SlideShare une entreprise Scribd logo
1  sur  19
Télécharger pour lire hors ligne
The
Science
of
Friendship
one

      Introduction
      With the rise of individualism in our society and the substitution of face-to-face
      communication for wireless, one could easily assume that we rely less and less on
      personal interactions and the opinions of friends as we move forward in life.

      This would be a safe assumption if it wasn’t for the rise of social media sites
      allowing these seemingly independent consumers to connect to each other
      anywhere, anytime and for any reason. Networked computers are “revolutionising
      how people interact by offering a virtual space where people with common
      interests can communicate with each other electronically1.

      Ironically, it appears that social media is friendship’s natural adaptation to continue
      existence alongside this changing consumer lifestyle. Consumers can now live
      independently but take their friends with them anywhere and everywhere; for
      whatever reason and ask for purchasing advice on demand.

      Because consumers have turned away from traditional advertising means and
      can reach any type of friend on a 24 hour basis, brands are left struggling to reach
      their audiences through the most appropriate online spaces with the right selling
      messages and tactics.

      This paper looks at why social media networks are needed to promote brands
      among contemporary consumers and includes tips and tactics to effectively
      harness these online networks to connect with your target markets.
Contents
The sociological aspect.........................................................3
      Where did it come from?
      The rise of interactivity
      So what’s going on in there?
      He said, she said, I want

I heard it through the grapevine.............................................7
        Does it make it home?
        Do I care?
        Does the source make a difference?
        It’s a gamble
        I heard it from a friend
        The journey’s the real fun
        Is the source everything?
        I’ll go with you!

Scratch mine and I’ll scratch yours......................................14
       Two way techniques
       Taking it up a notch




                                                                                    two
three

         The sociological aspect
        Today you’ll struggle to find a business whose management denies that social media:

           •	 Allows online communities to be used as a venue for transmitting marketing
              information

           •	 Gathers likeminded individuals to protect and promote a brand

           •	 Assists with recovery from negative publicity through large scale word-of-mouth
              recommendations2

        What you will find is that most businesses can’t explain how social media became such
        a large scale phenomenon and who the driving forces were behind its rapid adoption into
        the B2C process.




        Where did it come from and where is it going?
        Basically, social media sprung from a culmination of new technology, old-fashioned
        curiosity and, of course the ageless reliance on the ‘friendship psychology’3. This
        combination has made sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo so popular among
        consumers today that its reach has expanded beyond tech savvy early adopting youth to
        a changing make-up of technology users that extends beyond the pre-conceived age and
        gender demographics. The work-related computer that dominated the older generations’
        technological understanding has transgressed into other computer-enabling functions
        including laptops, mobile phones and games consoles which now allow for emails, diary
        entries, instant messaging, blogs and the list goes on4.


        So what does this functionality mean? It means that consumers today are more
        connected to one another than ever and predominantly by their own choosing. A 2003
        publication for the Work Foundation’s iSociety project observed that, “the principle of
        social software is to break down the distinction between our online computer-mediated
        experiences and our offline face-to-face experiences”5. This obviously allows people
        to capture their familiarity, their location, job, activities and interests and enhance their
        activities across a broader scope of people. Consumers are fast preferring to engage
        in these ‘safer relationships’, via a screen, where they can connect with a wider circle
        of friends in a non-committal fashion6. What is interesting is that despite preferring
        non-committed online relationships they are increasingly placing weight on the
        recommendations coming from these sources rather than the tried and tested traditional
        advertising means…but why?



        The rise of interactivity
        When you look at the main difference between traditional media and social media
        it becomes clear that interactivity plays a crucial role in social media’s success and
        increasing popularity. Interactivity essentially puts the control back into the hands of the
        consumer. It allows them to decide what to see or buy, when, where, how and in what
        order. Scholler and Shavvitt in 1999 described interactivity as giving an “invitation to
        the consumer to make choices between different messages, between representatives of
        different products and across different sites and forums7”.
Consumers’ rapid embrace of social media stems from the sad reality that
consumers have been filtered one-way advertising from companies for so long
with poor value in return that they are openly avoiding traditional advertising
with increasing success, either by using new technology such as social media
or by mental will alone. Over the past three decades especially, the blatant
misrepresentation of products through traditional advertising mediums has
culminated in negative consumer responses and decreased purchasing
behaviour8.

While it appears that interactivity and rising consumer bargaining power is on the
uptake among consumers worldwide, businesses have been on the back-foot,
employing defensive strategies in an attempt to control the electronic marketplace
rather than developing strategies to attain the short and long-term benefits of an
interactive environment9.

What companies are very slowly realising is that interactivity can provide the tools
to combat the decline in attention to traditional advertising by allowing consumers to
play a role in what and how products are bought to the market. By using social media
to engage with consumers to identify both latent and non-latent motivators companies
can present their products according to what the consumer wants.




So what’s going on in there?
So to understand what consumers want it’s important to understand that their
behaviour involves risk, in the sense that any action will produce social and economic
consequences that the consumer cannot anticipate with certainty but has some
degree of awareness about. Empirical research by Bauer found that to cope with
the hazards of buying, consumers have developed risk-handling strategies such as
the repeated purchase of the same brand10. The information age has since seen
the advent of more active strategies where consumers are able to seek additional
information such as from advertising in general media, narrow media and word of
mouth.

What proves most interesting is that the relations between socioeconomic risk and
personal influence were studied, using canonical analysis and it was found that the
higher the risk involved in a particular purchase decision, the greater the importance
of personal influence11. Furthermore the social risk contributed more than the
economic risk proving that promotional strategies should try to reach consumers
through personal channels rather than general media. So why do consumers
respond so much more to a personal recommendation, and is this a new trend, a
natural human pre-disposition or just a necessary development to cope with our
increasingly complicated lives?




                                                                                         four
five


       He said, she said, I want
                                 Dr Vincent Miller, assistant professor, University of Kent

       To be honest, there is no simple answer to that question as even sociologists have
       always found ‘friendship’ a difficult area of study. This is because friendship and
       indirectly personal recommendations are always tied to something else: other
       relationships and contexts such as work, leisure and family life. In this respect,
       friendship is interwoven into almost every aspect of an individual’s life. This makes
       friendship both fundamentally important, but at the same time perplexing as an area
       of investigation.

       It’s important to recognise that friendships are, much more than any other
       interpersonal relationships we develop, a matter of choice. We may not be able to
       choose our family, or have much choice over who we work with, but we have a much
       wider degree of agency in choosing our friends and friendship groups. Because of
       this choice, friendships are a reflection of our selves, and our choices in friendships
       are fundamental to our and others’ perceptions of who we are or would like to be. In
       this way, friendship has much in common with consumer products which are chosen
       and purchased in order to say something about ourselves: both reflect our judgement.
       As a result we tend to friend people we see as similar to ourselves, and often follow
       their advice and recommendations.

       Obviously, this can be seen in social networking websites, where lists or networks of
       friends (and not, for example, personal information) occupy pride of place on personal
       profiles. Situating oneself within a publicly displayed network of friendships is perhaps
       the largest and most important of identity claims made in these contexts.

       There can be no doubt that in everyday life, we interact with our friends, ask their
       opinions, and get complimented or criticised on our tastes. Throughout history,
       these kinds of interactions have been accomplished primarily through physical
       proximity with others. However, many sociologists now claim that society has
       become increasingly mobile and as such people’s social relationships have become
       much more dispersed in terms of geography. As a result, these relationships
       have increasingly become maintained through the use of digital communications
       technologies such as mobile phones, texting, and the internet. As a result, the idea
       of being socially present has begun to move from being together in the same place
       at the same time, to something that can be maintained at a distance through the use
       of digital technology. Thus, much of social interaction has moved from the co-present
       and the physical to the mediated and the virtual.

       Social networking websites are one attempt at establishing and maintaining social
       presence with others when physical presence becomes a problem. They are another
       way of creating and sustaining a sense of belonging and intimacy in a mobile and
       uncertain world in which it is easy to become excluded or forgotten. As a result, it is
       increasingly important for individuals to establish a social presence online as a way
       to stay included in social life.This is true of businesses as well. If one can imagine
       a social networking website such as Facebook as a kind of continual conversation
       which helps to keep people together, it seems reasonable to suggest that it is vital
       for consumer-oriented businesses to also be a part of that conversation, just as
       they would like to be in offline environments. Social networking websites are part
       of two important and novel elements of online culture which have both wider social
       implications and relevance for consumer-oriented businesses.
Firstly, social networking and other kinds of social media are increasingly creating
a ‘participatory culture’ 12. That is, social media harnesses the power of collective
resources, knowledge, and collaboration. Sites such as Wikipedia and eBay, as
well as consumer feedback applications (for example, as used in hotel booking
on travel sites such as Expedia) increasingly harness ‘the wisdom of the masses’,
allowing people in disparate parts of the world to pool their resources, knowledge
and expertise together for common benefit. These largely anonymous online
environments create surprisingly high levels of trust among individuals who regularly
base purchasing decisions on the opinions and the feedback of others on such sites.
This being the case, more ‘anonymous’ online spaces such as Facebook should
engender even higher levels of trust among their users, and create an even more
influential environment in terms of consumer interaction and opinion.

Secondly, the online media environment is increasingly defined by ‘produsage’
and ‘prosumership’13. This means that consumers increasingly engage with media
and advertising on their own terms, and are just as likely to shape their own media
environment and experience by contributing to it themselves. Of course, blogging,
YouTube, and various online games are good examples of this kind of media-
savvy behaviour, but so are social networking websites. Much in the same way
that teenagers use their bedroom walls as spaces they can shape to display their
interests, affinities and creative acts, social network website users shape their virtual
social environments by creating photographs, videos, music, text, links to other web
pages, and to consumer products. Once again, it is important for businesses to
understand and interact with these new media practices in order to create a viable
online social presence and relevance in people’s lives.

Evidently, if you look at the role of social media on B2C from a sociological
perspective, it’s hard to ignore that friendships are fundamental to our and others
perceptions of who we are or would like to be. This evidently is reflected through our
purchasing habits...and at the end of the day this is why personal recommendations
in the online space can no longer be ignored by businesses looking to engage with
their key audiences.




                                                                                            six
I heard it through the
seven
          grapevine
        As consumers become more easily connected with one another and a growing
        distrust of traditional paid advertising continues to develop, the word of mouth
        amongst consumers and their friends will continue to play an influential role in
        consumer purchasing behaviour. With this in mind Hotwire worked with research
        house Vanson Bourne to question European consumers on their spending habits
        in correlation with the use of social networks as well as their propensity to act on
        the recommendations provided through these forums.


        Does a social network recommendation make it home…?
        The study into social networks and their product recommendations revealed,
        perhaps most significantly, strong differences between not only the online habits of
        consumers across Europe but the general familiarity and use of social networks as
        a product information exchange. Looking at Figure 1, of all respondents surveyed,
        French respondents claimed to have received the least product recommendations
        through social networking sites with 55% receiving none compared to just 22% of
        Italian respondents. This trend was then reflected through all product categories
        with Italian respondents exposure to recommendations being almost double that of
        their French counterpart.

        Between 34-50% of UK, German, Italian and Spanish respondents had received
        recommendations for either/both consumer products and chains of shops,
        restaurants and bars compared to just 25% of French respondents in both
        categories. This trend was further exacerbated in the financial services sector with
        only 8% of French respondents being recommended a financial services product
        via an online contact compared to 12-17% of UK, German, Italian and Spanish
        respondents. Where French respondents did considerably improve in awareness
        was entertainment products, with roughly a third of respondents receiving an
        online recommendation compared to 39-59% of UK, German, Italian and Spanish
        respondents.

        These figures suggest that when it comes to online recommendations across
        Europe Italian respondents are in a more visible and accepting online space to
        receive these recommendations than their French counterpart. It also highlights
        that of the European countries surveyed French respondents indicate that they
        subscribe interest online to a far narrower scope of interests and corresponding
        products than their European counterparts and would require a much more
        targeted approach by businesses looking to generate word of mouth.




        Yeah it’s been recommended but do I care…?
        Focusing on consumer products, specifically in the UK as shown in Figure 2, it
        can be recognised, and quite surprisingly so that of the UK respondents that had
        received an online recommendation, a whopping 64% of respondents investigated
        the product while only 26% made a purchase. Interestingly, within these figures,
        of those that investigated the product, 50% were men and 75% were women, and
        of those that made a purchase, 31% were men and 17% were women.

        What does this mean? It means that although women are receiving fewer
        recommendations through social media networks they are considerably more likely
        to investigate the product further upon receiving such a recommendation. However
        this investigation does not translate into purchasing numbers with men still almost
twice as likely to trust a recommendation and buy the product then their female
counterpart. It implies that the information women seek is not being provided
through online means, and although the recommendations are driving them to the
source, the information at this source, the final pitch if you will, may not be being
presented in a way that meets the individual’s decision making credentials.



 Figure 1. In the last 12 months did               United
 friends you’re connected to              Total                  France   Germany    Italy        Spain
                                                  Kingdom
 recommend you look at any of the          (%)                     (%)      (%)       (%)          (%)
 following via social networks?                      (%)
 Any kind of entertainment ( book,
                                           46       39            36            48    59           50
 film, sport, music, film etc)
 Any kind of consumer product (e.g.
                                           37       36            28            35    50           39
 clothes brand, food item, car
 A particular chain of shops, bars,
                                           33       34            22            42    38           31
 restaurants
 Any kind of service (flights, car hire
                                           21       16            17            15    36           24
 etc)
 Any kind of financial service
 (insurance company, bank,                 13       14             8            13    17           12
 investment managers etc)
 None of these                             36       40            55            34    22           31




Figure 2. Having been recommended any kind
of consumer product (e.g. clothes brand, food            Total            Male         Female
item, and car) - how did you react to the
                                                         (%)              (%)              (%)
recommendation?
I investigated it                                         64               58                75
I made a purchase                                         26               31                17
I passed on the recommendation                            6                6                 4
I ignored it                                              4                4                 4




                                                                                                  eight
nine

       Does the source make any difference?
       When looking at these recommendations, 70% of respondents received
       recommendations from Facebook, 10% from Twitter and 6% from YouTube. Of the
       Facebook users 67% were male and 74% were female. The clear majority achieved
       by Facebook would appear to stem from its site set-up; providing consumers with
       the understanding that their networks promote privacy and intimacy among contacts.
       The reality that you choose your friends and are able to personalise the amount
       of access they are given to your own profile works to promote the credibility of the
       recommendations that do manage to reach you, compared to sites like Twitter and
       YouTube where access is granted to anybody and everybody. It would appear from
       these findings that the social networking resources that businesses use to target
       consumers and begin the recommendation whirlpool, plays a fundamental role in how
       that recommendation is received and acted upon.



       Figure 3. Having been recommended any kind of
       consumer product (e.g. clothes brands, food, cars etc)   Total       Male      Female
       on which social networking site did you see the
                                                                (%)          (%)        (%)
       recommendation?
       Facebook                                                  70          67          74
       Twitter                                                   10           9          13
       YouTube                                                   6            4          9
       Flickr                                                    3            4          0
       Badoo                                                     1            2          0
       Bebo                                                      1            0          4
       Friends Reunited                                          1            2          0
       Linked In                                                 1            2          0
       MySpace                                                   1            2          0
       Orkut                                                     1            2          0
       PICZO                                                     1            2          0
       Sonico                                                    1            2          0
It’s a gamble….
Looking again at those across Europe who did in fact make a purchase, what is
exciting is the fact that only 5% were less than £10, while 29% were between £50-
100. For companies Europe wide, this proves that recommendations for higher
end products are being readily absorbed into the consumer marketplace at a faster
rate than lower end products. This is even more prominent with UK respondents
whose average spend totalled £61.45 compared to Spain’s average spend of
£36.76, which was the lowest of European respondents. Furthermore, of the 5% of
respondents who spent more than £100, majority stemmed from the UK, with 16% of
UK respondents spending over £100, compared to 0% of French, Italian or Spanish
respondents. So although Italian respondents overall appear more willing to buy a
product based on a recommendation, these products tend to fall within the mid-range
price range. UK respondents however, who were slightly less likely to purchase on
a recommendation, when they do purchase, tend to go for higher end products that
have come recommended by a personal source.


Figure 4. Having been
recommended any kind of
                                           United
consumer product (e.g. clothes   Total              France   Germany    Italy     Spain
                                          Kingdom
brand, food item, car) - what     (%)                 (%)      (%)       (%)       (%)
                                             (%)
was the total value of this
purchase?
Less than £10                       5        11       0        14        0           0
£10 - £25                          36        21       38       29        33         59
£25 - £50                          24        16       31       36        33         12
£50 - £100                         29        37       31       14        33         29
More than £100                      5        16       0        7         0           0
Base                               75        19       13       14        12         17
Average Spend                    £45.57    £61.45   £41.35   £40.54    £43.33     £36.76




                                                                                      ten
eleven



         I heard it from a friend…
         Of those across Europe who had not received a recommendation from an online
         source, 76% were committed to investigating the recommendation should they
         receive one in the future. Not surprisingly only 3% committed to making a purchase
         and again only 3% would pass on the recommendation. This demonstrates that
         across Europe no loyalty can be assumed from those consumers who are unfamiliar
         with this aspect of social media. Their responses across the board demonstrate
         a strong commitment to investigate the recommendation from their own personal
         stance, but they demonstrate little to no commitment to the actual product or
         site in further promoting it through online recommendations to their own friends.
         For businesses this means that when targeting consumers that are new to using
         social networks and its recommendations businesses must ensure a pleasant user
         experience to generate word of mouth buzz around its products.


          Figure 5. If social network friends DID
          recommend products or services via                 United
                                                    Total             France     Germany     Italy    Spain
          your social networks, how do you think            Kingdom
                                                     (%)                (%)        (%)        (%)      (%)
          you would react?                                     (%)

          I would investigate it                    76 %     58 %     80 %            82 %   73 %     89 %
          I would ignore it                         18 %     34 %     14 %            13 %   20 %      8%
          I would pass on the recommendation        3%        4%       6%             0%     5%        0%
          I would make a purchase                   3%        4%       0%             4%     2%        3%




         I’ve reached the destination…but the journey was the real fun….
         So specifically, what about the UK consumers who in fact have received a
         recommendation before? Well, 43% of those consumers committed to being more
         likely to shop at a website after arriving through a social network or because of an
         online recommendation. Of this number, 51% were men and 35% were women.
         32% overall claimed that they would not be more likely to shop as a result of social
         media and 25% did not know. Clearly social media is now playing a more important
         role in product recommendation and is influencing a large portion of the consumer
         population, particularly among male consumers to either buy products or by directing
         them to at least view your products, thereby increasing audience span. These figures
         do however suggest that at this point in time products must be advertised and
         promoted across both traditional and non-traditional platforms to maximise audience
         reach.

     Figure 6. Are you more likely to shop at a
     website after arriving through a social network,         Total            Male          Female
     or because of a recommendation made via a
                                                              (%)              (%)             (%)
     social network?
     Yes                                                       43               51             35
     No                                                        32               28             36
     Don’t know                                                25               21             29
Is the source everything…?
As aluded to in Figure 3 consumers are very obviously ranking their social networking
sites in terms of functionality, credibility and connections. Findings reveal that 79%
of UK respondents trust friends on Facebook to make a recommendation with 76%
of men and 81% of women agreeing. This kind of trust is not closely emulated
with Twitter, falling in 2nd place with 6% support and Windows Live/MSN with 3%
support. So basically this shows that although consumers may have numerous social
networking accounts they do not rate their contacts on each with the same esteem.
As mentioned earlier the more control the sites give you to pick and choose who you
connect with, the more weighting their recommendations are given and evidently the
more likely your product is to be chosen.



 Figure 7. Which social network’s friends do    Total           Male           Female
 you trust the most to make a
 recommendation?                                 (%)             (%)             (%)
 Facebook                                        79              76              81
 Twitter                                          6              7               5
 Windows Live/MSN                                 3              0               6
 Bebo                                             3              0               5
 Linked In                                        2              4               0
 You Tube                                         2              3               1
 Badoo                                            2              3               0
 Friends Reunited                                 1              2               0
 My Space                                         1              1               1
 Flickr                                           1              1               0
 Friendster                                       1              1               0
 Netlog                                           1              0               1
 Xing                                             1              1               0
 Other                                            1              1               0




                                                                                       twelve
thirteen


       I’ll go with you!
       Finally we examined which social networking advertising was trusted by UK
       consumers to make a recommendation. Once again Facebook won a resounding
       majority with 66% of respondents trusting their advertising methods to recommend
       a product, followed by Twitter with 4% and Bebo, Linked In and Badoo with 3%. On
       this question it becomes very clear once again that Facebook and its functionality has
       a considerable market share when it comes to consumer trust and influence.


       There can be no doubt that consumers are, and will continue to, turn to one another
       for assistance with both finding and buying products. The role social media plays
       in connecting these consumers to one another on an international scale cannot
       be underestimated. These figures demonstrate the need for businesses today to
       recognise social media, accept that it’s here to stay and work with its functionality.
       Social media will work to not only reach consumers and chant selling points, but to
       engage with consumers to generate positive word of mouth and recommendations
       about products that transcend even the most intricate and expensive promotional
       programme.


       Figure 8. Which social networking site’s        Total            Men            Women
       advertising do you trust the most to make
       a recommendation?                                (%)              (%)             (%)
       Facebook                                         66               65               67
       Twitter                                           4                5               3
       Bebo                                              3                0               5
       Linked In                                         3                3               2
       Badoo                                             2                4               0
       MySpace                                           2                3               1
       Windows MSN                                       2                1               3
       Friends Reunited                                  2                1               2
       Flickr                                            1                1               1
       Orkut                                             1                1               1
       You Tube                                          1                2               0
       Friendster                                        1                1               0
       Netlog                                            1                0               1
       Xing                                              1                0               1
       Other                                             1                1               0
       I do not use any social networking sites
                                                        13               12               13
       which feature advertising
You scratch mine and
 I’ll scratch yours
So we have established that social media and the recommendations that stem from
it are valuable to businesses worldwide, but how do we successfully harness these
tools to reach our customer base and encourage them to promote our brand among
their online peers?


Two way techniques

   1. Research your target audience in considerable detail. It is vital to understand
      WHO your target audience is, WHERE they are and HOW to reach them
      online. This does not mean just looking at their generic Facebook or MySpace
      group. The best way to achieve an in-depth understanding of your target
      audience is the age old technique of qualitative and quantitative research.
      Look at blogs relevant to their interests, research their demographic traits,
      follow links to other related websites and social pages and most importantly
      begin to engage in these sites on a simple level in order to better understand
      the psyche of the group and from this, develop suitable strategies and tactics
      to gain their attention and loyalty and thus generate leads and promoters.

   2. Decide what YOU want FIRST. Before engaging in any in-depth
      communication with these groups you need to understand what your own
      objectives are and how you aim to achieve them. As always these objectives
      need to be SMART objectives: specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic
      with a solid time frame. The key to successfully harnessing social media to
      achieve business-related goals is having milestones in place. Milestones allow
      you to recognise whether your resources and research are actually being
      directed at a lucrative portion of the market.


   3. DON’T use PUSH tactics! Many businesses are under the misconception
      that once you have identified where your consumers are congregating in the
      online space you just need to bombard them with your key selling message.
      This is not the right tactic and will only get you barred from their social
      media networks and rapidly diminish your brand presence. If you take one
      thing from this topic it must be that social media has given consumers the
      upper hand and purchasing behaviour is a two-way process. Share industry
      commentary, appear to be a resource in topics relating to the consumer by
      offering any services applicable to the consumer, i.e. seminars, video tutorials
      etc. By building a relationship based on mutual respect you are developing
      a far stronger foundation with your potential customers. And perhaps most
      importantly, ask questions that will be sure to prompt a response from
      customers...this will get the ball rolling.




                                                                                fourteen
fifteen

          4. Attract them to something worth seeing. Now that you have laid the foundation
             you need to make sure the path leads to something worth seeing. Make
             sure your company website, online shop or industry blog have something to
             keep the consumer’s attention once they have decided that you may just be
             worth their time. And don’t forget that interactivity is vital. Companies today
             are successfully using blogs, YouTube, questions and answers, online press
             offices and video testimonials to engage with consumers. More advanced
             techniques also include using traceable URLs to gauge consumer habits and
             the use of third-party applications to incorporate product and service reviews.


          5. Be at one with your consumers. Your brand needs to live where your
             consumers live. This means that the customer is no longer just at home
             cooking dinner or on the bus to work... they are at the cafe browsing
             Facebook, at work searching for contacts on Linked In or viewing commercials
             on YouTube which means you need to be there too. Not only does existing on
             these platforms increase your brand’s search capabilities, it helps increase the
             credibility of your brand.


          6. Twitter is not just for the young-hearted! Twitter, often surprisingly to many,
             allows you to “hyper-target” those interested in your space through keyword
             searches. It also can be used to improve your customer service mechanisms,
             allowing real-time promotion and issues-response.
Taking it up a notch

Now if you are looking to take your strategy beyond the average social media
presence you may want to employ some more advanced tools as outlined by John
Hinkle’s Advanced Marketing Lifelines 14.

   •	 Rich media - Using multimedia allows you to engage with your audience
      on a deeper level. By providing company videos that outline corporate
      culture, interviews with current employees and overviews of your products
      and services online consumers engage with your brand, develop personal
      opinions and relay those to their online communities in the form of either
      recommendations or criticisms.

   •	 Integrate offline and online advertising - It is important to make sure that your
      communication mechanisms all point to one another in order to ensure the
      continuity of your brand for consumers both online and off. Provide links to
      your online profiles on all traditional media advertising and vice versa.

   •	 Message adaptation - It is paramount to recognise the differences in social
      media platforms and tailor your messages accordingly rather than using a
      generic profile. It shows the individuality of your company and brand and
      engages on a more credible level with those consumers viewing the profile.

   •	 Local searches - Many companies today focus on the global market forgetting
      the importance of segmenting that market to better target key audiences.
      Don’t underestimate the importance of building a presence in local markets.
      Particularly the ones your key competitors appear in.

   •	 Contests and discounts - To go one step further than just using social media
      as a two-way communication mechanism you can use it to generate contests
      that encourage consumers to use virality as a requirement for winning. This
      not only increases the circulation of your brand but actively engages the
      consumer in your brand and company programs.

So there you have it, creating a basic social media presence is easy enough, but
successfully using that presence to encourage consumers to promote your brand for
you takes considerably more time. But once fellow consumers do choose to promote
your brand, you will reap the rewards of a considerably more lucrative consumer
base.




                                                                                  sixteen
seventeenReferences
        1 Hye-Shin, K and Jin Yong, P. (2008) “Dimensions of online community attributes”
        International Journal of Retail Management & Distribution, vol.36, issue 10, p.1

        2 Schlosser, A (2003), “Come Together, Right Now, Virtually: An Examination into Online
        Communities”, Advances in Consumer Research, vol.30, issue 2, p192-p.194

        3 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the
        February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 >

        4 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the
        February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 >

        5 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the
        February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 >

        6 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the
        February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 >

        7 Schlosser, A (2000) “Harnessing the Power of Interactivity: Implications for Consumer
        Behavior in Online”, Advances in consumer research, vol. 27, issue 1, p.79-80

        8 Dahle, M (2009). “The consumer-perceived value of non-traditional media: effects of brand
        reputation, appropriateness and expense”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol.26, issue 3,
        p.155-163

        9 Dahle, M (2009). “The consumer-perceived value of non-traditional media: effects of brand
        reputation, appropriateness and expense”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol.26, issue 3,
        p.155-163

        10 Perry, M & Hamm, B (1969) “Canonical Analysis of Relations between Socioeconomic Risk
        and Personal Influence in Purchase Decisions), Journal of Marketing Research, vol.6, issue 1,
        p.351-354

        11 Perry, M & Hamm, B (1969) “Canonical Analysis of Relations between Socioeconomic Risk
        and Personal Influence in Purchase Decisions), Journal of Marketing Research, vol.6, issue 1,
        p.351-354

        12 Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture. London: New York University Press.

        13 Bruns, A. (2008) Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to
        Produsage. New York: Peter Lang.

        14 Hinkle, J. (2010) “5 Useful Social Media Marketing Advanced Tactics to Help Your
        Business Grow” viewed at < http://marketinglifelines.com/social-media-marketing-advanced-
        tactics/ >
eighteen

Contenu connexe

Tendances

How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?
How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?
How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?guest4ffd81
 
Tribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 Explored
Tribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 ExploredTribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 Explored
Tribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 ExploredITDogadjaji.com
 
TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0
TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0
TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0Dr Mariann Hardey
 
Email marketing xfactors
Email marketing xfactorsEmail marketing xfactors
Email marketing xfactorsMundo Ofertas
 
Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...
Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...
Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...Influence Central
 
Social Media Marketing Show Za
Social Media Marketing Show ZaSocial Media Marketing Show Za
Social Media Marketing Show Zadmktg
 
Social media influencers_2010_0
Social media influencers_2010_0Social media influencers_2010_0
Social media influencers_2010_0Bijgespijkerd.nl
 
ChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_report
ChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_reportChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_report
ChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_reportChad T. Douglas
 
Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)
Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)
Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)Simon Fraser University
 
Santa Clara Design: Social Media Presentation
Santa Clara Design: Social Media PresentationSanta Clara Design: Social Media Presentation
Santa Clara Design: Social Media PresentationLauren Gulde
 
Social Media Habari Symposium Za
Social Media Habari Symposium ZaSocial Media Habari Symposium Za
Social Media Habari Symposium ZaPedrovanG
 
Leverage social media for customer interaction
Leverage social media for customer interactionLeverage social media for customer interaction
Leverage social media for customer interactionInfo-Tech Research Group
 
Twitter For Business
Twitter For  BusinessTwitter For  Business
Twitter For BusinessJanak Shah
 
The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...
The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...
The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...Deola Kayode
 
Social media marketing vignesh vaidyanathan-converted
Social media marketing   vignesh vaidyanathan-convertedSocial media marketing   vignesh vaidyanathan-converted
Social media marketing vignesh vaidyanathan-convertedVIGNESH VAIDYANATHAN
 
COI, Nick Jones
COI, Nick JonesCOI, Nick Jones
COI, Nick JonesPaul Edge
 
Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...
Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...
Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...PRmoment
 

Tendances (20)

How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?
How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?
How has social media changed the relationship between brand and consumer?
 
Tribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 Explored
Tribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 ExploredTribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 Explored
Tribes And Viruses: Communications 2.0 Explored
 
TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0
TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0
TEDxman etiquette & social media 2.0
 
Email marketing xfactors
Email marketing xfactorsEmail marketing xfactors
Email marketing xfactors
 
Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...
Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...
Intrepid Millennial Explorers: Changing The Face Of Modern Consumerism (Resea...
 
Social Media Marketing Show Za
Social Media Marketing Show ZaSocial Media Marketing Show Za
Social Media Marketing Show Za
 
Social media influencers_2010_0
Social media influencers_2010_0Social media influencers_2010_0
Social media influencers_2010_0
 
ChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_report
ChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_reportChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_report
ChadDouglas_Qualtrics_survey_research_report
 
Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)
Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)
Understanding and Managing Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM)
 
Wom, eWOM and ROI
Wom, eWOM and ROIWom, eWOM and ROI
Wom, eWOM and ROI
 
Santa Clara Design: Social Media Presentation
Santa Clara Design: Social Media PresentationSanta Clara Design: Social Media Presentation
Santa Clara Design: Social Media Presentation
 
Presentationstage1
Presentationstage1Presentationstage1
Presentationstage1
 
Social Media Habari Symposium Za
Social Media Habari Symposium ZaSocial Media Habari Symposium Za
Social Media Habari Symposium Za
 
Leverage social media for customer interaction
Leverage social media for customer interactionLeverage social media for customer interaction
Leverage social media for customer interaction
 
Twitter For Business
Twitter For  BusinessTwitter For  Business
Twitter For Business
 
The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...
The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...
The impact of social media marketing communications on consumers perception o...
 
Social media marketing vignesh vaidyanathan-converted
Social media marketing   vignesh vaidyanathan-convertedSocial media marketing   vignesh vaidyanathan-converted
Social media marketing vignesh vaidyanathan-converted
 
COI, Nick Jones
COI, Nick JonesCOI, Nick Jones
COI, Nick Jones
 
Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...
Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...
Changing Channels? How have media priorities changed for communications direc...
 
broadcast media assignment
broadcast media assignmentbroadcast media assignment
broadcast media assignment
 

En vedette

Ifrs Training Program 2012
Ifrs Training Program 2012Ifrs Training Program 2012
Ifrs Training Program 2012pgeeraerts
 
11 Ways To Be A Happy
11 Ways To Be A Happy11 Ways To Be A Happy
11 Ways To Be A Happyrajeshshirke
 
2012 Digital Trends
2012 Digital Trends2012 Digital Trends
2012 Digital Trendsalyshansmith
 
Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2
Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2
Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2Patrick Reyes
 
The Hollow Corporation
The Hollow CorporationThe Hollow Corporation
The Hollow Corporationalyshansmith
 
C:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castle
C:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castleC:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castle
C:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castleIESFONTS DEL GLORIETA
 

En vedette (12)

Ifrs Training Program 2012
Ifrs Training Program 2012Ifrs Training Program 2012
Ifrs Training Program 2012
 
Thirst For Water
Thirst For WaterThirst For Water
Thirst For Water
 
Castles Of Aragon
Castles Of AragonCastles Of Aragon
Castles Of Aragon
 
Botigues[1]
Botigues[1]Botigues[1]
Botigues[1]
 
11 Ways To Be A Happy
11 Ways To Be A Happy11 Ways To Be A Happy
11 Ways To Be A Happy
 
Claudia Y Arii Castle
Claudia Y Arii CastleClaudia Y Arii Castle
Claudia Y Arii Castle
 
2012 Digital Trends
2012 Digital Trends2012 Digital Trends
2012 Digital Trends
 
Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2
Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2
Buick gmc social media strategy and objectives v2
 
The Castles of Castile and León
The Castles of Castile and LeónThe Castles of Castile and León
The Castles of Castile and León
 
sp10osb
sp10osbsp10osb
sp10osb
 
The Hollow Corporation
The Hollow CorporationThe Hollow Corporation
The Hollow Corporation
 
C:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castle
C:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castleC:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castle
C:\documents and settings\alum 01\escritorio\parts of a castle
 

Similaire à Science Of Friendship

Noise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumer
Noise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumerNoise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumer
Noise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumerDr Mariann Hardey
 
Social media's influence in purchase decisions
Social media's influence in purchase decisionsSocial media's influence in purchase decisions
Social media's influence in purchase decisionsAnup Nair
 
Overview of Social Media for Hospitals
Overview of Social Media for HospitalsOverview of Social Media for Hospitals
Overview of Social Media for HospitalsJon Lebkowsky
 
Coca cola
Coca colaCoca cola
Coca cola1158118
 
The Social Mind Study
The Social Mind StudyThe Social Mind Study
The Social Mind StudyDon Bulmer
 
The Social Mind Research Study
The Social Mind Research StudyThe Social Mind Research Study
The Social Mind Research StudyLeader Networks
 
The social media revolution
The social media revolutionThe social media revolution
The social media revolutioni4box Anon
 
Monetizing influencers
Monetizing influencersMonetizing influencers
Monetizing influencersSunshine Baker
 
21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx
21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx
21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docxSoumyajitKarmakar7
 
Social Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdf
Social Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdfSocial Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdf
Social Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdfGrowfollows
 
10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape
10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape
10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital LandscapeDeHallam
 
Ems - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam Review
Ems - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam ReviewEms - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam Review
Ems - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam ReviewLindsayEms
 
Midterm review
Midterm reviewMidterm review
Midterm reviewLindsayEms
 
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connected
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connectedThe role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connected
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connectedChioma Chuka
 
The Social Media Revolution
The Social Media Revolution The Social Media Revolution
The Social Media Revolution i4box Anon
 
Social Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's Guide
Social Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's GuideSocial Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's Guide
Social Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's Guidechimimimusic
 
Social networking-finals-trans
Social networking-finals-transSocial networking-finals-trans
Social networking-finals-transReyesErica1
 

Similaire à Science Of Friendship (20)

Noise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumer
Noise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumerNoise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumer
Noise about nothingness - the Disconnected consumer
 
Social media's influence in purchase decisions
Social media's influence in purchase decisionsSocial media's influence in purchase decisions
Social media's influence in purchase decisions
 
PDFPortfolioAmyHendrickson
PDFPortfolioAmyHendricksonPDFPortfolioAmyHendrickson
PDFPortfolioAmyHendrickson
 
Influence of social medias on brand choice
Influence of social medias on brand choiceInfluence of social medias on brand choice
Influence of social medias on brand choice
 
Overview of Social Media for Hospitals
Overview of Social Media for HospitalsOverview of Social Media for Hospitals
Overview of Social Media for Hospitals
 
Coca cola
Coca colaCoca cola
Coca cola
 
The Social Mind Study
The Social Mind StudyThe Social Mind Study
The Social Mind Study
 
The Social Mind Research Study
The Social Mind Research StudyThe Social Mind Research Study
The Social Mind Research Study
 
The social media revolution
The social media revolutionThe social media revolution
The social media revolution
 
Monetizing influencers
Monetizing influencersMonetizing influencers
Monetizing influencers
 
21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx
21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx
21PGDM-BHU102,Soumyajit Karamakar_Capstone_Report.docx
 
Social Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdf
Social Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdfSocial Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdf
Social Medias Allure Why It Captivates Consumers Worldwide.pdf
 
10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape
10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape
10 Tips To Connect With Gen Y In A Changing Digital Landscape
 
Ems - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam Review
Ems - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam ReviewEms - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam Review
Ems - Summer I ’11 - T101 Midterm Exam Review
 
Midterm review
Midterm reviewMidterm review
Midterm review
 
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connected
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connectedThe role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connected
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connected
 
The Social Media Revolution
The Social Media Revolution The Social Media Revolution
The Social Media Revolution
 
Social Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's Guide
Social Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's GuideSocial Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's Guide
Social Media For The Healthcare Professional-A Beginner's Guide
 
Social networking-finals-trans
Social networking-finals-transSocial networking-finals-trans
Social networking-finals-trans
 
Social media
Social media Social media
Social media
 

Science Of Friendship

  • 2. one Introduction With the rise of individualism in our society and the substitution of face-to-face communication for wireless, one could easily assume that we rely less and less on personal interactions and the opinions of friends as we move forward in life. This would be a safe assumption if it wasn’t for the rise of social media sites allowing these seemingly independent consumers to connect to each other anywhere, anytime and for any reason. Networked computers are “revolutionising how people interact by offering a virtual space where people with common interests can communicate with each other electronically1. Ironically, it appears that social media is friendship’s natural adaptation to continue existence alongside this changing consumer lifestyle. Consumers can now live independently but take their friends with them anywhere and everywhere; for whatever reason and ask for purchasing advice on demand. Because consumers have turned away from traditional advertising means and can reach any type of friend on a 24 hour basis, brands are left struggling to reach their audiences through the most appropriate online spaces with the right selling messages and tactics. This paper looks at why social media networks are needed to promote brands among contemporary consumers and includes tips and tactics to effectively harness these online networks to connect with your target markets.
  • 3. Contents The sociological aspect.........................................................3 Where did it come from? The rise of interactivity So what’s going on in there? He said, she said, I want I heard it through the grapevine.............................................7 Does it make it home? Do I care? Does the source make a difference? It’s a gamble I heard it from a friend The journey’s the real fun Is the source everything? I’ll go with you! Scratch mine and I’ll scratch yours......................................14 Two way techniques Taking it up a notch two
  • 4. three The sociological aspect Today you’ll struggle to find a business whose management denies that social media: • Allows online communities to be used as a venue for transmitting marketing information • Gathers likeminded individuals to protect and promote a brand • Assists with recovery from negative publicity through large scale word-of-mouth recommendations2 What you will find is that most businesses can’t explain how social media became such a large scale phenomenon and who the driving forces were behind its rapid adoption into the B2C process. Where did it come from and where is it going? Basically, social media sprung from a culmination of new technology, old-fashioned curiosity and, of course the ageless reliance on the ‘friendship psychology’3. This combination has made sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo so popular among consumers today that its reach has expanded beyond tech savvy early adopting youth to a changing make-up of technology users that extends beyond the pre-conceived age and gender demographics. The work-related computer that dominated the older generations’ technological understanding has transgressed into other computer-enabling functions including laptops, mobile phones and games consoles which now allow for emails, diary entries, instant messaging, blogs and the list goes on4. So what does this functionality mean? It means that consumers today are more connected to one another than ever and predominantly by their own choosing. A 2003 publication for the Work Foundation’s iSociety project observed that, “the principle of social software is to break down the distinction between our online computer-mediated experiences and our offline face-to-face experiences”5. This obviously allows people to capture their familiarity, their location, job, activities and interests and enhance their activities across a broader scope of people. Consumers are fast preferring to engage in these ‘safer relationships’, via a screen, where they can connect with a wider circle of friends in a non-committal fashion6. What is interesting is that despite preferring non-committed online relationships they are increasingly placing weight on the recommendations coming from these sources rather than the tried and tested traditional advertising means…but why? The rise of interactivity When you look at the main difference between traditional media and social media it becomes clear that interactivity plays a crucial role in social media’s success and increasing popularity. Interactivity essentially puts the control back into the hands of the consumer. It allows them to decide what to see or buy, when, where, how and in what order. Scholler and Shavvitt in 1999 described interactivity as giving an “invitation to the consumer to make choices between different messages, between representatives of different products and across different sites and forums7”.
  • 5. Consumers’ rapid embrace of social media stems from the sad reality that consumers have been filtered one-way advertising from companies for so long with poor value in return that they are openly avoiding traditional advertising with increasing success, either by using new technology such as social media or by mental will alone. Over the past three decades especially, the blatant misrepresentation of products through traditional advertising mediums has culminated in negative consumer responses and decreased purchasing behaviour8. While it appears that interactivity and rising consumer bargaining power is on the uptake among consumers worldwide, businesses have been on the back-foot, employing defensive strategies in an attempt to control the electronic marketplace rather than developing strategies to attain the short and long-term benefits of an interactive environment9. What companies are very slowly realising is that interactivity can provide the tools to combat the decline in attention to traditional advertising by allowing consumers to play a role in what and how products are bought to the market. By using social media to engage with consumers to identify both latent and non-latent motivators companies can present their products according to what the consumer wants. So what’s going on in there? So to understand what consumers want it’s important to understand that their behaviour involves risk, in the sense that any action will produce social and economic consequences that the consumer cannot anticipate with certainty but has some degree of awareness about. Empirical research by Bauer found that to cope with the hazards of buying, consumers have developed risk-handling strategies such as the repeated purchase of the same brand10. The information age has since seen the advent of more active strategies where consumers are able to seek additional information such as from advertising in general media, narrow media and word of mouth. What proves most interesting is that the relations between socioeconomic risk and personal influence were studied, using canonical analysis and it was found that the higher the risk involved in a particular purchase decision, the greater the importance of personal influence11. Furthermore the social risk contributed more than the economic risk proving that promotional strategies should try to reach consumers through personal channels rather than general media. So why do consumers respond so much more to a personal recommendation, and is this a new trend, a natural human pre-disposition or just a necessary development to cope with our increasingly complicated lives? four
  • 6. five He said, she said, I want Dr Vincent Miller, assistant professor, University of Kent To be honest, there is no simple answer to that question as even sociologists have always found ‘friendship’ a difficult area of study. This is because friendship and indirectly personal recommendations are always tied to something else: other relationships and contexts such as work, leisure and family life. In this respect, friendship is interwoven into almost every aspect of an individual’s life. This makes friendship both fundamentally important, but at the same time perplexing as an area of investigation. It’s important to recognise that friendships are, much more than any other interpersonal relationships we develop, a matter of choice. We may not be able to choose our family, or have much choice over who we work with, but we have a much wider degree of agency in choosing our friends and friendship groups. Because of this choice, friendships are a reflection of our selves, and our choices in friendships are fundamental to our and others’ perceptions of who we are or would like to be. In this way, friendship has much in common with consumer products which are chosen and purchased in order to say something about ourselves: both reflect our judgement. As a result we tend to friend people we see as similar to ourselves, and often follow their advice and recommendations. Obviously, this can be seen in social networking websites, where lists or networks of friends (and not, for example, personal information) occupy pride of place on personal profiles. Situating oneself within a publicly displayed network of friendships is perhaps the largest and most important of identity claims made in these contexts. There can be no doubt that in everyday life, we interact with our friends, ask their opinions, and get complimented or criticised on our tastes. Throughout history, these kinds of interactions have been accomplished primarily through physical proximity with others. However, many sociologists now claim that society has become increasingly mobile and as such people’s social relationships have become much more dispersed in terms of geography. As a result, these relationships have increasingly become maintained through the use of digital communications technologies such as mobile phones, texting, and the internet. As a result, the idea of being socially present has begun to move from being together in the same place at the same time, to something that can be maintained at a distance through the use of digital technology. Thus, much of social interaction has moved from the co-present and the physical to the mediated and the virtual. Social networking websites are one attempt at establishing and maintaining social presence with others when physical presence becomes a problem. They are another way of creating and sustaining a sense of belonging and intimacy in a mobile and uncertain world in which it is easy to become excluded or forgotten. As a result, it is increasingly important for individuals to establish a social presence online as a way to stay included in social life.This is true of businesses as well. If one can imagine a social networking website such as Facebook as a kind of continual conversation which helps to keep people together, it seems reasonable to suggest that it is vital for consumer-oriented businesses to also be a part of that conversation, just as they would like to be in offline environments. Social networking websites are part of two important and novel elements of online culture which have both wider social implications and relevance for consumer-oriented businesses.
  • 7. Firstly, social networking and other kinds of social media are increasingly creating a ‘participatory culture’ 12. That is, social media harnesses the power of collective resources, knowledge, and collaboration. Sites such as Wikipedia and eBay, as well as consumer feedback applications (for example, as used in hotel booking on travel sites such as Expedia) increasingly harness ‘the wisdom of the masses’, allowing people in disparate parts of the world to pool their resources, knowledge and expertise together for common benefit. These largely anonymous online environments create surprisingly high levels of trust among individuals who regularly base purchasing decisions on the opinions and the feedback of others on such sites. This being the case, more ‘anonymous’ online spaces such as Facebook should engender even higher levels of trust among their users, and create an even more influential environment in terms of consumer interaction and opinion. Secondly, the online media environment is increasingly defined by ‘produsage’ and ‘prosumership’13. This means that consumers increasingly engage with media and advertising on their own terms, and are just as likely to shape their own media environment and experience by contributing to it themselves. Of course, blogging, YouTube, and various online games are good examples of this kind of media- savvy behaviour, but so are social networking websites. Much in the same way that teenagers use their bedroom walls as spaces they can shape to display their interests, affinities and creative acts, social network website users shape their virtual social environments by creating photographs, videos, music, text, links to other web pages, and to consumer products. Once again, it is important for businesses to understand and interact with these new media practices in order to create a viable online social presence and relevance in people’s lives. Evidently, if you look at the role of social media on B2C from a sociological perspective, it’s hard to ignore that friendships are fundamental to our and others perceptions of who we are or would like to be. This evidently is reflected through our purchasing habits...and at the end of the day this is why personal recommendations in the online space can no longer be ignored by businesses looking to engage with their key audiences. six
  • 8. I heard it through the seven grapevine As consumers become more easily connected with one another and a growing distrust of traditional paid advertising continues to develop, the word of mouth amongst consumers and their friends will continue to play an influential role in consumer purchasing behaviour. With this in mind Hotwire worked with research house Vanson Bourne to question European consumers on their spending habits in correlation with the use of social networks as well as their propensity to act on the recommendations provided through these forums. Does a social network recommendation make it home…? The study into social networks and their product recommendations revealed, perhaps most significantly, strong differences between not only the online habits of consumers across Europe but the general familiarity and use of social networks as a product information exchange. Looking at Figure 1, of all respondents surveyed, French respondents claimed to have received the least product recommendations through social networking sites with 55% receiving none compared to just 22% of Italian respondents. This trend was then reflected through all product categories with Italian respondents exposure to recommendations being almost double that of their French counterpart. Between 34-50% of UK, German, Italian and Spanish respondents had received recommendations for either/both consumer products and chains of shops, restaurants and bars compared to just 25% of French respondents in both categories. This trend was further exacerbated in the financial services sector with only 8% of French respondents being recommended a financial services product via an online contact compared to 12-17% of UK, German, Italian and Spanish respondents. Where French respondents did considerably improve in awareness was entertainment products, with roughly a third of respondents receiving an online recommendation compared to 39-59% of UK, German, Italian and Spanish respondents. These figures suggest that when it comes to online recommendations across Europe Italian respondents are in a more visible and accepting online space to receive these recommendations than their French counterpart. It also highlights that of the European countries surveyed French respondents indicate that they subscribe interest online to a far narrower scope of interests and corresponding products than their European counterparts and would require a much more targeted approach by businesses looking to generate word of mouth. Yeah it’s been recommended but do I care…? Focusing on consumer products, specifically in the UK as shown in Figure 2, it can be recognised, and quite surprisingly so that of the UK respondents that had received an online recommendation, a whopping 64% of respondents investigated the product while only 26% made a purchase. Interestingly, within these figures, of those that investigated the product, 50% were men and 75% were women, and of those that made a purchase, 31% were men and 17% were women. What does this mean? It means that although women are receiving fewer recommendations through social media networks they are considerably more likely to investigate the product further upon receiving such a recommendation. However this investigation does not translate into purchasing numbers with men still almost
  • 9. twice as likely to trust a recommendation and buy the product then their female counterpart. It implies that the information women seek is not being provided through online means, and although the recommendations are driving them to the source, the information at this source, the final pitch if you will, may not be being presented in a way that meets the individual’s decision making credentials. Figure 1. In the last 12 months did United friends you’re connected to Total France Germany Italy Spain Kingdom recommend you look at any of the (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) following via social networks? (%) Any kind of entertainment ( book, 46 39 36 48 59 50 film, sport, music, film etc) Any kind of consumer product (e.g. 37 36 28 35 50 39 clothes brand, food item, car A particular chain of shops, bars, 33 34 22 42 38 31 restaurants Any kind of service (flights, car hire 21 16 17 15 36 24 etc) Any kind of financial service (insurance company, bank, 13 14 8 13 17 12 investment managers etc) None of these 36 40 55 34 22 31 Figure 2. Having been recommended any kind of consumer product (e.g. clothes brand, food Total Male Female item, and car) - how did you react to the (%) (%) (%) recommendation? I investigated it 64 58 75 I made a purchase 26 31 17 I passed on the recommendation 6 6 4 I ignored it 4 4 4 eight
  • 10. nine Does the source make any difference? When looking at these recommendations, 70% of respondents received recommendations from Facebook, 10% from Twitter and 6% from YouTube. Of the Facebook users 67% were male and 74% were female. The clear majority achieved by Facebook would appear to stem from its site set-up; providing consumers with the understanding that their networks promote privacy and intimacy among contacts. The reality that you choose your friends and are able to personalise the amount of access they are given to your own profile works to promote the credibility of the recommendations that do manage to reach you, compared to sites like Twitter and YouTube where access is granted to anybody and everybody. It would appear from these findings that the social networking resources that businesses use to target consumers and begin the recommendation whirlpool, plays a fundamental role in how that recommendation is received and acted upon. Figure 3. Having been recommended any kind of consumer product (e.g. clothes brands, food, cars etc) Total Male Female on which social networking site did you see the (%) (%) (%) recommendation? Facebook 70 67 74 Twitter 10 9 13 YouTube 6 4 9 Flickr 3 4 0 Badoo 1 2 0 Bebo 1 0 4 Friends Reunited 1 2 0 Linked In 1 2 0 MySpace 1 2 0 Orkut 1 2 0 PICZO 1 2 0 Sonico 1 2 0
  • 11. It’s a gamble…. Looking again at those across Europe who did in fact make a purchase, what is exciting is the fact that only 5% were less than £10, while 29% were between £50- 100. For companies Europe wide, this proves that recommendations for higher end products are being readily absorbed into the consumer marketplace at a faster rate than lower end products. This is even more prominent with UK respondents whose average spend totalled £61.45 compared to Spain’s average spend of £36.76, which was the lowest of European respondents. Furthermore, of the 5% of respondents who spent more than £100, majority stemmed from the UK, with 16% of UK respondents spending over £100, compared to 0% of French, Italian or Spanish respondents. So although Italian respondents overall appear more willing to buy a product based on a recommendation, these products tend to fall within the mid-range price range. UK respondents however, who were slightly less likely to purchase on a recommendation, when they do purchase, tend to go for higher end products that have come recommended by a personal source. Figure 4. Having been recommended any kind of United consumer product (e.g. clothes Total France Germany Italy Spain Kingdom brand, food item, car) - what (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) was the total value of this purchase? Less than £10 5 11 0 14 0 0 £10 - £25 36 21 38 29 33 59 £25 - £50 24 16 31 36 33 12 £50 - £100 29 37 31 14 33 29 More than £100 5 16 0 7 0 0 Base 75 19 13 14 12 17 Average Spend £45.57 £61.45 £41.35 £40.54 £43.33 £36.76 ten
  • 12. eleven I heard it from a friend… Of those across Europe who had not received a recommendation from an online source, 76% were committed to investigating the recommendation should they receive one in the future. Not surprisingly only 3% committed to making a purchase and again only 3% would pass on the recommendation. This demonstrates that across Europe no loyalty can be assumed from those consumers who are unfamiliar with this aspect of social media. Their responses across the board demonstrate a strong commitment to investigate the recommendation from their own personal stance, but they demonstrate little to no commitment to the actual product or site in further promoting it through online recommendations to their own friends. For businesses this means that when targeting consumers that are new to using social networks and its recommendations businesses must ensure a pleasant user experience to generate word of mouth buzz around its products. Figure 5. If social network friends DID recommend products or services via United Total France Germany Italy Spain your social networks, how do you think Kingdom (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) you would react? (%) I would investigate it 76 % 58 % 80 % 82 % 73 % 89 % I would ignore it 18 % 34 % 14 % 13 % 20 % 8% I would pass on the recommendation 3% 4% 6% 0% 5% 0% I would make a purchase 3% 4% 0% 4% 2% 3% I’ve reached the destination…but the journey was the real fun…. So specifically, what about the UK consumers who in fact have received a recommendation before? Well, 43% of those consumers committed to being more likely to shop at a website after arriving through a social network or because of an online recommendation. Of this number, 51% were men and 35% were women. 32% overall claimed that they would not be more likely to shop as a result of social media and 25% did not know. Clearly social media is now playing a more important role in product recommendation and is influencing a large portion of the consumer population, particularly among male consumers to either buy products or by directing them to at least view your products, thereby increasing audience span. These figures do however suggest that at this point in time products must be advertised and promoted across both traditional and non-traditional platforms to maximise audience reach. Figure 6. Are you more likely to shop at a website after arriving through a social network, Total Male Female or because of a recommendation made via a (%) (%) (%) social network? Yes 43 51 35 No 32 28 36 Don’t know 25 21 29
  • 13. Is the source everything…? As aluded to in Figure 3 consumers are very obviously ranking their social networking sites in terms of functionality, credibility and connections. Findings reveal that 79% of UK respondents trust friends on Facebook to make a recommendation with 76% of men and 81% of women agreeing. This kind of trust is not closely emulated with Twitter, falling in 2nd place with 6% support and Windows Live/MSN with 3% support. So basically this shows that although consumers may have numerous social networking accounts they do not rate their contacts on each with the same esteem. As mentioned earlier the more control the sites give you to pick and choose who you connect with, the more weighting their recommendations are given and evidently the more likely your product is to be chosen. Figure 7. Which social network’s friends do Total Male Female you trust the most to make a recommendation? (%) (%) (%) Facebook 79 76 81 Twitter 6 7 5 Windows Live/MSN 3 0 6 Bebo 3 0 5 Linked In 2 4 0 You Tube 2 3 1 Badoo 2 3 0 Friends Reunited 1 2 0 My Space 1 1 1 Flickr 1 1 0 Friendster 1 1 0 Netlog 1 0 1 Xing 1 1 0 Other 1 1 0 twelve
  • 14. thirteen I’ll go with you! Finally we examined which social networking advertising was trusted by UK consumers to make a recommendation. Once again Facebook won a resounding majority with 66% of respondents trusting their advertising methods to recommend a product, followed by Twitter with 4% and Bebo, Linked In and Badoo with 3%. On this question it becomes very clear once again that Facebook and its functionality has a considerable market share when it comes to consumer trust and influence. There can be no doubt that consumers are, and will continue to, turn to one another for assistance with both finding and buying products. The role social media plays in connecting these consumers to one another on an international scale cannot be underestimated. These figures demonstrate the need for businesses today to recognise social media, accept that it’s here to stay and work with its functionality. Social media will work to not only reach consumers and chant selling points, but to engage with consumers to generate positive word of mouth and recommendations about products that transcend even the most intricate and expensive promotional programme. Figure 8. Which social networking site’s Total Men Women advertising do you trust the most to make a recommendation? (%) (%) (%) Facebook 66 65 67 Twitter 4 5 3 Bebo 3 0 5 Linked In 3 3 2 Badoo 2 4 0 MySpace 2 3 1 Windows MSN 2 1 3 Friends Reunited 2 1 2 Flickr 1 1 1 Orkut 1 1 1 You Tube 1 2 0 Friendster 1 1 0 Netlog 1 0 1 Xing 1 0 1 Other 1 1 0 I do not use any social networking sites 13 12 13 which feature advertising
  • 15. You scratch mine and I’ll scratch yours So we have established that social media and the recommendations that stem from it are valuable to businesses worldwide, but how do we successfully harness these tools to reach our customer base and encourage them to promote our brand among their online peers? Two way techniques 1. Research your target audience in considerable detail. It is vital to understand WHO your target audience is, WHERE they are and HOW to reach them online. This does not mean just looking at their generic Facebook or MySpace group. The best way to achieve an in-depth understanding of your target audience is the age old technique of qualitative and quantitative research. Look at blogs relevant to their interests, research their demographic traits, follow links to other related websites and social pages and most importantly begin to engage in these sites on a simple level in order to better understand the psyche of the group and from this, develop suitable strategies and tactics to gain their attention and loyalty and thus generate leads and promoters. 2. Decide what YOU want FIRST. Before engaging in any in-depth communication with these groups you need to understand what your own objectives are and how you aim to achieve them. As always these objectives need to be SMART objectives: specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic with a solid time frame. The key to successfully harnessing social media to achieve business-related goals is having milestones in place. Milestones allow you to recognise whether your resources and research are actually being directed at a lucrative portion of the market. 3. DON’T use PUSH tactics! Many businesses are under the misconception that once you have identified where your consumers are congregating in the online space you just need to bombard them with your key selling message. This is not the right tactic and will only get you barred from their social media networks and rapidly diminish your brand presence. If you take one thing from this topic it must be that social media has given consumers the upper hand and purchasing behaviour is a two-way process. Share industry commentary, appear to be a resource in topics relating to the consumer by offering any services applicable to the consumer, i.e. seminars, video tutorials etc. By building a relationship based on mutual respect you are developing a far stronger foundation with your potential customers. And perhaps most importantly, ask questions that will be sure to prompt a response from customers...this will get the ball rolling. fourteen
  • 16. fifteen 4. Attract them to something worth seeing. Now that you have laid the foundation you need to make sure the path leads to something worth seeing. Make sure your company website, online shop or industry blog have something to keep the consumer’s attention once they have decided that you may just be worth their time. And don’t forget that interactivity is vital. Companies today are successfully using blogs, YouTube, questions and answers, online press offices and video testimonials to engage with consumers. More advanced techniques also include using traceable URLs to gauge consumer habits and the use of third-party applications to incorporate product and service reviews. 5. Be at one with your consumers. Your brand needs to live where your consumers live. This means that the customer is no longer just at home cooking dinner or on the bus to work... they are at the cafe browsing Facebook, at work searching for contacts on Linked In or viewing commercials on YouTube which means you need to be there too. Not only does existing on these platforms increase your brand’s search capabilities, it helps increase the credibility of your brand. 6. Twitter is not just for the young-hearted! Twitter, often surprisingly to many, allows you to “hyper-target” those interested in your space through keyword searches. It also can be used to improve your customer service mechanisms, allowing real-time promotion and issues-response.
  • 17. Taking it up a notch Now if you are looking to take your strategy beyond the average social media presence you may want to employ some more advanced tools as outlined by John Hinkle’s Advanced Marketing Lifelines 14. • Rich media - Using multimedia allows you to engage with your audience on a deeper level. By providing company videos that outline corporate culture, interviews with current employees and overviews of your products and services online consumers engage with your brand, develop personal opinions and relay those to their online communities in the form of either recommendations or criticisms. • Integrate offline and online advertising - It is important to make sure that your communication mechanisms all point to one another in order to ensure the continuity of your brand for consumers both online and off. Provide links to your online profiles on all traditional media advertising and vice versa. • Message adaptation - It is paramount to recognise the differences in social media platforms and tailor your messages accordingly rather than using a generic profile. It shows the individuality of your company and brand and engages on a more credible level with those consumers viewing the profile. • Local searches - Many companies today focus on the global market forgetting the importance of segmenting that market to better target key audiences. Don’t underestimate the importance of building a presence in local markets. Particularly the ones your key competitors appear in. • Contests and discounts - To go one step further than just using social media as a two-way communication mechanism you can use it to generate contests that encourage consumers to use virality as a requirement for winning. This not only increases the circulation of your brand but actively engages the consumer in your brand and company programs. So there you have it, creating a basic social media presence is easy enough, but successfully using that presence to encourage consumers to promote your brand for you takes considerably more time. But once fellow consumers do choose to promote your brand, you will reap the rewards of a considerably more lucrative consumer base. sixteen
  • 18. seventeenReferences 1 Hye-Shin, K and Jin Yong, P. (2008) “Dimensions of online community attributes” International Journal of Retail Management & Distribution, vol.36, issue 10, p.1 2 Schlosser, A (2003), “Come Together, Right Now, Virtually: An Examination into Online Communities”, Advances in Consumer Research, vol.30, issue 2, p192-p.194 3 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 > 4 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 > 5 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 > 6 Design Council (2010), “ Curtain twitches, the CIA and the rise of Facebook”, viewed on the February 12th 2010 at < http://use8.net/calendar.php?e=0&s=104 > 7 Schlosser, A (2000) “Harnessing the Power of Interactivity: Implications for Consumer Behavior in Online”, Advances in consumer research, vol. 27, issue 1, p.79-80 8 Dahle, M (2009). “The consumer-perceived value of non-traditional media: effects of brand reputation, appropriateness and expense”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol.26, issue 3, p.155-163 9 Dahle, M (2009). “The consumer-perceived value of non-traditional media: effects of brand reputation, appropriateness and expense”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol.26, issue 3, p.155-163 10 Perry, M & Hamm, B (1969) “Canonical Analysis of Relations between Socioeconomic Risk and Personal Influence in Purchase Decisions), Journal of Marketing Research, vol.6, issue 1, p.351-354 11 Perry, M & Hamm, B (1969) “Canonical Analysis of Relations between Socioeconomic Risk and Personal Influence in Purchase Decisions), Journal of Marketing Research, vol.6, issue 1, p.351-354 12 Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture. London: New York University Press. 13 Bruns, A. (2008) Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage. New York: Peter Lang. 14 Hinkle, J. (2010) “5 Useful Social Media Marketing Advanced Tactics to Help Your Business Grow” viewed at < http://marketinglifelines.com/social-media-marketing-advanced- tactics/ >