Everything You Wanted to Know about Social Media - July 2009

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In the past 500 years of human history there have been four media revolutions. Each fundamentally changed the way we communicated. Printing press, movable type, inkTwo-way conversations with the telegraph then the telephone – revolutionised communications Recorded media – photos, sound, images – led to historical records – still one to manyHarnessing the electromagnetic spectrum enabled us to send sound and images through airwaves – first radio then television

As Thomas Jefferson said – every generation needs its revolution. Make no mistake. Social media is the “largest increase in expressive capability in human history”.We do not have a choice. The question is NOT do we want to participate. It is happening and people are actively engaged in discussing your brand – and your clients. The question is, “how do we participate”?To do that let’s examine how college students are using social media.

Today we’re in the midst of the fifth media revolution in the past 500 years. That places firms like Deloitte in prime position to provide direction, guidance and support to clients.

So, bringing the brand into social spaces calls for a new understanding – something more fundamental to understanding social media.Let’s talk about sociology….

To start let me borrow from Gertrude Stein’s quote: “There is No There There”Wizard of Oz is a classic “destination” story – all about getting there. We’ve become destination-focused in We 2.0 world. Our mindset is about driving consumers to some specific place that we create and we control.That’s a comfortable model for us: we can measure, have a sense of being effective.Above all it’s familiar; the destination site is the online version of a physical retail presence.The problem is, this approach is at odds with consumer behavior. The idea of driving consumers somewhere is outdated and out of step – there is no there.

To put it in retail terms, think about the importance of convenience. Would you open a store in this mall?No, you open stores where people are or where people go. You don’t expect them to change their lives to come to you.When it comes to social networks, people have already established their roots, and brands need to adapt to them, not vice versa.

Obama is the most progressive brand in realizing that there is no there and building an appropriate strategy.Obama does have his own social network, mybarackobama.com, but that is by no means the focus of his social strategy. It’s not about getting people there, being “sticky,” etc.He has also created 16 official presences in other social nets.Not to mention the countless social spaces that consumers have started – over 500 on Facebook alone (some of them not so nice, by the way).This graphic is on his homepage – it’s sort of a passport to the social web.

Let’s take a look at what the overall group of communities looks likeA quick count of members of the various obama communities comes out to 3.7M members, conservatively (did not go through the 500+ Facebook groups)Of that total, only 930K, or 25%, are members of Obama’s personal siteHad Obama gone the typical route, and just built the destination, 75% of the community wouldn’t exist.Let’s use that as a benchmark – 75% of the potential social audience exists outside of our owned destinations. Why wouldn’t we want to tap into that 75%?

So, There is No There – we need to move away from a destination mindset and toward a distribution mindset. Be where people are, and participate in a way that speaks to them directly.But there are big implications to being in all of these social spaces. First of all, it’s a lot of work to maintain a presence in multiple spaces.You’re in people’s personal environments, so the cost of entry is relevance.How can we be relevant to many small groups of people who have self-organized around some interest?

U.S. teenagers spend 60 percent less time watching TV than their parents, and 600 percent more time online.Survey conducted of Deakin University students in July 2009. Some 90 respondents to an on-line survey promoted amongst students in technology and communications disciplines.17 to 21 - 44.3%22 to 30 - 30.7%31 to 45 - 23.9%

Connections – some 92 percent use social media as an extra avenue for friends.More than half use social media for publishing

Concerned about growing commercial nature of on-line sites – but also believe more companies need to get involved.

So, bringing the brand into social spaces calls for a new understanding – something more fundamental to understanding social media.Let’s talk about sociology….

At heart we are the same people as our ancestors – even if our tribes have changed.Soccer Moms...Metro-sexuals...Christian fundamentalists...Forever 40s...Disciples of Beckham...

To understand social media we need to understand people.

Technology allows new ways of expressing ourselves.From Guttenberg to Blogspot – everyone has looked for ways to express themselves. This is the greatest democratic movement in history of the world – the liberation of the individual voice.

Telephone, printing press, recorded media – even airwave transmission of messages. It was always one to one or one to many.Today I have 5,000 readers of my blog. We’re in a brand new field – many to many.

You need to help clients create an environment to convene and support groups.The choice is NOT – “do we participate.” This is the environment today. Participate or not you are in the conversation. Now the question is – HOW do you participate?

Finally, we need to rethink our view of socialSocial is not off to the side. Should be core, ongoing effort. Should be part of every program. Media, Search, and SocialIt’s not a question of will it work for us.Because it works for the consumer.

To all evaluating social media – I have bad news. This is not the story. It is too static – and includes too many borders.

In fact in 5 years time “The Economist” predicts these sites will disappear – they impose artificial boundaries impeding the free flow of information. Think instead of your personal space without boundaries – independent of any one site.

The question we have to answer is, how do we make it work for us.

I bet Hillary Clinton would agree with this.The social web changes power dynamics, and the brands that can become connectors will win.

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Everything You Wanted to Know about Social Media - July 2009 - Presentation Transcript

Everything you always wanted to know about social media
Deloitte Innovation Lounge
Walter Jennings
July 2009
But were afraid to ask
“Every generation needs a new revolution.”
Thomas Jefferson
movable type
one to many
telegraph & phone
one to one
500 years
4 revolutions
airwaves
one to many
recorded image
one to many
REVOLUTION
GLOBAL
ONLINE
“the largest increase in expressive capability in human history.”
- Clay Shirky, Author
- global
- social
- ubiquitous
- cheap
publishers formerly known as audience
many to many
ch-ch-ch-changes
“there is no there there”
Virginia Woolf
Web 2.0
build things where people are,
not where we want them to be.
1
MyBarackObama.com
16
Official Social Spaces
+
500
Facebook Groups
75% of the community
exists “out there”
Facebook
(official)
1,110
Facebook
(“1M Strong”)
587
MyBarackObama
930
Glee
2
Twitter
46
Black Planet
490
Mi
Gente
54
MySpace
415
You
Tube
62
from destination to distribution
“talkin’ ‘bout my generation”
The Who
connect – 92%
publish – 51%
too commercial
yet more companies need to get involved
taking it to the streets
memorable campaigns
get with the program
it's word of mouth on steroids
the only thing you get when you bury your head in the sand is a sand kicked in your eyes
consumers are savvy and if you don't get it right it can do your brand damage.
It's not a passing phase, otherwise Rupert Murdoch would not have bought MySpace
(companies are) ignoring a valuable media communication outlet that targets a generation that has time and money to spend on technology
on-line concerns
on-line concerns
the search for meaning
it helps us connect
from consumer
technology’s changed our roles
to media producer
meanwhile…
trust has changed
"Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields: very high, high, average, low, or very low? . . . ."
Very high/ High %
Nurses 84
Druggists, pharmacists 73
Veterinarians 71
Medical doctors 69
Dentists 62
Engineers 61
Clergy 58
College teachers 58
Policemen 54
Psychiatrists 38
Bankers 37
Chiropractors 36
Journalists 26
State governors 22
Business executives 18
Lawyers 18
Stockbrokers 17
Senators 15
Congressmen 14
Insurance salesmen 13
HMO managers 12
Advertising practitioners 11
Car salesmen 7
Gallup Poll. Dec. 8-10, 2006. N=1,009 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.
trust to operate in society’s best interest
- Armed forces +43%
- NGOs +27%
- Education system +26%
- Health system +17%
- Trade unions/labor +2%
- Legal system -2%
- Global companies -9%
- Large national companies -10%
Accenture The Business of Trust, World Economic Forum “Voice of the People Forum”
* Net Rating = % trust - % distrust
trust me
social is not “emerging”
even if you are
don’t fret over labels
tomorrow they’ll be gone
just participate
“
in a connected world, power shifts
to those best able to connect.
”
DovSeidman
thanks. i’m
blogging this.
www.twitter.com/PercepCounsel