If you are into the social and digital web concepts, you have probably come across several posts and theories on how we should address consumers and how an effective social web strategy should be implemented. There are various theories that explain how, where and who you should talk to, most of them relying on adaptations of popular marketing abbreviations to create a simple way of memorizing them.
As I was reading one of those theories today, I started wondering about the paradigm we are facing for the current stage of the web – the purist theories versus the companies’ mindset. The truth of the matter is – are companies evolving as the web and their consumers are?
So, I decided to create my own abbreviations in order to show the difference between what the purists’ state and what the companies are searching for:
When theorists say UNDERSTAND, companies say IMPOSE:
The theories say that you should enter a Social Network with an open mind. Understanding an audience demands time and patience. It takes strategy to bring your brand into an open space such as Facebook. It means you must be ready for whatever comes from your consumers and understand just how 2.0 a social network is. What usually happens with companies is that they want to do a full, heads-on approach on the network with their ideologies firmly imposed on the consumer.
There is a middle point to this subject. Yes, you should understand and act according to the medium you are transmitting your message, but a company should maintain their brand DNA and give the consumer some of what they are already expecting from the brand. If Facebook is synonymous with Farmville and Photo Tagging, this doesn’t mean a company has to be fun all of a sudden. It just means you should know how to position your presence accordingly, without imposing your ideals in an absolute manner – but also without selling out to the medium itself. Consumers like strong personality brands who know how to exist without corrupting their DNA.
When theorists say DIALOG, companies say SPEECH:
A Social Network is all about dialog; it’s about having a direct door to your consumer and actively engaging in a conversation where you can get all the necessary inputs to take your brand one step further. This is all fine in theory, but when companies see their walls flooded with complaints and trolling, then the whole dialog part is completely put aside and unilateral speech comes into the game.
Unilateral speech works best when you want to broadcast compelling content to your followers. Inevitably, however, being on a Social Network comes down to the fine art of balancing what you should reply to or should not for that matter: what is a relevant complaint that should be used as an opportunity to enlighten your consumer and what is just a plain rant on the brand that should be pushed aside to get lost in the ‘older section’ of your wall? There is a delicate balance to it, but one point is sure: dialog will happen on your pages and companies should be able to use it to their advantage. So, get ready to talk, know what to answer and don’t be afraid of what might be said – be afraid if it is said in a place you cannot see and react to.
When theorists say INTERESTING CONTENT, companies say YES, OURS IS ENOUGH:
There are several ways a company can behave on a Social Network – be it as customer support; content extensive; relational; or any other type of page. But one thing is for sure – the content has to be interesting in a way that creates engagement and sets the mood in the consumers’ apprehension of the page. One of the main reasons someone becomes a follower is by watching their friend interact with a companies’ page content – be it via Like, Share, Retweet, Comment, amongst all the ways of interacting. So if you are just promoting the same old content that your brand has and that you are absolutely sure that everyone will love, let the results speak for themselves.
Be bold on your approach to content. Sure, both theorists and companies agree on the importance of content, but are both speaking of the same type of content? Develop a strategy that includes what sort of content you will be exposing your followers to – be it from the brand, partners or even random obtained items that you can use to set the mood to your page. Posting a widely seen Youtube video can sometimes do the trick – but please, do it only if the video has RELEVANT context to the company. Once again – it’s all about careful thinking and middle points.
When theorists say INTERACTIONS, companies say FOLLOWERS:
If you read the previous paragraph, you already knew this one was coming. KPI’s are always necessary to evaluate a companies’ performance – and of course, online KPI’s are the best as they are “measurable”. But one of the clashes between theorists and companies is which metric counts more. While theorist will state that it’s all about the interaction you obtain from your consumers (taking into account a considerable amount of followers at a given time, of course), companies will always focus on the number of followers they can obtain. Are 10,000 fans who don’t act on your page more valuable than 5,000 who like every post?
Well, the answer to this one, in my opinion, lies on the stage of the brand presence online. A brand has two stages when entering a Social Network – first is to obtain a minimum amount of followers as defined by the preliminary strategy; and the second is to obtain a regular amount of engagement data from the content placed on the page. In the second, the number of followers will grow as users engage with the content – but the mindset is completely different. So guide your pages towards the stage you are in at that point and focus your KPI’s accordingly.
When theorists say ANTICIPATE, companies say REACT:
This should probably be on the top of the list, but I’m not really following an order. Going into a Social Network requires thought and planning; it requires knowing where you are, why you are there, and what you are doing. So “anticipation” actually means to develop a strategy before you click the “create page” button. It also means predicting consumer behaviors by knowing your own flaws and clearly talking about them with you follower base, before they have the time to snap at your company. What happens at this point is that most companies are working in a reaction method – “let’s see what happens and react accordingly”.
Once again – no clear answer for this one. While sometimes it makes sense to wait to see how the case develops, other times it’s just a way to make the snowball grow. But one point is certain – a companies’ page should have two important factors. One is a mature strategy on why/ where/ who/ how they should be on the Social Network that serves as the main guideline to whoever is managing the page itself. The other is a watchful eye – which means pay attention to what is being said on you page. If you can anticipate, do it. If it’s something you know will be answered/solved by itself, then let it be. If it’s something you can stop, react.
And finally, when theorists say ENJOY THE RIDE, companies say RESULTS NOW!
Probably one of the most interesting discussions to date requires a complete shift in the mindset to fully understand it. Online marketing has brought to the table “measurable”, “real-time” results that companies can use to evaluate their ROI. This is true when applied to a campaign website with an online campaign that is in full force for one month. The same applies to the companies’ website – with several activations and contents that go on for a year, for example. But when it comes to a Social Network it doesn’t work the same way.
Most theorists have a hard time explaining the steep follower curve a page has. You start small, grow to a certain point, hit a plateau, grow again and so forth. And there are so many variants that it is almost impossible to predict a steady growth. We’ve seen pages that, with little or no campaign, have an immense growth in a very short time – usually pages whose company has a very high target affinity and brand love. Then there are other cases where the page has a variant of growth dependant on the campaigns and type of promotions associated. Finally, there are also cases where it simply doesn’t grow, no matter what you do. The answer to the latter comes in two parts:
1. Look at your page as a long-term engagement. Promote, engage, spread, activate. Act according to the growth you obtain. Analyze the time of the year, your product’s relevance. Do not expect to sell Christmas gifts in July?. “Enjoy the ride” might sound a little too relaxed, but the truth is that you should maintain the page with some apprehension and understand that brands have different growth patterns. You just have to discover which one is right for yours – and also how much time does your specific pattern takes.
2. Although Social Networks are a world-wide phenomenon, the audiences are real people who live in the offline context. Which means each audience, according to their country, has a different approach to what they expect a brand to do on a Social Network. Countries that are less digital have a tendency to look for brands online for promotions and prizes, while the more digitalized countries are already looking for brand experience beyond the prize. The path is sure to go from the first to the latter, but develop your strategy and plan your growth also according to your target audience and their country. This means that some strategies might be fantastic for a company in one country, yet disastrous when applied to another country.
Theorists and Companies will always have a discussion on how to approach the online targets in the Social Networks. It’s a healthy conversation that leads to a more engaging and interesting online world. The trick is finding the middle point between these conversations and having the coherence to, while maintaining the DNA, adjust and plan for the open space that is a Social Network.
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