At Present Tense, we aim to help make your life a bit easier. In our blog series, Present Tense Recommends, we’ll share significant business influencers, leading business blogs, innovative apps, and trending podcasts to increase creativity, efficiency, potential, and ease. Navigating the ever-shifting local and global climate is a roller coaster in itself. We can help. If nothing else, this pandemic has reminded us how much we are all connected, share a similar story, and are experiencing the highs and lows of 2020 together. We’re grateful to be a part of your journey.
Why Influencers?
It’s 2020, and influencers have been around for quite awhile now. Influencers are different than thought leaders: influencers focus on their audience, thought leaders are about sharing expertise. While social media has certainly expanded the pool of both, it’s the interaction between influencers, their audience, and brands that seems to make the difference in the marketing world. ‘Influencers are intermediaries between companies and brands and an audience’. Depending on the content, the level, the engagement, and the influencer themselves, the ROI and impact on sales can often be seen directly and quickly. The connections forged between an influencer and followers tends to ‘increase the perceived believability and authenticity of the branded narratives by the audience’. Often providing tips and advice that add value to all sorts of endeavors, including but not limited to those of small businesses and entrepreneurs, listening and learning from those in the know will up your knowledge cred and lead to more business success stories.
What do those influencer accounts offer?
If you’re scrolling through podcasts and social handles for influencers to enhance your business know-how, strategy, and ingenuity - you already have an idea of the type of accounts that peak your fancy. Often quicker than a Google search and easier than getting to the library (definitely in the midst of this chaotic time), influencers and their advice offer learning straight through our mobile devices. Influencers of all sorts tend to showcase the trends of the now. They build trust with followers who then believe in their stories and often identify with aspects of their persona.
Social media provides more than those cute puppy videos and Buzzfeed quizzes. Today, it’s a place to learn, grow, create, and show yourself to the world. ‘77% of small businesses use social media to facilitate key business functions’ - influencers can help with that. Social channels can help publicize your business, share your mindset with the world, broaden your perspective, and inspire your next big step. Listeners can ‘glean insight from powerful business minds who share their thoughts and strategies on social media’. We know that marketing drives growth; amidst all the everything of the world of entrepreneurial growth, learning to 'navigate the waters' can only help to enhance your business potential.
You should consider reaching out to some of these influencers, or even to pick up some tips and tricks for your own marketing campaigns
Which will you choose?
Social media is far reaching and all of the influencers on there could make your head spin. We’ve narrowed down the crop for you to search for on your preferred medium so you can give them a look or a listen - perhaps one of them is right for you. Truly, at the end of the day, while influencers may fall into the mega, macro, micro and nano categories, as far as your own journey is concerned, the best influencer to follow depends on how significant that influence is to you.
A few small business influencers to keep your eye on:
Sara Blakely CEO Spanx
Gary Vaynerchuk Chairman/CEO VaynerX/VaynerMedia
Dan Clark CEO of Brain.fm
Neil Patel Entrepreneur
Instagram handles to put on your radar:
@smilingerik (Erik Bergman)
@peterjvoogd (Peter Voogd)
@everette (Everette Taylor)
@laurendascaloo (Lauren Taylor Dascalo)
@highkeyco, @jordanlintz, @lukelintz, @jacksonlintz (HighKey Brothers)
@grantcardone (Grant Cardone)
@adamweitsman (Adam Weitsman)
@msrachelhollis (Rachel Hollis)
@erianton (Eri Anton)
A few prominent small businesses and outlets who influence via Insta:
@harvard_business_review (Harvard Business Review)
@smallgirlspr (Small Girls PR)
@entrepreneur (Entrepreneur magazine)
@businesschicks (Business Chicks)
@stanfordbusiness (Stanford Business School)
@marccubancompanies (Mark Cuban Cos.)
Multimedia moguls sharing influence via YouTube:
Maria Forleo (Owner of Marie Forleo International B-School/MarieTV)
Robert Blake (Always Be Creating)
Wisdom within a particular character count:
Sean Ellis (CEO/Founder GrowthHackers.com)
Pam Moore (CEO of The Marketing Nutz)
Melinda Emerson (President/Founder Quintessence Group/host of #Smallbizchat)
Laurie McCabe (Co-founder of SMB Group)
Gene Marks (Reporter)
Jay Baer (Founder of Convince and Convert)
Susan McPherson (Writer)
The world of business is vast. Who you choose to follow, connect with, learn from, emulate, and potentially work with can influence your marketing strategies, contacts, breadth of knowledge, and possibly even your profit margin. To find those influencers who call to you, pay attention to the shifting landscape. Whether they’re individuals, businesses, or groups full of wisdom - their knowledge might just change your entire viewpoint or circumstance, or possibly help rocket your business to new heights.