Activating Influentials

Fast Company Now has a must-read transcript from Ed Keller's session at Ad:Tech. Keller is CEO of NOP World Consumer and co-author of The Influentials.

Some highlights...

"When Americans make decisions today, it's a conversation. Marketers need to reach people who start these conversations."

"Certain people are in the center of the conversation, and it's not the top down elite we used to focus on."

"There are three key reasons why the influentials matter. They are leading indicators of consumer trends. They are consumer advocates. And perhaps most importantly, they are market multipliers."

"From a marketing point of view, there's no question that the Web has enabled a lot more conversation to take place."

"Not only can influentials help advocate your brand through word of mouth, they can help indicate new market opportunities, identify new product needs, and position old products. If you listen to the influentials and get them engaged with your products, you will get them involved -- and you will succeed with your products and services."