How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 42

influence. Influence, however, only occurs if that engagement
leads to a change in attitudes, opinions, beliefs and behavior.
Influence, Popularity and Celebrity Confusion
There also seems to be some confusion about the difference
between influence, popularity and celebrity. Although related,
and in some cases overlapping, they are three distinct concepts.
In my opinion, at least some of the confusion stems from Klout
and other influencer tools that seem to measure popularity but
call it influence. So what is the difference?
Popularity is the state of being popular – widely admired,
accepted or sought after.
Celebrity is a famous person, renown and fame.
If popularity is about being well-liked and celebrity is about
being well-known, influence is more about being wellrespected, with associations like knowledge, persuasion and
trust. Some of the confusion lies in the fact that some celebrities
do have influence over the types of behaviors that make the
cash register ring. Oprah comes to mind. Other celebrities,
while very popular, don’t really have the ability to create
meaningful influence. They can get content re-tweeted
(WINNING!) but do they have any influence over the types of
actions brands really value?
Keeping Online Influence in Perspective
As we discuss the intricacies of digital influence we should also
keep in mind the majority of influence occurs in the analog
world. I’ve seen estimates ranging from 70 – 90% of influence
occurring by offline WOM. It’s personal. It’s about real family
and friends and not Twitter friends. Influence is about a
relatively small number of people (Dunbar’s Number suggests
humans have a finite cognitive capacity to have around 150
social relationships with other humans), and not mass influence.
The fact that most influence happens offline presents another
significant measurement challenge.
43