The influencer side of things, part 1
Let’s talk B2B influencers. How do we feel about it?
I think it’s mostly an issue with the word “influencer”. It’s somehow gotten a bad reputation and so most would preferably avoid being associated with the term.
The “influencer” term has stuck though, like it or not. So while we fumble around trying to find a better way of labelling industry thought leaders with influence, I find it worthwhile to cast the labels aside and get to know how it works, what goes on behind the scenes, how ‘influencers’ feel about being ‘influencers’.
I throw the same questions at some B2B influencers and ask them to share their thoughts, typical day at work and more importantly, their story. First up is the always cheerful Diana Adams!
Truth be told, when I first noticed Diana on Twitter, it was like she was too good to be true (channeling my imaginary alter ego in The Circle 😉). She was always spreading good vibes, being supportive, sharing openly about the latest tech updates… I did not expect her to engage with me. I was after all a newbie to Twitter and a PR type working for Bridge Alliance (then), a brand name that wasn’t widely known, especially if you’re not from the telecoms industry. Anyhow, as Diana continued interacting with me, I gradually began to put aside my doubts and accept that, wow ok, she is real.
I was new to the B2B influencer world and came into Twitter rather skeptical — assuming most accounts are bots. Diana was among the first to prove me otherwise (the bots do exist though).
Y’all, meet Diana!
My name is Diana Adams. I’m an Apple ACN, an Ericsson Ambassador, and the co-founder of Adams Consulting Group, Inc., an Atlanta based IT consultancy firm established in 2001. My passion is emerging technologies (5G, AI, IoT, ML, Automation).
Currently I’m working on collecting high quality data for an artificial intelligence and machine learning project. We’re working on a platform that will rate the feasibility of packaging specific products in PET plastic. PET is the most recyclable plastic in the world since it has a built-in circular economy. The end goal is to improve, automate, accelerate and scale the process for evaluating the feasibility of prospective PET bottle designs prior to manufacturing, with the goal of reducing design times from months to minutes and drastically reducing costs.
When it comes to data… garbage in, garbage out. So, right now my team and I are focused on collecting thousands of high quality, confirmed data points.
An influencer is anyone who influences people on a particular topic, so from that perspective, I suppose I am one. But, I don’t relate to that word very much. I’d say I’m just a tech and twitter addict. Everything influencer-related has happened because of that! — Diana Adams
Gerry: How did you become an influencer?
Diana: I joined Twitter on March 2, 2009. Back then, there was no such thing as a social media influencer. I became an influencer by accident over the years. I think it happened because of these 5 things:
- I joined Twitter early on, and I’ve tweeted consistently for over 12 years. I’ve sent 189,500+ tweets. This has allowed me to grow my large following organically over time.
- I try to keep my tweets in my niche. 95% of my tweets are about tech. That’s how you build a targeted audience.
- I use relevant hashtags in almost every tweet. That’s important.
- I’ve written thousands of blog posts, which works as a nice complement to Twitter.
- I build relationships online. My friends live in my computer!
Gerry: What does an influencer’s job entail? Day in the life of, please
Diana: In my opinion, in order to be an authentic influencer, there is a level of thought leadership involved. It’s important to have an opinion and original thoughts.
Anyone with a large following can get on Twitter and retweet people and broadcast information, but if you don’t have an opinion and some original thoughts behind the topics you tweet about (and blog about), you won’t create a ripple. Instead, you’ll just fade into the endless noise.
Since being an influencer isn’t my day job, it’s super easy for me. I just tweet about things that interest me in emerging technologies. I give my opinions about those things and try to initiate conversations.
The way I look at it, if I can make someone pause for a moment and think about tech in a new way, I’ve done my job!
The only time I cringe is when a brand tries to dictate what the influencer says about their brand. That’s a problem because influence only works when it’s authentic. I think many brands have learned that lesson the hard way over the years. — Diana Adams
Gerry: What’s your experience like working with brands, humans, as an influencer so far?
Diana: My experience working with humans has been A++++ so far! I have a personal rule that I only work with nice people, so if I’m working with someone, it’s because they are fun to work with!
Most brands I’ve worked with have also been wonderful! I’ve worked with Apple, Adobe, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Huawei, Vodafone, and many others.
My fave tech B2B influencer marketing agency is TechMode. This article explains what it’s like to work with them — B2B Influencer Marketing (A Tech Influencer’s Perspective).
Gerry: How do you feel about being named an influencer?
Diana: As I said before, the word influencer doesn’t really resonate with me. At the same time though, I’m very grateful for the doors it has opened for me. I’ve met the most amazing people and traveled to places I would have never been able to go if it wasn’t for the influencer title.
— Back to Gerry —
So there we have it. Did anything in Diana’s story surprise you? I’ve always wondered how influencers feel about influencers. My social scientist background attributes this to sociology — how we start labeling things and attach meanings to labels. And I feel that the only way to assess the value of something, we need to rip off its label, deconstruct what we can and look at it with fresh eyes.
Next up, a couple more B2B influencers share their stories and we’ll have PR types, agencies chime in too!
Got any thoughts? Questions you’d like me to help you ask? Drop a comment or DM :)
Disclaimer: this piece is done out of personal curiosity and in no way related to my capacity as an employee of my previous or current employers.
