Key social influencers appear to follow a four-step path to sharing information about products and services with friends and colleagues, according to a new report to be released next month from Innovision and StartSampling.

The report, a research study of Social Persuaders and Influencers (or SPIs), says those influential consumers make up 10 percent of the population and influence the other 90 percent, writes MediaPost (via MediaBuyerPlanner).

According to the report, social influencers follow a word-of-mouth process that consists of awareness, research, personal experience and recommendation.

The SPI profile is based on universal characteristics and behavioral traits of consumers that are measured by three criteria: size of social network, persuasive power and propensity to share product or service information.