Influencer relations may be a buzzword making many marketers’ predictions for trends in 2017, but I believe to be done correctly it must be authentic. And earlier this year, I shared with attendees of Content Marketing World how we achieve that here at Dell.
Core to our approach is that the relationships must be genuine and honest, and that they create shared value for the influencer, the brand and the customer. For example, our Legacy of Good Plan aligned well with the environmental passion of actor Adrian Grenier who became our first Social Good Advocate.
To showcase our latest technology and initiatives, we often partner with individuals who may be compensated by Dell for their time or content, but we believe strongly in transparency—it’s one of our five social media principles. So in that spirit as we prepare for #ces2017, we want you to know about the #DellInsideCircle community. #DellInsideCircle members will always disclose their relationship with Dell by using the #DellInsideCircle hashtag in social media posts, in a video or link back to this page.
And what is the #DellInsideCircle relationship? It can take a number of forms. We may provide loaner systems for an extended period of time or free systems to trial. We may pay travel or other expenses to have someone attend a tech or other industry event. Dell might compensate someone for posting on social media about their experiences or contribute blog or editorial content. Ideally, however, it is a collaborative venture that aligns the goals of both Dell and those we work with, as illustrated here:
But, and this is important so we’re putting it in bold and all caps because even though it looks like yelling our legal adviser tells us that it’s called giving prominent notice, WE WILL NEVER PUT WORDS INTO AN #DELLINSIDECIRCLE PARTICIPANT’S MOUTH. We want our #DellInsideCircle members to give you their authentic feedback, opinions and experiences so that you know how they connect to our technology when making your own decision. #DellInsideCircle is about building an authentic community, not a collection of paid endorsements or advertisements.
When you see a #DellInsideCircle participant posting about us, know that we aren’t telling them what to say. We may encourage them to talk about their experiences but we do not review their posts, censor their posts, or do anything except ask them to be authentic and disclose they are part of the #DellInsideCircle. If you have any questions about the program or see a #DellInsideCircle member posting in a way that doesn’t seem to follow these concepts, let us know by emailing dell_inside_circle@dell.com or commenting here on this post.