1-9-90 Rule and how to use it for Influencer Marketing

Initially coined in 2006 by Charles Arthur as a model wherein he implies, ‘ if you get a group of 100 people online then one will create content, 10 will 'interact' with it (commenting or offering improvements) and the other 89 will just view it.’

But why is it a relevant point of discussion and consideration in 2022 when it comes to Influencer Marketing?

Let’s break it down :

1.The 1% : The creme de la creme or in simple terms, the influencers, the opinion leaders, creators. If you have social media, you can’t resist viewing the abundance of? engaging content across different platforms, be it Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn. One post and they can get thousands of followers talking about the product or service, or influence their purchasing decisions.?

2. The 9% : The advocates or the content sharers. They’re like spices to your desi food. Constantly active on social media, they recommend products, services, shops, anything and everything - be it good or bad, they present their experience with their network.?

3. The 90%: The lurkers or the consumers. The majority or general market, lurk and consume content every day. Keeping them engaged for longer periods can turn out to be taxing without a proper content strategy.

Now that we know what comprises the 1-9-90 model, let’s see how different brands use this model to maximize the returns on Influencer Marketing

When it comes to the 1-9-90 model, it’s clearly understood that if you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll inevitably appeal to no one.

Remember, every time you watch an engaging video, you scroll past it without interacting with like, comment or share? That’s you as part of the 90% lurker category.

Yup, we just realized we do it too!! :(

However, one brand that perfectly executed an Influencer Marketing campaign with the 1-9-90 model was Wendy’s with its Twitter love song campaign in 2013.

The successful execution of this campaign led to the majority of the 90% of consumers sharing the campaign on social media and engaging with it.

So,? how did they do it? Simple! Instead of getting the consumers to record videos or appreciation for their new Pretzel Burger Bun, they leveraged the appreciation tweets by the engaged consumer.

Wendy’s took these tweets and hired professional creators to turn those tweets into songs. Truly a creative and unique execution of the 1-9-90 rule!

Bonus : Checkout one of the tweet song by Nick Lachey

Things to remember for successful execution of Influencer Marketing with 1-9-90 rule :?

1. Put up a good show for the 90% consumer : How many times have you searched for a product, its reviews, or its benefits? Innumerable, right? No judgment there, we do it too. And that’s why it's important to ensure that your brand or website has a rich presence and profile on the web. Provide plenty of content and information that conveys the reliability of your brand. Remember, it's not about quantity, it’s about quality. This means that it won’t matter for long if way too many people are visiting your website or viewing your products. However, the higher quality of the leads will lead to better returns.?
2. Use 1% to engage the 9% and 90% : Find creative ways like polls, and Q&A to help you identify 9% advocates and 90% consumers. It is important to make the 9%? advocates (content sharers) appreciated for feedback, reviews and comments. And equally important to understand the perspective of as many as possible among the 90% of consumers. However, it's necessary to ensure the 1% stays interactive or loyal to the brand, this can be done by making them feel valued with perks and special benefits.
3. Try to stay in touch : Yes, you managed to run your campaign efficiently and it’s been a while since your audience engaged with the content. It’s good to stay in touch with 1% creators and 9% advocates to ensure they don’t mitigate in the 90% lurkers or silent consumers category. When you nurture the connection with this small section, it definitely leads to the organic growth of your brand.

Would you like to try the 1-9-90 rule? Let us know what you think!