Lady Gaga Captivates While Bono Persuades, Online Influence Survey Shows
When it comes to online clout, style-conscious Lady Gaga is popular, but socially conscious Bono is influential.
That’s one of the conclusions of a new survey about online authority conducted by PR software provider Vocus and new media guru Brian Solis.
Ninety percent of the 739 people surveyed—most of them in North America—perceive a significant difference between “influence” and “popularity.” As one survey respondent put it, “Popularity is an expression of volume, while influence is an expression of value.”
However, the distinction isn’t crystal clear, as 84 percent of respondents (including marketers, PR representatives and social media professionals) say there’s a correlation between “reach” and “influence” on social networks.
So, do both Lady Gaga and Bono enjoy “reach” and “influence” on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networking channels?
“Influence is the next level after popularity,” one survey respondent said. Another chimed in with this: “You can be popular without influence and vice versa.”
Whatever you want to call someone’s stature online, 57 percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay an influencer to help “drive actions and outcomes.” Those at the executive level, such as CEOs and chief marketing officers, are most disposed toward paying for influence (63 percent).
Among those surveyed, the top factors that make a person or brand influential include the “quality or focus of the network” (60 percent), the “quality of content” (55 percent), the “capacity to create measurable outcomes” (55 percent), and the “depth of relationship” a person or brand has with social contacts (40 percent).
“You’re not an influencer unless you drive action. Enthusiasts can have great reach, but not as much impact as an influencer,” one of the survey respondents said.
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