Exercises

(1) Think about every one of your family members, friends, or acquaintances. Could you identify the people who act as opinion leaders, product innovators, and market mavens? Describe what each person does. Give a specific case when this person had some influence on other people’s decisionmaking. Share you observations with the class.

(2) Think about some goods and services that you have purchased recently. Did word-of-mouth communication influence your purchases? To what extent?

(3) Students in groups are assigned with the task of forming or joining a brand community. Decide upon a brand that none of the group members would actually use. Then, search information of the brand widely and post positive comments of the brand among group members. It can be achieved on a message board （贴吧）, an online chat room or a Wechat group. After having done this for a set period, group members can discuss how they feel about the brand. Have you purchased any product of the brand or not, do you feel more “loyal”? Have positive attitudes been developed among group members? Do they find themselves engaging in WOM outside the group? Present your findings to the class.

(4) Describe how opinion leaders can be formed and found on the Internet. Analyze and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of using opinion leaders on the Internet. How would this form of opinion leadership be different from any other form of opinion leadership (if at all)? QZ4Bo71ezHK/SXRybM4/TAIjahjraOt41OttTNsC7suZ1vgKxAbg0/ZIFbBTAkBi