Today I was going to finish my first chapter about Marketing and Social Networks, thinking about "How to describe the dynamics which rules the earned media channel?", when I tried to imagine a matrix, where those I think are the two major logics are related.
So, how to identify who may be an influencer? And what is the grade of its influence?
If you draw a matrix, in which the Y axe is Authority ("Who are you to say this?") and the X axe is Trust ("How much I believe your opinion is true?") you find out the following matrix:
As you see, there are 4 categories in this matrix.
Ininfluencers
They are people who have no Authority and which can't be trusted. This is the reason why they have no influence over their contacts' opinion or buying decision.
Opinion Liars
They are people with high Authority, but they lack in credibility. Due to their low level of Trust, for people it is not easy to believe in what they say, even if they have an high level of Authority.
Trusted Ninnies
This category collects people with trustful opinion characterized by low Authority. Due to their "ignorance", they have a low level of influence.
Influencers
Those people enjoy both a high level of Authority and a high level of Trust. Since they deliver trustful and credible opinions, they have an high level of influence.
Please, consider this post as a work in progress. Any suggestions are welcome, of course.
