You have probably heard about the term influencer in social media marketing. However, most people do not know about a key opinion leader. While an influencer makes a living from social media and does not have educational experience in the work area, the KOLs are experts in their field of study. Although KOLs do not spend most of their time on social media, they have a significant influence in the work area. In general, KOLs have considerable control in the market than the influencers.
What are the Benefits of Collaborating with KOLs
A key opinion leader has significant influence among his community members. The control comes in because these opinion leaders have vast knowledge, skills, and authority in their specific area. They also have a particular target audience. When you involve KOLs in your market strategy, you are bound to reach more people within the specific target market. Your products and services will also gain the necessary credibility when you use a KOL. The profiles of these opinion leaders play a significant part in the marketing process. The community members already have a favorable opinion towards them, which results in building a relationship based on trust.
Several examples of Key opinion leaders used in marketing campaigns include Academics, doctors, dentists, designers, politicians, professors, and architects. There are several businesses where opinion leaders involve themselves, and this contains professions like pharmaceuticals, healthcare, life sciences, and clinical trials. For example, to advertise a particular brand of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry, most companies will collaborate with doctors or other famous pharmacists, who will work as KOLs.
Difference between KOLs and Influencers
Although KOLs and Influencers may seem similar in terms of the work they do as marketing strategists, they are quite different. First, the Key opinion leaders are experts in their field of study and have experience in their area of specialization. Through this vast experience, KOLs display high credibility, influence, and authenticity when they market brands to community members. On the other hand, influencers do not have the credibility or experience in their marketing area and majorly rely on their social media influence to reach their target audience.
Most people will listen to influencers, not because of their experience in the field, but because of their personality and because they have a significant following on their social media accounts. These influencers dwell on content creation, and through these creations, they can market in specific fields such as travel and lifestyle, beauty, fitness, and fashion.
Therefore, brands will work with influencers to gain their vast followers while working with KOLs because of their credibility. Another significant difference between KOLs and influencers is that KOLs do not rely on marketing brands as a primary source of income, because most of them have a full-time job in their area of specialization.
How can brands reach out to KOLs?
When reaching out to Key opinion leaders, you need to realize that they are generally busy people, and your message has to be engaging for you to get their attention. Once they get back to you through email or phone, you need to build a strong relationship with them. You need to ensure they are as invested in your brand as you are. Remember, if these KOLs do not get back to you as soon as you would expect, you can use a different mode of communication such as LinkedIn or Twitter.
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