Opinion Leadership - Product-Related Characteristics

Research focused on interpersonal influence consistently finds "interest, media exposure, and competence to be positively associated with opinion leadership" (25, p. 178). Opinion leaders typically display certain product-related characteristics. They usually are (1, p. 433):

More knowledgeable about the product category,
More involved in the product category,
More active in receiving communications about the product from personal resources, and
More likely to read magazines and other print media relevant to their area of product interest.

Opinion leaders are better informed in the areas about which they are typically consulted (2, p. 97). Empirical studies indicate opinion leaders have greater exposure to mass media, or external communication, than their followers (21, p. 293) and thus are more cosmopolite (21, p. 27). They listen more, read more, and view more media - relevant to a specific domain - than their followers (2, p. 169).

Another consideration addressed by Mark Levy's research is the quality of media exposure versus the quantity. Previous studies left unexamined the possibility that the "quality of media-person interactions will differ for opinion leaders and nonleaders." Levy's research, directed at studying public affairs opinion leadership and television news uses, acknowledged the importance of uses and gratifications associated with media exposure - specifically television news (15, p. 402). He found that even though public affairs opinion leaders and nonleaders had similar rates of exposure to television news, the opinion leaders used the TV news exposure, along with other information sources, for cognitive orientation. Levy speculated that whatever information nonleaders did acquire had only limited meaning or relevance in their lives. Whereas news which met both the cognitive and personal needs of an opinion leader could be used by them to interpret and reinterpret public events for others (15, p. 405).

Moreover, opinion leaders are often the first to buy new products, thus reducing the risk of uncertainty for others. For this reason, opinion leaders who are also early adopters of new products, have been termed innovative communicators (24, p. 355). Although opinion leaders are often among early adopters, the overlap is far from being complete. Interchangeability between the terms should therefore be avoided (27, p. 76).