FreshNetworks Blog

This week some required reading for the team at FreshNetworks has been this set of slides from John V Willshire at PHD Media, that he presented at the APA’s ‘Future of Advertising in One Afternoon’ conference.

This is a great set of slides that look at how the changes in the media landscape are changing the role of advertising and creativity. And how the advertising industry should make the most of this opportunity. The presentation paints a clear picture showing how things have changed and what this means. Looking at the change from a Pre-Industrial to an Industrial society, and then to the Network society we have today and explaining this as a shift in terms of communications from a very localised, face-to-face relationship, through mass-media to an anytime, anywhere communications style.

This change is significant and important, in the context of online communities and social media we can also add: ‘anybody’. With these tools, anybody can communicate with anybody else, at anytime and anywhere. We are no longer constricted by the need to be local and to know people personally to be able to share ideas or to communicate with them. We’re seeing some real changes in marketing, customer engagement and market research based on this change and these opportunities.

This presentation shows how similar changes are being taken advantage of by the advertising industry too. It’s best if you watch it with the sound on.

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Some more reading

• Economic downturn could be a boom for social media marketing (freshnetworks.com)
• Reconsidering the advertising industry (freshnetworks.com)

I was interviewed recently for a piece on using Linkedin for networking. The article was looking specifically at how pharmaceutical executives could benefit from the kind of networking opportunities that Linkedin can provide. You can read the full article in the latest edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe, but the interview got me thinking about the ways in which people can use Linkedin as a networking tool, and also how you can gain some (but not all) of the benefits that you would get from a community of practice.

Many people think that Linkedin is full of recruiters, and it probably is, but really Linkedin is a classic social network. But the very thing that recruiters use Linkedin for can also be of benefit to the members themselves.

Linkedin is a classic social network. It is a ‘me’ space, focused very much on the individual members, with their profile, interests, groups and connections. This means it is easy to find and then connect with people who have similar profiles to you, searching by keywords, employers, organisations of education. The problem is what to do when you find them. Because Linkedin is such a personal space it can be difficult to approach people and difficult for them to realise the benefit of connecting with you when and if you do. In a social network you tend to emphasise yourself and your profile, and people may not realise the benefit of connecting via this.

This is where online communities can really come to the fore. Whilst social networks are about ‘me’, online communities are about ‘us’. Profiles and personal connections take second place to a shared idea, interest, focus or topic of discussion. People are represented and known for their ideas rather than their profile, and it can be easier to find people who share common interests with you, or are working in similar areas, and then easier to connect with them. You connect through your ideas and shared interest rather than your profile. To some extent this is closer to face-to-face networking. Whilst some people will connect based on a shared company, university or club, real connections come from shared interests.

Whilst Linkedin is primarily a social network, a ‘me’ space based on profiles, the groups facility (if used well) allows this more ‘us’ networking that you get from an online community. I run a Linkedin group for Online Communty Managers, and it is a great way of finding and then connecting with others who share a common interest or experience. In this case that they all work in the same area and share similar experiences in their role and is about us collectively promoting community management.

These groups are the nearest thing that Linkedin offers to the topic- or ideas-centric online communities that offer greatest value from a networking perspective. From your profile alone it can be difficult to find people who are going to be of value to you. You know their employer, their education and perhaps some of their interests. It is in these groups that they can tell you what they are interested in, what they are working on, where their expertise lies and where you could connect. Just by joining the group, you put a badge on your profile that lets others know the interests or expertise you have. But you are better to become actively involved.

With a network liked Linkedin, it is true that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The groups (and indeed the Answers feature) are the best way to do this. Add to discussion in groups, post links to articles you find of interest, comment on other people’s articles, post your thoughts in response to questions in your area. If you take part in this way, you will become known for the quality of your ideas and your contributions and make it easier for people to find you as well as for you to find others. This doesn’t need to be a time-consuming activity – dedicate half an hour every Thursday lunchtime, for example, to building your Linkedin expertise and profile.

Build your personal brand and your connections and networking slowly, a little at a time.

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Some more reading

• Social Networks – Biggest Isn’t Always The Best (socialmediatoday.com)
• Facebook and the Reality of Your Online Content (briansolis.com)
• Understanding social capital: readings from the Web (ac-idealog.blogspot.com)
• The Secret Is Out – Social Media Is Work (einnoventions.com)
• Keep up-to-date with the best in online communities blogging (freshnetworks.com)
• Social Networks as Trust Building Tools (openmode.ca)
• Online Communities Meet Clinical Trials: Inspire’s Co-Founder on Social Networking, “Health 2.0,” and Trust (xconomy.com)

Anybody with even a passing interest in online communities and social media knows that things are changing and developing. And they’re doing it quickly. From the apparent 800,000 new profiles being added to Facebook every day, to the growth that we see at FreshNetworks in the number of brands setting up their own online communities, or engaging with their consumers through social media.

It’s also an area where there is a lot of discussion as we learn from each other and collectively define and shape the online communities space. Whether it’s the merits of focusing on how we build and manage online communities (rather than technology), the protocol for how to react when somebody talks about your brand online, or the ways your online community can work offline too. There’s a lot of great debate out there and even more to be had.

That’s why it’s great to see the launch, today of Communities and Networks Connection, a collection of articles from blogs and the web about online communities and social networks from people who are passionate about them and are keen to add to the debate. I’m pleased to say that FreshNetworks is one of those contributing to the site, but more that we’re alongside people that we follow here including: Community Guy, Connectable Dots, Full Circle, Making CommunitySense, socialreporter and The Bumble Bee (to name just a few). Should be an interesting collection of thoughts and a great way to keep up with what people are thinking, saying and doing.

But perhaps more than anything this shows benefit of distributing content. In a world where user-generated content and ‘editorial’ content have merged, and where people are interacting with websites rather than just reading them, I think that distribution and sharing of content will become one of the main ways we organise and gain benefit from what we find online. We see it already in the way people are interacting with blogs. Whilst RSS feeds and email updates are still popular, many people are turning to sites which aggregate content on a similar issue, often with a level of community-organisation or editorial control. At FreshNetworks, our content is already distributed to  Futurelab, Social Media Today and Community 2.0, and many people see our content on these sites rather than on our own. That’s fine. That’s great actually. We get more good content to more people rather relying on you stumbling upon the odd post or site that’s may be of interest. In the end, content is what’s most important, and we need to let people find and interact with it as easily as possible.

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Some more reading

• Your Social Media Questions (altitudebranding.com)
• Social Media: Where to Start? (becoming-a-writer-seriously.com)
• The Five Myths of Social Media (markevanstech.com)
• Five Digital Trends to Watch for 2009 (micropersuasion.com)

People are always asking us for great examples of online communities in their particular industry, so we thought we’d start a series of great examples from different industries: Online Community Examples. Each Monday we’ll be taking a particular industry and giving three short case studies of online communities, whether for marketing, customer engagement, market research or other reasons. Today we start with the automotive industry.

Online communities in the automotive industry

The Automotive industry is a great candidate for social media and online communities in particular. The product is one that people are passionate about, either because it is an aspirational purchase, or because it fulfils a very important and functional role in their lives. People very often have strong allegiances to particular brands and may choose to always purchase, for example, a Ford or a Renault.

In this kind of market the best examples of online communities are those which build on and strengthen the strong consumer-brand link, or those which leverage the passion and involvement to help support the brand. The three examples below show how this can work. Feel free to add your comments of other examples you know of in this industry.

Harley-Davidson Museum Blog

The Harley-Davidson Museum Blog shows how brands in the automotive industry can capitalise upon the strong connection consumers feel both to the brand and to its heritage. The blog provides a way for Harley-Davidson to involve people in the brand, keep people up-to-date on what’s happening, share knowledge and content about the brand, interact with consumers and fans through the blog and comments. It’s a good example of where social media and online communities can really add value to an experience:

Before this blog existed, people would have to visit the physical museum, or get in touch with the brand direct to learn in this way. Now people all over the world can learn and even interact if they want. Whilst there are many fan sites out there, this has the benefit of coming from the brand itself. This not only lends it a level of credibility but also, and perhaps more importantly, means that they have information and data to share that others won’t.

This is a great example of engaging a passionate consumer base (and indeed a fan base), and the blog is a great way to share information and knowledge. It would be good to see more community and sharing elements included in the site – an ‘Ask Harley-Davidson’ discussion area would, I’m sure, be really popular.

Mini Insider

The Mini Insider online community is a fantastic example of amplifying word of mouth. The community was originally set up to work in tandem with an offline advertising campaign but has since grown in both numbers of people engaged and the ways in which it is used. It’s reported that 75% of Mini owners in the USA are now a member of the community, providing a rich resource of advocacy and of information. Not only do most members of the community stay loyal to the brand and buy another Mini, but it’s claimed that about half of all sales leads are actually generated by the site.

A resource like this is a great way of decreasing your conversion costs. Getting existing owners to talk about and showcase their own Minis helps those who are new to the brand to understand what they could have and what they might want to buy. We know that people trust peers more than a marketing message and so the Mini Insiders online community can be a much more powerful conversion tool than other sales and marketing routes. And when compared to face-to-face advice or sales, the online community is significantly cheaper.

GMnext

GM’s GMnext community is an interesting example of using the brand and the consumer’s relationship with it to talk about another issue. The site brings together people from senior GM exectuives (up to and including Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner), front-line employees, and retirees as well as consumers. They are encouraging conversations in five areas: vehicle design, current and emerging technologies, the environment, ideas and global corporate social responsibility. For GM, these are the areas that they think will drive the future of the automotive industry and they want to be part of (and perhaps own) the debate in these areas.

This is a good example of brands using their position in an industry to discuss issues amongst themselves and with their consumers in a very public arena. This can be a great way to position yourself as both being at the forefront of your industry, and also of being an innovative and responsive communicator. Using internal expertise and seeking external commentators is what many brands probably want to do, and online communities make it really easy for them to do it.

See all our Online Community Examples

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Some more reading

• Branding in the age of social media (freshnetworks.com)
• Benefits of Social Media (vendorblog.weddingwire.com)
• Will Ford & Auto Industry Be The Web 2.0 Turnaround Story Of 2009? (socialmediatoday.com)
• An Online Community Packing An ROI Punch (socialmediatoday.com)
• What Do Geeks and Bikers Have In Common? (markdavidson.org)

Required reading this week at FreshNetworks has been this great presentation from Mike Trap on what he calls ‘scalable intimacy’, the intersection between branding and social media.

For Trap a brand is not the stimulus, but the collective emotional response to this. In other words, a brand is not defined by the product or service, but rather it is defined by everybody who uses, talks about and interacts with it. This is reflected very much in the shift we’re seeing in marketing and advertising, from a (false) assumption that people are defined by the brands they use, to an understanding that brands are defined by the people who use them. Even though I have been known to shop there, I am not defined by Abercrombie and Fitch, rather they are defined by me, they are part of my personal brand and mingle and mix with other brands (such as Virgin Atlantic, Apple and many others). Brands are not composed of the people who buy their product, rather people are composed of the brands they use.

Understanding this is a powerful stage. As Trap suggests it means that the conversations and discussions that consumers have about a brand are of critical importance. It is here that the brand is defined and that influence and word of mouth grows. Social media allows brands to really capitalise upon this. Not only does it allow more of these conversations to go on, and more people to be reached by them, it also means that brands can facilitate and join in these conversations.

This is why online communities are important and really allow brands to engage with their customers in the way their customers have always wanted them to.

See Trap’s presentation below for more of his thoughts on this. It’s best viewed with the audio on.

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Some more reading

• Trends for 2009: Radical Transparency (designmind.frogdesign.com)
• Scalable Intimacy Presentation