Posted by: Nina Keim on: October 12, 2009
Last week I participated in a Webinar about integrating opinion leaders into marketing campaigns. Having done some research myself on how opinion leaders can help social-issue documentary films to advance publicity and ultimately impact social change, I was curious to hear how Larry Weintraub of Fanscape describes the importance of influencers in the online environment.
WOMMA defines word of mouth marketing as the “most effective form of marketing in existence as it combines the newest strategies, tactics, and channels with the most basic human behavior: People like to talk!”
Opinion leaders have a central role to advance a positive word of mouth about a brand or an issue. They are well connected individuals that have an audience and a voice people listen to. Opinion leaders can serve as message multipliers forwarding the information to a large crowd of followers.
While in the “old” – offline – world Oprah, Steve Jobbs and Al Gore can be considered as issue specific influencers, Larry Weintraub argued that the virtual world comes with a whole new set of opinion leaders. Perez Hilton, Adam Carolla, and Heather Armstrong are just a few very powerful examples of individuals with a powerful voice in the online sphere.
What was most striking to me throughout the Webinar was the introduction of Mommy Bloggers and Daddy Bloggers. Mommy bloggers have a very powerful voice when it comes to toys, diapers and education related issues. Daddy bloggers are your influencers if you market sports, beer or electronic products. If you bring the mommies and daddies on your side, you can be sure that they will recommend your product. However, if your product has flaws, you can be sure that the influencers spread this message just as quickly.
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