2006 was the year social media went mainstream, and we've spent
much of the last year building strategies and training leadership teams
on what different aspects of Web 2.0 imply for marketers and publishers.
As you're interested in digital marketing trends, I thought you might
like a copy of the latest Digital Insight Report on social media that
we're opening up to a wider readership. It's a simple orientation to
online communities and underscores the breadth and diversity of how they
can be harnessed. Digital Strategy's associate Julie Walker is my
co-author and Nielsen//NetRatings's European Internet Analyst, Alex
Burmaster, also shares his thoughts.
Online social networks, community and user generated content should be
on the radar for every brand these days. They're transforming not only
the tools of web publishing, but the much wider nature of
communications, with ripples that will be felt offline as much as
online.
I hope you find these notes useful - maybe to explain to colleagues a
little more about how digital marketing is evolving - and if you have
some comments to add, or case studies to share, then just mail them back
and we'll weave some into the follow-up notes.
Best from all @ Digital.
Danny Meadows-Klue
Founder & CEO, Digital Strategy Consulting |
Register
for the news service
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Communities and social media
Communities are suddenly at the heart of the digital marketing mix.
The arrival of convergence presents an immediate fusion with many
different media channels, and everyone is talking about social
networking and Web 2.0.
The virtual and physical worlds have collided. Online spaces are
providing all of us smart vehicles for discussion, sharing, working
and trading. In the office working on projects, or at home planning
a holiday, the participative model for web spaces is creating a
step-change in communications. These models cross all industry
sectors, and the numbers are growing at a rapid pace. Some
communities are transient, some here for the long term. Some are
part of massive global retail or media firms, others linked to
consumer brands. In this report we've collated a few examples to
reflect the diversity of what's been developed in the last few
years, and to get you thinking about how you could develop your own
community effectively.
What are online
communities?
Our definitions of online communities are evolving, but put
simply they are the groupings of people who come together in
digitally networked spaces, with some sense of shared identity.
The underlying technology can be any form of messaging system or
forum, which is available to participants, anywhere, anytime,
typically through the internet, that facilitates an ongoing
conversation. They can be open or closed, and for groups of any
size, but typically the participants share a common interest,
attitude or topic which translates into communication. Today,
many senior marketers have online communities in their sights,
but are unsure about the most suitable online community strategy
for their organisation. There are a number of different types of
online communities:
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 Customer
review communities
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Customer service communities
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Customer pressure groups
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Customer focus groups
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Massive multi player online games (MMP)
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Communities of practice
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Information communities
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Dating communities
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Friendship communities
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Brand communities
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Entertainment communities
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Expert communities
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Personal or business networks
Speed read
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Online environments have created a new way for people to bond
together
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Millions of embryonic communities have emerged, covering the most
vast range of topics
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Online communities are developing their own rules and behaviour
patterns which can be codified and structured
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These communities vary greatly in their resilience, intensity and
longevity
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Marketers need to understand them to appreciate how the
communication landscape is changing
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Getting started
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Engage with a small sample of the target audience to develop the
offering
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Be prepared to think outside the box - identifying and
addressing unmet needs could have a bigger impact on a customer
than replicating what you do today
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Identify an experienced partner to create, host, manage and
maintain the first "online community" for your organisation -
this will keep your start-up costs down and enable you to focus
on what you are good at - understanding your business, your
customers and their needs
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"We're entering a world of conversations; marketing monologue is
replaced by dialogue, and marketers need to appreciate what this
means."
Danny Meadows-Klue,
speaking at the US Regional Newspaper Congress, San
Francisco, 2000 |
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