Answer to Question 1
Influencer marketing refers to a series of personalized techniques directed at individuals or groups who have the credibility and capability to drive positive word-of-mouth to a broader and salient segment of the population. In implementing an influencer marketing initiative, it is useful to think of it as systematic seeding of conversations involving a consumer, an influencer, and your brand.
Professional influencer programs utilize professionals in the field as influencers. These programs offer great credibility but they also require careful enlistment in the effort because professionals take their responsibilities very seriously. Several points should be kept in mind. First, a professional's time is money, so wasting their time is likely to be counterproductive. Second, messaging a professional with information that offers them intellectual currency as well as important benefits of the brand will enhance their likelihood of participating. For instance, celebrity testimonials will not have nearly the credibility with this group as clinical studies will have. Finally, a successful professional influencer program requires long-term commitment.
Peer-to-peer influencer programs do similar work in spreading positive word-of-mouth, but rely on ordinary people to talk about products and brands in a positive way. They spread the word through their own social groups, either in person or online.
Buzz and viral marketing are both subspecies of peer-to-peer influencer approaches. In buzz marketing, the idea is to create an event or experience that yields conversations about your brand. In viral marketing, the goal is to have consumers market to other consumers, usually via the Internet, email, blogs, and social network sites, or via texting and downloading to mobile devices. Personal contact also works. In both buzz and viral programs, the idea is to target a handful of carefully chosen extroverts or trendsetters as your influencers and let them spread the word about your brand. Think of what you offer them as social currency (in contrast to intellectual currency for professionals).
Connectors can also be recruited as ongoing peer influencers in less dramatic ways. Women with large social networks often act as connectors after being approached by large household goods manufacturers and enrolled in special influencer programs. An example is P&G's Vocalpoint. The social currency is news about existing or new brands and products, and the reward is twofold. First, the connectors can feel that their voice is actually heard by a big company. Second, they are the first to talk about something and the first to try out the latest samples. This gives them something new to talk about.
Answer to Question 2
An advertising platform consists of the basic issues or selling points that an advertiser wishes to include in the advertising campaign. A single advertisement in an advertising campaign may contain one or several issues from the platform. Although the platform sets forth the basic issues, it does not indicate how to present them.
An advertising platform should consist of issues important to customers. One of the best ways to determine those issues is to survey customers about what they consider most important in the selection and use of the product involved. Selling features must not only be important to customers, they should also be strongly competitive features of the advertised brand. Research is the most effective method for determining what issues to include in an advertising platform, but customer research can be expensive.
Because the advertising platform is a base on which to build the advertising message, marketers should analyze this stage carefully. It has been found that, if the message is viewed as useful, it will create greater brand trust. Campaigns will ultimately fail if the advertisements communicate information that consumers do not deem important when selecting and using the product.