There is one particular category of users online that warrants a special mention when it comes to defining your digital marketing strategy. Dubbed ‘influencers’ these early adopters are the online opinion leaders. Through blogs, podcasts, forums and social networks they harness the power of the web to extol the virtues of products and brands that they like, and equally to denigrate those they find unsatisfactory.
Why are influencers important to you? Because they have the virtual-ear of the online masses. People read and listen to what they have to say; they value their opinion and trust their judgement. These online influencers have already won the pivotal battle for the hearts and minds of online consumers.
Engage positively with them, and you essentially recruit a team of powerful online advocates (the last part of New customer path) who can have a potentially massive impact on a much wider group of consumers. This is the online equivalent of ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing on steroids. Of course, give them a negative experience and... well, you can guess the rest.
But how exactly will you recognize these online influencers? A December 2006 report by DoubleClick (‘Influencing the Influencers: How Online Advertising and Media Impact Word of Mouth’) defined an influencer as a person who ‘strongly agreed’ to three or more of the following statements:
● They consider themselves expert in certain areas (such as their work, hobbies or interests).
● People often ask their advice about purchases in areas where they are knowledgeable.
● When they encounter a new product they like, they tend to recommend it to friends.
● They have a large social circle and often refer people to one another based on their interests.
● They are active online, using blogs, social networking sites, e-mail, discussion groups, online community boards, etc, to connect with their peers.
Identifying the influencers within your market sector, analyzing their behavior and tailoring part of your digital campaign to target this small but influential group can result in disproportionate knock-on benefits. Don’t neglect your core market, of course – but certainly consider targeting influencers as part of your overall digital marketing strategy.
Not every agency or market consultant is a specialist of everything, as for me for example Influencers is not my specialty, so I don´t mind to refer good articles from other sources.
