How to Influence the Influencers

October 26, 2008 at 9:46 pm · Filed under Social Media and tagged: Amazon, cnn, customer, Facebook, google maps, influencers, mapquest, Myspace, online communities, online discussion, online marketing, online users, Rubicon, wikipedia

Many critics argue that if only 10% of the population is creating 90% of online material, what is the value of a company spending its precious time to impact online users? Last week, Rubicon published a study that analyzes the use of social media networks by companies. Specifically, its findings support the need for social media in influencing a market.

“Most companies don’t understand how online communities work, how they make a difference, and how to engage with them. Among the companies that have tried to work with communities online, many have found that the conversation is dominated by extreme enthusiasts rather than average users, and have concluded that online community is a distraction from their real customers.

That turns out to be a very dangerous mistake.”

Rubicon insists that although research shows 80-90% of the material online IS created by only a small minority, this material is extremely influential in initiating and maintaining public opinion. In fact,

“Online comments and reviews posted by the enthusiasts are second only to word of mouth as a purchase driver for all web users.”

Most importantly, however, is the understanding of how online communication should function. Most companies feel that they need to communicate with their audience. And although this is an ideal situation, it is not always the most beneficial. Instead, Rubicon suggests that companies need to view communication in terms of who is listening and who will respond:

“Online discussion is a poor way to communicate with the average customer, because average customers don’t participate. But it is a great way to communicate to them, because average customers watch and listen. Most content and discussion sites should be viewed as performances, in which the site’s organizers interact with a relatively small number of users in order to educate, persuade, or entertain everyone else.”

Other interesting findings include the top three types of sites most visited,

“Social networking (such as Facebook and MySpace),  

General news sites (such as CNN.com and NYTimes.com), and  

Online Banking.”

and “which sites are eventually visited by the largest percent of web users.”

“Mapping (MapQuest and others),

 Retail (Amazon.com and others), and

 Reference (including Wikipedia).”

Rubicon’s study presents extremely important data pertaining to the use of online communication and social media tools. Specifically for businesses wishing to improve their online presence or even begin an online discussion, knowing how to interact and who to interact with will be essential. Read the entire study here, and decide for yourself. 

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