The Influencer Next Door...Influence Going Local
Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 6:12PM
Image Source: WestSideSports.com.auIt makes sense.
As more and more people use social media, blogs, and local online news sources such as the Examiner.com, being influential is no longer limited to those early adopters.
Now that our offline friends have come online, we're more likely to heed their warnings or accolades about products and services...along with musicians, movies, and restaurants.
And with influencers now getting more attention from traditional media, it's not out of the realm of possibility for your favorite blogger to become a subject matter expert on the local news or radio, too.
We're also seeing a rise in conscious capitalism. Companies are committed and often passionate about giving back to their customers' communities and to do so, that means going more micro in their cause marketing campaigns.
Influencers are no longer just celebrities and web-lebrities. They are your influencer next door.
I'm paying attention to this and I can only imagine others in the digital marketing and advertising space are as well.
On a personal level, I'm paying attention because I feel an affinitiy to those who are passionate about giving back. I also think that while relationships with the consumer online are extremely valuable...making those relationships relevant to the consumers offline life is priceless. By engaging with influencers on a more local, micro level we not only add another touchpoint, but in some cases, that touchpoint becomes stronger.
Local influencers may or may not have lots of traffic to their blogs. However, they are more likely to be at events in the community. They are passionate and knowledgable about their city and take an active role in creating stronger communities at the local level both online and offline.
Are you a local influencer? If you are, I invite you to list yourself in a new directory I'm introducing to JessicaKnows.com with this post.
Local Influencers. You might write for your local paper, be head of the city's moms' group, a Yelp Ambassador or Elite Yelper, President of your PTA, front-man for your neighborhood's garage band, a volunteer at your local food bank, organizer for the annual Fourth of July picnic and parade, or a long standing adopter of a local stream or highway. You are passionate about your community and you're the kind of person that waves hi to everyone - your neighbor and the stranger at the grocery store.
If you are a local influencer, I invite you to list yourself in the Local Influencers directory here.
Now, if you didn't see my full-disclosure in the sidebar, it's important that you know that I work for a global communications firm. I also have a lot of readers who work in public relations, advertising, marketing, and foundations...so it is possible that myself or others may reach out to you.
Whether you list yourself or not, I'm going to ask a favor of you. I'm conducting a survey and I would be extremely grateful if you offered your insight by taking the survey about local influencers for me. I will be publishing the results in a later blog post.
Reader Comments (3)
In our community, I have found there is so much greatness in the connections that can be made locally and influencing others locally. I write for a community publication, did our local news for a regular segment, and have volunteered for over six years for our local Mothers & More and that helped me to develop great connections and sounding boards among women who were also juggling the work-at-home jobs. The best part is that I can further connect with them online using Facebook and Twitter with these same people, putting them in both of my worlds :) Great post, Jessica!
Wow, what a great idea! I never knew much about Examiner but finally was able to apply and get approved for Manchester, NH's Social Media Expert Examiner as far as my town, I would say that my mission is to become more of a local influence but living in the same town for so long it's hard for me to get past the pre-judgments and I admit I am way more social online - working on being more social in person though! I am on the PTO and I do attend local events just at this time haven't stepped up to influence exactly the way I want!
I belong to the local chapter 56 in Redondo Beach, CA of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the only congressional chartered Vietnam Vets group in the country. I am a "Life Member" and serve as the Secretary to the president, Jerry Yamamoto. The chapter, well, all chapters of the Vietnam Veterans of America spend their time and resources assisting the community in various outreach type programs. We offer scholarships each year to the students from 7 local high schools, based on essays written concerning a father, uncle, brother, that served in the war. Winners usually are awarded $500 - $1000 scholarships. Other activities include spending time in the community serving in any way we can, or as needed.