Thought Leaders and Creating Centers of Influence.

In the world of communication, public relations professionals work to share information with designated publics and within that hope to change the publics perception. The hardest thing to change is behavior and according to Kim (2007) opinion leaders have a higher chance to bring about behavior change in someone than mass media, which focuses on public perception.  How is this relevant for us strategic communicators?  It means we have to incorporate how to cultivate and share the thoughts of opinion leaders with our audience. 

Social media is an opportunity to place thought leaders on a global stage and to build relationships.  There are YouTube stars that have made a name for themselves by becoming opinion leaders in their fields or just for having an opinion in general. 

For businesses looking to influence change to sway individuals to purchase their product or use their service, opinion leaders can help be advocates on behalf of the organization without thhe noise coming from the organization.  The first step for a communication professional is to identify either an already established thought leader or create one.  The benefits of an established opinion leader is the fact the person has strong follower base and sees the individual as a source of trusted information.  People rely on trusted sources for information on products, events and services. An established though leader is 

So how hard is to create an opinion leader?  Not as hard as you think. 

1) Identify your thought leader. 

This could someone on your staff team. Maybe it’s a long-time loyal customer who’s been a great word-of-mouth (WOM) marketer for your company.  A lot of times, the CEO wants to the be the opinion leader. For small businesses this can be tough because that means it’s one more hat for them to wear. While it is possible, it can be time consuming, taking them away from other parts of running the business. 

2) Craft your message.

So you’ve selected your opinion leader, now you have to find a message to share.  Encourage your new opinion leader to be genuine. Work with them so the message and vision of this new role is clear and works for both parties.  Also, just because the message you want to send means it’s the message that is important to the audience. Do you what you can to listen prior to beginning your message building. Establish your message and don’t toot your horn too much.  The most well crafted messages connect people with information and not the marketing spiel. . 

3) Share your opinion leader.

OK, now you’re ready to share your opinion leader with the world.  Like I mentioned earlier, social media is a great platform for your send your message with others and create opportunities to connect like-minded individuals with your new thought leader.  Be sure to cover the basics though, remember to utilize your company’s website, blog, newsletters and employees. With platforms like YouTube, you can tag your opinion leader’s message with keywords you want search engines like Google to pick up on and hopefully result in favorable position during a search.  Connecting with other that have the same values and even opinions is very helpful. In the social media world this equates to having a close circle of friends who share the same taste in movies or music. The collection of like-minded people helps to reinforce your opinion leader’s clout. 

I had a client, which I may have mentioned before in previous postings, that sold hand sanitizing towelettes. Marketed as better than liquid sanitizers, convincing others the product was relevant in industries such as food service was a challenge. After many brainstorm sessions, our team came up with having a well-known chef make a TV appearance on a local TV morning show for a cooking segment.  It was nearly summer and the timing was perfect to pitch a “how to keep you and your food safe during summer cookouts” story.  The team identified a chef who was willing to help us out and had used the product previously.  The segment was wonderful and accomplished its mission of using a trusted thought leader within the food service industry to share how our client’s product was relevant to the general public.  The reason I believe it was a success was because we connected the audience with information in a non-intrusive manner. The audience received relevant tips about food handling safety during the summer heat and ways to keep your hands clean between handling different meats, and while at locations outside of your home with close access to sinks. Our client’s product was the next best alternative to soap and water.  It was such a subtle plug for the company’s product that people didn’t realize the whole purpose of the segment was to plug the product. 

That’s how I see opinion leaders being utilized by strategic communicators.  Though provoking, while connecting people with information so they can make up their own minds. Time and time again, I see and hear how WOM marketing is still the most effective tool in a professional communicators/marketers arsenal. Opinion leaders are a great option to reinforce WOM marketing and be a trusted source for the public.