Role of influencers in the awareness, consideration and action phase of the consumer

The Fluent razorfish digital influence marketing survey can't let go of the funnel metaphor for marketing, but their analysis of the different phases of the consumers and the role of influencers in these phases is interesting:

• Key influencers in specific fields have an outsized influence on brand affinity and purchasing decisions on social platforms. Key influencers typically have their own blogs, huge Twitter followings and rarely know their audiences personally.
• Social influencers are everyday people who participate in social platforms. These users are typically in your consumer’s social graph and influence brand affinity and purchasing decisions through consumer reviews, by updating their own status and Twitter feeds and commenting on blogs and forums. In some cases the consumer knows the social influencers personally.
• Known peer influencers are the closest to both the purchasing decision and to the consumer. They are typically family mem- bers, or part of the consumer’s inner circle. They influence the purchasing decision most directly and have to live with the results of their family member or friend’s decision as well.

Further reading:

• The Fluent razorfish digital influence @ slideshare.net