.  The same research found that 30% of consumers are more likely to buy a product recommended by a non-celebrity influencer, as they relate more to these and value their opinions more than that of celebrity influencers.  And that really brings us to the crux of the current controversy – the issue of transparency and trust.

Influencer mkt

The appeal of non-celebrity influencers centres around our ability to relate to them.  They invite us into their lives, their homes and their families, and become our ‘friends’.  A study by Altimeter Group showed that out of the influencers surveyed, 71 percent say their followers remain engaged due to the influencer’s authenticity…but what happens when an influencer isn’t being authentic?

In a world of millennials, where the line between the online and offline worlds has become so diluted as to almost be invisible, these online influencers are as authentic to many as ‘real-life friendships’.  They trust and believe these people, so when they make a recommendation, that carries a lot of weight.

For a long time, many influencers were getting away with blatant advertising cloaked as ‘friendly advice’ until the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) started to clamp down on them and insist on transparency when being paid to promote products.  We now see bloggers using the likes of #promotion #sp or #ad to let us know that the post is a sales promotion.

While that was certainly a step in the right direction – although not every online influencer has been following the ASAI’s Code of Advertising Standards – it still left a huge grey area in terms of transparency.  What happens when a blogger isn’t being paid for a promotion but is instead receiving free products/perks from a company in lieu of promoting same?  Surely this should be subject to the same rules as paid promotions?

Unfortunately not, and so it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is genuine advice and what is paid promotion anymore.  For me, this reflects a huge violation in terms of honesty, decency and truthfulness – the very core values on which influencers build their following – and ignores the bloggers’ responsibility to those followers and society as a whole.

Many of these Influencers are role models that their followers aspire to, especially the younger generation.  They wield a lot of power and that’s why transparency is so important.  Much of the current controversy has focused on the use of filters, or worse still, photoshop to alter images, thus creating unattainable body goals for many young influential followers.

There has also been concern that certain influencers have used cosmetic surgery, fillers, botox, etc. while claiming their enhanced looks are due to certain products.  A recently set up Instagram account under the handle @bullshitcallerouter has been calling out influencers on their false advertising, re-posting various pictures which had clearly been altered or photo-shopped.

So where to now for influencer marketing?  Onwards and upwards it would seem given the continued growth of social media.  Hopefully, however, the current focus on the area may force a more transparent and honest approach from influencers and encourage the brands they work with to take more responsibility for the type of content being created in their name.

As the mother of a young girl, I certainly hope so.

Karen Twomey is a freelance Public Relations and Social Media Consultant with Communications Hub  For further information Tel: 087 7642576 or email: Karen@communicationshub.ie