In my last set of posts I discussed developing a graph/network representation of the entities that act within a community and the relationships between and among those entities. The objective, though, is to understand the different influences exerted by key individuals within the network and employ that knowledge in communicating a message (such as “buy my product!”) across that network.

I have been using the roles described in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, namely the maven, the connector and the salesman. Each of these individuals can influence others in some way, and if you can strategically communicate your message to the right individual at the right time, you can exploit those spheres of influence. The maven may be linked to many others seeking his/her special knowledge; providing that individual with some inside scoops about your upcoming products is one way to broadcast those new features. Engaging the connector in a positive way will help in efficiently spreading the message quickly. Lastly, the salesman can be engaged to advocate on behalf of the company to influence others to actually commit to purchasing the product.

The sphere of influence and the strength of that influence should be reflected in the social network model, and that highlights the importance of the different graph measures. In upcoming posts we’ll look at some of those measures in greater detail as well as how they can be used as part of a influence strategy.