Tag: influence

There is so much talk on influencer marketing that at long last, they have a point, and in most effective marketing strategies, there is a new category that has to be integral to the overall tactical marketing outcomes of a business.

Of the Oscar nominated films I have watched so far – and I have watched a few – Whiplash has been my favourite. Putting aside the amazing performance by JK Simmons and the incredible score, it got me thinking about how far people are willing to go to get the best out of themselves and others. 

How far do you push? Is your best good enough or do you strive for better, for more or even to be the best? 

In Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point, he popularised the theory of The Two-Step Flow of Communication (Lazarsfeld & Katz, 1955)¹ by explaining how innovation and information is spread in a two-step flow, from mass media to influencers - and then onto the masses via the influencers. Gladwell renamed this theory ‘The Law of The Few’ and colourfully reworded it as, "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts (the ability to influence others)".² If you can overlook the blatant plagiarism, Gladwell must be congratulated for bringing the principles of the original theory back into the mainstream almost 50 years after its original publication, at a time when understanding influencers is more important than ever (if you're in marketing or politics).

OMG. I cannot believe my luck! In the past few days I have had the opportunity to watch and listen to Michael Morgan – also known as Sales Guru, The Man That Wakes Up An Organisation, The Influencer, The Communicator.