Research conducted by BBC and the Future Foundation into opinion leaders, word of mouth and how it works globally. The research covered 9,000 Opinion Leaders across 9 countries and goes beyond previous Word of Mouth research by its global scope and identification of 3 types of Opinion Leader.
The study looks at how Opinion Leaders spread the word in response to brand activity, news and personal experience. It covers all types of Word of Mouth and all types of channel (online and offline) and by studying the make-up of Opinion Leaders in different countries it explores geographical differences in how Word of Mouth works.
2. MEET THE MESSENGERS
HOW DO YOU FIND THE PEOPLE
SPREADING THE WORD?
Anyone can pass on information
But there are some people who do so on a
regular basis forming an identifiable channel for
spreading the word
They express themselves through adding
opinion to the information they spread
And research shows that they recognise and
value their role as Messengers
We call these people Opinion Leaders:
Some have large networks, some small
Some networks are homogenous, others
diverse
Some are specialists, others discuss a vast range
of subjects
They do so for different reasons - and in
different ways
3. IDENTIFYING OUR
OPINION LEADERS
THEIR RECOGNITION OF THEIR ROLE IS
THE KEY TO DEFINING THEM
RESEARCH FROM FUTURE
FOUNDATION SHOWS THAT
OPINION LEADERS ROUTINELY
AGREE WITH AT LEAST 3 OF THESE
5 STATEMENTS:
1. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas
2. People often come to me for advice in general
3. I pass on recommendations of
products/services
4. I forward on links to ads
5. I’m always telling people about new
products/services
4. GETTING THE FULL PICTURE
THIS IS THE FIRST GLOBAL STUDY OF
THOSE SPREADING WORD OF MOUTH
9,000 Opinion Leaders, 9 countries
Goes beyond previous Word of Mouth research
(Keller Fay, Guardian) by global scope and
definition of 3 types of Opinion Leader
Part of the BBC’s ongoing programme of Word
of Mouth research
Looks at how Opinion Leaders spread the word in
response to brand activity, news and personal
experience
Covers all types of Word of Mouth and all types
of channel (online and offline)
By studying the make-up of Opinion Leaders in
different countries we can explore geographical
differences in how Word of Mouth works
5. TODAY'S OPINION LEADERS
THREE DISTINCT TYPES
USING DIFFERENT CHANNELS, ACROSS DIFFERENT TYPES OF
NETWORK, FOR DIFFERENT REASONS
HUB URBANITES I EMAIL EVANGELISTS I OFFLINE INFLUENCERS
6. HUB URBANITES 20%
OF OPINION
LEADERS
HOW DO THEY SHARE?
Social media and Instant Messenger
HOW DO THEY HEAR? 63%
TRUST THEM
TV and radio plus social media
100
(social networks, wikis, forums)
WHY DO THEY MATTER? PEOPLE IN NETWORK
Highly trusted, connected and influential
Talk about more subjects than any other group
Often the first Opinion Leaders to start discussing a story
69%
PASS ON INFO AT LEAST DAILY
WHY DO THEY DO IT?
For enjoyment
To increase their profile
To spark a reaction / recognition
To advocate for what they believe in
7. EMAIL EVANGELISTS 20%
OF OPINION
LEADERS
HOW DO THEY SHARE?
Email and SMS
HOW DO THEY HEAR?
The web (major international news sites, forums, RSS)
47%
TRUST THEM
WHY DO THEY MATTER?
They have large and diverse networks
82
PEOPLE IN NETWORK
They reach the people hub urbanites can’t - or won’t
They talk less often but to a broader range of people 48%
PASS ON INFO AT LEAST DAILY
WHY DO THEY DO IT?
To educate and inspire
To pass on messages worthy of debate
To get attention
8. OFFLINE INFLUENCERS 60%
OF OPINION
FORMERS
HOW DO THEY SHARE?
Face to face or over the phone
HOW DO THEY HEAR?
Traditional media (TV and radio)
62%
TRUST THEM
WHY DO THEY MATTER?
Individually they have small networks but together they make
64
PEOPLE IN NETWORK
up the majority of opinion leaders
They are often seen as valued specialists in key areas
48%
When offline influencers start talking, Word of Mouth goes PASS ON INFO AT LEAST DAILY
mainstream
WHY DO THEY DO IT?
To share ideas they they feel can help or benefit others
To enjoy sharing different perspectives
Offline Influencers’ motivation is characteristically altruistic
9. THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF WORD OF MOUTH
USA
UK
GERMANY
HONG KONG
SPAIN
INDIA
UAE
MEXICO
AUSTRALIA
In Hong Kong, India and the United Arab Emirates, technology
has a greater role shaping Word of Mouth
In established markets, Offline Influencers dominate through
sheer weight of numbers
KEY: Proportion of Hub urbanites, Email evangelists and Offline influencers amongst Opinion Leaders
10. DIFFERENCES REFLECTED IN NETWORKS
UK (67)
USA
(70) GERMANY HONG KONG
(71) (100)
SPAIN (46)
UAE
(81)
MEXICO (59) INDIA (103)
AUSTRALIA (69)
In developed economies, national networks predominate
Key emerging markets have larger, technology-driven networks
that cross international boundaries
Technology can define network size KEY:
Proportion of international contacts within
(in Mexico SMS has a larger role) opinion leaders’ networks
(70) Average size of Network
11. WHAT DO THESE OPINION
LEADERS HAVE IN COMMON?
They are all trusted - and trust matters
(59% of opinion leaders say they seek advice from someone
they trust)
They spread positive word of mouth
(64% of messages passed on about different categories are
positive, only 2% are negative, 28% are neutral)
Opinion leaders shape stories rather than just passing them on - it is
opinions as well as facts that they are keen to share
(50% of all Word of Mouth represents stories from the media
overlaid by opinion)
It is only when all three Opinion Leaders start talking that
Word of Mouth enters the mainstream
12. FEELING POSITIVE
66% Positive
2% Negative
Most positive on: Food and drink, Luxury goods, Technology science
and environment
61% Positive
3% Negative
Most positive on: Food and drink. Luxury goods, Sports and health
73% Positive
2% Negative
Most positive on: Food and drink, Technology science and
environment,, Entertainment
13. WORD OF MOUTH IN ACTION
Hub Urbanite:
Email Influencers:
OfflineEvangelist:
“I shareamostnews buff so I
have blog information
am quite a on Blogger,
updating pretty good at
guess am it 4-6 times parents
with my husband, my per
week. in the know’...
'being Most recently IMy
and my sister, then my closest
purchased a digital camera
feeling is that if face to face
friend – usually a product is
and posted about
good, phone.…” it know;
or by people should on my if
blog, recommending it
it’s not - people shouldand
Amazon.com to others.”
know.”
For Offline Influencers,
Word of Mouth is a
Hub urbanites tend
Email Evangelists have
natural element of to a
post information certain
strong sense not a
relationships,that where
they of
typeswill get kudos for
mission information need
their circulated
to be knowledge - but they
are selective about what
information qualifies
14. MEDIA DRIVE WORD OF MOUTH
THERE ARE THREE KEY POINTS AT WHICH MEDIA CHANNELS
INFLUENCE OPINION LEADERS
FINDING OUT NEWS RESEARCHING FURTHER - DECISION TO SPREAD THE
OR INFORMATION AND FORMING OPINIONS WORD
To see the roles played by different media channels, we looked at some real examples
15. THE DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON
OPINION LEADERS
HEARD THE STORY
FIRST THROUGH TV
WE ASKED OPINION
45%
DISCOVERED
LEADERS HOW THEY FIRST
THE NEWS
LEARNED ABOUT MICHAEL
ON TV
JACKSON’S DEATH
COMPARED TO
23% 15% 12% 2%
16. THE DEATH OF MICHAEL JACKSON
YET ONLINE TOOK
OVER WHEN IT CAME
TO FINDING OUT MORE
85%
FOUND OUT
AND FORMING MORE ONLINE
OPINIONS
COMPARED TO
12%
35% 12%
22%
17. WHERE DO OPINIONS COME FROM ONLINE?
OPINION LEADERS TURN TO ESTABLISHED MEDIA BRANDS ON THE WEB
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MAJOR INTERNATIONAL
NEWS SITES: 66% NEWS SITES: 61% NEWS SITES: 74%
LOCAL NEWS SITES: 69% LOCAL NEWS SITES: 56% LOCAL NEWS SITES: 72%
NEWS FORUMS: 9% NEWS FORUMS: 12% NEWS FORUMS: 21%
18. THIS FOCUS ON TRUST BENEFITS THE BBC
Which of the following do you think is a trustworthy source of news? By size of network
70%
Smaller network Have personal and private networks of at least 75 each
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
BBC.com BBC World News
19. THE BBC IS PARTICULARLY TRUSTED
BY OPINION LEADERS
Why opinion leaders say they trust
BBC...
In UK, 94% of OLs trust BBC.com or BBC World
News “Because of their unbiased opinions and
news coverage.”
“The rest are typically Indian wishy washy
about facts.”
“It gives balanced media coverage.”
In UAE, 74% of OLs trust BBC.com and 75% trust
BBC World News
(India focus groups)
In India, 72% of OLs trust BBC.com and 71% trust
BBC World News
20. DISCOVERY AND OPINION FORMING
MAINSTREAM MEDIA BRANDS DRIVE THE PROCESS
Mainstream media dominate when it comes to breaking news:
TV was the main source for all 3 groups and radio also
played a key role
Yet online is increasingly integrated for early-stage Opinion
Leaders:
29% of Email Evangelists and 30% of Hub Urbanites
discovered the news online
Opinion Leaders turn to established media brands online when
they come to research a story:
74% of Hub Urbanites, 66% of Offline Influencers and 61%
of Email Evangelists use major international
news sites
Social media users are more not less engaged with mainstream
media brands
It is mainstream media (not UGC) that triggers Word of Mouth
21. THE STORY:“SPOTIFY MAKES MORE MONEY
FOR UNIVERSAL THAN ITUNES”
THE TRIGGER
MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS REQUIRED
TO IGNITE WORD OF MOUTH
The point at which a story becomes a Word of
Mouth moment is sometimes instantaneous
But it sometimes occurs weeks or months after a
story appears
The trigger is typically an appearance on a
mainstream media channel
The conversations of Hub urbanites can pre-date
the Word of Mouth moment
But engaging the interest of Email evangelists
may require a mainstream media “push”
22. BRAND STRATEGIES FOR WORD OF MOUTH
CHANNELS AND TRIGGERS
Opinion Leaders credit advertising and marketing
with driving 58% of Word of Mouth
Word of Mouth is predominantly positive
Embrace it as an opportunity, remove barriers and
make it easy to share
Opinion forming is important
Suggest links and connections, provide channels for
sharing opinions
Professional media stimulate social media
Editorial content and advertising have a crucial role
in driving awareness
The newest social media channel is not necessarily the
most influential
An integrated strategy across both media and
communications channels is vital
23. ACTING ON WORD OF MOUTH
Patterns show the importance of specialist
opinion leaders in certain key categories
Key influencers pass on information, larger
numbers of opinion leaders act on it
24. HOW TO ACTIVATE
OFFLINE INFLUENCERS
KEY CATEGORY RELATIONSHIPS:
Luxury
They are particularly likely to respond to special promotions
Sports and Health
Media stories drive Word of Mouth but they are less
DRIVEN TO SHARE BY…
interested in special promotions in this category - pundits
rather than fitness fanatics
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: 56%
Food and Drink
Big fans - most keen on sharing recent purchases and special STORIES IN THE MEDIA: 44%
offers
MARKETING/BRAND: 10%
MOST INFLUENTIAL ON:
Politics, Entertainment, Food and Drink
HOW DO YOU GET THEM INTERESTED?
Play to their areas of expertise with positive brand
interaction: bespoke offers and tailored information
25. HOW TO ACTIVATE
EMAIL EVANGELISTS
KEY CATEGORY RELATIONSHIPS
Luxury
They love recommending products they have bought
Entertainment
Especially keen to keep networks informed about stories they
DRIVEN TO SHARE BY…
have heard in the media
Finance PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: 46%
A strong interest and keen to share advice
STORIES IN THE MEDIA: 38%
MOST INFLUENTIAL ON:
MARKETING/BRAND: 19%
Finance, Business
HOW DO YOU GET THEM INTERESTED?
Give them something to talk about. And keep them in the loop
on big stories. They love to share content and will spread value
propositions and offers if they are compelling enough
26. HOW TO ACTIVATE
HUB URBANITES
KEY CATEGORY RELATIONSHIPS:
Technology
They like sharing their expertise through forums but are less
interested in special offers in this category
Entertainment
They love commenting by text while watching TV DRIVEN TO SHARE BY…
Finance
They are keen to share experience and information, but less PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: 65%
likely to share this information through social media
STORIES IN THE MEDIA: 57%
MOST INFLUENTIAL ON:
SPECIAL OFFERS: 49%
They are the most likely to discuss any subject: favourite
topics are Science and Technology and Entertainment
and they over-index particularly highly on Arts and
Culture
HOW DO YOU GET THEM INTERESTED?
They demand relationships and rewards for putting their
reputation on the line. Reinforce their position as experts with
specialist, exclusive news (and never mass PR)
27. WHAT’S THE MEANING?
WORD OF MOUTH, MEDIA AND
MARKETING
Word of Mouth has not supplanted
mainstream media brands
It multiplies their influence
Trust is now the essential quality for both
brands and media - since trust is the most valued
asset of Opinion Leaders
Personal experience can initiate Word of Mouth
but Word of Mouth rarely becomes large-scale
without a push from mainstream media or
marketing activity
Because of this, Word of Mouth can be
understood, predicted and planned