Month: September 2012

Since I grew up in a baseball family, I am a big fan of the game. This fact, coupled with my degree specializing in Marketing, meant I naturally found Brian Solis’ interview with the social media director of the San Francisco Giants interesting. Here are a few of the highlights, and my insights on them. (And I have to add: my dad would be proud of this post!)

Baseball is probably the most traditional sport out there, with strong roots in its past, typically slow to adopt changes. It is America’s beloved past time. Yet despite this, it has managed to adapt in today’s changing environment, making powerful use of social media. Why? Because as Brian Srabian said: baseball is inherently social. Fans have always enjoyed taking pictures of them selves in the stadium, and discussing game strategy or player performance with each other. Now, this sharing and conversing has progressed onto Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where there is actually so much user generated content that teams must have their own social media managers to help compile, guide, and contribute to the online discussion.

As is expected from user-generated content, fans are the ones sharing their photos, videos and updates for the team, adding more value and credibility than if its source was strictly from the team’s social media manager. However Brian Solis urges viewers to think further about how sports teams can realize and leverage this, and how the value is not from the fact that fans can control the content, but because they feel they need to share it. Fans feel compelled, to share because they want people to be a part of it with them. I think this reality raises a good point about the need for community. People want to share their experience with others who understand the true value behind what they feel passionate about, so they have someone to relate to, or even show off to. These psychological reasons speak volumes as to why brand communities are so important. With these loyal communities now posting and discussing online, it has become that much easier for the team (much like a company) to monitor them and identify who their main influencers are that build up the rest of the community. This can be valuable information for detailed segmentation and targeting, as well as knowing which fans to converse with to continue the online discussion and attempt to engage other less-involved fans.

To watch the video: Brian Solis Interviews Brian Srabian

As marketing students, we are often asked by aunts/grandpas/friends/ __(name your skeptical acquaintance here)__ “Why should I take social media seriously?” Usually I know what to say, like: it can make your company stronger by allowing you to listen to consumers, react, and build faster and more efficiently. It gives you constant visibility with an audience, and allows you to create and build a community surrounding your brand, increasing loyalty. It even helps lower the time it takes to convince customers to desire your brand; when someone from social media lands on your site to make a purchase, they do it faster.

But I have to admit; at times I am at a loss for words, especially when the conversation takes a turn towards some specific social media sites. For example, Viddy, a new social network that is catching on, is an example of how the value added by social media tactics is not always readily apparent. Viddy is like Instagram for 15 seconds (or less) videos. Take a look at a campaign 6S Marketing (click here) attempted to test out Viddy’s effectiveness. Personally, I see little value in their $5 To Pay It Forward campaign. I understand the sentiment behind trying to spark the trend of random acts of kindness, where others follow their lead and make their own Pay It Forward video clips. However, 5-second clips do not seem like the most powerful way to do this. Longer videos would at least allow for more explanation to each story, and recognition to those paying it forward. Although Viddy is clever to cater to our short attention spans, let’s face it: people usually need more than a quick example to embrace the sentiment of charity (like a specific cause they relate to from their own experiences, or a longer story they can build up sympathy towards).

In general, the purpose of creating a promotional or entertaining video is to hope that it goes viral, spreading awareness and likability of your company, brand, or cause, as far as possible. This is why Youtube became so popular. But a five second video? Anything that can go viral on Viddy, can go viral on YouTube. I fail to see the differentiated benefits. One can argue that any picture posted on Pinterest can be posted on Facebook, yet Pinterest is now considered to be a well-known social media platform– Why can’t Viddy do the same? However, Facebook is perceived as a way to share personal photo albums, to show off your life to friends and family. Although some do post static images with words and designs, that was never a part of Facebook’s original purpose, and it is not necessarily what customers expect from it. That is why Pinterest was able to differentiate itself, by creating a platform specifically for sharing bulletins of images. Alternatively, I believe Viddy will struggle to convince consumers that a platform for sharing tiny video clips will be of long term benefit.

To check out more examples from Viddy yourself, go to www.viddy.com

When discussing the psychological side of online searches, the subject of consumer behavior appears to be forever changing, even faster than our textbooks can keep up with. But is it really changing?

One blog that caught my attention was from Brian Solis in his reference to “Generation C”. (Refer to Brian Solis’ Blog) In one post he associates Generation C not to the Millenial, (those who were born after Facebook and tablets became a way of life, and who can’t fathom a world without them) but to those that live and breathe online searches. He describes them by saying:  “They’re always on. They rely on the shared experiences of strangers to guide their actions.” According to him, this is the group of people that will dictate the future of how marketers reach, advertise, and connect with consumers.

Right now, the social norm is to have a Facebook account, Twitter account, perhaps a Pinterest or Yelp account, and maybe a blog. But for the everyday majority, our social media existence does not reach far beyond these platforms. What Brian explains is how this norm is going to advance. The way I picture his idea is like this: more of us will become more like the one or two friends we deem to be “tech-savy” because they use online customer reviews for what seems like every purchase they make, and they enjoy posting their opinion about products or services they’ve used in the past. He goes on to say that as long as a company is not too reactionary, but instead is pro-active in planning future marketing tactics, then this new and improved majority will create a great opportunity. As Brian reminds them: “You’re not competing as much for the present as you are for the future”.

Although I find the concept of Generation C interesting, and I agree that online trends are constantly changing and improving, to me, this type of person will not become quite as widespread and prevalent as he discusses. I think technology will continue to evolve, but the everyday person will not. The average Joe will remain uneducated. Joe does not search for the best downloading torrent site. Joe does not search for online forums that discuss improvements for the latest version of computer programs. These topics are over Average Joe’s grasp, and will only continue to be as technologies advance. Indeed many people still don’t know how to properly write search parameters (like putting a + in front of the most important key word) and think that writing a full sentence into the search bar will get them the most accurate results. I think the majority will continue to be made of those who remain ignorant about the possibilities of the online world, simply because they only go online to download music, or find an essay topic, or shop for clothes, or fix their printer, or pick a nearby restaurant– and that’s it. They use it for rather menial tasks, and they do not use it as a channel for communicating their opinions or finding advice.

The Internet will not become a tool that everyone uses to make every decision. Society will remain dominated by those who do not actively participate in the online community, and who trust few, preferring to take recommendations from the word of mouth of friends instead of strangers identified only by an online username.