Social Engagement Trends

Web clicks and website traffic used to announce that you had a lot of customers and people involved with your company and its products. These were valued as much as a Facebook user’s thousands of friends and ‘likes’ are now. However, it has since been determined that none of these are an indication of consumer loyalty. Debra Aho Williamson notes that “Likes are not a gauge of consumer involvement with your company or brand. But companies still insist on touting their total just like they touted ‘hits’ back in the early days of the web” http://bit.ly/ilKSqU . Votes of interest like these are merely starting points for consumer interaction and engagement. In other words, social engagement is not that simple. It takes a lot of work, a lot of listening and a lot of conversation and conversion to build loyalty. A few weeks ago I touched extensively on this in my Engagement Matters Most post. This trend is already branching out to mimic this social engagement through other platforms. The CW is working on closing the gap from commercial viewing to point of purchase by rewarding viewers for watching commercials http://bit.ly/lAli0H. Capitalizing on research that shows viewers always have their cell phone nearby when watching TV, they are utilizing cell phones to offer rewards. It works like this. Viewers download the shopping app Shopkick and let the app listen to CW commercials, much like using the Shazam app to listen to music in order to identify its title and artist. When a Shopkick-enabled commercial airs the viewer receives an “unobtrusive on-screen alert” prompting them to open the app to receive discounts for use inside the advertiser’s stores. By measuring how many people use the coupons they gain insight into how many people purchase their products as a result of watching their commercials.

In addition to being extended to cell phones, Pepsi-Co has extended social engagement to vending machines. With the launch of PepsiCo’s social vending machine prototype comes another platform for social engagement http://bit.ly/kjOSAa . A unique touchscreen allows consumers to buy a drink and gift one to a friend at the same time. Sound familiar? Reminds me of the advent of gifts on Facebook. Consumers can also record a short video message to go along with their gift. Additionally, ‘Random Acts of Refreshment’ allows the consumer to gift a drink to a stranger. An interesting concept indeed. Perhaps that could be an extension to our shopping and gifting someday. Kiosks at grocery stores that allow you to select a gift or gift card, send it, and personalize it with a short video message delivered to the recipient. Regardless, the point is that social engagement is venturing beyond the confines of social networking much like advertising advanced beyond television and print. Another way that we could see social engagement brought to other platforms would be to incorporate the iPad. Before long we may be able to stream television through iPads to have true on-demand viewing wherever we go. If or when that happens we could see deals worked into commercials there with a direct link to the website for engagement purposes. My prediction is that social engagement will become the norm for all types of interaction with consumers at all points of interaction with consumers. If it can happen in these examples, just think of the possibilities that are still untapped. The only limit is your imagination.

Mainstream News vs. Social Media News

There is a lot of discussion going on about how news breaks on social media and on mainstream media and about the merits of each. According to Brian Stelter and Jennifer Preston’s “Turning to Social Networks for News” http://nyti.ms/iTDDcQ, social media news tends to start out as speculation and gossip and breaks fast. Mainstream media is slower but more reliable in terms of the facts. Each has their cycles and speeds but which is more trustworthy? Are we really ready to declare that we do not need traditional media anymore? That everything we need to know we can learn from social media? I think not. There is evidence amidst the analysis that follows suggesting mainstream news is still an essential news source. One particularly interesting piece of evidence can be found in Stacey Higginbotham’s discussion of “The 7 Stages of News in a Twitter and Facebook Era” http://bit.ly/mHEl2a. Applying it to the context of the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, a pattern emerges. According to Higginbotham it begins with excitement, there is excitement about the news but also the thrill of being the first to report this news. Then there is uncertainty as the validity of the news is questioned. Here she says that “some were waiting for the news venue of their choice to weigh in, while others were waiting for the coming statement from the President.” Social media news, or citizen journalism, is not self-reliant. People still look to a source of authority for confirmation. I am not saying that citizen journalism is bad, because it has its place and it is an essential component for keeping people informed and engaged with news. I am merely stating that this is an indication that people cannot go off of social media news alone. This is echoed in the next stage of the cycle, ‘searching for validation.’ People simultaneously want the news to be true and fear being wrong. They are quick to praise those reporting details as well as scorn those who should have exercised more caution than haste. Only after confirmation by mainstream media and other authorities, does the cycle continue.

Confirmation cues the ‘jokes, profits and platitudes’ stage, where clichés, jokes, and attempts to profit from the event via clever Twitter account names are the norm. However, there is also action that springs from social media news and this is its most valuable merit. The action stage is where people seek more information and act in groups, such as the White House assembly on the lawn the night of Obama’s speech. The cycle concludes with real analysis, which mainly happens in discussion offline unless it occurs through blog or news article links on social media. Note again that news article links are a representation of mainstream media in the social media sphere, and that again calls attention to the need for these sources to work in tandem with social media to break and circulate news. What they have is more of a partnership than a competition. Social media starts it off with all of the drama, it builds excitement, tension and speculation. There is also uncertainty as people are apprehensive to claim allegiance to one side or the other until news is confirmed. Then the news breaks on mainstream media and people make light of it, which guarantees it will be circulated and given everyone’s attention. At the same time, social media does something traditional news does not and that is to provide space for interaction that prompts action. Then the real analysis takes place with reference to traditional media as well as social media in the form of blogs. Hence, one cannot exist without the other. At the same time, this also means that social media news is not going to kill traditional or mainstream news. Mainstream news has been around longer and has already taken the most important step by placing itself in the online arena, where it can be utilized alongside social media to create a more complete news cycle. Yet to have one without the other would be like having peanut butter without the jelly, mainstream media and social media work best together and both deserve to be present within the ultimate news cycle.

Social Media Influence

Different countries make transactions with different types of currency. Social media has its own kind of currency: influence. Influence is the currency that drives the relationships between your brand and consumers. It is important to break down influence, because there are many different viewpoints on its meaning. Some people will tell you that influence within the social media realm is all about how many Twitter followers or Facebook friends you have, or how many people take advantage of your latest deal. Followers and friends mean nothing if that is the only action they take, and most of the time it will be unless there is a connection there. Deal seekers are only after one thing, a good deal. If a relationship or connection aside from that does not exist, then your deal is just a bribe that prompts a one-time action. So how do you move beyond this and build a lasting relationship and connection with your audience? By knowing your audience and paying attention to what is important to them. Shane Barnhill and GianCarlo Pitocco do a great job of setting guidelines for doing exactly that. It may seem like they are talking about different things but they are more similar than you would think. Barnhill talks about the “4 Overlooked Nuances of Social Media Culture” http://bit.ly/kKJcRA. The first is to “never profit from a real-life crisis.” We all saw what happened when Groupon tried to tie itself to the crisis in Tibet. No human suffering of any kind should ever be used as a stepping stone to profit. Similar to this is the third point that Pitocco makes in “How We Can Use Facebook To Target With Precision” http://bit.ly/lJzP6c. His third point is that complainers should not be ignored because if they feel they are not heard then they can easily launch a smear campaign by sharing their disgust with their friends or followers. Basically the similarity here is that the importance of human suffering, any kind that relates to your brand, should not be ignored because the backlash will always be negative.

Barnhill’s second point is “help more than you sell.” Social media is about building connections through content creation, sharing, customer service and ongoing conversation. Sales pushes should be fewer in ratio to these. Pitocco’s third point relates to this as well as his second point about engaging teens outside of Facebook so that they will intensify the experience with friends on Facebook. Basically, social media is more about engaging consumers through meaningful content and interaction. Frequent targeting through sales pushes is a turnoff and should not become the focus. Barnhill’s third point is “never stunt innovation.” In other words, trash talking others in an attempt to shut them down only makes you look bad in the end. It takes a certain amount of tact and relevance to preserve a relationship and that is not done through trash talking. How it is done is through connecting with your consumers through relevant content and Pitocco’s first point about “collaborating with an entertainment partner to create relevant content” is an example of this. Focus on the consumer and their interests, not on bringing others down. Bringing others down does not strengthen appeal in competitions and it will not do that here either. Barnhill’s fourth point is that humor and humility is a winning combination. Although Pitocco does not have a point that directly relates to this I think it is safe to say that handling any situation with humor and humility will win more followers than enemies. At the end, Barnhill states that social media is about knowing your culture and Pitocco agrees at the end by restating the importance of knowing your target audience. With influence being such a key metric to success with social media, these guidelines are not to be taken lightly. Rather they should influence your social media actions because through influencing these actions you are building influence with your consumers. More influence equals more action and more action equals more long-lasting relationships with consumers and a better brand experience. The ultimate goal and its solution, and influence is the currency that makes it all possible.

Tailoring Brand Approach to Customers

One might not immediately think to look to fashion when deciding how to tailor their brand’s approach to consumers. Similar to how the book “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie has served as a go-to guide for today’s entrepreneur, the fashion industry and its online approach to serving customers can serve as a guideline for any brand as they tailor their approach to customers. The approach I am referring to is one that should resonate throughout all aspects of communication. It should be present in all methods of interaction with customers: at the forefront of how employees directly deal with customers and through any direct mail, print, online or social media interaction as well. The inspiration for this post comes from a series of points discussed in Betsy Lowther’s “Social Media: In and Out of Fashion” http://bit.ly/kfutVh and Claire Cain Miller’s “Sites That Send Shoppers What They Might Like” http://nyti.ms/iZLrLp. In reading these I saw meaning in them that could be taken beyond the context of their respective articles and reframed as guidelines for brand tailoring through the interaction between brand and customer. The following is my analysis and application of these principles.

1) Be where your customers are: Lowther talks about this in her first point where she states that Tumblr.com is the new black, meaning that Tumblr.com offers a networking platform that allows people to easily share content and make it go viral. Sharing content and brand messages with as many people as possible is the best way to push your brand to the forefront. How do you do that? By interacting with customers at every opportunity. From a company standpoint this would mean that your employees are starting a conversation with customers every chance they get. Employees can make the difference between a consumer connecting with a brand or ignoring it in favor of something else that may or may not be as good of a fit for them and their needs. Likewise from a public relations standpoint in print, radio, broadcast, social media and direct mail advertising it means that you should know your audience and their preferences and interests. Knowing this information ensures that your brand message reaches them where they are most likely to see and interact with your message.

2) Enlist a relevant brand ambassador: Lowther refers to this in her second point where she mentions that brand ambassador’s need to be in-house ones that live and breathe the brand and can muse on a variety of topics within the brand space. From a company standpoint it is about educating or choosing employees who eat, sleep and breathe your brand and the lifestyle that goes along with it. You have to have the right people in place to attract the right audience and customer base for your brand. In media it would specifically pertain to social media and whoever is in charge of the Twitter, Facebook and blog updates. However, a consistent voice throughout all media is going to send the best message. It is not just about the products, there is a whole lifestyle that goes along with a brand. The more you know about your customers the better you can connect with them by appointing similar people as in-house brand ambassadors. It is important to have people in this position who have the right voice, so that more consumers are enticed to interact with your brand.

3) Personalize the experience: Miller talks about sites that act like personal shopper services, suggesting five products a month with the option to buy based off of customer surveys and prior purchases. Within the business it is important that employees focus on and listen to the customer and take note of their needs. The more questions you ask, the more you know and the better you can meet their needs. Also, the better you can meet their needs the more likely they are to come back. The same goes for media, because you need to think about the type of customer you are selling to and what will attract them to your brand. Using the word ‘you’ within your message is also a good way to make the focus more personal and persuasive.

4) Sell the lifestyle: Lowther discusses this in her last point, with reference to social content. The same goes for the sales floor and for media communication. If you are not selling them on the lifestyle that goes along with the product, and helping them envision the product in their lives, then you are not selling the product. Selling customers on the lifestyle is the clincher or the deal closer. Successfully sell them on the lifestyle and you will most likely have lifelong brand ambassadors who buy your products and spread your message.

In closing, my blog turned a year old on May 3rd. Thank you to all who have been reading and commenting and be sure to check back each week for a new post.