From Flickr:
“It’s not all about numbers. Social Influence is about reach (number of people an influencer can easily activate a channel to), but there’s also another fundamental aspect: affinity. Affinity represents the impact an influencer can make on the audience and it’s defined by strong interpersonal ties.”
Excellent post, I have long observed that the success of advertising is not based on frequency & reach (old style metrics), but on proximity, the number of steps (the fewer the better) from Impression to buying Action. Adding Affinity to that equation speaks to the stength of a buyer’s motivation to act.
Some great words, Mark.
Am i getting this right that this basically says ‘a message given to you by someone you trust or have a bond with is more likely to be passed forward’?
Do we really think this can be influenced?
Sure R&F isn’t a silver bullet when it comes to success but it does have a fair wad of science that pegs it back to awareness-consideration-intent which can give it a ROI model. Be careful to not dismiss broadcast advertising as if we’re honest and not trying to sell most of us know it’s not as black and white as being about spray and pray. There’s more to it.
I reckon we need less powerpoint builds, more solid return modeling.
Hey Ben,
I believe it’s demonstrating some of the differences in influence between reach and affinity.
Broadcast messages have proven results, so I’d never begin to dismiss them.
Our ROI modeling is becoming more sophisticated as we work with more clients, based on some careful analysis.
Oh snap – wish I had read this before I posted much the same sentiment over on my blog
Seriously though, there has been way too much focus on weak ties for my liking over the last decade and not enough promotion of the depth of relationships forged.
I have a post on this exact topic in the pipeline that gets all academic on yo’ ass.
Nice one mate