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When it comes to Social Media there has been tons of talk about those few influencers who are able to spread your message like wild fire. But finding those few influencers has been the proverbial challenge.
Several good books have been written about this topic by some really smart people. But when doing some data mining on my blog using a new tool called SM2 from Techrigy (special thanks to them for helping me get trained on this tool), I noted that the far reaching impact of my blog is found in the proverbial Long Tail. (see graphic below)
What this says is that the conversation about topics on my blog and where they are occurring is coming from the long tail. (Dang it, that Chris Anderson is right again!)
So what I think this means is that exclusively looking for reach with your social media initiatives by targeting a selected few influencers is a flawed concept (sorry Ed Keller from WOMMA). To me this graph says it needs to also contain a component that delivers adoption (i.e. Reach) through the Long Tail of bloggers out there.
The bottom line is Social Media is fluid so you might as well go with the flow!
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Comments
Paul,
Good information. Thanks! I take a different approach to social media. I don't care about reach. I care about reaching the right readers. And that's where I spend my energies.
Posted by: Lewis Green | 08.06.08
Yes it is true -- find your niche and you will succeed.
Posted by: Levon | 08.06.08
Paul, this piece of info confirms my assumption: to reach the top influencers is just a business model for some agencies: I gave you the top bloggers, if it doesn't work, it's not my fault.
And this confirm my business model which is based on scouting the web to find relevant piece of information (quality) and not massive hub (quantity)
Posted by: gianandrea facchini | 08.07.08
I've barely seen the tip of the iceberg that is SM2. I've not had time to delve into its detail, yet your post is convincing me that I should.
I've been scanning a couple of sites I run with it, and have been pleased and puzzled at the same time. A powerful tool that I need to learn more about.
Thanks for showing me one way that data can be used.
-- Brad
Posted by: Brad Grier | 08.07.08
I've always felt the folks who have the greatest impact are those neither in the long neck or the long tail but who are in what Dave Sifry called the "magic middle," the belly of the beast.
Nonetheless, I agree with Lewis. It's not necessarily how many eyeballs read your blog, but who those eyeballs belong to.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | 08.11.08