Is there are hierarchy of influencers?
On a recent AR blog it was stated that analysts are “super-influencers”, whose influence “ripples” across other lesser influencers (media, bloggers, consultants, system integrators, financial analysts).
Hmmm. This is a very analyst-centric view, and indicative of the broad AR/PR industry mindset. There's another example of this perspective here, and it is common.
But is it right? There are three problems with this approach. The first is that, while I don’t doubt that some analysts are key influencers, not all of them are. There are analysts, including those at Gartner, IDC, Forrester and Ovum, that are important and those that are not.
Remember that it’s not Gartner Inc. (or whichever firm) that has influence over end-user decision makers, but the individual analyst. Having worked at analyst firms (Ovum and IDC) for 12 years I’ve seen this situation from the inside. We knew which individuals had influence and which didn’t.
The second problem with an analyst-centric view of influence is that, in three years of analysing influencer communities for our clients, Influencer50 has noticed a broad spread of influencer types. There are analysts and journalists, of course. But there are also regulators, consulting firms, management authors, academics, and others – over 20 different types of influencer. And in a ranked list of 50 influencers, the top10 typically contains a mixture of these influencer types.
The idea that only analysts are super-influencers is without basis. There are indeed super-influencers, but these include a variety of other types. Also, some influencers are more important than others generically. But some come into ascendancy at different times. So it’s important to understand when influencers are exerting influence.
The third and final flaw in the analyst-centric model is that influence does not ripple out in one direction from a small set of individuals. Rather than a hierarchy, influence works across a network of individuals, with some having more connections than others. Influence flows in multiple directions, as industry professionals discuss and debate ideas and opinions. The emergence of influencer communities demonstrates this important dimension.
All of this points to a more balanced approach to influencers and Influencer Marketing. AR and PR are fine, but there are other key influencers to attend to. Ignore them at your peril.
influencer marketing
Hmmm. This is a very analyst-centric view, and indicative of the broad AR/PR industry mindset. There's another example of this perspective here, and it is common.
But is it right? There are three problems with this approach. The first is that, while I don’t doubt that some analysts are key influencers, not all of them are. There are analysts, including those at Gartner, IDC, Forrester and Ovum, that are important and those that are not.
Remember that it’s not Gartner Inc. (or whichever firm) that has influence over end-user decision makers, but the individual analyst. Having worked at analyst firms (Ovum and IDC) for 12 years I’ve seen this situation from the inside. We knew which individuals had influence and which didn’t.
The second problem with an analyst-centric view of influence is that, in three years of analysing influencer communities for our clients, Influencer50 has noticed a broad spread of influencer types. There are analysts and journalists, of course. But there are also regulators, consulting firms, management authors, academics, and others – over 20 different types of influencer. And in a ranked list of 50 influencers, the top10 typically contains a mixture of these influencer types.
The idea that only analysts are super-influencers is without basis. There are indeed super-influencers, but these include a variety of other types. Also, some influencers are more important than others generically. But some come into ascendancy at different times. So it’s important to understand when influencers are exerting influence.
The third and final flaw in the analyst-centric model is that influence does not ripple out in one direction from a small set of individuals. Rather than a hierarchy, influence works across a network of individuals, with some having more connections than others. Influence flows in multiple directions, as industry professionals discuss and debate ideas and opinions. The emergence of influencer communities demonstrates this important dimension.
All of this points to a more balanced approach to influencers and Influencer Marketing. AR and PR are fine, but there are other key influencers to attend to. Ignore them at your peril.
influencer marketing
Labels: influencer marketing, influencers
posted by Duncan Brown at 9:54 am
2 Comments:
Duncan,
1. Re. your analyst centric view, we've been suggesting AR should transform itself into an IfR to cater for other super-influencers.
2. The only influencers we see impacting large deals are System Integrators (usually looked after by Vendors Channel Organisations) and analysts. Not all analysts are created equals though, and rather than going by firm we advocate a finer tiering. Academia and other luminaries are probably important, but indirectly.
You see, we're not thinking very differently after all...
Duncan,
1. Re. your analyst centric view, we've been suggesting AR should transform itself into an IfR to cater for other super-influencers.
2. The only influencers we see impacting large deals are System Integrators (usually looked after by Vendors Channel Organisations) and analysts. Not all analysts are created equals though, and rather than going by firm we advocate a finer tiering. Academia and other luminaries are probably important, but indirectly.
You see, we're not thinking very differently after all...
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