or decades, there has been a debate about the marketing value of influencers. However, this article is not about that small group of influential people, but about the 85% of consumers who do not belong to this group. They are responsible for 70% of the Word of Mouth. In addition to their size, this group has a number of other interesting advantages. Using cases, I will give three tips to increase the influence of 'ordinary' people.
Persuasiveness, expertise and many friends
There are different forms of influence and therefore different types of influencers. Each type has a number of characteristics that we would like to give to the 85% of non-influential consumers. If we follow Malcolm Gladwell's characterization in his book The Tipping Point , we can distinguish between the characteristics of persuasiveness, expertise and reach:
Salesmen are persuasive in the story they tell. They are influencers by their personality and can influence others for multiple product categories.
Mavens are absolute experts in one product category. They have access to the latest products and exclusive content within that category. They collect knowledge and like to share it with others, but do not necessarily try to convince anyone.
Connectors have the most important characteristic that they know a lot of people. They know 4 to 5 times more people than the average person. In addition, they like to bring people together.
Several brands, such as Nike, TomTom and Playstation, have developed an influencer marketing strategy and have successfully used influencers in their product development. For example, Procter & Gamble has a marketing tool in its hands with Tremor that uses influential mothers (the so-called mom connectors) to promote products.
However, influencer marketing has a number of disadvantages. According to Keller Fay, belgium phone number list only 15% of the population belongs to this group of influential people. This marketing strategy therefore 'hunts' a small group of consumers. And if you have managed to reach the influential with your message or product, then they experience a number of barriers to connect to your brand.
Salesmen and Mavens are risking their personal prestige or their independent status and risk being less credible when they promote one specific brand. In short, they will not quickly behave as a fan of your product. This argues for focusing your marketing activities on the 85% of people who do not belong to the group of influencers. If we can give their 'buzz' more persuasiveness, expertise and reach, we increase their influence. Below are a number of tips and cases.
The Tipping Point and beyond
Persuasiveness: turn someone into a storyteller
A recent study showed the positive influence of storytelling on Net Promoter Score and purchase intent. However, turning someone into a storyteller is not just about a good product experience, but also about sharing this product experience in a compelling way. With visualization tools like Animoto and Wordle , people can easily share a personal story.