tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35875342011-07-07T20:10:06.872-04:00Online public opinion leaders and viral marketers.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1106175530710060312005-01-19T17:55:00.000-05:002005-01-19T17:58:50.710-05:00

The E-fluentials Blog Has Moved! Dear Readers, Our new location is http://blog.efluentials.com. Please follow this link if you would like to read on about our thoughts on online public opinion leaders and viral marketing. Thank you for your interest, E-fluentials Team

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1105558076087350842005-01-12T14:11:00.000-05:002005-01-12T14:35:00.516-05:00

E-FLUENTIALS ARE OPINION LEADERS, NOT STEALTH MARKETERS There is a lot of energy in the industry to define and distinguish between terms such as word-of-mouth, viral, buzz and stealth marketing. This is a large task and will require plenty of discussion among marketers, organizations, companies. But in the meantime, we would like to clarify that e-fluentials, online influencers that

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1105112021209805612005-01-07T10:24:00.000-05:002005-01-07T10:33:41.210-05:00

CARTOONS FOR BUSINESS Online games and cartoons have some of the most desired Web-content traits. They are memorable, they are easy to pass along and they are engaging. The city of Peterborough has been using an online cartoon episode to get online audiences to think about what it means to choose a location for a business. Online gamers who go to www.thinkcarefully.com can visit

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1104965395290173012005-01-05T17:47:00.000-05:002005-01-05T17:49:55.290-05:00

VIRAL CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR? Numerous organizations are polling marketers to name the viral marketing campaign of the year. Any suggestions?

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1103037395191534122004-12-14T09:59:00.000-05:002004-12-14T10:16:35.193-05:00

BLOGS ARE AGENTS OF TRANSPARENCY Is it possible to turn blogs into marketing platforms with banner ads, corporate references and latest business updates? I don't think it's that straight-forward. Companies need to earn the respect of free-spirited blog writers who think, speak and write off-the-cuff. Blogs are not the typical push or pull media. They are the new stakeholder relations platform.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1102293952755463772004-12-05T19:39:00.000-05:002004-12-05T19:45:52.756-05:00

Anyone who is interested in word-of-mouth marketing would enjoy reading about BzzAgents in this week's (12/04/04) New York Times magazine. The cover article is about a small Boston company that engages volunteer word-of-mouth agents in product evaluations. The "agents" profiled in the article give insights about the e-fluentials we've been talking about as well. These folks have an urge to be in

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1101155951307780332004-11-22T15:20:00.000-05:002004-11-22T15:39:11.306-05:00

AGENT-BASED MODELS - SET & WATCH WOM IN ACTION Recently I had the pleasure of corresponding with Dr. Kerimcan Ozcan who is affiliated with the University of Michigan and has done quite a bit of work on how word-0f-mouth spreads through consumer networks. His Web site is a good place to start if you want to get familiar with basic social-networks terminology. Ozcan and his colleagues have run

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1100278431384744262004-11-12T11:44:00.000-05:002004-11-12T11:53:51.383-05:00

INCENTIVES - YES or NO? Just recently, I attended meetings for WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) and VBMA (Viral and Buzz Marketing Association). Both groups are led by smart people who want to strike a healthy balance between consumer initiative and marketer intervention when launching a viral campaign. Ethics is definitely a hot agenda item. How do we involve youth in viral marketing

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1099578470090292052004-11-04T09:19:00.000-05:002004-11-04T09:27:50.090-05:00

MEDIA FOR PUBLIC OPINION LEADERS Driven by a quest to find out the most intricate details about their interest areas, online opinion leaders consume heavier doses of media than the average person. They browse for longer hours and they read more newspapers and magazines. Online opinion leaders' infomation-seeking tendencies give PR practicioners plenty of opportunities to reach them through

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1098827578629081032004-10-26T17:21:00.000-04:002004-10-26T17:52:58.630-04:00

TELL-A-FRIEND Let's think of a scenario: Your company just developed a new product or service. You would like to share the good news with your stakeholders, so you asked your communications department and the media experts at the PR agency to issue a press release and call around. But have you thought about adding a viral component to this activity? There are low-cost, in-house solutions that

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1098394808671497112004-10-21T17:17:00.000-04:002004-10-21T17:40:08.670-04:00

Who Are Your Influencers? A colleague was asking today about how to recruit e-fluentials and solicit their support, if you are not sure who your target audience members are...Here is how we can approach this problem: Step 1: Think of several audience groups who would find your products/services appealing. These groups can be movie aficionados, conference attendees, people who donate their time

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1097678746636889562004-10-13T09:56:00.000-04:002004-10-13T10:47:17.966-04:00

EXECUTIVE BLOGGING Blogs are enabling C-suite executives to create their own "thought-of-the-day" sections online. Jupiter Media's Alan Meckler was among the forerunners in this area. Dallas Maverick's Mark Cuban drew attention to his blog with his candid remarks on the business. Sun's President Jonathan Schwartz is among the technology executives who have embraced the medium. C-suite bloggers

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1097164988579351102004-10-07T11:49:00.000-04:002004-10-07T12:03:08.580-04:00

RESPONDING TO ONLINE RUMORS Do you check your resources when you get an e-mail from a friend telling you to be careful about using a product? Where do you go? Which source do you trust? Wouldn't your friend know best? Most online influencers double-check the facts before they pass along hearsay information, but online rumors are hard to prevent from spreading - they can add to the buzz. When

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1097069587581412332004-10-06T09:15:00.000-04:002004-10-06T09:36:35.290-04:00

MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF VIRAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS One of the first assignments on the new season of Apprentice involves setting up a viral marketing campaign for a new toothpaste brand. Teams are judged on performance, event and budget management. But what about measurement? How do we know what sort of awareness the viral marketing campaigns produced? How far did the messages travel? The

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1096552656539553762004-09-30T09:50:00.000-04:002004-09-30T09:57:36.540-04:00

VIRAL MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) in the U.S. and Viral and Buzz Marketing Association (VBMA) in Europe provide great networking and learning opportunities to professionals working on viral marketing projects. VBMA also hosts an online forum called the "cognitive dissidents index". Click here to register (free) and start talking to other buzz marketers.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1096381910039478392004-09-28T09:36:00.000-04:002004-09-28T10:31:50.040-04:00

USER GENERATED MEDIA Personal Web sites, discussion board comments, digital clips were the first signs of the user-generated media trend. We have all heard the term new media too many times. But alternative media, content generated by opinion leaders online, is changing the information landscape as we know it. Blogs are the becoming increasingly recognized as the ultimate user-generated media

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1096321064160331552004-09-27T15:44:00.000-04:002004-09-27T17:37:44.160-04:00

This weekend's NYT Magazine article "Fear and Laptops on the Campaign Trail" draws attention to the changing landscape of political journalism. Bloggers are recording, reporting and spreading the news as events unfold, right on the spot. Political blogs have been getting a lot of attention because of the upcoming elections, but the blogging phenomenon is not restricted to the political arena.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1095964077239094132004-09-23T14:22:00.000-04:002004-09-23T14:27:57.240-04:00

A recent Advertising Age article says that there are up to eight million blogs on the Web and some 14 to 20 million people read blogs. All the more reason for marketers to take their stakeholders' pulse online and read what bloggers are saying about their brands.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1095703287982078092004-09-20T13:43:00.000-04:002004-09-20T14:01:27.983-04:00

Online influentials will pass along information that is interesting, pertinent and novel. Besides identifying the audience, matching the right interest group with the right content is key to the success of word-of-mouth programs involving online influentials. Catchy, sticky content... Some call it "spreadable" content. What if your content is dense with industry terms, too technical or not so

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1092318598622448342004-08-12T09:45:00.000-04:002004-08-12T09:49:58.623-04:00

Our definition of e-fluentials refers to an elite group of tech-savvy, information-hungry Internet users. They constitute about 10% of the U.S. adult Internet population. But any stakeholder who makes the effort to write to a company Web site should be consider some kind of e-fluential. These outspoken individuals can take the company response and spread the word among their peer networks. A

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1091541530341258462004-08-03T09:55:00.000-04:002004-08-03T10:00:32.540-04:00

We always get the same question: How do you identify the e-fluentials? Who are these people? The answer is simple: We ask Internet users a few, basic questions about their online communication habits. How frequently do they make friends or business contacts online? How often do they use discussion boards or chat rooms? How often do they write back to company Web sites? After gathering results to

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1090940452361545222004-07-27T10:56:00.000-04:002004-07-27T11:12:47.586-04:00

A panel study done among e-fluentials shows that these opinion leaders frequently visit company Web sites, but they do not find them very credible. What can companies do to boost their Web sites' credibility? Posting scientifically sound research, announcing partnerships with reputable non-profit organizations, or hosting live discussions with experts are some options...

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-1090858367743975562004-07-26T12:09:00.000-04:002004-07-26T12:12:47.743-04:00

E-fluentials frequently check company Web sites to get information about brands, products, services and executives. Companies must have up-to-date information easily accessible to these powerful online stakeholders. It is also important to respond to questions e-fluentials submit to company Web sites in a timely manner. Once informed, e-fluentials can become issue/brand advocates.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-779879872002-06-20T13:58:00.000-04:002002-07-01T13:14:10.000-04:00

The e-fluentials team members: Leslie Gaines-Ross Idil Cakim Sarah Dietz

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3587534.post-779867822002-06-20T13:28:00.000-04:002002-06-20T13:39:15.000-04:00

Welcome to our e-fluentials page! We have created this area to share our knowledge of online public opinion leaders. Visit our Web site! Find out if you have what it takes to influence others online. Take this quiz. Have something to share on this topic? Let us know about any viral marketing cases you think would be good to share with the blog community.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15261595703329630029noreply@blogger.com0