Opinion leadership comes from the theory of two-step flow of communication propounded by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz.
[1] Significant developers of the opinion leader concept have been Robert K. Merton, C. Wright Mills and Bernard Berelson.
Opinion leaders play an important role in information flow, because people tend to seek advice from others in the social environment.
Opinion leaders have certain characteristics that make them influential in the decision-making process and the behavior of the public.
[4] Dedicated supporters reinforce the leader’s messaging to other media consumers, strengthening their influence.
[16] They can compensate by creating a controllable network of followers to interact with and gain recognition from in a social context.
[20] In relation to their followers, opinion leaders maintain a particular degree of separation in terms of socio-economic status.
According to Gershon Feder and Sara Savastano, it is not effective for leaders to be a part of the same socio-economic status as followers.
[22] In a strategic attempt to engage the public in environmental issues and his nonprofit, The Climate Project, Al Gore used the concept of opinion leaders.
Gore found opinion leaders by recruiting individuals who were educated on environmental issues and saw themselves as influential in their community and amongst their friends and family.