Splitting hair? No - these are surprisingly different! Here’s what you need to know.
We read PR as Public Relations. IR as Investor Relations. And AR stands for Analyst Relations since when augmented reality still was a medical condition…
So what is behind „Influencer Relations“?
An Influencer value proposition is to sway opinion toward the organisation who utilises them. Messaging may use solid analysis or clever marketing or a mix. Opinion is the goal, influencing is they way.
If someone identifies as Analyst, their value proposition is to dissect and explain factual differences in complex „things“ in order to protect buyers from bad decisions. Clarity is the goal, analysing is the way.
So, one value proposition is vendor-driven, the other is buyer-driven. Follow the money. It results in different engagement, different policies, different reach, and different buyer intimacy… Not better or worse, per se, but different.
"But Analysts do have a lot of influence, too!?" - I hear you ask...
Correct - and tech decision makers understand that all influence is NOT created equal:
Influencers are used to drive broad opinions.
Analysts are hired to unravel the spaghetti.
Analysts are often the first to guide on tech strategy and the last in the room to advise on vendor selection.
So, be clear on what you need. Both tools achieve different objectives with a different focus of audiences and at different stages in decision processes.
Hence, both require very different approaches.