Key Opinion Leaders: A Brand with A Face


In an age where it is difficult to hold the audience’s attention for very long, Key Opinion Leaders Marketing is one of the strategies that marketers use to amplify their brand’s exposure, brand message and overall credibility. By definition, a KOL is a person who gives their professional opinion or recommendation of a certain topic, usually related to the product being offered by the brand. Most of the time they do such a great job of promoting the brand and their values that they become the brand ambassador or spokesperson of the brand.
People often assume that influencers and Key Opinion Leaders are the same thing, when actually there is a fine line that differentiates the two. KOL’s can influence people to buy products because of their expertise on the recommendation. While influencers, though they possess levels of persuasiveness to a certain extent, they are not always regarded as experts on the topic unless chosen right.
So why do brands need to use KOLs?
Imagine having to choose between two types of ice cream stores, when you are about to go into  the one in the corner with the colorful windows and eye-catching flyers, your friend (a self-certified ice cream connoisseur) tells you to try the other one because they taste better and has less sugar than the colorful windowed one. Which one would you be more inclined to buy from?
According to a study done by Hashoff,  82% of consumers would be convinced to buy a product if the influencer they follow recommends it. It is easier to persuade people when the message is coming from a well-known public figure who embodies the brand through their values, personality, and expertise. One KOL success story is how Tencent, a leading Chinese market-leading business used two very different KOLs; an 18-year old pop singer named Karry Wang and renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. To promote their latest campaign called “Next Idea”, Tencent set up a social media conversation through pre-recorded video of Karry Wang asking Stephen Hawking a question about the future of humanity. The videos became the #1 trending topic and had 30 million views and two million shares.
But why do KOLs have such an impact on the public?
Because the presence of a KOL adds a human touch to the mix which serves a significant amount of persuasive power. When people think of the brand, the image of a familiar face pops up in their minds, not just the product itself. Just like having a dentist state the following benefits for buying a certain kind of toothpaste brand causes greater impact to the consumer than reading the same set of facts  on the toothpaste company’s website.
Another benefit is the authenticity and trust that comes with KOLs. Making them feel more genuine and real for the consumers. But KOLs need to be used wisely in order to have the desired impact. Companies need to find the right KOL with the right values and expertise and if they are an influencer, the right kind of following to implement the right kind of message to the audience. This is where KOLs differentiate themselves from influencers; while influencers rely on popularity and personality and are good for exposure and getting more new potential consumers to buy the product, KOLs are able to give them something much more valuable than exposure: trust. Because people trust what KOLs have to say about a certain brand -especially if it is related to their area of expertise. KOL Marketing is cheaper and more effective than advertising and other forms of marketing; this is because most KOLs already have a specific type of following they appeal to, drawing in an even larger audience and gaining awareness like never before.
The year 2019 has already been predicted to be the year of influencers and KOLs, with the massive flux of emerging public figures and influencers on various social media platforms that has shown no signs of slowing down. Therefore, companies should invest in a KOL strategy to set their brand apart, by choosing the right people to represent and recommend their brand to take them to the next level of customer brand awareness.

Trisha Dantiani(1806174616)

References:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2018/01/13/if-kols-arent-part-of-your-marketing-strategy-you-need-to-read-this/#7e7cad9e51a6
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/key-opinion-leaders
https://influencermarketinghub.com/key-opinion-leaders-what-are-they-and-why-should-you-care/
Hashoff Study: https://www.tribegroup.co/blog/the-stats-driving-influencer-marketing-in-2019? https://influencermarketinghub.com/9-mind-blowing-influencer-marketing-statistics/
http://www.brandnow.asia/key-opinion-leaders/
http://www.perhumas.or.id/?p=3717
 Image: https://www.parklu.com/abcs-chinese-kols-key-opinion-leaders/




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