Why have social networks taken off so successfully in the U.K. -- and how can brands secure trusted positions within them?
The remarkable success of social networking has attracted a great deal of attention in the marketing industry. But why has social networking been so uniquely successful? And what implications does this have for marketers wishing to use the medium? A recent study conducted by
Illuminas traces its popularity to its ability to replicate group behaviour.
The qualitative study amongst regular users of networking sites aged 15 to 55 uncovered a variety of ways in which social networking amplifies and extends our need and capacity for group behaviour. Web 2.0 translates into an online medium with a range of social interactions that have until now been confined to small group situations. For example, the technology allows rapid switching between different types of interaction (verbal and non-verbal), which has previously only been possible in face-to-face social situations. Networking sites also allow users to move rapidly between the three main types of interaction found in group situations -- one person communicating or signalling to the entire group, two or more members of the main group interacting in the presence of the rest of the group and two people interacting offline from the main group.
This replication of close group behaviour online is one of the reasons for the dramatic success of social networking. We enjoy engaging in such group behaviour and it comes very naturally to us. So the opportunity to do this whenever we are sitting at a computer has been enthusiastically taken up by a very diverse range of people. Whilst it was younger people who were the first to get into social networking, the habit has spread rapidly through older demographics. For example, Saga, the brand targeted at the grey market in the U.K., recently launched its own social networking site,
Saga Zone.
The study identified a number of distinct user types, including:
- Broadcasters who are concerned mainly with telling their story to others in a one-way, network-wide communication. This group includes young people who are travelling and want to rapidly update everyone they know about their progress and experiences.
- Mature focused for whom social networking is being used on the Web 1.0 model, i.e., as a tool for a single, specific purpose such as dating.
- Happy eventers whose usage is driven primarily by the need to share photos of a specific event like a wedding or of children. A sort of modern spin on the family circular letter.
The segment that appears to be central to the success of social networking is the 'Atomised'. These urban, twenty-somethings make full use of the group behaviour functions on networking sites to resist the fragmentation of circles of friends from their school and university days as they make the transition to work.
Throw away the brand manual.
The widespread adoption of social networking and the high level of engagement that users have with the site make social networking a very attractive medium for marketers. However, the dynamic social interaction on these sites presents brands with a unique challenge. The world of social networking can seem like state of anarchy to a marketer accustomed to the rigid control of brand identity that can be exercised in traditional media.
In the world of Web 2.0 consumers have little or no respect for copyright, brand values and other publishing limitations. They want to take a brand and manipulate it, to use it as they see fit. Illuminas has developed a best practice guide for brands to ensure they can fit into 'the community'.
Good practice involves 'joining in' and using the sites in the way they are used by consumers -- allowing negative as well as positive comments and inferences, making 'friends' (and letting everyone know about them!), cooperating and being inclusive and giving people a reason to 'view your profile' (i.e., letting them have something for nothing). Bad practice consists of trying to be too controlling or precious with your brand -- policing the site and attempting to portray only the positives, openly competing and putting others down, trying to be exclusive and expecting your brand alone to be enough to pull people in when it does not communicate.
Failing to observe best practice can be worse than not bothering at all as it can make your brand seem as if it takes itself too seriously or feels that it is bigger than 'the community'.
The fact that social networking sites have been so successful in serving and extending a basic human need (for group interaction) means that these sites, or their successors, are likely to be here to stay. The unique nature of the sites -- building on existing social networks and encouraging a high level of self-expression -- presents marketers and researchers with a unique challenge if they are to exploit the commercial value of the medium.
Jonathan Fletcher is group creative director at Illuminas.