The Pioneer Strategist -- September 2006

"The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All

men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity.

But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself,

and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world.

The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

PR Blog Topics

Recent entries posted on our blog, Public Relations Insights, include:

• Sept. 2 -- MySpace.com and the PR Principle of Collateral Damage

• Aug. 30 -- The Importance of Precise Communication

• Aug. 29 -- New Wal-Mart Ads Designed to Shape (or Reshape) Public Perception

• Aug. 25 -- When Bad News Hits Your Business

• Aug. 7 -- Of Terminix & Bugs...

• Aug. 2 -- Municipality Faces Challenges of Managing Perception

Opinion Leaders

by Frank Williams, President

In layman's terms, an opinion leader is someone who is respected by and influences the opinions of others. 

If you have ever been a member or leader in a volunteer organization, you have likely seen the concept of opinion leadership in action.  Someone presents an idea to the group, and a significant portion of the membership looks to a few individuals -- or perhaps only one individual -- for guidance.  It is interesting to note that, in many cases, opinion leaders are not the people who hold the formal positions of leadership.  While opinion leaders may not hold a title, they have the respect of others in the group.  It is equally important to understand that the true opinion leaders in an organization may not draw attention to themselves -- the burden is on you to identify and reach out to them. 

The bottom line is this:  If you want to get something done within the organization, it is wise to get the opinion leaders on board from the outset. 

How does the concept of opinion leadership apply to your Public Relations program?

Let's assume you are involved with an organization that is raising funds for a charitable cause.  To date, the vast majority of your fundraising efforts have been conducted in the city where you are based.  Now, you need to reach out to other cities across the state and expand your fundraising efforts into those areas.  In order to effectively accomplish your fundraising goals, you must overcome a key obstacle:  your organization is not well known in those cities.  People are unlikely to donate large sums of money to an organization about which they know little.  Consequently, if you are to enlist major donors in those cities, you must first build credibility with them.

Opinion leaders can play a key role in building the credibility you need to be successful in these previously uncharted waters.  The first step is to identify one or more key community leaders in the towns where you need to raise money.  These should be leaders who are well known and respected by the people whose support you need to accomplish your goals.  In a nutshell, these should be people whose public support of your organization would provide you with credibility among your significant publics. 

Once you have identified the key opinion leaders whose support you need, you should take steps to enlist their support.  First, you have to build credibility and trust with them.  They need to know that your organization is a legitimate one, that the funds you raise will be used appropriately and that their reputation will not be tarnished by lending their name to your effort.  It is important to understand that it may take time to build this level of trust.  Further, you must understand that the person whose support you are seeking likely receives a large number of such requests; you must find a way to separate your organization from the pack.

Once you have enlisted the support of key opinion leaders, you must leverage their support to build your organization's credibility among your significant publics:  in this case, potential donors.  The ideal way to leverage their support would be to enlist them to personally contact other key donors and ask them to contribute to your cause.  If they are unwilling or unable to help in this way, you could ask them to serve as an honorary chairman of your event.  In this capacity, you could feature them on fundraising solicitations, invitations and in press releases.  Regardless of the method you choose, the key is to leverage the opinion leader's support of your efforts to build credibility and good will among others who respect the opinion leader and trust his or her judgment.

By definition, opinion leaders have credibility among their peers.  If they didn't, they would not be opinion leaders.  If you can effectively enlist opinion leaders in your cause, you can transfer their credibility to your organization. 

Pioneer Strategies' president, Frank Williams, has been elected president of the Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS).  Founded in 1959, RPRS is an organization for public relations professionals in the Raleigh area.  RPRS hosts professional development opportunities, including monthly meetings held on the second Tuesday of each month, monthly socials and an annual awards banquet.  For more information, visit www.rprs.org.

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