Social Media: Male versus Female
Although you might love to create awesome videos for YouTube, if you are targeting women, you might simply be wasting precious time and money. The same can be said about Pinterest if you are targeting men.
Think of it this way: guys often hang-out at a local pub watching a baseball/football/hockey/soccer game with a beer in hand, while girls love to shop all day then dress up to meet girlfriends for a few martinis at a trendy lounge. Of course, there are exceptions, but as a general rule, men and women are just different, and they, usually, don't hang out at the same places.
The same can be said about social media. If your luxury brand targets one gender, you have to pay attention to the demographics of the social network before you decide to jump all in and spend a lot of time and money. Being good at social media can be expensive, so it's important to invest wisely.
This post is inspired by an email chain with one of our clients who simply insist that they must have a strong YouTube presence because "everyone in the industry is there" and "that is what we need to do". About the brand: they target women over 30 years old with an income above $100,000.
The series of videos they have produced so far, against our recommendations, are not "must-see" videos. They don't show the brand at its finest and are simply boring to watch therefore they barely attract any attention from anyone. In fact, not a single video created and published in the last six months has been viewed more than 50 times! With more than 1 billion unique users who visit YouTube each month, and with over 6 billion hours of videos watched each month on YouTube, this should be a sign that
1- no one is interested in the video series;
2- continuing this path will incurs unnecessary costs;
3- since 78% of YouTube's audience is male - only 23% female - they should simply focus their attention on other social networks. Those who are visited by females and who will bring in targeted website traffic aka Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Yes they could spend thousands of dollars to create high-end videos, but why not invest in Pinterest a mere fraction of the costs to grow their presence on Pinterest, a social network that is mostly all female (68%) and that is simply awesome at generating traffic to a website. We can only advice and hope they read this blog post ;)
The Elements of Content Marketing
Just what exactly constitutes effective content marketing in the luxury market? There are several key elements that need to be in place in order to guarantee successful results for your luxury brand.
- First and foremost, you need to develop a content strategy. This is the core element upon which everything else depends. Your strategy needs to be well thought-out in order to be a firm foundation for your content marketing project.
- Define the exact format that you are going to use. Will it be in the form of articles, a webinar, or even a game or an app? There are several options from which to choose so make sure that you select the most appropriate option(s) for your needs and strategy.
- You then need to conduct luxury research and determine which content type is best suited to your target audience. Luxury marketing could constitute anything from reviews to quizzes.
- Use various social and content distribution platforms to share your content. Take advantage of options such as luxury websites, popular platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, blogs, and many more.
- Critically, the key metrics need to be tracked and mapped to the specific goals you wish to achieve. Everything from brand metrics to demographic metrics needs to be monitored and analyzed to improve your luxury marketing. This ensures that you can achieve what you set out to accomplish in relation to leads, sales, members, branding, shares, etc.
- One of the most important elements of luxury content marketing is the use of sharing triggers associated with human emotions. Anything from cute and funny to shocking and sexy will work with the appropriate content but remember to stay true to your brand's core values.
- Lastly, the final element is double checking. Everything – everything – needs to be checked. This includes checking your accuracy with fact-checking and improving your marketing by checking optimization. Not to mention a whole host of other checks such as tone of voice, formatting, brand guidelines, etc.
Luxury content marketing is guaranteed to be more effective in reaching that all-important target audience once all these vital elements are in place.
Influencing with Giveaways: Separating the Myths from the Facts
Just how do social media competitions influence consumers? TAMBA conducted research with people who enter competitions in order to provide insight into the use of competitions as a marketing strategy. The results shed some interesting light on myths surrounding competitions and social media. This is what they found:
- A ‘typical’ participant in competitions is in their thirties and works full time.
- More than 60% of respondents do not have children under the age of 18. Those who do have children under 18 have one to two children.
- The vast majority of people who enter competitions are not bloggers.
- Social media was reported as the most popular platform for entering competitions, with 87% of the respondents saying they used this channel of participation.
- Facebook and Twitter are by far the most popular social media channels used for entering competitions.
- 68% of the respondents admitted to entering competitions on a daily basis.
- Interestingly, almost half of the respondents share brand content on their social pages every day.
- Competitions increase consumers’ interaction with a brand and increase brand content that is shared on social media. Importantly, competitions also significantly influence consumers’ awareness of new brands and their brand purchasing decisions.
- Competitions have a positive effect on brand perception and word-of-mouth recommendations. In fact, almost 3 out of 4 people are more likely to recommend a brand that offers giveaways and competitions.
- And the drawback? 72% of people are frustrated by unwanted spam from the brand following a competition.
These research results challenges many assumptions and myths that were previously associated with brand giveaways and competitions. It’s no longer about stay-at-home mums or bloggers. We can no longer dismiss competitions as having little significant impact on brand perception, awareness and buying decisions. In other words, luxury brands would do well to take this information into account when developing their brand strategies.
Luxury Spotlight: Scott Eddy, Entrepreneur, Public Speaker & Consultant
A serial entrepreneur, Scott Eddy is the digital guru you can depend on to help you form lasting meaningful relationships for your business. With an enviable base of followers, he sure knows how to create and nurture relationships. Offering corporate training and consulting services for individuals and businesses, he is also a noted public speaker specializing on topics such as Entrepreneurship, Startups, Social Media, Sales, and Motivation.
According to him, “I love starting companies, so when I get an idea, and have the situation (and time) to do it, then I do it.” Presently, he owns a digital agency in Bangkok, where he has a great team, along with whom he manages what he loves to do most – connect with people.
Let’s take a look at how he began on his career as a digital nomad.
As someone who is both an entrepreneur and on a PanAmerican road trip, your blog post "What it’s like to be an entrepreneur and a serious traveler at the same time" resonated with me. You talk about using social media to connect with people in real-life throughout your travels. Any tips on how to find the right people to connect with?
Whenever I am going to a new country, before I go I always go through Twitter to see who is the most active and engaging (brands and people) I try to connect with them, and usually a good group of people reach out to me. I use Twitter for this because out of all the social media platforms, Twitter is the quickest way to connect with someone.
There has been a lot of controversies surrounding Facebook in the last year and many brands have considered shutting down their account for good. In this new Facebook era, what do you recommend to brands who are trying to build a loyal following on Facebook.
Facebook is definitely making it harder everyday. Basically I would say you 'have to' set aside a budget to do paid campaigns through Facebook, if that is against what you believe it, then I feel it will be impossible to build a huge following on there. And if you do achieve it, the way they have things set up, even if you do have a huge following, if you are not paying for 'boosts' or 'sponsored' posts, then your following will not see most of what you post anyway.
Twitter is a great way to build connections with industry peers. As someone who now has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter, can you give us a tip on how to build a loyal fan base?
This is exactly what I talk about when I do consulting for this industry. The first thing I recommend is to find your competitors, and see who is engaging with them, see who follows them, and follow those people. From my experience, if I follow 100 of those people, usually about 25-50% of them will follow back. And if you are doing this everyday, think about the possibilities. I say this to everyone, and I will say to you as well, Twitter is the best platform out there!!!!!
Instagram is a great way to both capture your travel and connect with others who share the same passion. What type of pictures do you find works best to inspire likes and comments from the community?
I think it depends on your following. I usually post quotes, travel pics and, of course, food pics. You have to remember, most of social media is people living vicariously through other people, so try to post unique images, things with the 'wow effect.'
Although a lot of brands tend to dismiss Google + for other social networks, Google seems keen on making it a leader. In your opinion, should brands give this network the chance it deserves?
I feel that unless you are deep into the technology, this platform is useless. I know some people have success there, but I just don't see it. I have tried a few times with zero success. If its working for you, I applaud you, but I am done with it.
Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?
I think my answer is a little obvious. I don't think anything can touch Twitter. You can connect with someone immediately, with less than 12% of all accounts are private you can see what they are talking about and who they are engaging with, and this is the place that most news agencies are getting their first reports from....so it's definitely the place to be for me!
Do you monitor your Klout score on a daily/weekly basis? Do you think this social ranking is of any real value to determine influence?
Klout is an interesting topic. While I think it is a remarkable tool, I doubt the credibility behind it. Let me give you an example, about a year ago I had a ranking of 76, at that time I had about 250-275K followers on Twitter, and less than 5K on Facebook and Instagram. Now I am much more engaging, have over 500K followers on Twitter and 20K on Facebook and 30K on Instagram (and did I mention MUCH more engaging) and now my Klout score is 72. For me, Klout is EXTREMELY frustrating and I just don't get how they get their scores.
In your opinion, which social media will lead the way in the next 5-10 years?
I think Twitter will get much more relevant, and I think while Facebook will still be relevant, I think they will push more and more people away.
If you had to mentor a new social media newbie, what is your go-to advice to become successful?
Build relationships!!! To be honest, that is all I do on Twitter. I am not looking to sell anything, I have no other motive. I want to make as many friends as I can around the world, because some of those relationships will turn into long-lasting business relationships.
Want to connect with him? Find him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube. Or, you can reach out to us for an introduction.
Defining an Influencer for Your Luxury Brand
The biggest challenge in connecting with influencers for brand awareness lies in identifying the right influencer; in marketing terminology – understanding the characteristics defining an influencer for your luxury brand.
Influencers are usually very active in various social media circles and through blogs. They are brand promoters, brand advocates and niche marketers.
Does your luxury brand really need influencers? Of course! When someone who has hundreds and thousands of followers on social media platforms hails your luxury brand as the next best thing, you will inevitably gain brand exposure in front of an audience who is attentive.
Luxury brands have to look at influencers as mutual friends, connecting their luxury brand to thousands of potential customers. Customers these days do not pay heed to the hordes of billboards or listen to the rhyming commercial jingles like they used too; they are intelligent and want to research a product or a brand on their own and, perhaps, take in the advice of an influencer they trust.
So, what defines an influencer?
Niche: Having someone who has a huge fan following is not going to be of much use to you unless they reach out to your target audience. So, the ideal influencer would be someone who can wield influence over your niche market.
Audience: The influencer's audience must be targeted and focused on your coveted audience. Even though Miley Cyrus or Justin Beber both have millions of social media fans, and may be considered as some of the most influential celebrities, their tweet praising your products might actually hurt your brand if you are trying to reach the affluent consumer.
Reach: An influencer with a huge fan following will surely have a bigger impact than one with a smaller reach. Saying this, do not disregard those who have just joined the digital game as they might become the most influential in a year's time.
Personality Type: A celebrity can be an influencer but so can an environmental activist, a mommy blogger or a private concierge. Before starting an influencer campaign, define the ideal influencer persona that will best suit your brand interests.
Location: Although you may want to reach a specific location, remember that the web is international and influencers often exert authority without borders.
LinkedIn - The New Publishing Platform For B2B
Earlier this month, LinkedIn expanded its publishing platform, in a move that will allow all of the platform’s users to write long-form posts and share them with their connections. This change will be helping to transform LinkedIn into a comprehensive publishing platform, and one that businesses will be able to use to create informative content to educate their audiences with. While LinkedIn has previously offered the publishing feature to a select group of industry professionals, also called LinkedIn Influencers, with the new update, the feature will now be offered to all LinkedIn members. Will LinkedIn become the preferred publishing platform for B2B?
According to an announcement from LinkedIn, the Influencers’ posts have been doing well, receiving more views and comments than average posts. This first group of Influencers included big names within the financial industry as well as Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Barack Obama, among others. After the initial group of “Influencers” were selected to pilot this new effort, LinkedIn has found that these posts receive an average of 31,000 more views, 250 more likes and 80 more comments per post. Even with the new platform in place, LinkedIn is still maintaining its Influencers program to help bring attention to some of the most influential users on the site.
There are currently more than 277 million users on the LinkedIn network, and now all of them will be able to access the publishing feature right from their home screen.
LinkedIn members who are looking to enhance their B2B transactions will find that this new feature can be instrumental to their success. LinkedIn is already one of the top sites for B2B content publishing, and the most used social media platform by B2B marketers. The addition of the open publishing feature should only expand the influence of LinkedIn within the B2B marketing industry, and should help LinkedIn become the leading professional publishing platform in the market.
Now that the new update is officially available, members who are interested in taking advantage of the new publishing power will find a small pencil icon to the right of their Share Box. By clicking on this pencil, any user will be able to access a screen where they can create their long form posts and content. They will also be able to add titles and links in order to publish their article. Once an article has been crafted, it will be part of the public profile of the publisher. With the platform in place, members will be able to share their expertise through videos, images, photos, articles and presentations. Many members hope that this new feature will help them grow their business and develop a stronger online presence.
The new LinkedIn update offers members the ability to deliver more personal insights along with their profile. The social media site has launched the blogging feature to help increase user engagement, however, different users have found different benefits of the new platform. While some companies may be focused on the B2B marketing component of the new rollout, others are seeing the benefits of this addition when it comes to hiring decisions. No matter what the reason is for utilizing the new LinkedIn feature, it is clear that this platform is ushering in a new era for all of the social network’s users.
It might be time for us to focus more of our energy on LinkedIn as the new publishing platform for B2B. What do you think?
How To Sever Your Relationship With A Luxury Blogger In One Step
Today is a day where I vent a little as it seems like one luxury travel brand we have been promoting for nearly a year has completely lost their way. To put you in context, let me explain the nature of our relationship.
The brand is a reputable luxury travel brand that became one of our monthly contributors on LuxeInACity, our luxury travel magazine. Since we value the opinions of travel experts, we published 10 original blog posts from them that included several SEO links back to their website. We even took it a step further and shared everything on our social media channels and randomly interacted with them throughout the year.
Last night, my partner/sister Maxine mentioned that she felt the relationship was unidirectional and that the content received was extremely generic. She had been noticing for a while that this luxury travel brand never took any initiative to share our own content with their fans. Unless we promoted them, they never interacted with us. It was always about them. So we decided to do a test.
I adapted one of our blog posts to include several links back to LuxeInACity's content and asked Maxine to sent them a request to publish it on their blog as a gesture of reciprocity. Remember that we have been promoted them on a complimentary basis for nearly a year and have never asked for anything in return. This was their response:
"Hi Maxine
Thank you for posting our April blog – looks brilliant. I love the tulip picture. I’ve got the May blog ready to send over to you next week but let me know if you want it any earlier than that.
Regarding posting on our blog, unfortunately we don’t feature reciprocal guest blogs. As I’m sure you are aware, Google places no value in a reciprocal link so this isn’t something we would do. I will always retweet anything you put out that mentions @brandname so I hope that is of some help to you.
Please do let me know if you have any queries at all
Best wishes"
Seriously.... If this is how they act with their friends, I wonder how they actually threat their clients... Our response was simple... Delete, Delete, Delete. Yes, I deleted the last 10 blog posts they sent us and all those beautiful SEO backlinks we gave them over the year.
The reasons are simple:
1- We only promote brands we love.
2- We only promote brands we value the friendship.
3- We only promote brands we recommend to our fans.
SEO is not about building random backlinks for Google but about building strong relationships with influencers that can give you traction. Maxine and I are not vindictive but enough if enough.
Lesson learned: Be friendly and give back some love! Build a real relationship with a luxury blogger.
Note: I am certain that this luxury travel brand is very happy we decided not to give them an SEO backlink from this post ;)
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UPDATE: In case you wanted to know Maxine's reply:
"Hi "Name"
Thank you for following up. I am sad to see that "Brand Name" doesn't consider us a strategic partner. Since we are in the same field but offer different services, it does make sense that we help each other out. Not all reciprocal link are bad according to Google. If you were a dentist and I was a construction worker than it would definitely be considered black SEO to exchange links for the simple matter of a link exchange but since our content is relevant to each other and our readers, reciprocal links are still valuable when done right and and the links would be considered helpful additional resources on both our end, offering our readers more insight into the luxury travel world.
This isn’t a strategy to employ as an easy SEO tool to build lots of inbound links. If the link seems forced, unnatural, or out of place, it probably is and shouldn’t be used such as the example above.
This is a strategy to use to not only gain visibility for your brand and business in a new group of ideal clients and customers, but to also help your audience connect with and benefit from other relevant service providers, businesses, and retailers.
You see, there are still instances when reciprocal linking is smart for business, especially when it’s used as an online business strategy to gain visibility in front of new audiences. Our network in the luxury world is quite extensive and since we only link to businesses and websites that are trusted and authorities in their field, we have gained our authority by working and using reciprocal links that benefit both parties. We have never engaged in any purely SEO tactics since we have been online and purely gained our authority by getting involved in smart strategic partnerships so we have to believe that our tactic is working. We often even refuse linking to websites that are willing to pay as we believe our reputation is more important that a quick buck. Matt Cutts actually states that guest blogging purely for SEO purposes is not recommended but instead he says that "There are still many good reasons to do some guest blogging such as exposure, branding, increased reach, community, etc"
Having said that, last year, we used to accept guest posts from trusted websites for the opportunity to gain access to free quality content. However, our business has grown tremendously in the last year and we no longer need free content, now being able to produce our own. We now only accept guest posts if it's from strategic partnerships beneficial to both parties. Every guest blogger in our repertoire has agreed to continue working with us as strategic partners at one point or another. A simple retweet mentioning your company is not beneficial in any way to us since the focus is still on "Brand Name" and the links in the article still redirect everyone to your website. We can no longer justify the administrative costs if we are not getting anything in return. I hope you understand. I am sad to have to part ways but I see no other choices. I have to also mention at this time that we have removed all previous articles from our blog. We are strong believers in building real relationships and feel a little bit like we have been taken advantage of. If "Brand Name" is still interested in getting featured on LuxeInACity or would wishes for us to republish past content, I can provide you with a pricing list for a sponsored posts.
Have a great day!
Maxine Genier"
11 Tips For A Social Superyacht
If you own or manage a superyacht, you might be dabbling with the idea of increasing your charter revenues by stepping up your digital presence. If you already have a great superyacht website, such as the one we designed for MY Stafire, the next step is to join the social wave.
Why should your superyacht join the social wave? Because social media gets you actively connected with industry leaders, influencers and fans while your website simply waits for them to connect with you.
In an era where time is scarce, some consider social media to be the new email with its quick, timely and relevant interactions. As you share your story with compelling content across your social media channels, you let fans get to know the people behind the superyacht, creating the foundation to a great relationship.
But in order to turn fans into brand evangelists, you must have a clear social media strategy that includes great content representing your superyacht’s expertise. Once you have a strategy and a few original pieces of great content, such as infographics and blog posts, you must get the message out to the right audience at the right time through the right channels.
To help you better understand the digital yachting landscape, we have put together some of our wisdom to get your superyacht on the social wave. Here are our 11 Tips for a Social Superyacht.
1-Be reachable. To interact with you they need to find you.
Your website is the gateway to your social media channels; so make sure your social icons are easily findable on every page. Don’t hide the icons, but instead, be proud to be social and place them somewhere easily findable. Consider adding social widgets to your website giving a glimpse into your social communities.
2-Be Branded. Tell your superyacht’s unique story.
Your social media channels must reflect your superyacht’s personality. Are you a fun yacht, a classic yacht, an exploration yacht? Or are you just a regular plain old yacht? We didn’t think so. You must build your social media personality around the superyacht’s true essence.
3-Be Real. Show the people behind the superyacht.
You are more than jet skis, sun beds and staterooms. You are a superyacht, loved and serviced by a team of crew members. Your crew is your differentiating strength and must be put forward throughout your social media strategy. Don’t hesitate to share adventures, stories and fun facts about your crew to show the real side of your superyacht.
4-Be Engaging. Don’t talk alone, have two-way conversations.
These is nothing more boring than listening to someone talk about themselves for hours on end; don’t do the same on your social media channels. As a general rule of thumb, don’t spend more then 25-35% of your time talking about your superyacht. Instead, give your words to others and you will see them giving theirs back to you. Social media is all about team work.
5-Be Knowledgeable. Show off your expertise with others.
You are a superyacht. Luxury & travel experts and even brokers have a lot to learn from you about the industry. Share some of that wisdom and privileged information by answering questions from others and giving your opinions on related topics. Don’t just be there, get involved in the discussion.
6-Be Creative. Have fun and show your spirit.
You have a superyacht with a great personality; so now it’s time to show it off. Create compelling content such as infographics, videos, photos, blog posts, interviews to get people talking about your superyacht. You are living the life, so why not share it with those who dream of white sands and blue waters.
7-Be Around. Don’t join to simply disappear.
Getting to know your fans takes time and dedication; so you might not see any results in the first few weeks and months. Once influencers see that you are here to stick around and that you provide compelling content, they won’t hesitate in creating social synergy and give back some social love.
8-Be Everywhere. Build your presence where fans seek you.
Your fans are on every social network; so it's important to have a unified presence across all majors channels. Since time is of essence, concentrate your efforts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+ and Instagram. You might also want to interact on a country specific network to target a specific clientele.
9-Be Personable. Show your personality and enjoy the wave.
Every social media platform has its guidelines; so don’t automate your Tweet, Pins and Likes, then forget about it. There is no better way to kill your social presence then to plug in a tool and forget about engaging. Your fans won’t interact with your superyacht if you take a robotic approach to social media. They will immediately see the disconnect between your interactions and your social promise.
10-Be Surprising. Engage your followers with unique content.
A little bit of this, a lot of that and a little more of this. The secret ingredient to a social cocktail involves combining questions, quotes, comments, replies, retweets, hashtags, pictures, videos, polls, giveaways, blog posts and everything else that fits with your branded strategy. Don’t repeat the same strategy every day, as you will see your social interaction fade away. Surprise to engage, then surprise once more.
11-Be Luxury. You are a superyacht, so you must act like one.
Since your online presence reflects your reputation, you must always act and talk like a superyacht. Social media is all about building your brand image, an image that is built on one Tweet, Like or Pin at a time. A reputation can be tainted rapidly; so make sure to have a clear strategy before you jump in.
Now that you understand the basics of building a solid branded superyacht presence on social media, the question is, what will be your superyacht’s social media strategy? Reach out to us if you need someone to guide you with your digital presence.
Blogger Spotlight: Doron Levy Of TheTopTier.net
Behind every great luxury blog, you will find a great story. Luxury bloggers are real people, not machines. To successfully work with them, we recommend you get to know them a little better. Through our years at LuxeInACity, we have talked, collaborated and exchanged ideas with dozens if not hundreds of great bloggers from around the world.
Since bloggers rarely talk about themselves - they tend to talk about everyone else instead - we hope to showcase their skills, expertise and opinions in this blog series.
Get to know these luxury bloggers, learn from them and hopefully you will find an innovative way to collaborate with them.
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Today's blogger is Doron Levy of TheTopTier.net, a luxury lifestyle blog that aims to curate the best in luxury and affluence. Doron lives in Toronto, a great Canadian city that never sleeps. If you took the time to chat with Doron on the phone, you would soon realize how passionate he is about his blog. As you will read below, Doron stumbled into the world of luxury blogging after working in retail for several years. Since then, his blog has been a great source of information for those who love luxury. Read below to get to know the man behind TheTopTier.net.
Every blogger has a different story on how they got started blogging. What is yours?
I worked my way through the retail industry for most of my life and I was always impressed at the resilience of the luxury category. It is truly a category where the normal rules of economics don’t apply. The more exclusive an item is the more desirable it becomes. I found the whole category interesting and decided to feature content and write original work about luxury. And as an admitted gear head and watch lover, covering and writing about these subjects is truly enjoyable
Like most successful bloggers, you probably receive hundreds of emails per month from luxury brands who want you to share their story. What makes you decide to work with a brand over the other?
I look at several factors. The product itself is important. How it’s made, price and reputation all come into play. The biggest factors though are the company and brand itself. I like to learn about the history and roots of any brand that approaches us. True luxury is not just adding jewelry to an iPhone. There has to be a degree of exclusivity and equity when considering a brand to feature.
What is your take on press releases? Do you like receiving them or do you simply discard them?
We use press-releases as they come depending on the subject and time of year. Most recently was the Geneva Motor Show; so you would see a high frequency of PR coming from manufacturers during the show. While I find most press releases sterile and too wordsy, I like to add my own introduction and analysis to any press release we receive.
What would make you choose to work with a brand on a giveaway campaign on your site?
It depends on the brand, the giveaway and how they are promoting it. Ultra high net worth individuals don’t really subscribe to giveaways or contests; so we like to focus on the information they want.
If a brand wants to reach you, what channel should they use? Do you prefer email, social media or another means of communication?
I believe in being fully connected and staying connected as we work with people all over the world. We can be reached via email, Facebook, DM through twitter, SMS, Skype and will even answer smoke signals. I have to admit, I do miss having phone calls… (I have to agree).
In your mind, what makes a successful blogger outreach program? Is it the incentive, the brand itself or the relationship you already have with the brand?
It’s all about the relationship. While the incentive may be a nice perk, a solid partnership is way more valuable to me.
Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?
I really like the rapidity of twitter and the ability to reach a large group of interested people in short amount time but it can be a day to day situation where one channel is more popular than the other. During the Sochi Olympics, twitter was really the place to be but when engaging with content that is of a more creative nature, Facebook and LinkedIn become my preferred outlets.
Which social media channels does your audience interact with the most?
A lot of incoming traffic comes from Facebook and LinkedIn. The groups at LinkedIn are an invaluable source of readers as you are engaging people specifically looking for your content (as long as you post work in the appropriate groups).
In your opinion, what does it take to become successful on social media?
Someone who is adaptable and is not afraid of change! All social media outlets now have a bottom line to worry about so what was doable in social media 2 months ago will not work today. Your content will be mixed in with paid ads and sponsored articles. The key to success is constantly engaging your followers and friends with content they are interested in. You want to stand out in feeds and not be washed out by an onslaught of paid ads.
Do you monitor your Klout score on a daily/weekly basis? Do you think this social ranking is of any real value to luxury brands?
I do not but I am on their email list so I am updated when my score changes. There have been some big debates about Klout and its worthiness. My Klout score has remained constant for the last year but I have seen my hits, twitter and Facebook engagement all increasing so I’m not 100 percent sure what metrics they go by. We don’t include Klout in any of our marketing materials.
What is the main reason you blog on a daily basis? Is it for pleasure, for business or for both?
I can fully admit that it’s both. I enjoy the writing and covering the luxury category and it does provide a means to connect with organizations and individuals who would be interested in our services.
Do you sometime receive compensation from luxury brands, whether it’s in the form of cash or incentives, to blog about them?
Third party marketers will offer a small payment for a link in a sponsored post. Yes, we do offer sponsored posts just like all the big guys do. (We agree - it's common practice. RG)
Apart from blogging, do you offer additional services to luxury brands who choose to work with you?
Yes, through our ControlMedia.ca unit, we offer marketing, social media campaign setup, web design and our favorite, media creation.
Do you think luxury brands should understand that blogging is also a business for some?
I think luxury brands are starting to understand that point as blogging is becoming a vital part of their marketing campaigns. Luxury brands benefit from the ‘bespoke’ attention that bloggers can give them. Detailed reviews, real world experiences and commentary makes for more engagement with potential clients.
Do you manage more than one blog? If so, which ones?
Yes, we currently have 4 in our portfolio, TheTopTier.net, Vacayster.com, EmptyLegCentral.net and TradersNetwork.biz.
Have you rub shoulders with the rich and famous through your work as a luxury blogger?
Through our affiliation with Seven Star Global Luxury Awards, we recently landed exclusive interviews with prominent Greek and Turkish media personalities.
If you had to mentor a new blogger, what is your go-to advice to become successful?
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What Happens When Everyone Is An Influencer
The social web has created a new surge of influencers. Think of bloggers who are read by thousands of visitors each month; Twitter stars who have gathered fans in the millions; or YouTube sensations who seem to produce one viral video after the next. It seems that anyone can become an influencer with the right combination of skills.
Since influencers have a broad audience of loyal fans, sometimes surpassing even the most coveted brands in the industry, they often get approached by brands who seek new marketing opportunities. The exchange of service is often beneficial for both parties: the influencer usually gets compensated, either in the form of a complimentary gift or money, while the brand gets its message in front of a niche audience. But what happens to the consumer - the third party involved in this transaction? Will this influencer-brand synergy manipulate his/her purchasing decision?
Before someone makes a purchase, they will be "influenced" by dozens of individuals. Some recommendations will carry a lot of weight, while others will simply be pushed to the side. The importance of each recommendation depends on the nature of the relationship between the influencer, the brand and the consumer. If the influencer is a digital star, then the message will not have the same impact as if it comes from a family member or a close friend.
In Influence Marketing by Danny Brown, I recently stumbled on a great table that shows the different degrees of relationships within a person's list of personal contacts. Brown defines the nature of each relationships - Inner Circle, Social Friends, Acquaintance, Followers - Colleagues, and Followers - Competitive - then goes to explain how this new landscape creates a multitude of pathways through which brands must try to deliver their messages. Everyone is an influencer, however, not everyone has the same influential pull.
| Tier | Categorization | Description | Relationship Activity |
| First | Inner Circle | Personal contacts such as family, neighbors, friends and coworkers with whom you share frequent and personal communication both online and face-to-face. | In-person and digital gathering such as meals, social engagements, telephone and video calls, text messaging, etc. |
| Second | Social Friends | Contacts with frequent personal communications but where the relationship began and, for the most part, remains online. | Digital gathering such as social networking, video chats, etc. |
| Third | Acquaintances | Contacts formed or solidified through a one-time or infrequent meeting such as at a trade show or past friendships such as old high school contacts reconnected solely through social channels. | Infrequent contact via social networks, mainly focused on business relationships. |
| Fourth | Followers - Colleagues | Impersonal relationships where no face-to-face connections were made; where communication is limited to the consumption of digital content. | Two-way, impersonal activity including reading each other's blogs, following each other on Twitter, etc. |
| Fifth | Followers - Competitive | Impersonal relationships where no face-to-face connections were made; where communication is limited to the consumption of digital content. | One-way, impersonal activity where one monitors the actions of another such as a competitive analysis. |
Reference: Influencer Marketing by Danny Brown
When creating an influencer outreach program, brands must try to understand the various types of influencers and the nature of their relationship with the buyer. Should they focus their attention on the blogger who can get thousands of fans to share his post on Twitter and Facebook; the women who leads the local group of mommy bloggers; and/or the Twitter star who can get the message go viral. The landscape is often blurry and requires time to understand.
If you plan on creating an influencer outreach program or if want to know more about how to reach a luxury influencer, read our recent post, or simply reach out to us.