To help brands navigate the changing digital landscape and manage their online reputation, we’ve mapped over 200 of the UK’s most influential digital commentators.
These are the people who shape the online debate in one way or another, drive media cycles, and force brands to sit up and take notice.
The influence of online commentators has never been greater.
Increasing polarisation and a general shift towards digital media consumption means the influence of online political commentators has never been greater.
The rise of negative discourse brings with it a heightened risk for brands operating in an increasingly polarised world. And online commentators are able to drive the political debate and are having a tangible impact on policy and business decisions.
We’ve mapped the most influential online voices, and measured their impact on the political and media landscape: meet the Spinfluencers.
Some Spinfluencers are more influential than others.
We’ve measured the impact of over 200 Spinfluencers. Hover over the list on the left to see a preview of some of the key names on our list – there might be some unexpected results!
And they each have their own political view.
But they all have one thing in common.
Every single one of them helps drive digital conversations and shape the online debate.
Sometimes with major consequences for brands and politicians.
Explore the results.
This online tool examines the top Spinfluencers and lets you explore the research for yourself. Hover over the circles as you scroll through the report to see how we’ve scored each Spinfluencer and how we measured their influence.
We’ve only pulled out the top 64 here, but you can explore the full list and see our workings in the complete report, available for download.
Measuring influence.
There’s no easy way to define ‘influence’. We used a series of different metrics to calculate our final score out of 100. Scroll down to see how we scored our Spinfluencers based on some key questions:
- Are they popular?
- How much cut-through do they get in mainstream circles?
- Are they political?
- How much impact do they have?
How popular are they?
One – pretty crude – way to measure influence is by looking at the number of followers each influencer has.
If you arrange our Spinfluencers just by looking at their follower counts, the list looks like this.
Popularity is important – but followers aren’t everything…
How much cut-through do they get in mainstream circles?
The next way to measure influence is by looking at their cut-through into the mainstream consciousness. Are our spinfluencers shouting into a void? Or are they speaking to some genuinely influential people?
To give us a snapshot, we measured the number of MPs that followed each influencer and normalised this number to give us a score out of 100.
Are they political?
To truly be a Spinfluencer, you need to be trying to change minds. To spin.
So we measured just how political each influencers’ output was designed to be.
That meant that some of the mainstream journalists were marked down. They report to large audiences but are rarely trying to change minds. Compare that to the output of Nigel Farage or Adam Brooks… They both got 100 out of 100 for this section.
How much impact do they have?
This is the big one. We measured just how impactful each Spinfluencers’ output really is.
To do this, we measured to volume of posts, number of impressions and level of engagement on each post to generate an “Impact Score”.
The rise of the Spinfluencers.
Taken together, these scores add up to give us our final ranking.
Everyone on this list is influential in their own right. They all shape the debate, drive online conversation, and can cause headaches for brands.
So our advice for brands is simple: you need to understand this landscape, listen to the key voices involved in shaping the debate, and make sure you’re set up to react, respond, and engage with issues as they arise.
The good news is: we can help
We can help manage your digital political reputation.
This report will give you the tools to begin your exercise in managing your digital political reputation.
If you want help understanding the digital landscape, access to sector-specific digital insights, or need advice managing your online reputation, please complete the form to download the report and get in touch with our digital reputation experts.