Engagement, Influence, and Communal Experiences In Social Media
Humans seek out communal experiences. It's hardwired into us. All those people with laptops you see at the coffeeshop? They could just as easily be working from home. We go to movie theaters and share the experience with a hundred other people, and never need to speak a word. We crave these shared experiences, they provide a sense of belonging, a sense of greater purpose. Churches, fraternities, town halls, tweetups, the list goes on.
You cannot measure the value that each person receives from these communal experiences, only the tenuous correlation to the impact on your bottom line when you are providing that experience better than others. Ray Oldenburg, Ph.D., says
“What suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably — a ‘place on the corner,’ real life alternatives to television, easy escapes from the cabin fever of marriage and family life that do not necessitate getting into an automobile.”
He was not talking about Social Media but rather how the creation of shared public spaces can facilitate those desires.
The Virtual Sidewalk
I would argue that these same traits are what makes Social Media so attractive to so many. Social Media is our 'virtual sidewalk' where we serendipitously pass by neighbors within the community. Some professional, some personal. While it's true that there will always be persons in the community whose general influence is greater than others, each walk along that sidewalk gains us access to individuals whose import varies upon the context with which we experience them.
If your sink is clogged and a plumber walks past, his relative importance has skyrocketed. Combine that with the influence of the people who walk past and vouch for that plumbers expertise and you have the makings of community value. Trust, reliance, shared values, diversity of belief, etc. are all in play.
Won't You Be My Neighbor
Now back to marketing, brands, and social media. Brands should never forget that while they may not be explicitly engaged in a dialog with an individual, they are *always* engaged with the medium. The brands that understand that they are a neighbor in this global community, that their level of trust is built on a long series of small contacts both direct and indirect, and most importantly that understanding contextual relevance is paramount, will have a leg up on their competition. Social media is not a shortcut, it is simply another means to establish your trust so that when the consumers proverbial 'point of need' arrives you can be that plumber that the neighbors recommend.
Humanize Your Business
Don't treat social media as a direct marketing or advertising tool, treat it as a medium that allows you to humanize your business (large or small) and *earn* your place at the neighborhood picnic. Gary Vaynerchuk would say we are returning to the 'small town rules' of business. I can't say as I disagree.
Influence is earned, or borrowed from your advocates. Engagement happens in public and must be appropriate to the context at that moment. Values and a statement of greater purpose must be demonstrated in actions and not on mission statements. The community is a global giant with the behavior patterns of a local neighborhood.
Keep your lawn mowed, keep a cup of sugar handy for the neighbor who runs out, and whatever you do don't act like a door to door salesman in your own neighborhood.
Matt Ridings - @Techguerilla
5 Comments
Your plumber example is spot on. When I need a plumber, I don't need Coca-cola to sell me a new bottle size.
What I wouldn't mind seeing more of is endorsements by real people to whom I'm connected. Yelp is one avenue that works. The problem is it's not gathered up for me into one virtual street corner. I definitely have to go for a walk as it were.
Enjoyed this post. Keep writing. Move past the pain. Salut!
One, love the pic, reminds me of old family pics I have seen my Grandmother pull out of her trunk (damn why didn't I think to ask for those old photos)
Two, can you teach me to write like you? chuckle!
Three, establishing trust is key. Still see folks who spend too much time in social media though and it makes me wonder do you ever work? Hence, I have a little distrust surfacing. That old reptilian brain ;) it swings both sides of the sidewalk.
Shawn: I have to be reminded now and again that most companies are still very early in this adoption curve. When I get that wake up call a post like this one tends to emerge on my blog :)
Michele: I know, great picture right? As for teaching you to write, I'm a pretty horrible critic of my writing actually but it's flattering nonetheless. As you say, trust is definitely key. (BTW: I can't speak for everyone, but in regards to seeming like you're always online there are a few tricks that I employ that make it seem like I'm engaged far more than I actually am. I use various services to provide notifications when I'm mentioned on twitter for example that allows me to generally be very responsive without actually monitoring my stream. Custom filters for email notifications from clients and those more important folks, etc.)
Thanks everyone for the comments.
-Matt
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