Opinion Leaders – Who Says ?
Opinion leaders are a valuable resource to organisations seeking to increase credibility and public profile through third party endorsement. Opinion leaders are also important to driving word of mouth with is an extremely effective means of communication but it can be hard to control and direct. By identifying opinion leaders within target markets an organisation can seek to direct their promotions directly at these key people with the hope that this message filters down to the broader market.
Social media in many ways has amplified word of mouth; giving it more reach and speed that ever seen before. An interesting examples of where social media has be used to identify opinion leaders and tactics have been implemented to generate promotional value from these opinion leaders is the MAC Cosmetics Bloggers Obsession.
The Bloggers Obsession campaign involved 10 well known beauty bloggers in the United States coming to the M.A. C. laboratory to learn about the product development process. As part of this visit, the participants took an idea or an inspiration and were involved in the development of a new product which captured the essence of what they wanted to see sold in stores. These bloggers then shared their experiences with the broader M.A.C. community through You Tube. The video shows each blogger participating in the development process as well as talking about their inspiration (M.A.C. Cosmetics, 2011).
This is a great example of how opinion leaders can offer value to marketing efforts as well as highlighting how social media is creating an environment where consumers and community members are now, more than ever, true participants in the creation of value for organisations.
Have you been involved in any opinion leader group for a brand or have you seen this work well for another organisation?
A great way to tap into opinion leaders. But this approach needs to be taken with care... some bloggers won't want to be used in this way, and it could lead to negative WoM. Have a read of this discussion thread on Whirlpool, which shows how a similar exercise backfired for Sony recently.
ReplyDeleteWhat did Sony do wrong here? How could they have done it better?
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ReplyDeleteI like the idea of getting opinion leaders involved, but yes, care must be taken. Another thing that SM does really well is it makes it easier for organisations to identify the opinion leaders and make contact with them. But again, and as @Wags said, you must be careful.
ReplyDeleteAlso, once you get these opinion leaders involved (provided they want to be involved), you need ta have a strategy that remains authentic. Suddenly paying these people may see them more and more involved and consumers will get suspicious.
GReat post!
Ross
Wow, Sony fail again through social media...and you would think they would be the ones that could do SMM the best. I won't forget the fake blogger incident in a hurry: http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/sony-playstation-goes-fake-blog-for-psp---how-does-this-happen/
ReplyDelete