Opinion leaders - who are these people and how to eat them?

28 FEB 2022

For instance, let’s take a famous brand. He has a constant loyal target audience, potential buyers who can be pulled into the sales funnel - leads, as well as an indefinite circle of people who still have no contact with the brand. Central Asia is not homogeneous; buyers of different sexes, ages, professions, and occupations can concentrate on it. It can include ordinary citizens as well as experts, media people, well-known bloggers, people who are popular on social networks.

Where did we start this conversation? In current articles on Internet marketing and content marketing, a recommendation is increasingly mentioned: it is imperative to involve opinion leaders in brand promotion. But who are they, how and why should they interact with them?

IN THE BLUE SEA WHITE LIGHTHOUSE

Social network users get used to certain channels through which they prefer to receive information, otherwise, it would be too much. For one- it's friends posting, for another - selected public figures, for the third one - a certain person whose opinion he/she trusts.
And such people acquire acquires the functions of an information filter for their subscribers. That is, they become an opinion leader for a loyal social group: a kind of lighthouse who draws attention to events, personalities, companies, goods. These people are the real opinion leaders who can be used for marketing purposes.

Who can be considered as such flagships? Movie stars, secular chronicles, athletes - naturally, many of them are shot in commercials, but here we are talking about something else. "Leaders" are often politicians, businessmen, coaches.

"Stardom" for the opinion leader - an optional criterion. He can be an expert in this field of activity or just a sociable person with extensive social connections. It is important that the audience perceives him as “his guy” and trusts the broadcast information.

Example: Housewife Mary is not a politician or a star, but she has four children and she has a blog on parenting, housekeeping, and needlework. The blog is becoming more popular and is gaining a thousand fans - the same housewives, for whom Mary’s opinion, advice, and recommendations become an authoritative source. Mary is an opinion leader for her subscribers.

The task of the Internet marketer is to ensure that posts, videos, messages are not in the target area of   Central Asia. Target users, one way or another, are influenced by certain personalities. It is one thing if the post turns out to be one of a thousand in the news feed, and quite another when it is submitted to the public "through the filter" of a respected person whose opinion is appreciated by others.

PAID OR FREE?

The point of content marketing is to share materials with the public. Often mass reach is achieved through specific audience representatives. These are the people who found the content so useful that they recommend it in some way. They might make a repost, share a link, or leave a comment. They become key figures in the promotion of content. How great it is when they are simultaneously known to the general public or in their circle!

It is perfect when this happens naturally. The material is so cool that they want to share. If the content is really interesting and falls into the focus of the opinion leader’s attention, it is replicated - you are incredibly lucky.

But in fairness, let’s say that more often opinion leaders are attracted to implement a marketing strategy for a fee. It’s better when such a person is loyal to the brand.

OTHER INFLUENCE AGENTS

Many buzzwords have appeared that are often used as synonyms for opinion leaders: ambassadors, trendsetters, brand advocates, influencers, opinion leaders. They all have an impact on the audience, but their functions may be different. One thing remains common: they are loyal to the brand and contribute to the dissemination of positive opinions about it. The face of the brand is its representative in the channels of media, advertising, marketing campaigns.
 

Anyway, the opinion leader has a peculiar function, you need to attract such people if you decide to seriously engage in content marketing and go with it to a new round of business promotion. The key task is to identify and establish cooperation with people whose opinions your key audience will listen to. By the way, remember the phrase: “We won’t take someone from the outside, we will educate him/her in our team”. In some cases, opinion leaders can be "grown" specifically for your brand.

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