What does it take to truely become an influencer in the public relations industry? The internet is awash with lists and rankings of dubious validity and methodology that tempts us to ‘game the system’ to improve our ranking – such as repeatedly autoposting the same hashtags or buying a large following (don’t do that, please).
The Top 100 PR Influencer Index
Recently, Commetric published their brand new PR Influencer Index, and I was intrigued because the top 3 people on the list have only a relatively tiny following of fans – fewer than 35,000 each. So what was going on? Is Reach no longer important?
My curiosity spurred me to invite Maya Koleva, Commetric’s Head of Research & Insight, to join me in a conversation about the methodology behind the Index, hoping to glean some insight into what makes an influencer influential.
Maya provided a lot of juicy information, most of which you will have to watch the video to get. But for starters, if you hope to make the Top 100 list in the future you need to:
- Have a minimum of 5,000 followers (real ones). This is the minimum definition of a ‘micro influencer’, so at 2,794 I still have a ways to go (but please feel free to follow me for insights about PR measurement).
- Have a Twitter bio in English with some of the relevant key words – this gets your foot in the door for the primary sample
- An alternative to the bio key words is to engage frequently on Twitter with PR trade media such as PRovoke Media (former Holmes Report), PRNews or PRMoment.
- Use a personal account – sorry, no organisations, companies etc. make the cut
- Focus your effort on replying and engaging others in interesting conversations. You won’t become a recognized influencer by continuously blasting out tweets that get limited engagement – or if you ignore the responses you get.
Basically, the methodology behind Commetric’s PR Influencer Index rewards being part of a vibrant network, engaging in true conversations, sharing valuable and relevant content, and not forming ‘opinion bubbles’. This is expressed in the Centrality Score, which is a part of the methodology, which Maya explains in the video below.
Form your own influencer strategy
What do you think of Commetric’s methodology and strong emphasis on network centrality and engagement rather than (massive) reach? Will it influence (pun intended) your personal strategy to achieve Influencer status?
Not sure if you are already in the Top 100 PR Influencer Index? Revisit the full list here.
