To measure influencers, GMI could follow the majority of
KDP’s steps, as I will demonstrate with this post. We will narrow the scope of
this post to bloggers – merely to cut down on the complexity of some of the
other possible audiences GMI might engage, (and to ensure I don't discuss
private company information :-P). For reference, some of the blogs I listed as
influencers for the previous post are listed below.
Influencing Blogs
i. Our
own blog – A Taste of General Mills
ii. Our
CMO’s blog at markaddicks.com
iii. Zacks.com
(an investor site).
iv. NOM
Blog
v. CityPages
Blog
vi. Human
Rights Campaign Blog
vii. NASADQ
Analysts Blog
viii.
Motley Fool Blog
ix. Minnesota
Star Tribune Blog
x. BusinessWeek
Blog
1.
Define Goals
a.
For the sake of this post, we’ll define our AR
goal as “getting more positive press related to GMI in the Minnesota Star
Tribune newspaper and blog.
2.
Define Your Audience
a.
Our audience could include all of the
possibilities KDP lists, but we’ll hone down our selection to bloggers,
investment analysts, and of course, our local (as in Minneapolis area) public.
3.
Define Benchmark(s)
a.
In our case, we would be trying to get the
public and analysts to “love” our company. We could measure this by the amount
of positive press, positive product reviews, and positive response to products
pertaining to GMI.
4.
Define KPI’s
a.
Some KPI’s for this program would include:
i. %
Increase in share of recommendations
ii. %
Increase in share of desired positioning
iii. %
Increase of desirable quoting
iv. %
Increase in content containing desirable quotes from KI’s.
5.
Select a
Measurement Tool
a.
GMI already measures this sort of thing in
several ways, including:
i. Telephone
Surveys
ii. Online
Surveys
iii. Response
to Investor Meetings and Calls
iv. Internal
Surveys
v. Local
constituent interaction
1.
Via participation in local events, sponsorship,
etc.
6.
Get Actionable Insight
a.
From the information we gather from this
program, we can determine which outlets (i.e. MST) tend to generate the most positive
press for us, and leverage them to the fullest. We can also see which of our
actions (i.e. company decisions, product launches, etc) generate the most “buzz,”
and then try to replicate those conditions when making similar decisions in the
future.
Excellent. How might GMI encourage these influencers to write positive articles?
ReplyDeleteFor the influencers that focus on our market performance, the best thing we can do is provide constant and consistent return for our shareholders -- which we have done for over a century. By continuing to reach new markets, refine and reevaluate our business, and innovate and bring new product to market, we continue to be the "golden boy" of CPG stocks.
DeleteFor those that review product, we need to constantly produce products customers enjoy (i.e. Cheerios or Cinnamon Toast Crunch), as well as adjust and innovate in new market trends (i.e healthy snacks).
I've seen some companies create a section of their website that links offsite to famous blogs and review sites. It could be incentive for others to write something positive because in return they could get an increase in traffic by being features on such a page. Unfortunately this means some people may hold back legitimate complaints or criticism in fear of being removed or not being put on.
DeleteInteresting Josh. being proactive and consistent in re-evaluating market performance would definitely keep you 2 steps ahead
ReplyDelete