The magic of influence – part 2
Yesterday I started to write about the magic of influence.
A short recap of the ladder of influence.
The first step was normal everyday guys, the next step someone you know and the third step was an expert.
The next step in the ladder is the celebrity. A celebrity is a person everyone knows. If a celebrity says he prefers widget a instead of widget b he has even more influence than an expert. This is probably the main reason you see so many celebrities used in promotions. It is tempting to dismiss this but it has been proven in many a/b tests both in direct marketing and internet marketing. You do not appoint yourself a celebrity but generally appointed by media. Note that you can be a celebrity in one niche but a total nobody in another.
The final level and the person with the most influence is a celebrity expert. This would be for example Tiger Woods promoting a golf club. He is a golf expert and he is a celebrity.
So what are the practical implications on internet marketing?
The number one point to note is that you can quite easily climb from the first to the third step on the ladder. Instead of trying to get people to sell people right away, try to be their friend and get to know them. Once you know them you will have a much easier task selling. You should also appoint yourself an expert in your subject matter. Write about the subject, give value, be an expert. Write reports, write a book.
It is easy to get locked into the thinking that you are not an expert because there are people better than you. There are always going to be someone better than you. The only thing that really matters is how much you know in relation to someone else. If the gap is large enough you are an expert to them.
When you are a buyer it is also good to know about the ladder of influence. Are you spending too much money buying internet marketing reports?
Finally here is a quote from Dan Kennedy “Be the Wizard; Beware of the wizard”.
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ok, this makes perfect sense and is affecting my everyday life for sure. Good point on the definition of expert. It is all relative.
Ooe interseting observation (”spaning” in swedish;-)) is that level 4 and 5 are rarely seen in internet marketing. I think this is because this channel is not yet elevated into the fine room like TV, magazines and movies.
This WILL change soon is my guess.