When public relations first started back in the early 1900s it was defined as “a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interests of an organization. . . followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”
Paul Lazarsfeld, founder of the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University, conducted large-scale studies of the effects of communication through mass media on society. He found that the majority of the general public did not form their opinions or decide on a course of action based on directly receiving information, but rather relied on “opinion leaders.”
People relied heavily on other people for the information they used to make their decisions.
One of the most important functions of PR at that time was reaching opinion leaders in the media – journalists and analysts were top of the list. And it was not hard to find them.
A more recent definition from the Encyclopedia of PR says “Public Relations is a set of management, supervisory, and technical functions that foster an organization’s ability to strategically listen to, appreciate, and respond to those persons whose mutually beneficial relationships with the organization are necessary if it is to achieve its missions and values.” That seems more appropriate for the media landscape we’re operating in today.
The web has given people the power of voice. Peer reviews and opinion are more influential than ever before. The Edelman Trust Barometer has shown that “someone just like me” is the most trusted source of information.
So the ‘opinion leader’ scenario still applies. They’re just called different names today – influencers or trust agents.
Chris Brogan, co-author of Trust Agents defines the term as “people who use the web in a very human way to build influence, reputation, awareness, and who can translate that into some kind of business value.”
So how do we find these new influencers?
Social media has made it a lot easier to foster the ability to listen and respond. But how do we identify the right people?
Are they the same as they were before? Not at all.
In fact journalists, analysts and A-list bloggers, although still important, are now only about 40% of your influencers. The other 60% are probably unknown to you.
And only 9% of companies are identifying and making an effort to build one-on-one relationships with those influencers, says Nick Hayes of Influencer50. “Influencer marketing is at the same stage PR was at a few years ago –with a small number of firms that understand the benefits reaping big rewards.”
David Phillips said in the Journal of Communication Management – “Building and managing relationships with those who influence an organization or individual’s audiences has a central role in public relations.”
If the role of PR in the past was to find and work with the journalists and analysts (who were the major influencers) then PR’s role today is to find these unknown influencers and build positive relationships with them.
You may not immediately know who your influencers are. There is no universal ranking system. Someone who is an influencer for me might not be for you.
Work with the people you identify and watch your analytics. The proof is in the decision and the action people take as a result of information they get from an influencer.
Correctly identifying influencers is a large part of your social media strategy.
Image credit: J B Curio
