Written by Brook Schaaf

Hello Partner has just said hello to a new Content & Community Editor, Madaline Dunn, who wrote an article about a research report issued by “profitable growth engine” (read: referral program platform), Mention Me. 

I am a sucker for categorization and I love this grouping of various influencer types: “Evangelists, advocates who endorse without incentive; Opportunists, incentive-led sharers; and Pragmatists, those who recommend a brand when it feels relevant, useful, and socially safe.” (These names seem inspired by the three traditional Net Promoter groups, with “opportunist” swapped for “skeptic.”)

The report apparently contains familiar statistics about trust with the implicit recommendation that brands surf on personal communication flows, exactly the kind of thing you need a referral platform… er, profitable growth engine, for. 

While the term “opportunist” is pejorative in both denotation and connotation, it could fairly describe a typical influencer or affiliate relationship. If the publisher delivers the goods (quality, converting traffic), his or her motivation matters little, though “Dependable” or “Steadfast” might then be a better name. If not, engagement comes at a low opportunity cost (the elegance of the affiliate model), and perhaps they might be called a “striver” or a “wannabe.” This is assuming remuneration is heavily commission-based; if not, a fleeced advertiser might well feel it has indeed dealt with an “opportunist” after a non-performing campaign.

The interesting thing about the pragmatist group is the idea that brand engagement has to be “socially safe.” To this, we might add that they have to be comfortable with monetizing. If they are not, burnout will probably come sooner rather than later because they won’t be able to pay for a support team. If the pieces are in place, the Pragmatist will also be steadfast and perhaps even loyal, whether she sends more or less traffic. 

Finally, we have the Evangelists. In the context of affiliate/partner/influencer marketing, this group represents non-monetized creators and word-of-mouth friends and family, both highly sought-after cohorts. The former group is the great future prize of affiliate marketing, with a vast infrastructure ready to convert it. The latter is somewhat like locally stored data: largely inaccessible save by special permission because most people don’t seem to like sending referral links, though perhaps in the future it will become socially safe to do so.

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