Hi everyone
As I've mentioned, not a day seems to pass without one of our clients asking how to better use social networking to their advantage. The answer in short is that while there are plenty of options, making it work is not always easy.
And one simple reason is because people have traditionally used these networks simply to interact with other people. Unlike other mainstream online media they are either not used to, or have not been wanting to, engage with advertising messages.
As a result some marketing chiefs are questioning the value of marketing on these networks. So what then, are our options?
What are online social networks?
Well first let's define online Social networks. Social networking has created new ways to communicate and share by providing a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail, photo and video sharing, and instant messaging services. The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust.
Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace and Facebook being the most widely used in North America; Nexopia (mostly in Canada); Bebo, Facebook, Hi5, MySpace, Tagged, Xing; and Skyrock in parts of Europe; Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America; and Friendster, Orkut, Xiaonei and Cyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Hi5 is the biggest social web in Thailand, with around 8 million Thai users, although the fastest growing appears to be Facebook now with over 400,00 users. I'd note the difference between social networks, and the wider area of social media.
Why do people use them?
For a more comprehensive view on why people social network you should read Groundswell, but undoubtedly the movement is part of a broader cultural shift whereby "People create, share and discover new content on their own. They create vibrant and rich cultures across online networks and use the social tools provided to stay connected."
People are social beings and given the tools will keep finding better and more meaningful ways to stay connected. And perhaps even more of interest, 65% of users are above 18 and the fastest growing segment is in above 35 year olds.
How does our marketing approach need to change?
The growth of these networks has mean that communication that was once dictated by a brand has now moved to be far more customer controlled. This has forced marketers to incorporate conversational marketing and customer advocacy into the overall marketing plan.
Conversational marketing is a participatory type of marketing that require observation and interaction at the individual level (See my post on blogs in January 08).
Marketers must engage customers on their turf, in their way, in order to help them solve problems, find information or simply engage them in valuable dialog. The above approach and approaches below are detailed in a great mini-book by Jesse Torres freely available online which I'd suggest to everyone to read, entitled "Community Banker's Guide to Social Network Marketing".
What are our tactical tools for current social networks?
1. Profile Centric Marketing: Create a profile within the social network, then customize that profile page with functionality to attract and retain members. An example of this would be the Bangkok Airways Facebook Page, where the company created a Facebook profile where people can become a 'fan'. Once they become a fan - people can receive updates and offers, connect with other members and participate in special events for members only.
This approach is good for building community when you have genuine and consistent offers and events and values. The warning is that it requires plenty of effort to maintain the content and the keep responding to members needs in a timely and appropriate way.
2. Ad Centric Marketing: A more traditional approach where companies can place advertising within an individuals profile page. At the moment Facebook is offering multiple marketing platforms: Facebook Pages, Facebook Applications, Facebook Connect, Facebook Events, Traditional Facebook Ads, Facebook Social Ads or Engagement Ads.
Facebook ads and social ads are described in detail here, but essentially allow you to place different types of banner ads depending on the context, behaviour or demographic of that member. The strength of these ads is the wealth of customer data available on these sites. With that in mind Facebook just launched Engagement ads, where it can target and pose specific questions based on all this data.
As Bob Garfield pointed out in this great article, this is where the real future of advertising via social networks is likely to be heading.
3. Widgets and Applications: Up until now a lot of the interaction on social networks is via widget or applications, as these are the applications beyond the usual email and messaging, that enable you connect and have fun with others. Whether it's a Funwall or iLike application, these programs developed for networks have been hugely popular. And unlike ads don't cost anything to run on the sites.
But with over 10,000 applications created, and the effort required to make them popular, you have to wonder whether creating one now is worth the effort. It seems most are just installed and forgotten about.
Create your own social network?
As discussed in this paper, sometimes a brand will have a big enough user base and interest level to create their own community. There have been successful efforts by companies such as Fiskars, and P&G's efforts have been commendable despite the challenges. But the reality for most companies is that unless you can create a more compelling fundamentally different social network from than one that already exists - don't bother.
In most cases it makes sense to engage where the community already hangs out and affiliate with them, instead with trying to compete with them. A good example is how Tivo engaged with a vibrant community that was already in existence.
The last word is, think carefully about how you get involved. There is great potential here for the right campaign, but there's also a reason why many social networks aren't making money. They haven't all worked out to market well to their users. Yet...
Cheers, Rob
Feel free to add comments below, or for further questions or advice contact me at rob.h@th.arcww.com
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