Spreading the Word: Influencing Opinion Leaders Globally

WHO DOES IT?

WHAT DRIVES THEM?

HOW CAN YOU MARKET TO THEM?

SPREADING THE WORD

HOW DO YOU FIND THE PEOPLE

SPREADING THE WORD?

MEET THE MESSENGERS

Anyone can pass on information

But there are some people who do so on a

regular basis forming an identifiable channel for

spreading the word

They express themselves through adding

opinion to the information they spread

And research shows that they recognise and

value their role as Messengers

We call these people Opinion Leaders:

Some have large networks, some small

Some networks are homogenous, others

diverse

Some are specialists, others discuss a vast range

of subjects

They do so for different reasons - and in

different ways

THEIR RECOGNITION OF THEIR ROLE IS

THE KEY TO DEFINING THEM

IDENTIFYING OUR

OPINION LEADERS

1. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas

2. People often come to me for advice in general

3. I pass on recommendations of

products/services

4. I forward on links to ads

5. I’m always telling people about new

products/services

RESEARCH FROM FUTURE

FOUNDATION SHOWS THAT

OPINION LEADERS ROUTINELY

AGREE WITH AT LEAST 3 OF THESE

5 STATEMENTS:

THIS IS THE FIRST GLOBAL STUDY OF

THOSE SPREADING WORD OF MOUTH

GETTING THE FULL PICTURE

9,000 Opinion Leaders, 9 countries

Goes beyond previous Word of Mouth research

(Keller Fay, Guardian) by global scope and

definition of 3 types of Opinion Leader

Part of the BBC’s ongoing programme of Word

of Mouth research

Looks at how Opinion Leaders spread the word in

response to brand activity, news and personal

experience

Covers all types of Word of Mouth and all types

of channel (online and offline)

By studying the make-up of Opinion Leaders in

different countries we can explore geographical

differences in how Word of Mouth works

THREE DISTINCT TYPES

USING DIFFERENT CHANNELS, ACROSS DIFFERENT TYPES OF

NETWORK, FOR DIFFERENT REASONS

TODAY'S OPINION LEADERS

HUB URBANITES I EMAIL EVANGELISTS I OFFLINE INFLUENCERS

HOW DO THEY SHARE?

Social media and Instant Messenger

HOW DO THEY HEAR?

TV and radio plus social media

(social networks, wikis, forums)

WHY DO THEY MATTER?

Highly trusted, connected and influential

Talk about more subjects than any other group

Often the first Opinion Leaders to start discussing a story

WHY DO THEY DO IT?

For enjoyment

To increase their profile

To spark a reaction / recognition

To advocate for what they believe in

HUB URBANITES

63%TRUST THEM

100PEOPLE IN NETWORK

69%PASS ON INFO AT LEAST DAILY

20%OF OPINION

LEADERS

HOW DO THEY SHARE? Email and SMS

HOW DO THEY HEAR?

The web (major international news sites, forums, RSS)

WHY DO THEY MATTER?

They have large and diverse networks

They reach the people hub urbanites can’t - or won’t

They talk less often but to a broader range of people

WHY DO THEY DO IT?

To educate and inspire

To pass on messages worthy of debate

To get attention

EMAIL EVANGELISTS

47%TRUST THEM

82PEOPLE IN NETWORK


20%OF OPINION

LEADERS

HOW DO THEY SHARE? Face to face or over the phone

HOW DO THEY HEAR?

Traditional media (TV and radio)

WHY DO THEY MATTER?

Individually they have small networks but together they make

up the majority of opinion leaders

They are often seen as valued specialists in key areas

When offline influencers start talking, Word of Mouth goes

mainstream

WHY DO THEY DO IT?

To share ideas they they feel can help or benefit others

To enjoy sharing different perspectives

Offline Influencers’ motivation is characteristically altruistic

OFFLINE INFLUENCERS

62%TRUST THEM

64PEOPLE IN NETWORK


60%OF OPINION

FORMERS

THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF WORD OF MOUTH

KEY: Proportion of Hub urbanites, Email evangelists and Offline influencers amongst Opinion Leaders

USAUK

SPAIN

GERMANY

UAEINDIA

HONG KONG

AUSTRALIA

MEXICO

In Hong Kong, India and the United Arab Emirates, technology

has a greater role shaping Word of Mouth

In established markets, Offline Influencers dominate through

sheer weight of numbers

KEY:

Proportion of international contacts within

opinion leaders’ networks

Average size of Network

DIFFERENCES REFLECTED IN NETWORKS

AUSTRALIA (69)

UK (67)

UAE

(81)

MEXICO (59)

USA

(70) HONG KONG

(100)

INDIA (103)

GERMANY

(71)

SPAIN (46)

In developed economies, national networks predominate

Key emerging markets have larger, technology-driven networks

that cross international boundaries

Technology can define network size

(in Mexico SMS has a larger role)(70)

They are all trusted - and trust matters

(59% of opinion leaders say they seek advice from someone

they trust)

They spread positive word of mouth

(64% of messages passed on about different categories are

positive, only 2% are negative, 28% are neutral)

Opinion leaders shape stories rather than just passing them on - it is

opinions as well as facts that they are keen to share

(50% of all Word of Mouth represents stories from the media

overlaid by opinion)

It is only when all three Opinion Leaders start talking that

Word of Mouth enters the mainstream

WHAT DO THESE OPINION

LEADERS HAVE IN COMMON?

66% Positive

2% Negative

Most positive on: Food and drink, Luxury goods, Technology science

and environment

FEELING POSITIVE

61% Positive

3% Negative

Most positive on: Food and drink. Luxury goods, Sports and health

73% Positive

2% Negative

Most positive on: Food and drink, Technology science and

environment,, Entertainment

WORD OF MOUTH IN ACTION

Offline Influencers:

“I share most information

with my husband, my parents

and my sister, then my closest

friend – usually face to face

or by phone.…”

For Offline Influencers,

Word of Mouth is a

natural element of

relationships, not a

mission

Email Evangelist:

“I am quite a news buff so I

guess am pretty good at

'being in the know’... My

feeling is that if a product is

good, people should know; if

it’s not - people should

know.”

Email Evangelists have a

strong sense that certain

types of information need

to be circulated - but they

are selective about what

information qualifies

Hub Urbanite:

“I have a blog on Blogger,

updating it 4-6 times per

week. Most recently I

purchased a digital camera

and posted about it on my

blog, recommending it and

Amazon.com to others.”

Hub urbanites tend to

post information where

they will get kudos for

their knowledge

THERE ARE THREE KEY POINTS AT WHICH MEDIA CHANNELS

INFLUENCE OPINION LEADERS

MEDIA DRIVE WORD OF MOUTH

To see the roles played by different media channels, we looked at some real examples

FINDING OUT NEWS

OR INFORMATION

DECISION TO SPREAD THE

WORDRESEARCHING FURTHER -

AND FORMING OPINIONS

THE DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON

OPINION LEADERS

HEARD THE STORY

FIRST THROUGH TV

WE ASKED OPINION

LEADERS HOW THEY FIRST

LEARNED ABOUT MICHAEL

JACKSON’S DEATH

45%DISCOVERED

THE NEWS

ON TV

15% 12%

COMPARED TO

23% 2%

THE DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON

YET ONLINE TOOK

OVER WHEN IT CAME

TO FINDING OUT MORE

AND FORMING

OPINIONS

12%22%

85%FOUND OUT

MORE ONLINE

COMPARED TO

35%12%

WHERE DO OPINIONS COME FROM ONLINE?

OPINION LEADERS TURN TO ESTABLISHED MEDIA BRANDS ON THE WEB

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL

NEWS SITES: 66%

LOCAL NEWS SITES: 69%

NEWS FORUMS: 9%

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL

NEWS SITES: 61%


NEWS FORUMS: 12%

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL

NEWS SITES: 74%


NEWS FORUMS: 21%

THIS FOCUS ON TRUST BENEFITS THE BBC

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

BBC.com BBC World News

Smaller network Have personal and private networks of at least 75 each

Which of the following do you think is a trustworthy source of news? By size of network

THE BBC IS PARTICULARLY TRUSTED

BY OPINION LEADERS

Why opinion leaders say they trust

BBC...

“Because of their unbiased opinions and

news coverage.”

“The rest are typically Indian wishy washy

about facts.”

“It gives balanced media coverage.”

(India focus groups)

In UK, 94% of OLs trust BBC.com or BBC World

News

In UAE, 74% of OLs trust BBC.com and 75% trust

BBC World News

In India, 72% of OLs trust BBC.com and 71% trust

BBC World News

DISCOVERY AND OPINION FORMING

MAINSTREAM MEDIA BRANDS DRIVE THE PROCESS

Mainstream media dominate when it comes to breaking news:

TV was the main source for all 3 groups and radio also

played a key role

Yet online is increasingly integrated for early-stage Opinion

Leaders:

29% of Email Evangelists and 30% of Hub Urbanites

discovered the news online

Opinion Leaders turn to established media brands online when

they come to research a story:

74% of Hub Urbanites, 66% of Offline Influencers and 61%

of Email Evangelists use major international

news sites

Social media users are more not less engaged with mainstream

media brands

It is mainstream media (not UGC) that triggers Word of Mouth

THE TRIGGER

MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS REQUIRED

TO IGNITE WORD OF MOUTH

The point at which a story becomes a Word of

Mouth moment is sometimes instantaneous

But it sometimes occurs weeks or months after a

story appears

The trigger is typically an appearance on a

mainstream media channel

The conversations of Hub urbanites can pre-date

the Word of Mouth moment

But engaging the interest of Email evangelists

may require a mainstream media “push”

THE STORY:“SPOTIFY MAKES MORE MONEY

FOR UNIVERSAL THAN ITUNES”

BRAND STRATEGIES FOR WORD OF MOUTH

CHANNELS AND TRIGGERS

Opinion Leaders credit advertising and marketing

with driving 58% of Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth is predominantly positive

Embrace it as an opportunity, remove barriers and

make it easy to share

Opinion forming is important

Suggest links and connections, provide channels for

sharing opinions

Professional media stimulate social media

Editorial content and advertising have a crucial role

in driving awareness

The newest social media channel is not necessarily the

most influential

An integrated strategy across both media and

communications channels is vital

ACTING ON WORD OF MOUTH

Patterns show the importance of specialist

opinion leaders in certain key categories

Key influencers pass on information, larger

numbers of opinion leaders act on it

KEY CATEGORY RELATIONSHIPS:

Luxury

They are particularly likely to respond to special promotions

Sports and Health

Media stories drive Word of Mouth but they are less

interested in special promotions in this category - pundits

rather than fitness fanatics

Food and Drink

Big fans - most keen on sharing recent purchases and special

offers

MOST INFLUENTIAL ON:

Politics, Entertainment, Food and Drink

HOW DO YOU GET THEM INTERESTED?

Play to their areas of expertise with positive brand

interaction: bespoke offers and tailored information

HOW TO ACTIVATE

OFFLINE INFLUENCERS

DRIVEN TO SHARE BY…

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: 56%

STORIES IN THE MEDIA: 44%

MARKETING/BRAND: 10%

KEY CATEGORY RELATIONSHIPS

Luxury

They love recommending products they have bought

Entertainment

Especially keen to keep networks informed about stories they

have heard in the media

Finance

A strong interest and keen to share advice


Finance, Business

HOW DO YOU GET THEM INTERESTED? Give them something to talk about. And keep them in the loop

on big stories. They love to share content and will spread value

propositions and offers if they are compelling enough

HOW TO ACTIVATE

EMAIL EVANGELISTS




MARKETING/BRAND: 19%

KEY CATEGORY RELATIONSHIPS:

Technology

They like sharing their expertise through forums but are less

interested in special offers in this category

Entertainment

They love commenting by text while watching TV

Finance

They are keen to share experience and information, but less

likely to share this information through social media


They are the most likely to discuss any subject: favourite

topics are Science and Technology and Entertainment

and they over-index particularly highly on Arts and

Culture

HOW DO YOU GET THEM INTERESTED? They demand relationships and rewards for putting their

reputation on the line. Reinforce their position as experts with

specialist, exclusive news (and never mass PR)

HOW TO ACTIVATE

HUB URBANITES




SPECIAL OFFERS: 49%

WORD OF MOUTH, MEDIA AND

MARKETING

Word of Mouth has not supplanted

mainstream media brands

It multiplies their influence

Trust is now the essential quality for both

brands and media - since trust is the most valued

asset of Opinion Leaders

Personal experience can initiateWord of Mouth

but Word of Mouth rarely becomes large-scale

without a push from mainstream media or

marketing activity

Because of this, Word of Mouth can be

understood, predicted and planned

WHAT’S THE MEANING?