Social Media & Online Social Networks

Online entertainment has taken the Marketing industry by storm in seeking ways to advertise to the “plugged-in” audience. While this has made online programming that rage, we still await how to measure direct results, since the objectives are generally branding—even if redeemable coupons and game points are at stack. The inexplicable success metrics of online entertainment is nothing new. Quantifying online branding strength has never been a scientific exercise.

However, if brands seek to extend their brand to younger audiences (aged 18-35), then online Marketing programs are “a must”. There are no better ways to reach that audience than to move the brand through the “smack” of a buzz campaign that blazes through YouTube, or such communities as FaceBook and MySpace.

On the other hand, there are so many buzz campaigns that orchestrated via aid buzz agents and paid bloggers, that the lines are blurring as to the real success impact of these programs, when viewed by the industry. We are all looking forward to the industry settling out.

Online Interactive entertainment is the next wave for social networking. The power of social networks is that they bring people together on a mass basis, fueled by common interests. Social networks are limited in that such interactive draw as blogging, forums, and galleries reach a limit in terms of personalized human touch.

Taking it to the next level is online interactive entertainment, that is, being able to provide social network members a place for interactive play–dynamically, in real-time, and still retain the veil of anonymity that cyber-interaction provides. Interactive entertainment fosters online relationships based on in-scene interaction online, with the common experience providing a venue for learning each-others’ personalities. This will be the next wave. Over the next few weeks, Wyndstorm will be demonstrating the power of online “play”, as they launch an online entertainment site–the result of a partnership ddevelopment: www.riplounge.com.

Social media has become a key component to the online marketing programs of major consumer brands. Statistics clearly indicate the strength of social media as a major online advertsing channel. Out-of-home “dwell time” is 20% versus network TV “dwell time” as 9%, in terms of consumers time spent engaged in an available advertising channel (AdAge, 2008). Online advertising expenditures further substantiate this: $775M has been budgeted in ”08 for video advertising, forecast to be $ 4.5B in 2011–that’’s an increase of 160% per year, over three years! (eMarketer, 2008).

Online advertsing has been largely the focus of major consumer marketing companies, focusing on brand awareness (ex: www.cavemanscrib.com). However, mid-tier marketing programming increasingly incorporates online promotions (ex: facebook promotions and MySpace promotions to draw traffic to McLean Bible Church’’s faith-based youth programs).

With online social media becoming a key component for reaching consumers–including targeted faith-based messaging, substantiated by the extraordinary expected growth, social media is now a mainstream advertising venue.

I am currently attending the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, in Nashville, a $50Billion marketplace (2008, NRB). All-around, are impressive outreach programs being showcased–thousands. These programs are all about reaching out and sharing. These programs are all about caring with a personal touch. These programs are all about expressing love for those wanting. These programs are all about supporting those in need. These programs are all about people touching people.

Communicating programs like these require high-touch, low-cost methods for telling a story effectively, so that the word can be heard and shared by as many as possible.

Interactive media through online marketing is how leading marketers now tell their story. Using web marketing, thousands can be reached for less than a penny, and in a way thet provides real dialogue with those touched by a story.

Using techniques that bring a story to life, such as pushing video-enlivened stories to communities with like-interests, and embedding video into e-mails for followers to spread the story to their friends, can bring a story to millions-on even the smallest budget.

Web-based marketing is a natural technology for the faith-based market. Interactive Outreach provdes mass-sharing for budget-challenged stories.

Social Networks, originally venues for drawing together folks who shared common interests, are now fast-becoming a fun social media for entertainment and sharing. Come to an online entertainment site and enjoy getting to know others through online play. Learn the personality of another through online interaction–their aggression, their sense of humor, their sense of fun. Online destinations are new places for friends to meet and have fun together, using the foil of online anonymity. This way, personalities come out in ways emulate real life.

The worry is that the finesse and fun of getting to know people with face-to-face discussions, may be lost.

Since the last blog I posted, I’ve been focused on spearheading our team in the creation of a unique social network platform that incorporates interactive, multi-user gaming to accelerate traffic to the site. The draw of social networks is the ability to interact with friends and colleagues in a way that is productive, and engaging. For young consumers in the 15-to-22 year-old demographic, social networks represent an online environment that brings friends together for online banter.

The combination of online play with the chatter and sharing of a social network makes the interaction between friends fanciful, in a way that is real, and now. Take a look at www.riplounge.com, and see the types of interaction that is possible—dancing to tunes you can download to your iPod, audio-video calling between your friends, or just play-acting in scenes for fun.

By interacting in a playful environment, social networks can remain vibrant and refreshing

Now that social networks have become accepted as a communications venue—what’s next?

Where the purpose of social networking has been to facilitate people meeting, hanging out, and having fun—interactive online play soon to become a key ingredient to successful online communities. Sharing of videos and photo galleries, while fun, has limitations in terms of repeat draw. Interactive play enriches online relationships and tightens community bonding. Witness the decided success of Second Life in terms of tight member bonding in a world where friends who have never met, come often to share and play.

Technologies like talking avatars, add draw and value to interactive experiences, while preserving a key underlying principle for successful interactive social networks—anonymity of participants. Herein lies the appeal of social networks—that community members can exchange, share, and play, behind the veil of personal exposure.

Another driver for extending social networking with interactive programming is the elevated traffic and consequent online advertising revenue. Interactive programs enhance the user experience by engaging the user directly, and typically offering some value-add element to the user for initiating an interactive session, or for joining an interactive community. Interactive programs represent extraordinary holding times of users, which means increased online page-view advertising revenue. Add to this that interactive experiences naturally increase viral marketing, since interactive gaming encourages friends to invite friends to play with them—the momentum that kicked Second Life into high value site, now touting 9 million members over the last 18 months.

Keeping online communities refreshed and fun, as well as pushing advertising value, will continue to pressure social networks to offer increasing entertainment within the community—and interactive programming is the clearly next step. Look for interactive programming to become an integral part of social networks, creating further excitement about this New Media space.

Misconceptions abound in terms of the impact and value of social networks. Parents view social networks as proof that the evil death star is getting closer and will capture their kids. Business Managers think that their business colleagues are wasting time in an online game. Marketers worry that their precious target market is vulnerable to theft. IT managers think social networks will invite hackers, viruses, or other jeopardies.

Everyone is right and everyone is wrong.

Certainly kids are taken up with many of the online communities in which their peers participate. These typically involved the combination of toys, a positive logon ID, and utilizing personalization for bringing an online experience to life. Yes, to the extent that your kids are glued to the computer, they are “lost”, but they are using the same tools that playing with dolls provides—applying personalities, imagining interactions with others, and creating an imaginary world.

Business managers should be vigilant about the use of online membership communities for positive business results. However, in the context of searching for information, networking for the right contact, or leveraging relationships for achieving an objective, social networks are now the currency for leveraging relationships. Rather than spend 8-10 phone calls, each with 15-20 minutes of idle chit-chat, to network to find the person you seek, a series of clicks and fast e-mails can accelerate the process, in a fraction of the time.

Marketers should worry that their target market with which they bonded using a marketing program with social network technology is vulnerable to others marketers targeting the same profiles of users/consumers. But our world is fast-paced—and online promotions expand at blazing speed. When broadcast marketing was in the forefront, marketers could “hang onto” their market share longer—but in today’s instant mass communications, marketers must just “get with the program” and keep up!

Of course IT managers should be concerned about the impact of social network access in terms of network security. Attacks from unknown users is possible, and network security breaches is possible, as is invitation to viruses, worms, SPAM, and other “nasties”. What else is new? This is our world, unfortunately.

Social networks as a communications and relationship-building medium is here to stay. It provides the anonymity that enables adult play without leaving the security of home. It enables exploration with the same logic-neural linkage of the human brain. It provides relationship building using the current medium for communications. It’s here to stay, and there’s no getting around it!

Social networking is not a passing fad!

The newest communication venue – Social Networks – is growing astronomically. Social Networks enable users to write or share information on their own terms without feeling vulnerable or defensive. Social networks also give users a veil of secrecy, letting them to reach out to others, but also hide in anonymity.

Increasingly, though, members of social networks are vulnerable to uninvited contact from people who aren’t part of the network. The intruders come in many forms: advertising companies, multiplayer online gamers, spammers, consumer product companies, other community members searching for people with similar profiles — or even other social networks expanding their memberships by pulling others’ profiles into their databases.

By far the greatest driver for this unwanted intrusion is the enormous demand for page-view advertising. Simply put, aggressive poaching of Social Networks increase page-views for the poachers. Page-view advertising revenue is entirely based on the cost per 1000 “eyeballs” (or people) that see advertising on a Web page. The more eyeballs, the more the advertising revenue.

Social networks that lack security and privacy are now paying the price of their neglect with reduced participation. Providing privacy and security for social networks isn’t easy though. It requires technical customization so that user data cannot be compromised. Firewalls have to keep out unwanted traffic but let in the traffic you do want. You can also integrate automated processes to control inappropriate postings, eliminate the poaching of user data, and block offensive language.

Building a social network for true online collaboration and sharing is more than just page-views and creating ad revenue. Tailor the community so that it protects the users you want to attract. You’ll gain user loyalty, boost the quality of your membership, and enhance your community’s reputation as the safe place to spend time and interact.

A new, yet proven, way to utilize social networking for a productive corporate marketing program that yields strong returns, is to position the community as a closed group of advisors that provides guidance for internal planning.  This means the social network software must meet the marketing analysis needs for strong program results.

In creating small, private, communities, companies can leverage the privacy and intimacy of direct interaction with customers and prospects to capture marketing insights, and build brand advocates.  However, be prepared for some real hard work in pulling the full-value out of the information that you acquire.  

Panels, chat rooms, blogs and focus groups just graze the surface of real meaningful consumer input.  Marketing folks can really learn a lot from continuously talking to community members.  This means that effective social network tools need to be part of the social network service so that results can be effectively applied to product planning.

It is important not to control the company community, but rather let the community take the reins.  This means that the social network platform must capture and analyze the freedom of consumer expression—rather than rely on pre-canned surveys, or multiple choice preference surveys.  In managing communities tightly, companies lose the freedom of expression and honesty that they originally hoped to acquire in establishing the dialogue originally.  

Social network tools that enable advanced analysis of consumer expression is an important social network add-on.  The key is to create a tight community based on people with common interests, with an ability to mine the data from the dynamics of the community.  Naturally, designing the tone of the site is important, so that users can feel comfortable and free to express themselves—and likewise feel valued for their sharing.  Here are some tips for using an online community for consumer feedback.  

Keep the community private
Private communities promote comfort and safety, and make for stronger participation and willingness to dynamically communicate openly.

Members should be “internal advisors”  
As company advisors, not as an internal focus group, community will often go the extra mile to help and suggest. In this context, it is important that members know that their insight is being used to help grow a trend—the company—a program, etc.

Weigh member suggestion heavily
Polls are often used as the key input to companies seeking online input. But, in reality, the detailed conversations between members who are frequent participants representing more depth.  If members begin to candidly reveal how a program/product/company fits their lifestyle—you have hit pay-dirt.  

Don’t push for answers
Effective communities are those that are openly candid and free-flowing.  Pushing for too much will backfire.  Members will sense they are being corralled, and often the energy of a site can then be drained.  

Focus on a few with passion  
Focusing on several hundred core community members who have an intense common interest to enable easy mining of membership usage data, in order to be responsive to them, and unlock their participation. If you selected them with precision, it will expand exponentially.

Encourage straightforward conversation
Set the tone for a breezy, open style and articulate early appreciation for input, insight, and participation.  Reinforcement should be often and even be rewarded.  

Keep the topic focused
Members will remain tight and active from the first day, if the topic is focused and relevant.  It is important to not allow the edges of the community eco-system to fray by diluting interests and focus.  It is better to split off interested groups at the edges of a community into new communities. Make sure the topic of focus is a topic not a product—or else the community becomes a bashing site.

Don’t censor negative inputs
By censoring, a specific topic, the backfire will be far in excess of letting it go.  Group-driven moderation of inappropriate content is far more effective  

Mix-n-Match technologies
Members like variety—so relying on just blogging, or posting will be tiring.  Toss in a poll, a survey, a pod cast, a game, a puzzle, a competitive activity, posting favorite pictures, a video “day-in-the-life-of…”, tell-a-story, mystery shopping, role plays, or create a new X….  Mixing up the technologies will keep the community vibrant and rich.