Examining Characteristics of Opinion Leaders in Social Media: A Motivational Approach

Abstract

Social networking sites offer various opportunities to express opinions on politics and public affairs and to disseminate information to a large circle of acquaintances. The present research aims to identify the characteristics of people who consider themselves as opinion leaders on these new channels, the features they use in order to influence others, and the psychological motives they pursue. A survey ( N = 527) among Facebook users identified political interest and personality strength as significant predictors of perceived Facebook opinion leadership, while the influence of extraversion was not significant. Those who write private messages on political debates do this in order to raise awareness of specific topics, while opinion expression in public status updates is also strongly connected to self-presentational goals (impression motivation). Moreover, the motives of presenting oneself positively and convincing others are particularly important for people with high personality strength. The present findings extend previous knowledge by redefining the concept of opinion leadership in new media environments and describing motivational links between individuals’ predispositions and their activities to influence others’ opinions. On a practical level, the pronounced role of self-presentational motives is likely to have important implications for the dynamics of public debates in social media.

Opinion Climates in Social Media: Blending Mass and Interpersonal Communication

“…The underlying assumption is that the technical ease of expressing oneself fosters people's propensity to become opinion leaders. When focusing on opinion leadership on social media, findings revealed that users' extraversion—a pivotal characteristic of offline opinion leaders (Gnambs & Batinic, )—is not associated with the tendency to express oneself politically on social networking platforms (Winter & Neubaum, ). This finding suggests that for those who are highly politically interested or committed to a public issue but do not have the communicative skills or extraversion to supply opinions/information to others offline, social media technologies offer new opportunities to express themselves publicly.…”

A Sentiment and Content Analysis of Twitter Content Regarding the use of Antibiotics in Livestock

“…This study also found the number of friends on Facebook could significantly predict opinion leadership. That is, individuals with a greater number of Facebook friends were more likely to share their opinion regarding a topic (Winter & Neubaum, 2016). The same can be said for Twitter.…”

“…As the followers seek information regarding a topic from those whom they deem as competent and trustworthy, the opinions, knowledge, and beliefs of the opinion leaders are communicated to the followers and ultimately influence the opinion of the followers (Rogers, 2003). Winter and Neubaum (2016) found individuals on social media with high personality strength and high levels of political interest were the ones who try to influence others on social media. This study also found the number of friends on Facebook could significantly predict opinion leadership.…”

“…Traditionally, the opinion leader pays close attention to issues reported in the media, discusses these issues, and views themselves as more inclined to persuade others to adopt an opinion or make an action (Lazersfeld, Katz, & Gaudet, 1948). Although opinion leadership was conceptualized as the two-step flow of communication from the media to the opinion leaders and then the opinion leaders to their acquaintances generally through face-to-face interaction, the social media landscape is now a platform for opinion leaders to transfer information and opinions to their audiences (Winter & Neubaum, 2016).…”

Quem Lidera sua Opinião? Influência dos Formadores de Opinião Digitais no Engajamento

“…Nas redes sociais virtuais, formadores de opinião são, segundo a pesquisa realizada por Lyons e Henderson (2005), indivíduos que fazem parte do grupo de adotantes imediatos no ciclo de vida de produtos, apresentam envolvimento duradouro com produtos ao longo do tempo e níveis elevados de capacidade de inovação, curiosidade e tendência à exploração. As pesquisas sobre formadores de opinião nas redes sociais são recentes e se restringem à influência como forma de persuasão política (Weeks, Ardèvol-Abreu, & Zúñiga, 2015;Winter & Neubaum, 2016). Nesse sentido, um esforço de pesquisa que mensure a influência do endosso dos formadores de opinião digitais em métricas de engajamento merece espaço na produção científica sobre o assunto.…”