Chris Silva, my colleague at Altimeter Group, released a useful report today that I wanted to share with you here. Mobile is important and I believe you know this. However, when we consider mobile, we often think about the experience when and where it begins. But, we often miss the opportunity to lead a more meaningful journey as it may travel from small screen to larger screens across laptops, desktops and beyond. And along the way, we must now determine our role in this journey to provide information, shape decisions, and influence behavior.

In Chris’ report, he reminds us that 2011 was the year of the mobile consumer. As he notes

2011 saw a surge in mobile users, but 2012 is the year when smartphone owners become the majority of users, currently hovering just below 50% of U.S. mobile phone users. Tablets, too, take center stage with a near 24% CAGR in adoption.

Indeed. Think about all of the events leading up to this moment today and the role your smartphone or tablet played in helping your discover, share, communicate and learn. You might in fact, be reading this on your mobile device now. The reality is that growth in mobile is blinding as consumers break the shackles of their PCs and expand beyond the reach of wifi to keep them connected to information and people anywhere and everywhere. This is an important moment in the evolution of mobile as it no longer simply about communication or smart communication. Mobile is causing a fundamental shift in society where consumers are evolving into connected consumers. This connected mindset is empowering as people take advantage of on-demand access to not just information, but other people, opinions, shared experiences, and a bevy of apps and resources to help make more informed and efficient decisions than ever before.

In Chris’ graphic, we can see just how pervasive mobile is within our increasingly connected society.

- Tablets comprise 7% of population of all mobile devices owners

- Android users spend on average 1.24 hours daily engaging with the device

- 77% of smartphone users put their phone to work while shopping

58% of adults are somewhat or very likely to make a purchase on their smartphone (this will only become standard one day)

One of the biggest areas impacted by this constant change in market dynamics is of course retail. This past holiday season only proved the point. Consumers scanned barcodes or QR codes to check prices nearby and online. And, before they would consider finalizing the purchase, they would ask for a little help from their friends by taking to social networks or review sites to validate decisions.

In his report, Chris observes…

Retailers, to date, have had mixed success targeting these users. While many have achieved success with mobile, a maturity level Altimeter defines as “flying high” with their mobile strategy, many are in a middle ground of maturity, called “hitting turbulence” and many more are still not yet started and highly immature, or still “on the ground.”

Hitting turbulence is indeed the right metaphor. Some of the biggest retailers were caught surprisingly off guard or rigid in their ability to adapt when consumers would ask customer service managers to match prices displayed on the mobile phone. Small screens caused big ramifications as those consumers would instead leave rather than succumb to aging in store policies that, nowadays, work against the retailer. Think about it for a moment. Consumers willingly abandoned what could be a point of purchase because of a policy that doesn’t apply to today’s standards that are driving connected consumerism. Many times, they would spend their savings in gas to purchase elsewhere or online. If this continues, local retailers will simply become the showrooms of the more adaptive and competitive online retailers. And just wait until mobile commerce becomes disruptive.

Avoiding Mistakes and How to Win

But this is not just about matching prices. This is about shaping and steering experiences. From apps, to in store guides and reward systems, to check-ins to payments and beyond. And as we think through how to engage customers on the small screen, especially within the store environment, walking in the shoes of our connected consumers is now part of the job. We are in fact, the consumers we are trying to reach and as such, we must not introduce strategies that are disconnected from the start.

Here, Chris provides a list of common mistakes to avoid.

1. Mobile for Mobile’s Sake. Major retail brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and Longhorn Steakhouse are prime examples of brands rushing to mobile with a focus on the medium and not the end goal of impacting the business (see Figure 2 in the report).

2. Missing the Chance to Target Mobile Users. Another common mistake is not targeting mobile users. For example, Amazon launched a campaign on December 10, 2011, to have users scan products in-store using its Price Check app (see Figure 3 in the report).

Instead Chris shares tips and best practices to help brands and retailers better connect with the connected consumer…

1. Align mobile with other key teams. Winning mobile teams are tightly aligned with marketing loyalty programs (if applicable) and e-commerce teams. For example, Starbucks built its wildly successful application not around revenue or loyalty card adhesion, but instead around ease of purchase.

2. Focus on what the user needs. Mobile strategies should be holistic and remain focused on what users are seeking. Informational apps may seem simple in design, but a solid strategy seeks to solve the “information” problem, not just the “mobile” problem.

3. Allocate the resources necessary to make mobile successful. Allocation of the necessary resources at U.S. pharmacy and convenience retailer Walgreens is at the forefront of everything the company does in mobile. The Walgreens app used the mobile device’s camera to scan a prescription barcode to initiate a refill, is an example of “multichannel lite” activity.

4. Mobile means multiple platforms. One of the few retailers profiled that has built a tablet and smartphone version of its app along with a fully featured mobile website, Zappos, worked many processes in parallel to get its application off the ground.

Everything begins with understanding the maturity of your mobile strategy so that you pinpoint areas where to improve in capabilities and ultimately more engaging and productive experiences…with desired outcomes.

 On the Ground. Retailers in this phase of maturity are just beginning their journey into mobile. They’re on the runway, ready for takeoff, but still laying out the groundwork for their mobile strategy in its first iteration. There is much ground to cover, and the potential to fall behind or lose ground to competitors is high.

Hitting Turbulence. Retailers at this maturity phase have jumped into mobile with some of the best intentions but have not realized the revenue or customer interaction gains they hoped to achieve. What is most likely holding them back are that the efforts in these organizations are not clearly focused on serving business needs or actual customer pains.

Flying High. The news is not all bad; we interviewed many successful mobile teams that have attained success with their mobile strategy. Their apps currently provide a positive impact to the business and make interaction and purchasing easier for customers, addressing an actual customer pain.

If 2011 was the year of the mobile consumer, 2012 is the year of the mobile marketer. You are now an architect of experiences that helps the customer journey end in your favor. Use this report to help build a bridge not only between screens, but also to weave engaging, useful and efficient experiences that help customers make decisions in your favor now and over time. Innovation is now an ongoing investment as expectations and device capabilities will continue to evolve in parallel.

Think about the experience and the desired outcome…not just mobile for mobile’s sake. The small screen is a window to decisions, sentiment, and loyalty.

Download it or read it below to learn more about how to deliver remarkable mobile experiences…

Make An App For That: Mobile Strategies For Retailers

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+ |

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Earlier this year, I announced that I was writing another book. I left clues here and there, but I had yet to officially announce the title or the focus of the book. The truth is that I didn’t want to give readers of Engage 2 the impression that I was ready to move on.

So finally, it is with great pleasure that I share with you the name and also the semi-final draft of the book’s cover.

Officially introducing, “The End of Business as Usual.”

It will go live on October 1, 2011 and it’s available for pre-order now at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 800CEOREAD.

An Excerpt from the Cover

The End of Business As Usual explores each layer of the complex consumer revolution that is changing the future of business, media, and culture. As consumers further connect with one another, a vast and efficient information network takes shape and begins to steer experiences, decisions, and markets. It is nothing short of disruptive.

The End of Business As Usual will change the way you view the world of business, from sales and marketing to customer service and product development to leadership and culture.

More to come…

Thank you once again for your support over the years and also thank you to the wonderful team at Wiley.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

Over the years, social networks have lured us from the confines of our existing realities into a new genre of digital domains that not only captivated us, but fostered the creation of new realities. As George Bernard Shaw observed, “Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” Such is true for social networks and the digital persona and resulting experiences we create and cultivate. It was the beginning of the shift in behavior toward an era of digital extroversion, self-defined by varying degrees of sharing, connections, and engagement.

On Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, et al., we were attracted by the promise of reigniting forgotten relationships and enamored by the sparking of new connections. These relationships evolved into our social graphs and ultimately our interest graphs and forever changing how we discover, share, and learn. We are now the architects of our own experiences, forever changing the information super highway and the paths for connecting people, information, and events. In doing so, we literally make the world a much smaller place.

With each new connection we wove, we were compelled to share details about ourselves that we might not have divulged in real life. And the more we exposed who we were, our aspirations, our hopes, and our challenges, the more we rewarded with responses and requests for new connections. The distance between what was, what is, and what will be, was then defined by what we share, who we know, and what we consume. In social media, we are measured by our actions and our words as well as who we know.

Our concerns of privacy or the lack thereof, now require education. We shed the semblance of privacy in order to unlock a new sense of digital freedom. Indeed, we are the last generation to know privacy as it was and is now something that has to be taught in order to cast digital shadows that unlock opportunities rather than close doors.

The Social Genome

The activity that defines the social web is as diverse as the personalities of its inhabitants. We are driven for many reasons to share and interact online and the motivation for doing so, changes with circumstances, intentions, and experiences. I call this behaviorgraphics.

The social landscape is populated by individual presences, but charted by its connections and how in turn, they move information between them. These conduits represent the opportunities for brands and media to participate in and steer the sharing of useful and mutually beneficial content.  Much in the same way that people align through diverse behavior, Forrester research tracks how this behavior factors into the adoption of social technology.

Two and a half years ago, Forrester introduced Social Technographics. To this day, it’s widely regarded in its ability to help us understand the need to create targeted content designed for the groups of individuals who each process information differently. As social media moves across the adoption bell curve from the left to the right and also from the edge to the center, we see that individuals within each of the categories shift in usage, both up and down.

This year, we learn something new about the way individuals are embracing, using, and ignoring certain designs and intentions of social networks. Social networks, for the most part, are still on the rise with “Joiners,” those who maintain a profile on a social network, growing by 8% since the last Social Technographics report was published.

Contrary to this growth, content-based networks, those that require users to create content, have seen no substantial growth since last year.  In the U.S., only 10% of online consumers actually upload videos for example. These “creators” though, represent the elite group who power social content within these networks and it is their content that is consumed and shared within multiple networks. And, the audience for their content is only growing with 68% currently defining the “Spectator” group, 19% in the “Collector” category and 33% commenting their way to “Critics.” Most markets around the world saw an increase in “Spectators” and this is likely to continue.

The 3C’s, Consumption, Creation, and Curation

Bucking the trend of growth in the “creator” category, Twitter, for instance, grew by 30 million users in the last few months.  Twitter isn’t so much driven by pure creation as it is rich with a combination of curation and consumption. And, while the services require its users to “create” content, doing so within 140 character doesn’t constitute creation in the same way a blog, YouTube, or Flickr account demand. It’s worth noting however, that creators still account for almost 41 million US online adults.

According to Forrester Consumer Insight Analyst Jackie Anderson, “The initial wave of consumers using social technologies in the US has halted. Companies will now need to devise strategies to extend social applications past the early mavens. This means that it’s necessary to understand how consumers in a target audience use social media.”

I recently conducted a survey with Vocus to understand the qualities that equate to influence and the characteristics that define an influencer. The number one reason we found that consumers follow or Like an individual or brand is the consistent creation of compelling content. I believe that it is the discovery and consumption of compelling content that helps individuals shift from consumption to assume a contributing role of curator…a meaningful step before creator. Curation drives a significant volume of Tweets and it is also curation that balances the art and science of engagement between creation and conversation.

Below we see the construct for a burgeoning exchange for information and conversation. Thus the 3C’s of information commerce materialize. The acts of sharing and consuming content in social media represent the social dealings between people and set the stage for interaction and education.

Businesses must join the elite and integrate the creation of compelling content into the social marketing mix. Doing so gives consumers reason to share, expanding the role of curator within the 3C’s of Content and earning authority and influence in the process. I highly advise Forrester to introduce the Curator into the next version of its Social Technographics Ladder.

An Audience with an Audience with an Audience

According to Forrester Research, overall adoption of social technologies has effectively reached saturation. 80% of people in the US engage with social media, which is equal to the number of people who text via SMS or  equivalent to the ubiquity of those who own DVD players.

While it’s new, its value is not to be minimized. Social media users already number in the hundreds of millions, providing the reach of traditional media but also the precision of one-to-one service and attention. Forrester notes that just a handful of “Mass Connectors” will create 256 billion influence impressions in the US this year.

As our social graphs propagate, the information that passes within it also multiplies. Individuals are not only socializing, they are sharing information and creating content. In doing so, updates serve as social objects, becoming catalysts for increased interaction and overall reach. As a result, participants and their social presences are amplified within existing social graphs and now also extend across a rising category of nicheworks or interest graphs – social graphs united around common interests and themes.

We are the architects of our own experiences and we are also the hubs of relevant content, resembling production foremen as we develop workflows and processes for consuming, curating, and creating content.

As sociologist Robin Dunbar once theorized, we are limited to the number of meaningful relationships we can manage as human beings. That number is estimated between 130 – 150. The average number of friends maintained on Facebook today is 130. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The numbers are consistent across other social networks. Today, MySpace users connect with an average number of 107 individuals and on Twitter, the number is 77 (today). I believe these numbers are only going to grow.

I call this “Social Graph Theory.” There’s a reason why Twitter recommends people “like” you and Facebook also suggests “recommended friends.” The networks realize that as your networks both grow and contextualize, your presence increases exponentially in value and they can sell against it. Social Graph Theory suggests that the size of our social graph will grow year over year, leaving behind Dunbar’s number and establishing a new genre of relationships (strong ties), relations (purposeful ties) and associations (weak or temporary ties).

As you’re presented with like-minded individuals and at the same time, as your organic friend requests escalate as a result of everyday social networking, the size and shape of social and interest graphs will only expand. You will spend more time adding than subtracting…until you have to. With every new node that defines our social network, we increase value beyond just the host networks. Brands realize that by connecting with the right people, their presence and value proposition can also rise with the tide.

Forrester groups social catalysts in two categories…

Mass Connectors: Those who create a great number of impressions about brands and services in social networks such as Twitter and Facebook

Mass Mavens: Individuals who create and share content about products and services in other social channels such as YouTube, blogs, forums, or ratings and review sites.

Indeed, a minority of social media users, defined as the elite influencers, drive the majority of the conversations across the social Web.

For brands and businesses looking to engage in social media, a unique understanding of the “egosystem” is not open for discussion. The 5th P of the marketing mix is crystal clear. People account for everything here and businesses must recognize the channels for influence as well as identify the influential voices leading conversations and steering decisions. The next step is to develop engagement programs that activate the various roles of the social consumers and empower them with useful and beneficial content and incentives to convert conversations into clicks to action.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
___
If you’re looking for a way to FIND answers in social media, consider Engage!: It will help…

___
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

___
Image Credit: Shutterstock – edited

Tweet…ReTweet

Like

Share

Check-in

Group buy

QR code scan

Augmented reality

RFID

What may sound like buzz words or mere hype, is actually the beginning of the end of business as usual. Welcome to the rise of the social consumer and a new era of social commerce. Look at the picture above and think about how physical and online stores can integrate the social graph into the shopping experience right now. The possibilities are limitless and we can introduce everything today.

From online to offline to online again, social consumers are checking into businesses, fusing online and offline engagement and influencing behavior and decisions in the process.  These increasingly important acts of social exchanges are gaining in value and delivering benefits for both sides. As a result, social consumers now expect to be rewarded for their role in the socialization of your brand…and rightly so.

Rumors are already swirling that the recently launched Facebook Places geo-location service will soon encourage businesses to offer deals in exchange for check-ins.

In a recent experiment, Gap offered visitors 25% off purchases in store, simply for checking-in. Gap executives realized that offering 25% off of merchandise was still profitable and also a small investment to make in social advertising via word of mouth, which extended from Foursquare to Twitter to Facebook to blogs and eventually traditional media. Yes, the same company that realized the negative effects of social media when it tried to introduce a new logo without consulting the social consumer, also learned how to motivate them to take positive action. A separate offer entitled The BlackMagic Event offered Facebook and Twitter users 25% as well as a free pair of jeans to the first 50 people who showed up in each location.

At a minimum, businesses are starting to realize that checking-in, Tweeting, Liking, and sharing are forms of social currency as well as a personal endorsement. Recognition is the least that a business can do to attract and incentivize social consumers. Introducing special offers and rewards is how we amplify these lucrative endorsements, extend brand reach and transform businesses into social objects where everyday people contribute to ongoing presence in social streams. The benefits are not only mutual, they are empowering.

Social Currency Shapes Experiences and Decisions

As discussed earlier in the series, F-Commerce, check-ins, updates, etc. are just the beginning in a rapidly evolving era of social commerce. New services such as Shopkick, introduce real-world incentives to recognize and encourage checking-in and might well represent the future for location-based marketing overall. Using mobile phones, consumers can check-in to a store to initially earn “Kickbucks.” In addition, consumers are urged to scan barcodes to increase points and also learn about special deals. The service also uses special audio transmitters that can help determine where in the store the consumer is at any moment, to lure them toward exclusive offers and promotions simply by walking around.

Experiences shape experiences. In many ways, what we purchase is also symbolic of who we are and who we want to be. When we combine the allure of social media, it seems almost natural to share our purchases and experiences with friends who define our social graph online and in real life.

Not only are consumers broadcasting their location, but they’re now willingly sharing their purchases as well.

I recently hosted Philip Kaplan, founder of Blippy, for a interesting discussion on (R)evolution where we explored the increasing volume of purchases broadcasting to the social Web. Indeed, a new genre of applications convert transactions into social objects with services such as Blippy, Swipely, and others, enabling users to connect their credit cards or e-tail accounts to their social streams.

For example, in Blippy, a purchase made on Amazon is introduced into the Blippy stream where followers can comment, review products, and share experiences. Uber users also syndicate their Blippy updates to Twitter and Facebook, sparking conversations around purchases and products across the social Web. But it isn’t just emerging companies who are facilitating the syndication of transaction in social media, major financial organizations are experimenting with social influence and commerce as well.

As my good friend Lisa Grimm pointed out, Social Currency by American Express is also socializing transactions. Social Currency is a free iPhone app built on the Foursquare platform that lets users keep a wish list, share photos of purchases, and comment on friends activities, syndicating content to Foursquare and Twitter. Launched as a complement to Currency, its portal for providing financial advice for young professionals, American Express is placing transactions and intentions at the center of social networking, encouraging interaction and ultimately action through the social effect.

But, why would someone broadcast their purchases to the social Web you ask?

I have a theory…

When a brand does its job right, it creates an emotional connection. The affinity it engenders contributes to who we are as individuals and how others perceive us. In the social web, sharing our purchases and experiences serve as social objects which are essentially catalysts for sparking conversations. At the center of this discussion is the product. Experiences, impressions, and perceptions cast bridges that link us together. As the conversation unfolds, the hub connects the product to individuals who not only respond, but also consume, where information directly or indirectly influences behavior and opinion. This form of subconscious empowerment seemingly builds confidence according to some new research.

As social capital factors into the equation, these conversations represent touchpoints where positive experiences take the shape of endorsements and ultimately c0ntribute to the overall branding process.

Creating a Persona Through Actions and Words

A recent study out of The University of Minnesota demonstrates something that sociologists have long believed, our favorite brands contribute to who we are. Services such as Blippy or Social Currency actually contribute to the cycle of social maturation and lend to the idea that brands not only rub off on self-perception, but sharing these transactions help to fortify this vision we have of ourselves. The Journal of Consumer Research published the study, “Got to Get You Into My Life: Do Brand Personalities Rub Off on Consumers?” which makes a strong case for establishing the intangible relationship a brand may have with its consumer.

Authors Deborah Roedder John and Ji Kyung Park of The University of Minnesota set out to answer critical question, that is actually paramount in social media, “Why are brands such as Cartier, Harley-Davidson, and Nike so well-liked by consumers? One of the reasons is that they have appealing personalities.”

As part of their research, women were given bags to carry around a local mall for an hour. Several were given Victoria’s Secret bags, while others toted plain pink shopping bags. The study surfaced an interesting connection. Those women who carried Victoria’s Secret bags felt more feminine, glamorous, and good-looking. On the contrary, those with the pink shopping bags felt indifferent.

These studies represent a harbinger of the importance of personal relationships and how they’re fostered in brand experiences. Businesses must bring their companies and products to life. As other studies show, social networking is incredibly emotional. As I wrote in a recent post, “Once More With Feeling,” some experiments show that as we Tweet, our levels of oxytocin rise.

As brands become more social and in turn, as experiences are socialized, the ability to forge emotional connections is instrumental in cultivating community development, loyalty, and advocacy.

Everything starts with intentions. Brands must now define the pillars of character, mission, purpose, and persona in order to foster desired engagements and outcomes. No brand is an island and we must now build bridges in order to connect our value proposition to customers and the people who influence them. The socialization of commerce begins with recognition of the social consumer and an understanding of what inspires them. It’s then our responsibility to earn attention and establish relevance within their communities in order to also make them our own.

Update: Facebook introduces Deals for Places…empowers businesses to rewards patrons for checking-in.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
___
If you’re looking for a way to FIND answers in social media, consider Engage!: It will help…

___
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

Brands are racing to create a social presence on Facebook, Twitter and the hottest social networks of the moment.  The initial goals, of course, are to increase brand awareness and build community. To do so however, takes a holistic approach that extends beyond the regiment of broadcasting messages to silent audiences. Now, brands must establish a social equilibrium whereby the 4C’s of community drive measurable and mutually beneficial activity and engagement through the thoughtful introduction of content curation and creation, conversation, context, and continuity. More importantly however, brands must now find creative means to recognize the role of a more informed and connected consumer and the varying influence they wield in the social ecosystem.

Recognition and empowerment represent the social sparks that can help businesses not only socialize their brands but now also activate consumer behavior. While editorial programming and meaningful engagement unlock the spirit of community, it ultimately sets the stage for not only conversations and connections, but also monetary transactions.

As social media matures, brands must introduce new social sparks that convert decisions and intentions into outcomes where and when attention is focused. Doing so introduces us to potentially viral opportunities that trigger a social effect propelled by a new “C” in the 4C’s of community… social commerce.

The Rise of the Social Consumer

Consider for a moment, the attention stream of the social consumer…

People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared on Facebook each month

YouTube serves over 9B streams per month

More than 100 million Tweets fly across Twitter every day

The pervasiveness of social networks is transforming business as the attention of the consumer is increasingly focusing on their social streams. It’s where they learn, discover, and share. And as in anything, there are those who get it and those who don’t. Those who do however, are increasingly taking to social channels to seek advice and guide purchase decisions in their social networks. This changes everything, requiring businesses to augment strategies to reach both traditional and now also social consumers respectively.

The rise of the social consumer warrants much more than attention however, it requires an understanding of what motivates them to click, act, and share. These drivers are different than that of a traditional consumer. They are not motivated by the clever gimmicks nor are they inspired to seek out your presence within social networks. Attention is a precious commodity and these individuals require direct engagement that recognizes their stature in the social web and rewards them for it. And it is this stature, that introduces brands to a social consumer hierarchy where varying levels of influence are met with dedicated engagement and activation programs. Why? The social consumer is connected and their actions reverberate across social graphs to spark conversations and ultimately clicks to action. And, when motivated or inspired, the social consumer can exact change through the unification of conversation.

As we witnessed recently with the Gap, its new logo was met with a firestorm of controversy when the connected consumer responded en masse using their social soapboxes to express discontent and demand resolution. The lesson here is that any brand can benefit from engaging their community to convert consumers into stakeholders, allowing them to take part in the evolution of the company. This is how we earn relevance in the social Web as the touchpoints to reach consumers also in turn, reach us.

In the 2010 Social Media Report, ForeSee observed that 60% of online shoppers already use social media sites and networks regularly. And, 56% of those online shoppers friend or follow retailers, but they can only do so, if the retailer is actively engaging within those networks. The study found that only one-fourth of the top 100 e-tailers (e-retailers) has yet to create a Facebook page. If that information wasn’t enough to move you, consider comScore’s report that found Twitter and Facebook users to spend more than 1.5x more online than the average Internet user.

The Role of the Social Consumer

It is the responsibility of all businesses to embrace their social consumers. Earning their attention and partnership allows us to harness their reach and authority to impact the decisions of those around them.

Walmart recently introduced a new program that borrows from the Groupon model of social commerce, combining the benefits of group buying and social effect of the News Feed on Facebook. Like Groupon (pun intended), Crowd Saver leverages the power of group buying to reward consumers with exclusive deals. However, the difference here is that it integrates the social graph into the mix, requiring a fixed amount of people to “Like” the offer to unlock it. This does two things. First, it heightens the demand for the deal, much like Black Friday and Cyber Monday does every year following Thanksgiving in the United States. Most notably however, Crowd Saver acts as a social object. With each like, the potential offer is spread to the News Feeds of every corresponding social graph, thus increasing its reach, appeal, and the visibility of the brand overall. For example, in a recent experiment, Walmart required 5,000 Likes to unlock a deal on a plasma TV.

Why stop there? Walmart and any online e-tailer for that matter, can capture attention, trigger a response, and convert intention into commerce without ever leaving Facebook. The era of f-commerce is upon us enabling brands to host an online store within Facebook.

There are great advantages to capturing attention where and when it’s focused. For example, 1-800-Flowers.com hosts a shoplet within Facebook where consumers can browse through arrangements and order directly from the Facebook tab. Doing so, sparks a social effect that broadcasts the action to their social graph.

Integrating social commerce as the 5th C of Community unlocks much more than a new channel to sell, it surfaces the ability to shift social media from a cost center to a profit center. The more we experiment, the more we learn. Ultimately, the discussion of ROI becomes a matter of process as we’re able to measure investment and return as well as improve conversions to escalate ROI overall. By heightening value and delivering personal experiences, we empower and reward social consumers and as such, improve the online experiences for our community.

If we are not competing for tomorrow, today, we lose critical opportunities to capture attention now and in the future. It’s a matter of digital Darwinism, where if we are out of sight, we are indeed out of mind.

#EngageorDie

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
___
If you’re looking for a way to FIND answers in social media, consider Engage!: It will help…

___
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Influence is bliss…

The socialization of media is as transformative as it is empowering. As individuals, we’re tweeting, updating, blogging, commenting, curating, liking and friending our way toward varying levels of stature within our social graphs. With every response and action that results from our engagement, we are slowly introduced to the laws of social physics: for every action there is a reaction – even if that reaction is silence. And, the extent of this resulting activity is measured by levels of influence and other factors such as the size and shape of nicheworks as well as attention aperture and time.

Defining Influence

The word influence as well as the individuals referred to as new influencers are elusive in terms of standard definition. Finding a common understanding and meaning is easier said than done. Influence itself is undergoing reexamination to better understand the diversity in perceived and actual social capital and the effects of conversations across first degree social graphs and across the social graphs of those connected across each degree (friend of friends and so on).

To help, I drafted a working definition to address influence and influencers as slightly modified from its longstanding definition in standard dictionaries.

Influence is the ability to cause desirable and measurable actions and outcomes.

As everyday people flirt with reach and impact, the question becomes, do they hold the same potential to cause effects similar to those of traditional influence and connectedness, for example celebrities, industry or political leaders, media properties and favorite brands? Or does social media represent the equalization of influence? One thing is already clear, influence is not popularity and popularity is not influence. According to research, size does not matter.

The Influencer Poll

Defining influence is just the beginning. Understanding perception and expectations around influence and influencers helps us identify where we need to focus time on education and innovation.  This month, I partnered with Vocus to run a formal study on influence. As a result, 700 business leaders, entrepreneurs, and marketing professionals contributed to the report, which is available now as a free download.

I’ll share some of the observations and insights here…

Demographics

Of those polled via email, Twitter, Facebook and blogs, the genetic makeup of respondents was diverse.

79% of all panelists resided in the United States.

14% work in Europe.

3% practice in Asia.

1% were divided across the Middle East, Australia, and South America.

Of those who participated in the study, marketing represented the largest group at 35% with Public Relations following at 28%. Social Media earned a spot in the top three with 17%

The experience was diverse, with 69% identifying themselves at the director level or above. Perhaps a pleasant surprise or simply just surprising, with 30%, the largest group of individuals who participated were at the executive level, including CMO, CEO or owner. Senior level, directors and program managers followed with 25%. At 19%, mid-career, account supervisors and account managers followed with the third largest group.

For this study, we received a well rounded response of divergent organizations. Corporations accounted for the largest sampling with 33%, which edged slightly ahead of agencies (marketing, PR, advertising, social media) with 32%. Next, self-employed/freelancers accounted for 14% of all responses with non-profit/trade associations checking-in with 12%. Education represented a healthy 7% followed by government with 2%

Participants scattered the business landscape, with a majority (42%) focusing their efforts in businesses that are generating less than $1 million. 19% responded on behalf of companies earning between $1-5 million. 15% work for organizations generating between $6 and $50 million. Businesses with over $1 billion in revenue represented 9%.

Popularity vs. Influence

The debate between influence and popularity is of particular interest. Many believe that one must have earned popularity in order to wield influence. However, as you’ll see in this report, influence and popularity could live in isolation from one another. And, according to participants of this study, 90% believed that influence is indeed different than popularity.

However, the insight is in the commentary. To help convey the perception of each, here are the words of participants for or against the difference in influence and popularity…

Yes

“Popularity is just that people like you. influence is when people listen to you.”

“Popularity is fleeting. Influence lasts”

“Lady GaGa is popular, Bono is influential.”

No

“Usually, the most influential things are the most popular.”

“Maybe they aren’t equal, but there is certainly a strong correlation.”

“But … one definitely bleeds into the other. More popularity = more visibility = more opportunity to influence”

Tweets, Status, Action

When asked if a correlation exists between an influencer’s reach and their ability to drive action, 84% said yes.

If we highlight a quote from the previous question, Lady Gaga and Bono are clearly two very popular people, but in the eyes of one particular panelist, Bono was clearly more influential. To shed a bit of light on the matter, we have to visit the history of Bono’s career. Over the decades, he has cultivated his community to expect personal views, experiences, and requests for help in and around his music and performances. Essentially, he has groomed his “followers” to take action and as a result, he has caused action.

Now, as we see, Lady Gaga is the living example of someone who is attempting to convert popularity into influence…and hopefully action. Recently, she led a charge to help repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” in an effort to stop the military’s gay ban. I believe that the shift from popularity starts with intention and activation.

To help us gain greater insight into the thinking behind the responses, let’s examine some of the commentary around the subject…

Reach Does Not Drive Action

“A person can have only a few contacts and greatly influence just those few.”

“I would say there’s a stronger correlation between an influencer’s depth and their ability to drive action”

Reach Drives Action

“The farther the reach, the greater the ability to drive action.”

“It’s certainly not a perfect correlation, but it definitely exists.”

Causing Measurable Outcomes

If the previous question assumes that reach is necessary in order to influence action, our next question represents a possible reversal in thinking. 57% believe that an individual with a tightly focused network of the 3Fs (friends, followers, and fans) would have a more measurable effect on outcome over someone with a much larger number of loosely connected friends, followers, and fans (36%).

Ranking Influence

Understanding the characteristics of influence is as important as studying influence itself. We asked our participants to rank a set of contributing factors that make a person or brand influential, where each number could only get used once.  As you can see, the numbers appear greatly divided, but also united.  5=best.

60% of respondents said the “quality or focus of the network was most important”

55% forced a tie between “quality of content” AND the “capacity to cause measurable outcomes”

40% ranked “depth of relationship” as their top choice.

If we combine 4′s and 5′s, we see similar results, but with a difference in hierarchy.

90% attribute influence to the quality or focus of a network

85% cited measurable outcomes

85% stated the quality of content was the top attribute of influence

78% equated influence to online reputation

77% believe that the number of RTs and shares establish influence

76% assign the depth of relationship to influence

The ability to drive traffic ranked 7th with 75%.

Why we Follow

Why we follow a person or organization says more about the mechanics for influence than we may imagine. Again, we asked those who participated in the study to rank the reasons they follow a person or company…each number could only appear once. 1=best.

The number one reason people follow others has everything to do with the quality and caliber of the content they share.

37% followed because they post interesting content

32% believe that relationships matter and therefore a personal connection is paramount

If we add 1′s + 2′s together we can see the nuances, the “dots” that define the picture through pointillism.

62% follow because of relevant content

51% considered those they follow as thought leaders

43% focused on the personal connection

Thought leadership enters the top 3 in this perspective and as such, becoming a thought leader and ultimately an influencer, is earned through the creation of valuable content and the cultivation of communities to take action.

Earning Influence, One Way or Another

If you could choose one, single most important action a person or brand could take to increase influence online, what would you choose? In this case, content ranks at the very top. And while content might appear as king, compelling content is defined by context and relevance. Only the content that connects with individuals is worthy of not only consumption, but also sharing.

Causing Measurable Action

In any new landscape, metrics are the waypoints that validate our journey on these uncharted paths. To assess the meaningful actions that equate to success, respondents graded several criteria…each number again could only make one appearance. 1=best.

There’s a sense of irony here in that almost one-third say “an action” is the most important metric, yet just more than one-third also said it’s the least important.

If we add 1′s + 2′s together we gain greater clarity…

Action ranks as a top metric for success with 37%

Page views is second as a success metric with 36%

Tweets surprisingly outranks clickthroughs with 32%

Clickthrough followed with 32%

When we examine the mean average for each, we see a slightly different hierarchy…

An action (purchase, registration, download, request for information, vote) 3.24

Views of a particular piece of content (video, post, landing page, site) 3.1

Mean Clickthrough rates via Bit.ly or website analytics 3.08

Bitmap Tweets, retweets, likes, posts 3.06

When defining success, it’s clear, social media and influence is not governed by a one size fits all approach. Social media experiences are personal and therefore, they’re unique for every organization. We can not measure what we do not value however, and as such, success must be defined upfront and appreciated as it’s realized.

Money Can’t Buy Happiness, But Can it Buy Influence?

A truly fascinating question often begets unexpected answers. Of those polled, 57% claimed that they would pay an influencer to help drive actions or outcomes.

To get a better understanding of who would pay for the leverage of influence, we broke out the question by industry…

Search/SEO contributed to the top category for “yes” but they also represented the smaller category of participants overall. As advertising pays its way to prominence as a matter of practice, it’s no surprise to see it rank among the top with 78% yes vs. 22% no. Although, in advertising, we’re seeing a dramatic rise in the fusion of paid and earned media or what I refer to as Hybrid Theory.  Marketing followed with 61% yes vs. 39% no. Social Media and PR tied for 5th, behind “other” with 52% yes as opposed to 48% no.

For those champions looking to either seek advice or approval from decision makers within your organization, look no further than the CEO or upper management. Each accounted for 63% and 60% respectively in their willingness to pay for influence.

Apparently it’s true, while money doesn’t grow on trees, it does grow on tweets.

Redefining Influence

In conclusion, we asked panelists to submit their working definition of influence in 140 characters or less. A word cloud was then generated to amplify the most common ingredients.

Let’s revisit the definition I proposed at the beginning of the discussion…Influence is the ability to cause desirable and measurable actions and outcomes

The first word that seems to have everyone’s focus is “ability” followed by “action” and the new 5th P of Marketing, “People.” Examining the other words reveals that we have before us, the recipe for influence and it might look a bit like this…

Ability/Power

Action

People

Affect/Drive

Opinions/Thoughts

Behavior

Now try to string together a working definition of your own based on this research.

In the end, it’s our job to become “the influencer.” We owe it to our communities of customers, prospects and the people who affect their decisions to lead by example. Then and only then, can we master the ability to influence the influencer.

Download the full study from Vocus.

If you’re looking for a way to FIND answers in social media, consider reading Engage!: It will help you…

___
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

___
Image Source: Shutterstock

Twitter is a human seismograph and it represents a transformative channel where everyday people possess the ability to affect actions. The cloud of collective consciousness that houses our thoughts, experiences, and conversations is also a data trove for experts to measure and mine serendipitous and organized behavior and events.

Twitter is less of a social network in its design and operation and more of a series of interconnected social nicheworks. It brings together disparately connected personalities linked through friendship, admiration, education, and context. Here individuals align around people they know, would like to know, and bound by the topics, themes, and connections that attract them. This highly contextualized network, or as Twitter refers to it, an Interest Graph, offers individuals an organized, indexable, and searchable stream where they express sentiment, share observations and information, and also directly and indirectly communicate with one another.

For marketers, Twitter represents so much more than a real-time focus group. While the activity of its users is available for interpretation and analysis, the information contained in certain tweets published by notable individuals possess the capacity to influence agendas and resulting activities. And even in aggregate, everyday users define the direction of the stream and ultimately impact the subjects of their conversations.

Any organization impacted by outside activity must dedicate focus and resources to monitoring and analyzing activity, the extent to which it shapes perception today, and how to share and steer activity to benefit stakeholders online and in the real world.

A recent study by ExactTarget and CoTweet surveyed 1,500 consumers to identify top motivations for following brands on Twitter. As a result, we can glean insight into the expectations of elusive and prized consumers when interacting with brands online.

The ExactTarget and CoTweet study reveals an important part of the social ecosystem that demonstrates why businesses need to consider not just a 360 approach, but a socialized approach. Of the consumers surveyed, 72% publish blog posts at least monthly, 70% comment on blogs, and 61% write at least one product review monthly. The social consumer is vocal and they’re connected.  Considering now that audiences are shifting from content consumers to curators and creators, our market is now defined by audiences with audiences with audiences. Individuals maintain active and expanding social graphs and as they grow, the network effect only escalates.

In April 2010, Performics and ROI Research found that 33% of Twitter users share opinions about companies or products at least once per week. More so, 32% make recommendations while 30% seek guidance and direction.

Wait. What?

- 33% talk brands 1x per week

- 32% make recommendations

- 30% seek advice

Among other interesting stats, 20% of consumers follow a brand in order to interact with the company, which is much greater than those who subscribe to email newsletters or those who “like” brands on Facebook in order to remain connected. In fact, nine out of the ten stated that the most common reasons to follow a brand on Twitter involved the ability to obtain direct information from a company.

In other studies, upwards of 80% of Twitter users stated that for those deserving brands, following equated to referrals. Of those who followed brands, 51% did so because they were an existing customer and 44% expected discounts or promotions.

One of the more interesting data points to emerge was that men were more than twice as likely than women to follow brands on Twitter, 29% compared to 13%. This stat requires deeper analysis as it, on the surface, rivals two primary research pillars in my current work, 1) More women than men account for the overall Twitter population and 2) Women, in aggregate, are more influential than men on Twitter.

If you were to take one thing away from this research, it’s this…Twitter users are the most influential social consumers online today. This revelation is constant across many published research reports. Not only are they influential, they put their money where their Tweet is.

While money doesn’t grow on trees, it does however, grow on Tweets.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
___
Please consider reading, Engage!: It will answer your questions…

___
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

___
Image Credit: ShutterStock

Social media didn’t invent conversations, it provided us with tools to surface and organize them. Conversations about brands predates the mediums used to connect messages and aspirations with consumers.

The motivation for brands to engage in social networks varies based on the culture and agility of each company, but what is constant is the aspiration to connect with customers and prospects to earn awareness, attention and connections. On the other hand, B2B and B2C consumers have also expressed desire to connect with those brands whose intent is genuine and beneficial to the each engagement and the overall relationship. The time has come to not only engage, but do so in a way that’s mutually beneficial to individuals, brands, and the ecosystem at large.

In April 2010, Performics commissioned ROI Research to study Twitter behavior around brands. The study found that 33% of Twitter users share opinions about companies or products at least once per week. More so, 32% make recommendations while 30% seek guidance and direction.

Did you get that?

33% talk brands 1x per week

32% make recommendations

30% seed advice

In the study, we see can compare responses over a short six month period. Depending on how you interpret the data, it appears as though consumer behavior is inching towards the promised land or on the other hand, the documented uptick demonstrates a slow or slowing adoption rate.

Twitter

Clearly, Twitter users are supportive. Their responses and also their online activity indicates tells us as much. But if you were to base future decisions on social marketing and service strategies, the results of this particular study might cause you to second guess your plans. While the numbers are still incredibly promising, we must read between the lines to see beyond a slight downward trend.

Just over 40% would attend a promotional or sponsored event, which for Twitter, equates to the need to factor Tweetups or meetups into the mix.

Roughly 45% stated that they would link to a brand-related ad, which is consistent between 2009 and 2010.

Here’s where things get interesting…In 2009, 51% claimed that they would purchase the company’s product/service, but only 48% expressed similar sentiment in 2010.

In 2009, 55% admitted to talking about or expressed a willingness to discuss brands whereas 52% stated as such in 2010.

Referrals also took a slight hit, with 55% in 2009 and 53% in 2010 stating that they would recommend the product/brand as a result of online connections.

Facebook

Earlier this year, I made a controversial prediction at the Ragan Social Media Conference hosted by Coca Cola. I predicted that in 2011, brands would dedicate greater time and resources to cultivating communities on Facebook over Twitter. I shared this idea not because I believe that Twitter is going to become less prevalent in overall marketing mix, instead I believe that Facebook will grow in its prominence as a centralized hub for defining the consumer experience where brand managers will host organized events, interaction, commerce, and corresponding activity.  The data below seems to offer a glimpse that this might be the case.

Facebook edged a bit higher between the 2009 and 2010 studies, almost across the board.

Consumers expressed a 3% increase between 2009-2010 from 26 to 29% when it comes to interacting with the brand in Facebook.

Customers also shared that engagement on Facebook helps them feel as if they’re valued, increasing from 28 to 30%.

When it comes to inviting greater interaction, growth was stagnant year over year.

Overall, many believe that Facebook is a solid way to get information about companies and products edging 1% higher from 40 to 41%

The Role of the Social Consumer is Gaining Momentum and Importance

When we compare this data to another recent study conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey along with iModerate Research Technologies, we find that individuals who follow brands on Facebook and Twitter are 51% and 67% respectively more likely to buy a product post connection.  Accordingly, Facebook and Twitter users are 60% and 79% more likely to recommend a brand as a result of the engagement online. Those numbers are astounding, yet the opportunity is far from realized.

However, it’s clear that while people are open to meaningful connections and interaction, businesses must learn to convert conversations into corresponding action and long-term value. There is a greater opportunity on Twitter and Facebook than we may realize.

The last mile of engagement is nothing short of the complete socialization of business. The roles of the social consumer, even if they’re a follower on Twitter or they “like” the brand page on Facebook, businesses must cater to the various needs of the whole of the community as well as the parts that contribute to its sum.

Based on the data that I’ve reviewed contained in countless studies, the prospects are nothing short of blinding. But therein lies the opportunity. No two brands or consumers are created alike, meaning that the triggers that incite action and response are yours to discover and cultivate. This is about growing the opportunity based on engagement and adaptation. Social consumers are on a highway where regression isn’t an exit. The question is, how will you participate to guide their journey and experience?

#ThisisYourTime

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google Buzz, Facebook
___
Please consider reading, Engage!: It might just change the way you think about Social Media

___
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

___
Lead Image Source: ShutterStock

One of the most sought after answers in Social Media is whether or not engagement in social networks such as Twitter or Facebook directly correlates to customer acquisition, retention, and advocacy. Before we can earn customers however, we have to recognize that at any given time, there are also prospects. And, prospects require information and confidence in order to make decisions, in your favor of course. The answer to our question lies in social engagement.

Prospects are not only searching for guidance, comparisons, and experiences through Google, they are also becoming increasingly social in every step of a decision making process. If brands do not identify the various stages of choice and resolution and also the networks where they socialize and explore, opportunities will be missed.

If we’re not part of the decision making cycle, we are absent from decisions.

From Fans and Followers to Customers

In order to connect with prospects online, we must do so where they’re already active. New research reveals that doing so may have a strong effect on the decisions and activity of your customers. In February 2010, market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey along with iModerate Research Technologies, surveyed over 1,500 individuals online as well as conducted one-on-one discussions to contextualize social media behavior.

The study found that an astounding 60% of individuals who “like” pages dedicated to brands on Facebook are more likely to recommend the brand than those unaware of the company’s presence within the network. Perhaps even more incredible, is that 79% of consumers who follow the brand on Twitter have stated that they too, would refer peers to those companies they follow.

Since actions speak louder than words, the study sought to answer the question of whether or not engagement actually leads to purchases. The answer is yes. An impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers indicated that they are more likely to buy since connecting online. With 450 million users on Facebook and over 100 million registered users on Twitter, the potential is not only great, it’s exponential.

Social Media is a Tool for Customers and Prospects

What compels someone to fan a page on Facebook or follow a company on Twitter? The survey specifically asked the question of its panelists in relation to Facebook and Twitter and their answers may be surprising to many.

Facebook

On Facebook, existing customers topped the list with 49%. Following with 42%, consumers felt compelled to show support for the brand. In third with 40%, individuals admitted that they hoped to receive discounts and promotions.

Other stats worth mentioning, 27% and 26% of respondents stated that they would like to be among the first to know information about the brand and also to gain access to exclusive content respectively. And, 17% claimed that they were referred to the page by someone that they knew, which already demonstrates word of mouth at work.

Twitter

Twitter paints a different picture, but more so than in Facebook, consumers want access.

51% of consumers polled are already customers of the company. 44% stated that receiving discounts and promotions was the primary reason for following. 42% did so for entertainment purposes.

Gaining access to exclusive content and learning about information first with 37% and 36% respectively is also worth noting.

Whereas 17% were referred to Facebook pages, only 12% followed brands on a recommendation. However, as the number two reason for following reveals, Twitter users are ready to make a purchase based on information gleaned from their stream.

Engage or Die

Creating a presence in social networks is mandatory, but it’s also not enough. Actively and thoughtfully engaging consumers in social networks is quickly becoming an expectation. As part of the study, consumers voiced their opinions and sentiment, some of which serves as a wake-up call to businesses everywhere:

“It’s EXPECTED that a company have some digital face – whether it’s on FB or Twitter I don’t know – but they need a strong electronic presence or you doubt their relevance in today’s marketplace.” Female 50-54

“Either they are not interested in the demographic that frequents Facebook and Twitter or they are unaware of the opportunity to get more exposure in a more interactive method.” Male 35-39

“It shows they are not really with it or in tune with the new ways to communicate with customers.” Female 18-24.

“If they’re not on Facebook or Twitter, then they aren’t in touch with the ‘electronic’ people.” Female 55-59

It’s clear. Those brands that focus on prospects and customers through social engagement will open new doors that increase brand awareness and sales through word of mouth. But perhaps more importantly, businesses will also earn expanded relevance in the age of a new and powerful medium.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google Buzz, Facebook
—
Have you had a chance to read, Engage!…?

—
Get Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and The Conversation Prism:

—
Image Credit: Shutterstock

I spend a great deal of time working within the B2B sector, among other things, and social media is a growing and or pervasive program within a comprehensive, integrated communications and service strategy. In almost every scenario I’ve encountered, executives, marcom and service executives, and brand managers have generally assumed that social and interactive activities and programming were ideally best suited for consumer applications. However, as we recently explored, in Social Media, it’s not just business, it’s business-to-business.

Indeed, Social Media is not limited to B2C applications, its impact and effects are actively measured and felt in B2B as well as government, education, military, and other prominent verticals. As decision makers take to the social web, their research, activity, communication, and most importantly, their relationships only intensify over time.

If you’re working in B2B, perhaps this post will provide you with value. Or, at the very least, it will arm with you data necessary to convince, compel, and persuade those skeptical or uninspired colleagues, clients, and managers.

Business.com recently conducted a study that evaluated Social Media activities of those in B2B and B2C. In its report, “2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study,” Business.com found that North American companies focused on B2B were much more rigorous in the world of social media than those in B2C. As you’ll see, B2B leads the fray across the entire regiment of campaigns and programs.

Social Media: B2B vs. B2C

Maintained company-related profiles on social networks:

B2B: 81%
B2C: 67%

Participate in Twitter:

B2B: 75%
B2C: 49%

Host blog/s:

B2B: 74%
B2C: 55%

Monitor brand mentions:

B2B: 73%
B2C: 55%

Engage in discussions:

B2B: 66%
B2C: 43%

Participate in Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn, forums:

B2B: 59%
B2C: 44%

Upload content (social objects) to Social Networks:

B2B: 50%
B2C: 32%

Manage a community dedicated to customers or prospects:

B2B: 49%
B2C: 51%

Monitor/support user ratings and reviews:

B2B: 49%
B2C: 51%

Produce Webinars or podcasts:

B2B: 46%
B2C: 22%

Advertise on social networks:

B2B: 42%
B2C: 54%

Utilize social bookmarking sites such as delicious and digg:

B2B: 38%
B2C: 21%

Employee recruiting:

B2B: 36%
B2C: 27%

As expected, those companies engaging in social media, whether B2B or B2C, focused efforts on creating social network profiles, microblogging, blogs, and brand monitoring, hitting a high of 81%. Most social activities however, maintained a level of participation with an average of around 50%. There is room for growth for brand engagement regardless of industry.

Business.com also evaluated where companies were focusing their attention and resources. The study surfaced that not only are a greater number of B2B companies experimenting with Social Media, they are also extending their presence across multiple networks. However, B2C businesses dominated engagement within Facebook and MySpace.

Notice the disparity between B2B and B2C adoption of Twitter. If these numbers truly reflect that of the greater community of businesses, B2B companies are at the forefront of this wildly scrutinized and popularized social property.

Facebook

B2B: 77%
B2C: 83%

Twitter

B2B: 73%
B2C: 45%

LinkedIn

B2B: 56%
B2C: 27%

YouTube

B2B: 43%
B2C: 30%

MySpace

B2B: 14%
B2C: 23%

FriendFeed

B2B: 9%
B2C: 2%

Plurk

B2B: 1%
B2C: 0%

Other

B2B: 4%
B2C: 8%

Also according to the Business.com study, 60% of B2B respondents leverage Twitter search to monitor brand or company mentions compared to just 35% of those in B2C. With Facebook slowly revising their privacy settings to open up real-time search capabilities within the 350 million strong network and MySpace recently announcing the availability of a real-time API, businesses will have the ability, and the responsibility, to search for relevant conversations outside of Twitter and Google.

Google search results, at least prior to the real-time search revolution, also proved valuable for mining and unearthing relevant content. 59% of B2B and 40% of B2C companies report using Google Alerts and 61% of B2C and 60% of B2B reported that they actively googled themselves.

With the rapid evolution of search, business monitoring will assuredly shift its focus from traditional to real-time. Just recently, Google announced both Social Search, the inclusion of content generated by your social graph in traditional search results, as well as real-time results from Twitter and other social networks. We already know that customers, regardless of industry, are actively taking to search engines to learn more about brands and products mentioned in their social stream.

A New Era of Influence

- 20% of tweets published are actually invitations for product information, answers or responses from peers or directly by brand representatives

- About half of Twitter users who were introduced to a brand on Twitter were compelled to search for additional information

- 8% of those who came into contact with a brand name on Twitter went on to search for additional information on search engines with 34% searching other social networks

Customers Take to the Social Web

- 44% admitted that they have recommended products in Social Media and 39% stated that they have discussed a product specifically on Twitter

- 46% of Facebook users talk about or recommending products on the 225 million strong social network

- Social Media already accounted for 18% of all information searching in early 2009

- 30% claim they wished to learn more

- 27% reported that they were receptive to receiving invitations for events, special offers or promotions

- 25% stated that they visited a site after learning about a product on their social network of preference

Engagement Has Its Rewards

In a recent Razorfish study, 40.1% of consumers reported friending a brand on Facebook or MySpace. Once a connection was established, the resulting activity was profoundly beneficial to the awareness and potential revenue of the brand.

Recommend the brand to others:

Always: 22.94%
Usually: 39.15%
Sometimes: 33.92%

Consider the brand when in the market for a similar product of service:

Always: 22.69%
Usually: 40.90%
Sometimes: 34.41%

Raise awareness of the brand:

Always: 21.45%
Usually: 38.65%
Sometimes: 36.66%

Purchase a product/service from the brand:

Always: 17.46%
Usually: 42.89
Sometimes: 36.66%

ROI: Return on Investment or Ignorance?

I recently wrote about the lacking of an industry-wide practice for measuring social media. According to one study, 85% of businesses engaged in interactive programs were not measuring the ROI.

Even though measurement was more pervasive in B2B over B2C, participating companies appeared to actively measure social media in this case – at least those surveyed anyway. B2C companies tended to focus on revenues to assess ROI (where the I represents investment and involvement). B2B companies typically evaluated Web traffic, brand awareness, and the quality and volume of lead generation. That being the case, B2B and B2C reported that Web traffic was considered the top metric.

It appears that an industry typically characterized as lethargic is in actuality, pioneering new forms of communications, service, sales and branding in the social realm.

Questions remain for me however, in order to better ascertain how and why businesses are using these new tools and to what extent. For example, I would ask those within B2B and B2C what their level of engagement and commitment to social media is across multiple departments within the organization. I firmly believe that every department affected by outside behavior or those that have the ability to affect it will ultimately benefit from socializing. Therefore, conducting a benchmark survey to capture the state of the industry as it corresponds specifically to service, sales, branding, communications, HR, etc., will help us better surface opportunities and potential strategies. In addition, I suggest introducing one more set of questions that focuses on what I refer to as the “ a ha” vs. the “uh oh” moment, when a company decides to embrace or experiment in Social Media. Are businesses jumping online because they realized the opportunity specific to a network or because they felt it necessary based on a negative discussion or series of negative and public instances.

The Attention Economy and Earned Relevance

Attention is increasingly thinning and as such, it is considered a precious commodity.

Whether it’s B2B or B2C, we are each in the end, consumers. And, as consumers, we seek information online in order to make more informed decisions based on research, the advice of friends, peers, and experts, and the recognition of our questions and commentary directly from brands. In order to make an impact on the bottom line through sales and the ongoing investment in engendering goodwill and earning loyalty, we must focus our time and resources on the attention dashboards of our prospects and customers, as well as those who also influence them. If we do not, we will quickly find ourselves outside of the parameters within every business decision-making process.

If it is one thing that we learn right here, right now, is that Social Media affects every part of the buying cycle. This is why a company-wide SRM program must be engineered and deployed in order to effectively monitor behavior and sentiment to effectively and genuinely shape perception, cultivate meaningful relations, and inspire action.

General Buying Cycle

1. Acknowledging the need

2. Awareness

3. Research

4. Consideration (the short list)

5. Evaluation

6. Purchase

7. Applications

8. The Experience

9. Reaction

10. Opportunity for advocacy

It should also not go unsaid, that while women rule the social web, the buying process in B2C is also influenced by women in a relationship setting. According to Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women, when men and women buy as partners, women control at least four out of five stages of the purchasing process. While this isn’t representative of the bigger pitcure, it is still nonetheless interesting and worthy of consideration.

This is why in the world of B2C marketing, women are considered the Chief Household Officer as they’re actively driving and steering purchase decisions.

Five stages of the purchasing process:

1. Kick-off – women
2. Research – women
3. Purchase – men
4. Ownership – women
5. Word-of-mouth – women

It is how we engage at each step of this cycle that determines our place and stature within the inevitable path of attention, analysis, and action. Once we learn how and where to engage, we can then focus our efforts on earning affinity and advocacy. This is our time to garner relevance through the intelligent practice of poignant and relevant listening, understanding, and participation. In parallel, this is also our opportunity to establish authority and attention. Without it, it’s easy to vanish from the cycle of awareness and consideration. Out of sight, out of mind…

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, or Facebook
—

Get the new iPhone app

Read BrianSolis.com on your Kindle
—
Click the image below to buy the book/poster:

—
Image Source: Shutterstock (edited)

As some social media experts are now starting to realize, businesses need a little bit more than relationships to justify their spend in conversational marketing. Relationships are difficult to forge and even more burdensome to measure. And while participation and engagement are part of a more effective interactive business communications program now, we can not neglect our responsibilities to the bottom line as well as our dedication to existing customers and prospects.

Socialized media affects an organization in its entirety. Any division responsible for outside communication interaction, from marketing and public relations to sales and service, will eventually socialize – it’s a matter of when, not if.

I’m often asked if I can share experiences, examples, and strategies in business-to-business as most individuals asking the question observe the saturation of business-to-consumer examples populating the socialmediasphere today.

Honestly, much of the work I do is focused in the B2B realm.  My experiences to date share similar philosophies, processes, and tactical programs with B2C programs, as almost everything begins with listening and observation. Identifying the new influencers, their reach, and surfacing their channels of influence and interaction are the benefits of research and documentation. The differences between B2C and B2B are represented specifically by the voices, communities, conversations, questions, interaction and their place within the buy and value cycles.

Everything comes into focus by reverse engineering who you need to reach, at what level, where they go for answers and direction, who do they look to for insight, and who are they connected to and why.

Perhaps one of the more understated benefits of social media in B2B is the ability to establish and foster expertise within a given industry or niche. The same tools and services that new influencers leverage to construct prominence and demonstrate awareness are also readily available to anyone with wisdom and vision to share.

I was once asked what it takes to become a thought leader. My answer was short and playfully sarcastic, “it starts with actually being a thought leader.” In all seriousness however, it’s true. Combining intelligence, prowess, experience, innovation, and inspiration into a series of targeted and distributed platforms that are shareable and discoverable by peers, customers, prospects and partners is how we earn mind share and eventually market share.

If you were to ask Charlene Li, Ray Wang, and Jeremiah Owyang of Altimeter Group, August Ray of Forrester, or Paul Greenberg author of CRM at the Speed of Light, I’m sure their views would align.

BtoB Magazine recently released its 2010 outlook, which predicts the rise of social media marketing in both importance and spend heading into the new year.

To get a deeper view at B2B social media marketing in 2010, eMarketer graphed the results…

At the top of the list, Website spending is forecast to rise upwards of 71%. I believe that Websites in general, especially in B2B, should resemble the rapid evolution of the social web, as many social media and interactive marketing programs currently engage people in very dynamic communities only to send them to a static dead end.

B2B email and search marketing are also at the top of the list, increasing by 68% and 62% respectively.

Social Media rose to fourth with a dramatic increase of 60% heading into 2010. Surprisingly however, 37% of organizations reported no change in their Social Media efforts, with 3% actually reducing their programs. According to the report, 54% of respondents currently use social media for marketing, which represents a jump of 9% compared to November 2008.

It’s also worth noting that video will increase by an estimated 51%, which we can assume will have a role in social media marketing – as one can guess that a social network will be employed to host and share much of the custom content.

As mentioned earlier, establishing and conveying thought leadership is a valid and promising opportunity in social medial. 60% of polled B2B marketers reported that thought leadership was at the top of the list for reasons they would engage in social networks. Generating leads and customer feedback served as the second and third top motivators for participation with 49% and 46%.

As eMarketer points out however, respondents to a different survey conducted by Visible Technologies and SiriusDecisions held differing priorities when it comes to Social Media marketing.

Generating awareness was at the top of the list with 25%, customer engagement followed with 18%, and engaging analysts and influencers ranked third with 16%. Marketing products and monitoring and responding trailed by only 1-2 points with 15% and 14% respectively. Although, one could argue that monitoring and responding and customer engagement are one in the same, which could theoretically send it to the top of the reasons.

While many run away from the discussion of ROI and measurement, social media is among the most measurable forms of interactive marketing, assuming that you know how and why to employ it in the first place.

Of those surveyed, 31% measure Social Media ROI through Web traffic and response rates. Qualified leads, which to me represent a meaningful metric, are analyzed by 20%. In succession, customer loyalty ranked third with 15%, brand awareness followed with 13%, and perhaps most surprising, revenue accounted for only 12%. In B2B, the sell cycle is much longer than average transactions. Perhaps the extended evaluation process is accounted for in the lower deployment of revenue metrics.

In the end, the dynamics of business and the role of influence share similar attributes that significantly benefit from socialized media and active and informed engagement. We earn the business and relationships we deserve. This is, after all, just business.

Connect with Brian Solis on:
Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Posterous, or Facebook
—
Click the image below to buy the book/poster:

pr pr+2.0 pr2.0 public+relations marketing advertising interactive social+media socialmedia brian+solis social media media2.0 media+2.0 2.0 smo social+media+optimization marcom communication publicity advertising expert interactive spin brand branding guru social+architect