Next Big Thing:
Internet Social Media Marketing

by Murray Conron and Burke Campbell

(A slightly abridged version of the full article presented here
appeared in The National Post  May 4, 2009)

"Is Your Firm Being Heard  on the Grapevine"?

Marketers know that when we shop, we’re strongly influenced by the recommendations of family and friends. Popular websites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn have vastly expanded this social circle, connecting individuals from all over with similar interests to find and communicate with each other online. The ‘buzz’ they generate is about people and personalities, activities, events, careers, and commodities, and that definitely includes everything people like to experience, see, use, wear, and taste. Today, SMBs are tapping into this whirlwind global gossip, using it to promote their products and services.

Here are examples of the “social media” marketing sites, what they do, and how they work.

Facebook (www.facebook.com) reports over 200 million subscribers worldwide and about half of them visit the site daily. What happens on Facebook is typical for many of the social network sites. You become a member by mounting a profile page that features your demographics and preferences and often, your occupation. For marketing, a company representative puts up a profile, with a compelling script, photo, and ad promotion, with key themes, buzzwords, or tags. Any visitor landing on the profile page and interested enough to click on the ad is identified as a strong prospect and linked to the vendor’s main site, where the company may succeed in converting him or her to buy, at least get more contact information. Since most Facebook members display their network of friends openly, businesses view these visible ‘circle of friends’ as an easy roadmap to potential customers. For vendors, the recorded consumer traffic and choices reveal what sells and help determine future marketing strategies and product development.

BzzAgent (www.BzzAgent.com) is a direct “word of mouth” (WOM) application site that sends out sample products to its members who try them and evangelize about them. Web visitors sign up as potential agents, listing their particular tastes. For any marketing campaign, hundreds of the “BzzAgents” are selected by location, demographics, and targeted preferences, and sent free samples such as cereal, books, cosmetics, and clothing, in a “BzzKit”. Agents then report their honest reactions back to marketers. The system rewards those who connect well with other consumers and generate the most feedback as reported in “BzzReports”. Successful agents receive perks like early and bonus access to more campaigns.

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is an emerging social phenomenon where users exchange news blasts, quick thoughts, insights, and ideas in short “tweets” to others in their network. Brevity is key as you answer “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less, so the platform especially targets the mobile texting and instant messaging audience. “Twitterers” choose lead members, who may be celebrities or advocates, to follow and they get to approve their own followers. Recently, one celebrity raising funds for a charity drive to provide malaria nets in Africa attracted over one million followers in a matter of weeks and incited a donation frenzy. Focused marketers and casual viewers alike can go “trending” anonymously, using keywords in the provided search engine, through the massive “microblogs” to catch the mood on the street, forecast campaign success or detect early warning signs. Firms also can post press releases here with links from their member pages to their sites.

eBay (www.ebay.ca) has matured from a successful auction platform for used goods to an expanded marketplace of online storefronts that offer deals on new products that are sold and delivered directly to consumers. Revenues in 2008 topped $US 8.54 billion. Marketers can use convenient diagnostic software such as Terapeak to profile and predict for any article being sold, the best time to sell, who is buying, at what price, and the sales cycle, so leading to new marketing campaigns and strategies.

YouTube (www.youtube.com) has evolved from a collection of personal home videos into a significant and comprehensive library recording eyewitness news, current events, educational and instructional lessons, entertainment clips, and business introductions. What’s more, the audience reactions contributed from the “street” are often abundant and very telling, if not astute. Many SMBs market themselves here by posting self-made commercials and supplying links to their blogs or websites. Consumers can focus on items of interest by tuning into established channels and subscriptions or by using keyword searches. Thanks to YouTube’s massive distribution potential, a singing phenomenon like Britain’s Susan Boyle can attain overnight stardom adored by millions of viewers who would never have seen the initial competition broadcast.)

Flickr (www.flickr.com) began as a site to showcase personal photo collections. Now it’s developing into a showy marketplace to promote business. If your business or products are very visual, then engage in a show-and-tell in the market conversations taking place. You can post pictures and slideshows with full descriptions and links, allowing visitors to reach you through specific keywords, groups, and communities and comment.

Consumer product reviews are another online WOM marketing trend with retailers like Canadian Tire, Home Depot, and Amazon. The testimonials, posted alongside the description of the product, are often candid, sharing both positive and negative consumer experiences, and with a star rating system. Credibly received, they influence sales. Online purchasers were polled and stated:

• 77% want to see consumer reviews before making a decision (Jupiter Research, 2008)

• 83% are influenced by product reviews (Opinion Research Group, 2008)

• 60% are influenced by recommendations from friends or family. (Yahoo/Harris Interactive poll, 2006)

For vendors, these consumer critiques help direct future product enhancements and more effective marketing.

Businesses have at their disposal new and powerful marketing tools in social networks. Your business on the Web may be found directly with Google or other search engine, but only by joining the social networks can you catch the attention of potential customers who are not actively searching for your products or services. Expect enterprises “getting social” to generate the next big wave of traffic on the Internet. A word of caution: acceptance of the corporate presence in these social networks will require more marketing imagination than technical implementation. Be relevant, target precisely, and deliver on every promise. Online consumer communities are becoming more active in openly appraising products and services and also the businesses that promote them.

END