Place of opinion leaders in the individual infosphere in modern society
In the modern world, each person is surrounded by a huge individual Infosphere . And time does not allow to understand everything - it is physically not enough for him. Especially in our sophisticated age.
Therefore, when people are going to make a purchase, even if irrelevant (starting with beer), they often listen to the advice of others - opinion leaders.
The opinion leader is a relatively new phenomenon. In the era of the absence of market relations, the leader of opinion was concerned not so much with commodity life (in subsistence farming, the person knew almost everything that he consumes), as much as “everyday wisdom”, the source of which became the elders. This is the first version of the opinion leaders.
Then, with the development of market relations (goods appeared that were not created by the consumer himself), communication infrastructure (the world around expanded from the village / city first to the country, then to the vast globe), the international division of labor (the wide distribution of goods created in other countries ), the role of opinion leaders has increased - a person has become surrounded by far more like phenomena and goods, and there is not enough time to study independently that physicists.
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Who becomes the leader of opinions? This person should have a combination of 2 traits that the consumer attributes to him:
Note that both these attributes are attributed by the consumer himself , based on his experience in a particular field. The more qualified the consumer is in this area, the easier it is for him to choose a more objective and qualified opinion leader. If the consumer does not have knowledge, then he can easily make his leader biased or incompetent.
In fact, the leader of opinions can be considered a person on a scale from complete incompetence to a guru. The closer to the top line, the less people can become consumer opinion leaders, and the less interested they are in them.
Also, every person has his own scale with respect to different sources, as opinion leaders. They may include:
Depending on his experience, the person himself ranks the sources in the degree of trust in them . It is also worth noting that various sources within these categories can also be ranked, and the “list of trust” may eventually be mixed (friend Vasiliy in the first place, site X on the second forum, Peter the third).
It is worth noting that, depending on the consumer, it may be enough for him to find 1 opinion leader, or it will take several. Much less often, when a person who does not have qualifications in the field of goods, who is going to buy, makes a purchase without opinion leaders (the more expensive the goods are for the consumer, the less often this happens).
There is still a ranking according to the degree of need to study the material : if a friend from the forum can indicate “take it”, then the articles should be studied longer (but this gives more certainty, because it increases the level of consumer knowledge, explains to him, proving his point) This factor should also be taken into account - depending on the nature of the consumer, he will or will not spend time studying the materials of his opinion leaders.
Let us study in more detail the process of consumer choice of a leader of opinions using the term “ filtering experience of a person ”. For example, take the purchase of a printer.
Consider a consumer: he knows the difference between an inkjet laser and a laser one, and the last one wants it, this is where his knowledge ends. His sources are ranked according to the degree of trust as follows: authorities on specialized sites, articles in journals, reviews on store websites. Also, his filtering experience includes intuitive recognition of the qualifications and honesty of a potential opinion leader (let's say - at an average level, if you make a little effort, you can deceive him).
The consumer is aware that he needs to buy a printer. He himself can’t cope with the choice, you need an opinion leader whom he can trust (partly delegate responsibility for the purchase - in case of failure, the opinion leader loses confidence).
In accordance with his preferences in trust, he chooses primarily search on specialized sites. There, thanks to his filtering experience, he finds articles / statements of those site visitors, behind whom he intuitively feels the qualifications and necessary character. For example, if he sees an author who says that inkjet printers are more economical, which contradicts his personal knowledge obtained from a reliable source, then he dismisses this opinion leader as incompetent. If he sees the post of a person who revealed the pros and cons of inkjet and laser models so that it corresponds to the knowledge of the consumer, then he will already treat him as a qualified one. If, in addition to this, it inspires confidence in the character (for example, it does not engage in eye-catching advertising of any brand, and in general, judging by the records, it is an adequate person), then it becomes the opinion leader for this consumer.
In total, in order to become a leader of opinions for a specific consumer, it is necessary to create an impression of qualification, not contradicting the filtering experience of a person , and to cause personal confidence .
Thus, it is clear that at present the leader of opinions is a subject or object possessing trust in the eyes of the consumer. That is why this tool for organizations will become one of the most important in marketing - a modern consumer requires a customized approach to himself and he does not want to spend time and money on an independent search for a trustworthy product. And the Internet in this matter gives a huge scope for activity.
Therefore, when people are going to make a purchase, even if irrelevant (starting with beer), they often listen to the advice of others - opinion leaders.
The opinion leader is a relatively new phenomenon. In the era of the absence of market relations, the leader of opinion was concerned not so much with commodity life (in subsistence farming, the person knew almost everything that he consumes), as much as “everyday wisdom”, the source of which became the elders. This is the first version of the opinion leaders.
Then, with the development of market relations (goods appeared that were not created by the consumer himself), communication infrastructure (the world around expanded from the village / city first to the country, then to the vast globe), the international division of labor (the wide distribution of goods created in other countries ), the role of opinion leaders has increased - a person has become surrounded by far more like phenomena and goods, and there is not enough time to study independently that physicists.
')
Who becomes the leader of opinions? This person should have a combination of 2 traits that the consumer attributes to him:
- Qualification (his knowledge in this field, an indicator that he "understands")
- Character (on the one hand, this guru must want and be able to give advice, on the other, he must inspire confidence - to be independent in the eyes and, if necessary, to cover the lack of a first feature of a leader of opinions)
Note that both these attributes are attributed by the consumer himself , based on his experience in a particular field. The more qualified the consumer is in this area, the easier it is for him to choose a more objective and qualified opinion leader. If the consumer does not have knowledge, then he can easily make his leader biased or incompetent.
In fact, the leader of opinions can be considered a person on a scale from complete incompetence to a guru. The closer to the top line, the less people can become consumer opinion leaders, and the less interested they are in them.
Also, every person has his own scale with respect to different sources, as opinion leaders. They may include:
- Friend
- Seller
- An acquaintance who works in this field (including leaving articles / comments on thematic sites)
- Reviews
- Articles in the media
- Advertising
- others
Depending on his experience, the person himself ranks the sources in the degree of trust in them . It is also worth noting that various sources within these categories can also be ranked, and the “list of trust” may eventually be mixed (friend Vasiliy in the first place, site X on the second forum, Peter the third).
It is worth noting that, depending on the consumer, it may be enough for him to find 1 opinion leader, or it will take several. Much less often, when a person who does not have qualifications in the field of goods, who is going to buy, makes a purchase without opinion leaders (the more expensive the goods are for the consumer, the less often this happens).
There is still a ranking according to the degree of need to study the material : if a friend from the forum can indicate “take it”, then the articles should be studied longer (but this gives more certainty, because it increases the level of consumer knowledge, explains to him, proving his point) This factor should also be taken into account - depending on the nature of the consumer, he will or will not spend time studying the materials of his opinion leaders.
Let us study in more detail the process of consumer choice of a leader of opinions using the term “ filtering experience of a person ”. For example, take the purchase of a printer.
Consider a consumer: he knows the difference between an inkjet laser and a laser one, and the last one wants it, this is where his knowledge ends. His sources are ranked according to the degree of trust as follows: authorities on specialized sites, articles in journals, reviews on store websites. Also, his filtering experience includes intuitive recognition of the qualifications and honesty of a potential opinion leader (let's say - at an average level, if you make a little effort, you can deceive him).
The consumer is aware that he needs to buy a printer. He himself can’t cope with the choice, you need an opinion leader whom he can trust (partly delegate responsibility for the purchase - in case of failure, the opinion leader loses confidence).
In accordance with his preferences in trust, he chooses primarily search on specialized sites. There, thanks to his filtering experience, he finds articles / statements of those site visitors, behind whom he intuitively feels the qualifications and necessary character. For example, if he sees an author who says that inkjet printers are more economical, which contradicts his personal knowledge obtained from a reliable source, then he dismisses this opinion leader as incompetent. If he sees the post of a person who revealed the pros and cons of inkjet and laser models so that it corresponds to the knowledge of the consumer, then he will already treat him as a qualified one. If, in addition to this, it inspires confidence in the character (for example, it does not engage in eye-catching advertising of any brand, and in general, judging by the records, it is an adequate person), then it becomes the opinion leader for this consumer.
In total, in order to become a leader of opinions for a specific consumer, it is necessary to create an impression of qualification, not contradicting the filtering experience of a person , and to cause personal confidence .
Thus, it is clear that at present the leader of opinions is a subject or object possessing trust in the eyes of the consumer. That is why this tool for organizations will become one of the most important in marketing - a modern consumer requires a customized approach to himself and he does not want to spend time and money on an independent search for a trustworthy product. And the Internet in this matter gives a huge scope for activity.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/76728/
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