Opinion Leaders: That Magical 8%

Before we dive in to this entry, let me squelch that endless argument about what professions should be “in charge” of an organization’s or company’s social media efforts. Is it marketing? Public relations? Advertising? Human resources? Legal? IT?

The answer is that social media blurs all the lines. It’s all of those professions and more. They each have important tools and other elements to consider. I happen to come from a public relations background, so I have a big focus on how to develop influential relationships for an organization or company. The better the tools I have at my disposal, the better I am at using them, the better my ability to accomplish this important function.

To that end, there’s an important element of influence to consider. You can’t possibly talk to everyone. I don’t care how good you are at building relationships, you just don’t have infinite time and resources to dedicate to that. I’ll argue that even the best social media tools—which serve as forklifts for relationship building and maintenance—won’t accomplish this for you.

Relax. You don’t have to. You want “opinion leaders”.

I had the good fortune to see Patrick Jackson speak shortly before he passed away in 2001. He was a great public relations innovator. So much so, that a significant public relations industry award is named for him.

In his presentation, he shared his spectrum of American opinion. It is a tad oversimplified, but it makes for a great tool for understanding your “influencer” role. It also makes your life easier.

On any issue that has two possible extreme viewpoints—for or against—there is a common spread of opinions. Of the whole population to whom the issue matters:

3% will immediately and absolutely be AGAINST the issue. You ain’t changing their minds.

43% will lean toward being AGAINST the issue, but not committed to that position.

3% will immediately be absolutely FOR the issue.

43% will lean toward being FOR the issue, but not committed to that position.

8% have not yet formed an opinion. These are the ones who will listen, read, and digest the available viewpoints on the issue prior to articulating an opinion. They’re going to think it through.

This 8% is the group that the 86% not committed to their stance turns to for a recommendation. They might be community leaders. They might be professors or other experts or intellectual leaders whom the larger group sees as “expert”. Sometimes it’s someone they simply turn to because they always have... a wise “elder”, for instance.

This 8% = opinion leaders. As in, if you can convince them, they’ll steer the 86% not-totally-committeds your way.

That is, if you can identify them.

But that’s usually not difficult... just ask the community who they turn to for wise consideration of an issue. Even easier online, they’ll often be you most-followed/friended individuals. Ask around... on Twitter, for instance. Ask you followers who seems to be the most knowledgeable on an issue and they’ll point you the right direction. Often, you get multiple replies telling you the same one or two individuals. Those are the ones to whom you want to pay attention.

Remember, social media is social first. It’s people. It doesn’t matter how we organize ourselves. We tend toward the same behavior as a group, a crowd, a community.

Yes, opinion leaders matter online. What’s fun is you can actually see their influence in friend/follower numbers. When one suggests that their friends/followers friend/follow you... your numbers climb fast. It’s pure network.

How do you influence an opinion leader? Gotta make friends. Gotta earn your way into their sphere of influence. My previous entry gives some insight into that. We’ll work on it more later this week.