Rethinking the influencer

This week I discovered a handy graphic from author Geoff Livingston that tracks the history of ‘influencer theory’.

The idea of the influencer – that well-connected, vocal and trusted trend-setter who spreads advocacy and sales through his or her online network – has been hugely important in the development of social campaigns. However, it far precedes Gladwell’s 2000 ‘Tipping Point‘.

Back in the late nineteenth century the theory about how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures – a field dubbed diffusion of innovations – was already being developed by the likes of French sociologist Gabriel Tarde, US sociologist H. Earl Pemberton and German and Austrian anthropologists such as Friedrich Ratzel and Leo Frobenius. And in his 1962 ‘Diffusion of Innovations’, Everett Rogers went on to explain how the adoption of innovations could be harnessed by individuals and organisations.

My point? The influencer was not a concept created by social media. Marketers have somewhat embraced influencers as ‘the answer’ to social traction online, but in fact, few influencer campaigns actually generate big results. The ones that do – for example, our Tron Legacy/Nokia N8 campaign for Nokia as described in this month’s Marketing Week Digital Strategy supplement – carefully target influencers but also plan for much bigger, messier and more inclusive participation beyond the same old ‘opinion leaders.’

So I would suggest that we keep four things in mind when thinking about ‘influencers’:

1. Influencers don’t just live on the web. Don’t forget that you can reach online influencers through offline means (often much more emotionally effective), but also that some hugely powerful community leaders don’t care a fig about Facebook. How are you going to reach the most trusted mum at the school gates, as well as the tech king with 20,000 followers?
2. To get big results you need to focus on the influenced as much as the influencers. How can you create something adaptable and customisable so that each person can make it their own and maintain the spreading momentum? How can you make it easy for the lazy or the non-content creators to be touched?
3. Every one of your customers and potential customers deserves a great experience, not just those who have a high Klout score. Do not focus on making just the obvious, identifiable influencers happy – everyone has influence in their own way.
4. Stop thinking about influencers. Start thinking about people.

Thoughts?

Brought into the world on Thursday, July 21st, 2011 and filed under 1000thoughts, Case Studies.