Report: 'Influencers' Lack Sweeping Power

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Coinciding with the rise of social networks and viral marketing, "influencers" were once touted as the surest path to broad brand approval. More recently, research has cast doubt on the vastness of their power.

A new study from ICOM -- a division of direct marketing agency Epsilon -- finds that there is no universal influencer, and that consumers are influencers strictly within product categories, rather than across all categories.

In addition, few commonalities exist within demographics for influencers, according to the study. On the contrary, influencers cross gender, age, income levels and channels.

To engage the appropriate influencers, marketers should not target a specific demographic or channel, according to Gillian MacPherson, senior director of product marketing and insight at ICOM. Rather, understanding their behavior is critical.

"While we already know that influencers are a prime audience for today's marketer, it is critical that we also understand their attributes, channel preferences, and behavior," said MacPherson. "Only then will marketers be able to effectively communicate with this valuable segment of the population."

According to MacPherson, the findings are the culmination of three years of research, which was based on two surveys of nearly 7,000 consumers in the U.S. and Canada for the combined sample of influencer households and non-influencer households.

Once targeted based on their behavior, influencers can be engaged with a tailored message across multiple channels, thus becoming a brand ambassador, says MacPherson.

Messages should be familiar and conversational, since influencers talk more frequently person-to-person. While influencers tend to do their talking in person, there is an opportunity to broaden their message through new channels such as social media.

In addition, influencers are highly motivated by being able to give feedback directly to brands and manufacturers. They are are also more likely to sign up for brand Web sites or e-newsletters, as they like to be among the first to hear about new products and information.

One of the first studies to seriously cast doubt on influencers' limitless authority was released by Canadian research firm Pollara in mid-2008. Based on the responses of some 1,100 adults, it found that self-described social media users put far more trust in friends and family online than in popular bloggers, or strangers with 10,000 social network "friends."

Nearly 80% said they were very or somewhat more likely to consider buying products recommended by real-world friends and family, while only 23% reported being very or somewhat likely to consider a product pushed by "well-known bloggers."

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0 comments on "Report: 'Influencers' Lack Sweeping Power ".

1. George Eberstadt from TurnTo
   

   commented on: March 24, 2010 at 10:44 a.m.

   Glad to see the mention at the bottom of the Pollara study. Marketers may be missing the point in trying to find all-purpose influencers. The goal should be to find the people who can influence the purchase of the particular customer you are targeting.

2. Fraser Elliott from Cramer-Krasselt
   

   commented on: March 24, 2010 at 7:06 p.m.

   Come on now. Who among us ever really thought there was a species of cross-category uber-influencers? Was this study really necessary?

3. Haresh Kumar from Lithium
   

   commented on: March 25, 2010 at 8:25 p.m.

   Gavin - great post and very timely in the market. We at Lithium Technologies (www.lithium.com) have been busy analyzing more than 10 yrs worth of data and collaborating with top academics like - University of Pennsylvania and NYU - on the very notion of WOM marketing and the role of influencer. I invite you and other visitors to read our blog post (http://lithosphere.lithium.com/t5/Building-Community-the-Platform/Are-all-Influencers-Created-Equal/ba-p/5170) that gives additional view point based on community data analysis. Our research shows that all influencers are not equal and network analysis are important for us to understand how and when to engage with certain influencers and some use cases associated with it.

   Keep an eye out for more - we will be posting additional research around this topic.
   Thanks
   -Haresh Kumar
   Director, Product Marketing
   Lithium Technologies

4. Mike John-baptiste from Peerset
   

   commented on: March 26, 2010 at 11:09 a.m.

   This study confirms a lot of what was discussed on a panel I participated on at this year's SXSW. The panel was called the Power of Influence and there should be an auto-recording of it somewhere if anyone is interested.

   Well written article but I really think we should be using a different word than behavior when we talk about evaluating people(Influencers). Behavior is so commonly assumed to be what websites people visit (note Behavioral Targeting) that if you just focus on this specific activity you'll really miss out on understanding the complete identify of influencers. More important than their behavior is their voice, their opinion. What are they saying and what are their passions. Tap into these things are the Influencers motivations will be better aligned with yours.

5. Gregory Yankelovich from Amplified Analytics Inc
   

   commented on: March 27, 2010 at 4:59 p.m.

   @Haresh Do you think Community influencers and Social Media influencers should be studied without context and relation to their sphere of influence and behavior? It seem to me the contexts would be quite different, but I'll go read your blog first :-).

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