A Few Thoughts On Trust Vs. Influence
Who Are Your Friends (Really)
A few weeks ago, Paul Adams of Google put out a truly insightful analysis of our online social spheres. He explores how our online connections differ from our offline ones, how we identify friends (as opposed to connections), who we are truly able to keep tabs on, and how all of these things collide in the online space. He argues that targeting people based on perceived influence ignores that we are most connected with roughly 3-10 people who we truly trust. Based on this, it could better serve brands to focus on the breadth of marketing messages, and not individual influencer outreach, to actually impact the end consumer.
And Do You Listen to Them?
This is a scenario that is somewhat contrary to the way we build connections on Twitter. Twitter is not comprised of our inner circle. We are likely to have multiple degrees of separation from some of the people we follow. Paul points out that proximity is more important than perceived overall influence, so hitting multiple people with fewer connections may be the best way to influence the end user. We trust those with close proximity to us more than we trust those who have “influence”, which would suggest that examining Facebook connections is a greater indicator of a sphere of influence.
Trust vs. Influence
Here’s a question, though: Is there a difference between people who influence us and people who we trust? And if there is, how might you hone product or brand outreach based on that?
Klout, the current hot influencer score, takes into account number of followers, importance of followers, reach of information and velocity of information, among other things. It does not, however, take into account quality of information or impact of information. I may retweet Lance Armstrong, but I’ll likely buy a bike shoe that my boyfriend loves. So are there types of information that spread better through influence, and types that spread better through trust?
Identifying Many Kinds of Influencers
A recent review of our influencer outreach here at Room214 led us to determine that, in entertainment, we were dealing with two types of influencer: the Identified Influencers and the Eager Masses. Under these two separate strategies, we’re reaching out the the people who have big voices and spread through Influence, as well as smaller individuals who are simply excited about entertainment products and spread to friends through Trust . In one, we hone and personalize. In the other, we give access to many people who, through their simple passion, have the ability to spread the word.
Every industry is different, but I think it’s important to start to acknowledge the importance of the voice of the everyday (and often quite passionate) consumer.
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