Kotler (2005) describes opinion leaders as ‘people within a reference group who, because of skills, knowledge, personality or other characteristics, exert influence on others’. He also indicates that ‘people are about 4 times as likely to contact influencers as they are an average person.’ As word-of-mouth is the most powerful influence to consumer decision making it will be important for us to identify, target and persuade these individuals to communicate our brand positively.
While it may be easy to identify opinion leaders such as journalists, bloggers and influential individuals it may not be so easy to identify influencers amongst the general public.
Blythe 2008 outlines the main characteristics of opinion leaders as being:
- Socially gregarious,
- Innovative and positive towards new products,
- Fashion conscious and independent
- Interests in specific product areas, active searchers and information gatherers
These opinion leaders are likely to have their own niche. While being leaders in one subject they will be followers in others e.g. an opinion leader in luxury tourism may seek advice on scuba diving. Once we have identified these individuals we must work to influence their opinions.
Possible ways to interact and influence these individuals include (www.kellerfay.com):
- Asking for input and possibly adopting their ideas
- Inviting to guest list of important events
- Giving coupons and samples to forward to friends
Opinion leaders to target are numerous and diverse. A small sample may include travel reporters, travel bloggers, celebrities or local PADI dive masters.
