I can Relate to That!

Why is online social space growing at such an exponential rate? Yeah it's viral and we all know how quick a virus spreads, but is that why sites like Facebook have profiles for a third of the Canadian population? Social networks have become an extension of lifestyle. They're not a fad, they're a part of how people socialize. Social networks are the new online landscape for social interaction. And like any place where people congregate, it presents an opportunity for Marketers to capture the attention of an audience. How they achieve this will no doubt completely change the future of communication much like the cell phone or the Internet.

Marketers are struggling to define social media and networking. What it means to their business and how they can use it to expand on their marketing strategy. Few have yet to determine why they should use it. Some think it's a PR tool, others believe it's another advertising medium. All know it has the potential to become a powerful influencer.

What Marketers seem to be having a difficult time realizing is that social networks are not another busy street corner where they can hang a billboard. They're much more personal. In order to successfully connect in this space Marketers have to be honest and sometimes they have to get naked in order for others to determine if they want to get involved. It's difficult because who wants to expose themselves on a street corner with 8 million people watching, you have to be pretty confident.

Entering the social media space is really no different than any other type of relationship, you have to be prepared to take risks and put yourself out there for all to see. You can't control the environment so you have to be prepared for criticism and rejection, it's a part of life . But, as with any relationship, when you find the right one it will lead to valuable insight and emotional connection.

When you put this in the context of a brand, Marketers have been building brand relationships for years by telling stories and influencing perception. But its always been a one-way conversation. Brands have personalities, character and emote. These qualities are often contrived based how the brand sees itself or how it wants to be perceived by others. We all have ideas on who we really are or how we would like to others to see us. But, there is sometimes a reality that gets overlooked. We aspire to be something that is beyond the scope of our abilities. Brands are no different, but now with the help of social media, there is opportunity to discover more of the unknown. To reach out and ask people if they see things in the same way. To test ideas, challenge perceptions, influence misconceptions and change opinions. The whole playing field for brand research has been changed. Marketers no longer have to assume that the voice of a select few represents the whole, they can ask the whole and listen for the common thread. When they are implementing change they can engage their core audience with a minimal investment and get honest, real reactions from a community of individuals who share a relationship with the brand.

Social media is creating a huge opportunity for change. Those who embrace it now and determine how to leverage its incredible power will be at the forefront of marketing in the future. Like any relationship, if you ignore someone you will eventually alienate them. If you ignore social media you will eventually alienate everyone.

A tight "Knit" Community

Social networking is not just for kids! Knitters of the world are all over it thanks to Casey and Jessie from Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2004, Jessie who is an avid knitter started writing a blog sharing her thoughts on knitting and looking for input from others who share the same passion. By 2007 she had over 440,000 followers. Recently, with the help of a number of community members, Jessie and Casey fundraised enough cash to built a social networking site called Ravelry. Launched in November 2007 and still in beta release, ravelry.com has over 100,000 members and is growing by more than a 1000 per day! It has a waiting list of 6,800 people who are chomping at the bit to get in the door.

I don’t have the skill required to join this group nor the interest beyond its marketing implications. A friend of mine, who really enjoys knitting, brought it to my attention. She was compelled to tell me about it even though she probably knew I had no interest in knitting. As she described the site you could hear this real sense of genuine excitement in her voice. It was almost like she had met this new friend who shared the same interests. In reality she had met over 100,000 new friends.

When you arrive on the site its façade is very simple, but much like an iceberg, the bulk of its mass is underwater. The first step to seeing this involves putting your name on a waiting list. When I looked at the site there were 6845 people at the pearly gates waiting to be accepted into knitter heaven. People are waiting 6-7 days for there invitations to be processed. Meanwhile, as they chat amongst their social circles, the anticipation of becoming a member is creating all kinds of word-of-mouth awareness for the site. Yeah, I know, hard to imagine people getting that excited about knitting, but believe me there are millions who love it and this site is their Facebook. Go to blogsearch.google.com and search "ravelry", bloggers are buzzing about the site's stickiness.

When you get inside the walls you can understand why there is a line-up at the door. Thousands of free design patterns, groups of people blogging, sharing common interests, and forums with 1000’s of postings on 100’s of different topics. The site is already a thriving online community with a massive resource base and it’s only 6 months old. It is a great example of how online communities can be used to facilitate sharing in a very productive fashion. From a marketers perspective this is a farm of information that is primed for harvesting.

100,000 plus enthusiasts in a community that is designed to facilitate two-way communication. If you’re a multi-million dollar yarn company focused on building brand and innovating this has to be on your marketing radar. It's a huge opportunity to build relationships with the people who have the ability to influence your brand. At a bare minimum you should be listening. The smart brand would be investing.

Why? With all the ambient noise in traditional advertising channels it ‘s hard to reach the true influencers who become champions for a brand. Online communities like ravelry.com are at the forefront of a wave of change. Consumers are tuning out all the noise marketers are making and looking for ways to eliminate irrelevant messages. They expect marketers to know what they want to hear when they want to hear it. Brands that use mass mediums to spray their message all over the place are finding it much more difficult to reach the their core customers. Online communities are helping them connect with their customers and build real one-to-one relationships. The Internet has turned up the volume on the voice of the consumer. Brands have to start listening else they will quickly become extinct. In an early blog post I noted a great example of how one of the world's most coveted brands, Starbucks is leading the way in this arena. (i.e. www.mystarbucksidea.com)

Communities like ravelry.com have purpose that extends beyond socialization. They are aggregates that collect influencers who, thanks to a certain level of social anonymity, are often ready to engage in a conversation with brands that they perceive as relevant to their interests.

Facebook's Instant Messaging

Facebook has recently launched an integrated instant messaging platform that allows its members to chat online with their friends. When you log in to your account a neat little status bar pops up at the base of your Facebook profile page showing you who's online. Could this mean the end of MSN? Not likely, but it will certainly change the dynamic of how Facebook users interact.

If the community embraces the new feature, which I'm sure it will, there is no doubt it will greatly increase the stickiness of Facebook. God knows it wasn't sticky enough to begin with! So now all the hard core "Facebookites" are going to be lurking, connecting and chatting. They'll have to spend more time engaging in real-time conversations. People who you recklessly added to your network will be knocking on your digital door for little chat. It could get a bit scary, especially if these people are not on the top of your favorites list.

I recently polled my 15 year old son on the size of his Facebook network. He has over 400 friends from which he claims over 200 are close enough to have a conversation. His MSN account only has 60-70. Facebook has expanded his real-time social circle by over 500%. Until now his Facebook social circle was more a series of ripples that faded as you move further out from the epicenter. 50% of his friends were added simply for the purpose of lurking or learning. Now these fringe friends are a key stroke away from live interaction. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Whether the change expands the social fabric or initiate a contraction as fringe friends are removed or blocked.

At this point Zuckerburg (the Facebook brain child) has the chat tool tied directly to a personal profile in order to ensure user privacy. I wonder what Facebook has planned for the Fan pages. Imagine if a Fan was able to initiate a real-time conversation with an advertiser. It could be a tough one to manage, but it would be incredibly powerful if the advertiser was available to all their Fans in real-time.

The blog post launching the Facebook chat tool suggests there will be a number of other features add to the component. I'm sure they will increase social lubrication enabling the community to communicate faster and more frequently.

The Art of Listening

Did you ever think about how different advertising would be if a television commercial could see the viewer? I know, first thought is it sounds a little creepy, but imagine how much more effective it would be if you knew what everyone wanted to know. Car manufacturers could ask car buyers about their favorite colors or more importantly when they are inclined to buy. Just eliminate all the guess work and get to the straight up answers. Marketing would be so much easier if we had the ability to listen first before we blurted out the message!

Social Media is the beginning of a new era of listeners. Web 2.0 tools and social community platforms are enabling marketers to listen and learn before they start to communicate. Each day the information footprint grows as more and more people use blogs and social networks to record their lives. Smart marketers realize this and are developing ways to capitalize on it.

Starbucks, a brand leader, recently launched www.mystarbucksidea.com a website designed to help them listen to their consumers. The site allows visitors to “share”, “vote”, “discuss” and “see” ideas targeted at improving the company's products and services. Starbucks is building a community of followers that will over time, influence the direction of their brand. They’re engaging their loyal customers and listening to their ideas. Real powerful shit!

Recently General Motors, United State’s third largest advertiser, announced that they will be investing half of their 3 billion dollar ad spend on digital marketing initiatives. Most would look at this as desperate move for a company that trying to hang on in a highly competitive business that perceives “American Made” as a negative thing. But think about it for a minute, if your brand is suffering from a social perception issue what’s the best thing you could do? Hire a PR firm to spin it or invest 1.5 billion into connecting with your customer. GM is certainly one to watch over the next 5 years. It will no doubt become a great case study for digital marketers.

In my many years of sales probably the most important thing learned was the art of listening. If you listen you will learn. What you learn will inevitably influence how relationships evolve. Online Web 2.0 innovations have created a new stage for listening with a huge audience who are looking to interact with brands. Marketers need to embrace this and start to live in the space. It will inevitably add value for their clients.

Read more on listening: Are you Marketing or Listening