It is time to move on and start thinking about the most important part of this social argument…how the hell we are going to sustain this movement and our communities.
It is time to get past the “Like” programs, the various blog posts for SEO, the YouTube strategies that might get over 100o views…we are emerging into Social 3.0 and it is all about sustainability and connected growth.
So what do we know…
We are in an age of Social 3.0 where we have been trying so many outlets as test beds (Social 1.0 & 2.0) and we are starting to see where we are gaining the most traction. Bottom-line…
1) Website is a primary destination point for fundamental information
2) Facebook is the primary community driver
3) Twitter is the amplification channel & secondary community driver
4) Blogs are our voice (our context) & secondary community driver
5) Pinterest is a Social 3.0 opportunity to engage that new age social/community influencer (women 25 -44)
6) YouTube is a organizations face/voice 3D along with being SEO driver
We know that the Facebook IPO is close and we are getting closer to a sustainable social model unlike the uncertainty of previous social models.
Basically …Facebook will be here for a while and many are predicting that it will be the place where we will push all our web traffic making it the most used dynamic portal to engage audiences. This is and will be a huge shift for organizations with static websites with small dynamic portals of information. What do we do with that site? Or should it be just a post card of information?
Pinterest is gaining traction (Mashable.com article on Dec 22, 2011) –> “The site is especially popular with women between the ages of 25 and 44, which comprise 59% of its readership, and the majority of those visiting Pinterest are female, consisting of 58% of its visitors in the past 12 weeks.”
So given this context…this begs the question of web/digital strategy: Should we force all web traffic through Facebook, making it the destination point for people then expose them to the website inside Facebook. Basically funnel all traffic through it. The analytics are there to support and we do not have to worry about down time.
Well this leads to how Facebook is changing it’s Timeline not only implemented for individuals, but coming to businesses/organizations pages on March 30th. What the hell do you do with that header and what about those tabs you paid for?
The new Facebook header becomes the dynamic portal for discovery.
Each time you change the header, you are uploading a new image. This image is put on the timeline as a public post, along with being placed on the header. So, we could use this as an opportunity for discovery. So think through all the events, initiatives, etc. that we are constantly promoting. We post a link to Facebook for people to click to learn more. With this idea, imagine adding some visual discovery to this scenario…people like to click images, photos, etc that come across the timeline.
With this scenario, uploading an image to that header position carries a promotional aspect. It becomes a main billboard. So each time you upload this image for the header, it comes across the timeline for people to see and click. This could bring a new dynamic element of discovery to our Facebook page.
So is Social 3.0 about cross promoted social spaces that allows us to discover new places to engage. Audi thinks so…they put a lot of cash into their Super Bowl ads. Last year, Audi tried using a hashtag in their Super Bowl ad to promote a give away (#IsProgress Campaign) It must have worked but was not sustainable long term.
So this year…they wanted to create a community of conversation around LED lights and vampires. They used the #SoLongVampires hastag in the Super Bowl ad that received over 2 million views and tens of millions of Twitter impressions a week after the ad appeared during the game.
We are learning…we are pulling back. We are starting to realize what is working and what just does not make sense for our communities. We are learning it is hard to create communities when there is nothing to connect people online.
We should no longer spray our marketing mess across all platforms…and hope someone will bite. It was just a few years ago that males 18-34 were the main targeted demographic, but to me that has shifted with the social space making the female 18-34 a huge influencer, especially in healthcare. But Nielsen’s new Digital Consumer Report shows something interesting…Introducing Generation C:
“The latest Census reports that Americans 18-34 make up 23 percent of the U.S. population, yet they represent an outsized portion of consumers watching online video (27%), visiting social networking/blog sites (27%), owning tablets (33%) and using a smartphone (39%). Their ownership and use of connected devices makes them incredibly unique consumers, representing both a challenge and opportunity for marketers and content providers alike. Generation C is engaging in new ways and there are more touch points for marketers to reach them.”
So how are we growing? How are we sustaining? Are we engaging new audiences? Where are we cutting the fat? Or are we in this just for the SEO and to collect some data points?