Influencers: New Tactic or Semantics?

In social media circles, there’s been a lot of talk recently about online influencers — finding and cultivating this relatively new genre of people in hopes of getting them to mention your business or write something favorable about your product.

Here’s my question: Isn’t this what PR professionals have always done, now it just has a catchy Web 2.0 name?

Pre-social media, the influencers included the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and well-read columnists at local papers throughout the country. Beyond traditional media outlets, opinion leaders like leading entrepreneurs, prominent business owners and philanthropists have always been integral to the process. As PR people, we’ve always kept them on our radar screen … searching for common bonds to help us develop, strenghten and maintain strong relationships.

When you get down to it, doesn’t that sound very similar to what we’ve now dubbed “cultivating influencers?”

I have to wonder if part of this new obsession stems from the fact that many social media consultants have backgrounds outside traditional public relations. (And, that’s a good thing — social media is about so much more than just good PR.) But, social media is also about strengthening communication. It’s a game changer, so let’s not get hung up on semantics. Instead, let’s focus on the value these new influencers bring to the table and how they can help level the playing field for small- to medium-size businesses. To kick things off, let’s look at a question from this week’s #journchat:

My initial response:

What’s your take? What “offline” influencers are still important? And who are the new influencers? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Tags: Influence, New Media, Old Media

Comments (1) | Trackback this post