A Better Way to Reach Your Target Market with Tom Augenthaler Joe Lynch and Tom Augenthaler discuss what it takes to reach your target market more effectively and more efficiently. Tom is an influencer marketing expert and he shares how influencer marketing can be used to boost your company’s growth and form better relationships with your customers. About Tom Augenthaler Tom grew up in Long Island and studied finance at Gettysburg College. Finding himself unfulfilled by the world of finance, Tom went on to study American English Language at Harvard before entering the PR industry. Tom worked with HP for years which is where he discovered how to utilize influencer marketing during the economic crash of 2008. About 551 Media and The Influence Marketer The Influence Marketer is the place to go for any company looking to start or improve their use of influencer marketing. Tom offers full team training on the many different aspects of the process, one on one mentoring, or strategy calls. He consults digitally and in-person to help B2B businesses build a marketing strategy that is right for them. Reach Your Target Market Using Influencer Marketing  Individuals are more likely to be trusted over brands. Think of when your friend recommends a movie or T.V show to you; you are much more likely to watch than if it were recommended by an anonymous entity. Finding bloggers who already have an audience in the same demographic you are looking to target makes it easy to effectively convey your message and increases its relevancy. Utilizing influencer marketing effectively will enable your business and brand to grow, resulting in your own brand becoming an influencer in the B2B industry. Why Use Influencer Marketing in the B2B industry? The landscape of traditional marketing has evolved to trend more towards digital. While businesses do still have to run advertising campaigns to maintain a presence, influencer collaborations are often a cost-effective way to increase your audience, especially in the B2B industry. B2B is a harder market to corner in some respects because you often can’t give bloggers a physical product to review. Often, influencers in the B2B industry will be a more inexpensive choice to collaborate with as their audiences are smaller and more focused. Tom has also found it will usually be a quid pro quo situation. Digital Vs. Influencer Marketing Digital marketing includes things like articles, SEO optimization, and social media. This can be costly and hard to see an ROI on. There is no right or wrong answer. Track what works for you and see which offers the best return. The consumer and market changes quickly. In terms of B2B the sales process is a longer one than other industries. Influencer marketing is a way of keeping up with your target audience in a more immediate fashion than using a digital strategy to launch over a longer period of time. Noteworthy Questions [3:29] What are some of the problems people are experiencing in trying to reach their target market? [18:22] How does content creation and SEO compare to influencer marketing? [22:15] How can companies get started using influencer marketing? Key Takeaways - A Better Way to Reach Your Target Market Know your objectives - are you looking for more brand awareness and consideration or are you looking for more sales leads? Don’t work with too many influencers at once - be selective about who you work with and develop a relationship with them for a lasting partnership. Choose a strategic over transactional relationship; it will offer more benefits in the long run. Leverage your relationship with current collaborators to find new people to work with. Learn More Tom Augenthaler Linkedin The Influence Marketer Why Marketing is Your Best Sales Person with Jim Bierfeldt The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google,