A key strategy I use with the startups I work with is Influencer Drafting.
You’ve heard about “influencer engagement,” right? Engagement is great. . . when it’s genuine and adds value, but how do you draft off of influencers to boost your message?
Drafting is a concept I’m borrowing from auto racing. If you’ve watched even a moment of NASCAR (or watched Talladega Nights), you’ve seen drafting in action. One car rides the bumper of the car in front of it, and together they go faster, more fuel efficiently, than either could alone.
For startups, one way to draft off of an influential platform, such as a top-tier publication, is to get pulled along by resources that they’ve already complied for potential advertisers. . . advertisers trying to reach the same prospect that you are.
The publications you’re pitching your startup and your startup’s stories to are ones you pitch for a reason, right? You pitch your startup to publications like Network World because your prospects read them and value their opinions
Marketing and sales experts will all tell you that you need to know your prospects better than they know themselves. We all agree with that, but how do you do that?
When I’m working with startups on the content marketing side of my business, the first thing I encourage them to do when they get covered in the press is to take a deep dive into that publication’s audience.
During this talk I cover shortcuts, media hacks, and amplification strategies that will help you draft off of major platforms to boost your content marketing ROI.
The replay of the conference call is available here: Influencer Drafting call.
I’ve also put together a checklist of items that will help you better target media outlets, improve your results during interviews, and level-up your amplification efforts after you’ve earned coverage: