A Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Marketing Plan Establishes Word-Of-Mouth Credibility

Ninety-two percent of the consumers interviewed by Nielson claim they trust word-of-mouth advertising more than commercial ads. Seventy-two percent of those consumers say word-of-mouth information played a key role in their buying decisions. And here’s the big news. Almost all Millennials trust word-of-mouth recommendations over commercial ads.

Companies with hundreds of employees and companies with a small group of employees know advertising products through the old established advertising channels are not as effective as they were three decades ago.

A key opinion leader (KOL) marketing and advertising plan is the new way to get products in front of consumers. A KOL is a well-established member of a specific community who displays credibility in a specific field of endeavor. KOL’s have a strong, unshakable consumer following in their specific field of endeavor.

What Does A Key Opinion Leader Actually Do To Increase Business

Key opinion leaders don’t make a living influencing consumers. KOL’s usually work in their field of expertise. Opinion leaders have pertinent industry knowledge, and their trustworthiness is off the charts. Consumers listen to KOL’s not because of their follower count, but because they represent authority in a specific field. Healthcare professions, big pharma, clinical trials, and the life science sector use KOL’s effectively. Big pharma partners with doctors who act like KOL’s in the medical world to promote new drugs.

Key opinion leaders and influencers are two different breeds of influencers. Influencers like celebrities, bloggers, and social media stars promote products to make money. KOL’s actually influence the influencers because they have authenticity, power, and credibility. Plus, they give companies a chance to reach their target consumer without spending a fortune on commercial advertising.

Listening to high-impact recommendations from people who have credibility in a specific industry does have its rewards. Low-impact recommendations from a person doing an online interview don’t produce the expected results because the trust factor and the credibility factor don’t exist. But using a KOL and influencer word-of-mouth marketing strategy can produce as much as 10 times more in sales than paid media advertising.

 A 10% increase in word-of-mouth advertising can produce as much as a 1.5% increase in product sales, according to KOL marketing experts. Plus, the return on investment amounts to $6.50 for every dollar spent on KOL and influencer word-of-mouth marketing.

How Do Companies Find The Right KOL?

In order to start a KOL word-of-mouth marketing plan, company executives have to identify the opinion leader that fits their image. Executives have to research social media hype and dig into the popular industry hashtags on social media sites.

Company executives who want to find the right KOL should check out their websites and blogs as well as make note of the accounts they follow on several social media sites. In other words, research is the key to finding a KOL that will give companies the attention and the expertise needed to influence sales.

NetBase Quid Supplies It Clients With An Analysis Of KOL Marketing

NetBase, a successful social media analyzer, decided to add another layer of expertise in order to gather consumer information when it merged with Quid. Quid is a dominant player in text analytics. Social media plays an important role in KOL marketing, so the use of Quid’s artificial intelligence is a key factor in developing a strong word-of-mouth KOL lead marketing plan.

NetBase Quid gives clients product and consumer reviews, social media posts, news articles, business filings, and patent applications. That information helps companies understand how to use their key opinion leader the right way.