What should be your top priority as a digital marketer? Eric Enge says it should be increasing your reach and influence.
Why that over sales, or traffic, or engagement? Find out in this episode of our Here’s Why digital marketing series.
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Transcript:
Mark: So Eric, you’ve said that reach and influence should be our top marketing priorities, pretty bold statement. Many marketers would probably put other things before those like sales or engagement or site traffic. Now, why do you put reach and influence at the top of your list?
Eric: Well, because the number of potential customers for any market is finite. But the number of media sites, blogs, and personal brands that have any real influence who can actually connect with those customers is even smaller still. The reality is, that to break through the increasing amount of noise in the marketplace, we need amplifiers. Frankly, I don’t want the hard task of fighting for every link I get. I want people to give them to me because I’ve shown that I deserve them.
[Tweet “Eric Enge: I don’t want to fight for links. I want to earn them. See how influencers help at”]
Mark: So how does that affect your approach to content?
Eric: You’ve got to be producing content that grabs the attention of those with influence. It’s really a matter of game recognizes game. Most real influencers see so much garbage and yawn-worthy stuff, they know when you’ve got the real deal. When they begin to recognize your expertise and authority, that elevates your reach and influence.
Mark: It sounds like you’re saying we need to go beyond just raw numbers.
Eric: Indeed. While it’s nice to have a lot of people wanting to follow you, you’ve got to realize who your real audience is. This graph shows the typical distribution of people involved in any new market. Now, who do you think is the segment that is most likely to share, recommend, and link to your content?
Mark: Well, I’d be tempted to target the early and late majority because they’re the largest group, but I’m betting that’s the wrong answer.
Eric: You’re right, can’t fool you. Actually, your target audience should be the innovators and early adopters. Though a much smaller audience, these are the people most passionate about your topics. If you gain their respect, they make you and your brand part of the club so to speak. Then as that majority of the market begins to form, you’re already a major player.
Mark: Well, but what if none of those innovators and early adopters know I exist? Even if my content is the best there is, it won’t help if they don’t see it or know about it.
Eric: Yeah, for sure. That’s why you can’t just sit at home only posting on your own site. You’ve got to go out to the places where they’re already paying attention. In the content game, that means earning the right to publish on influential blogs and publications that people read and trust.
Mark: You’ve referred to that in the past as OPA, getting in front of other people’s audiences.
Eric: It can be a very effective strategy, especially if you can land a regular column on some of those publications. Then you leverage that influence with a strong social media presence, regularly engaging with the influencers in your space and even take it offline to participating in conferences and networking events.
Mark: Makes a lot of sense, Eric.
Eric: I shared a number of specific tactics you can use to build reach and influence in a column I wrote for Moz.
Mark: Ironically enough, that column is a perfect example itself of the strategy you’ve been sharing with us here today. Moz has a huge and devoted audience and there’s no doubt your regular series of expert level articles there has contributed to the reason why so many major brands seek out Perficient Digital for their digital marketing.
Don’t miss a single episode of Here’s Why. Click the subscribe button below to be notified via email each time a new video is published.
Great post.