Our usage of social networks has evolved in the past couple years.
Aside from making use of social networks such as Facebook to keep in touch with friends and stay on top of events, users are increasingly becoming involved in “interest-driven networks” – networks who’s members are brought together due to a common interest or passion. Common examples of such networks include social platforms such as change.org and socialvibe.com and Facebook groups dedicated to certain causes.
Source: Flickr User: Dulk
The shift towards interest-driven networks has led to a gradual change in the makeup of peer groups on social networking sites such a Facebook [2]. That is, peer networks have started exhibiting common characteristics, similar to one’s friend network on Twitter – a platform where social connections are primarily built based on interest.
The gradual allocation of our “social networking time” into activities that are interest driven has brought about two very positive changes:
1. Its increased the number of “do-ers”
Since peer groups are becoming more interest-driven, users who’ve traditionally been action oriented are having a positive effect on their peer networks and as a result, are driving more users towards action. This is good news for communities looking to drive social change who’ve traditionally had problems getting people to donate, especially their time.
2. Its increased the number of “listeners”
Those who aren’t driven to action are getting influenced by peer groups to listen. In my own ethnographic research, I found a 40% increase in awareness of social and political issues primarily through information shared on Facebook.
The net result of this shift is very positive. Facebook has over 400 million active users. A community such as this has the power to change the world. The only barrier standing in the way is that of education and empowerment. This shift toward interest driven networks is helping break that barrier. In my personal opinion, we haven’t even witnessed 10% of the power of social networks, to drive social change.
References:
[1] Digital Youth Project – Living and Learning with new media.
[2] Digital Ethnographic study on 25 users between the ages of 19 and 32 between 2008 and 2010.
Marketing Commentary by .
I recently finished reading the Cluetrain Manifesto and I wanted to share a quote from the book.
“Positioning is about discovering who you, as a business, are — discovering your identity, not inventing a new one willy-nilly. Positioning could help a company become what it is, not something it’s not (no matter how cool it would be).”
Hopefully you’ll take this quote and give it some serious thought. In my career so far, I am yet to work at an organization that really puts this to practice. It’s sad to however see organizations trying to be someone they think the market wants them to be. Unfortunately it just doesn’t work like that.
If you’re trying make a mark in an industry, think again about who you really are as an organization before coming up with positioning statements and strategies that don’t truly represent you.
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The other day I was sitting on a patio at a local coffee joint and watching people walk by (in a totally non-creepy way!). It was the first day of spring in Toronto, love seemed to be in the air (this won’t get any cheesier I promise) and I couldn’t help but wonder what made relationships tick. At that very instant, I was struck by a profile on tribe.net. This was the profile of “Love is Everything“. 
I was amazed at how many friends Frank (the dude behind the profile) had – over 14,000! As I spent some time going through his page on Tribe I realized some critical things -
a. Frank figured out what his brand stands for, but he didn’t stop at that. Most importantly, he found a way to translate his brand promise into a cause worth pursuing.
b. Frank is truly authentic! He solely focuses on advancing his message through posts that add value to the community. He does this by giving his community content that furthers the cause.
c. Frank isn’t obsessed with himself. In fact, he hardly talks about himself on his profile.
In today’s digital economy, companies absolutely need to engage and involve their custo
mer communities if they want to regain their business. Unfortunately, just having a great brand and brand promise is not sufficient.
A few days ago, John Bell blogged on the “Utility Brief”. I’d like to leave you with a quote from his article. Hopefully you’ll ponder over this post and share your thoughts.
“Today, consumers want their brands to deliver more value through utility, entertainment or information (the latter two are really just forms of utility). They want high quality products and services but expect brands to go beyond that to keep them as customers or to at least earn their advocacy.”
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One of the first lessons I learnt in branding was that if you start selling a product at a certain price, you can always move to a price lower but never higher. Why is that you ask? Well, it’s a simple concept – consumers tend to develop a certain perception of quality for a product or service based on the price they paid for it. Once this perception is established in a consumer’s mind, it’s extremely difficult to change it for the better. Easy to change it for the worse though.
So what are the Marketing geniouses at Hulu and News Corp thinking? First, they offer their product for free and then, expect consumers (who’ve had free access all this while) to suddenly be willing to pay for the same content?! That’s absolutely absurd. I would understand if these companies were at least thinking of offering some premium content or add-ons for paying customers (you know… the “Freemium” model). That may possibly work, some day. For now though, I’m confident that this path that they’re choosing to take, will not lead to profitville.
Thoughts?
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Source: Flickr: Franco Folini "Graffiti on a truck: renuer"
Throughout history, the development of technology has always sparked counter-cultural movements that have looked to subvert popular culture and societal norms.
Many of these movements were inspired by the situationist movement of the 1960s. However, all these movements did have 2 common underlying motives. They all looked to improve personal empowerment and encouraged the building and growth of communities.
One such movement led to the use of print media to create the “Whole Earth Catalog“. This catalog promoted openness, user-generated content (yes!..back in the late 60s) and stood for the democratization of information and collective consciousness. Out of this catalog was born a message board called Whole Earth Lectronic Link (WELL) in 1985. This online message board looked to again subvert culture by attempting to use technological tools (initially built for societal control) to bring about Personal Empowerment and a sense of community. Of course, I don’t need to remind you that the same underlying motives form the foundation of Social Media and the web 2.0 world as we know it.
I therefore strongly feel the success of innovation in the Social Media world will be heavily dependent on whether or not newer ideas take the fulfillment of these very motives/ideals a step further. Yes, I know there are many other factors that will influence success, but I believe that these cultural motives are critical to laying a foundation that can withstand growth.
I think a good example is Foursquare (and of course other similar location based services) because it looks to improve personal empowerment by giving businesses the ability to better cater to their customers’ needs. Are there other examples of innovation in social media that adhere to these two principles? Your input will make this post and my follow-up a lot more interesting.
References: www.virtualcampfire.org
Credit: Dimitri Castrique
I’m upset about Apple suing HTC.
Why?
1. Apple is a company built on the very foundation of the remix – need I remind everyone of how the first mac OS was built or where the design ideas for the ipods came from.
2. You cannot be allowed to patent an experience or the way we interact with a certain product. That is what prevents technology from moving ahead. I don’t know how such patents might work in Canada but my gut tells me that you can’t patent such experiences in Canada. Imagine a world where “the mouse” was patented and only XYZ company could use them! Makes no sense.
3. Apple’s roots lie heavily entrenched in punk culture. Through the years they’ve done such an amazing job of building brand equity and creating brand evangelists that they don’t seem to be afraid anymore. I personally do not think the culture of Apple’s target audience goes well with the concept of lawsuits or excessive patenting. Somehow the carry over equity is so heavy that small deviations from that culture (in the form of this lawsuit for example) won’t really affect Apple. So unfortunately it looks like they’re going to continue doing what they do. It’s up to us as consumers of Apple products to put our foot down and make them listen. Apple really doesn’t have a strong ethical background, do they?
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House of Tweets, Source: How MPs use Twitter (Globe and Mail)
I blogged a couple weeks ago about the need for a cultural shift before people start accepting various metrics for social media measurement. Well, it seems like that shift has already begun. Here’s an article from the Globe that talks about how MPs in Canada are using twitter to propagate their messages and engage in conversations with their followers. It’s interesting to notice that the analysis in this article was done by looking at a free tool called “Twitalyzer”. Metrics such as “Clout”, “Influence” and “Generosity” were taking seriously in this analysis. This is great news for all us social media geeks and junkies. This is only a sign of great things to come.
Word?
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Source: Wall Street Journal via Good: Campbell's Soup redesigns a label using "neuromarketing" techniques.
Here’s Campbell’s new packaging…its apparently designed using biometrics.
Let me guess, this was tested through a focus group…maybe a bunch of them over a span of 2 to 8 weeks. While I’m not refuting any of the concepts or the science behind the design of this package, I do strongly feel that many marketing organizations don’t always get it.
If Campbell’s invests the same amount of money in reaching out to their consumers through online communities, they might actually see a much higher ROI and maybe even grab some new customers along the way.
Yes, it is about creating an emotional connection with consumers and yes, packaging is important. However, it’s important only to the extent that it properly conveys the brand’s position and is easily identifyable on the shelf. Beyond that, brand’s are just wasting their time and money.
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Jul 10
8
Why McDonald’s is getting it wrong.
McDonald’s seems to be trying to re-position itself. We can already begin to see changes in the menu (the addition of healthier items) and ads featuring what could only be imagined as cultured, urban, hip women getting together to eat a healthy meal at the restaurant.
But it won’t work.
Okay, I concede that they might end up selling some of the new items on the menu, but the company’s brand position will NOT CHANGE. Here’s why:
McDonald’s core consumers don’t really care
I like to think of McDonald’s consumers as consisting of 2 distinct groups. The first group is comprised of loyal customers who eat at the restaurant chain multiple times a week. McDonald’s doesn’t make it’s revenues because it sells healthy food. It makes money because it sells freakishly yummy food at a very reasonable price. The restaurant chain’s loyal customer doesn’t go there to eat oatmeal. Just sayin’.
The second group, I like to call the “gluttonous healthy urbans”. For this group, McDonald’s is all about the ability to indulge, once in a while. This group cares about eating healthy and lives a lifestyle where it’s not exactly considered “cool” to eat at McDonald’s…or meet someone there for a meal. So this whole visual of urban, professional women eating a comparatively (they do use dressing on that salad!) healthy meal at the restaurant doesn’t really work for me.
[Yes I know, kids make up a key segment for McDonald's but the purpose of this blog post isn't to talk segmentation.]
Here’s how McDonald’s should be approaching this
1. Conducting an ethnographic study of consumers at McDonald’s
The key to understanding the various personas (groups of people who share common characteristics/buying patters) is to totally immerse oneself in the sub-cultures of those who visit McDonald’s. It’s the only way to truly understand the motivations of different types of people who eat at the restaurant chain. Unfortunately, an anthropological study requires forward thinking marketing executives, patience and quality ethnographers (all of which are highly lacking in most companies today).
2. Using the results to develop programs, menu and ambiance changes that enhance the customer experience
Here’s a simple example: If McDonald’s understood that the only reason I visit the restaurant is to indulge and seek instant gratification, their menu would’ve included optional ingredients that could make my indulgence experience slightly healthier (and possibly make me want to visit the chain more often).
Similarly, knowing that Sunday morning “Egg McMuffins” are considered one of the best hangover remedies among party-goers might make the chain act differently and develop programs, campaigns and promotions that are culturally relevant.
You with me? How do you think we can make organizations understand the importance of cultural immersion? How can we make organizations more relevant and engaging to consumers?
Posted in Marketing Commentary by Ujwal Arkalgud. 3 Comments