2. “Social media is a good way of sustaining
existing relationships, but our need for both
connection and value is getting a bit distorted.”
Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan, Physiologist
spiceworks.com/marketing
7. Buyers seeking more authentic approach to learning
about new products / services
How IT Buyers Consume Information / Content
Source: Spiceworks ‘How to Win Friends and Influence IT Pros’ Sept 2014
97% 97%
89%
79% 76%
69% 64%
Peer
Recommendations
Ratings &
Reviews
Free Product
Trials
VideosWebinars Interviews /
Q&As with
Product Experts
White Papers
spiceworks.com/marketing
struggle to gain traction or return
lack of understanding
trying to apply the same tactics
Essena O’Neill
greater social movement
existing social networks are failing to satisfy a deeper need for connection and value
richer experiences
more engagement
deeper relationships
central focus
Community relationships go deep - sharing of a joint passion
Social Network defined by social connections
can maintain existing relationships
making new connections is a transient and shallow experience
seek quality interactions over quantity.
aren’t mutually exclusive - communities can derive from and exist within networks
important how they differ.
strong community element
connections and value focused around specific professions and disciplines
support, resources, insights and camaraderie
Instant connection because of a shared, self-selecting identity
Networks are defined by scale – Communities defined by core focus…Scale is less relevant to activity and engagement
Members don’t meet - don’t know who they say they are
Communities more intimate. Members are expected to actively participate - more difficult to hide
Networks are typically artificial; they are invariably created and then governed in a top-down fashion - little or no input from the majority - removed physically and psychologically
Communities develop more organically - more autonomous, bottom-up fashion. Members are bound together through shared values - come together to find a solution - people coming up with the rules are from within the community - familiar with needs
Networks encourage passivity and consumption - assume someone else will take care of problems that arise - everyone else is thinking, nothing gets done - anonymity of the crowd allows the passive bystander
In communities you get and you give - know who is and who isn’t being taken care of, who is and isn’t stepping in to help - social repercussions
need to be part of it to have a voice; can’t expect to be heard shouting from the outside
require give and take – as result need to re-think approach
effort is much greater but then so are the rewards
“Most marketing content continues to push mass-market, self-promotional messages that buyers mistrust.”
demand dialogue, not corporate monologue
with each other as a primary source of information and product recommendation
brands that they are willing to do business with
present throughout the whole buying process
discover, learn and evaluate - point where the buying decision is made
moving beyond merely observing and interacting with conversations
participant and contributor - closer to ZMoT
across multi-channel environments connection to and participation in the community is ever-present
supplementing and sometimes replacing search as the ZMOT
specific, quick and trusted source of information and recommendation
Communities are becoming the place where buying research starts in a lot of instances, and the place that keeps pushing customers towards conversion
Based on our IT Budget Reports survey from 2014, 81% of respondents identified their community, in this case Spiceworks, as the top resource used when considering vendors compared to 67% referencing Google Search.
don’t mean pumping out endless scheduled posts or dropping constant pieces of content
be present, have a true dialogue, add value
answering peoples’ questions, helping to solve their problems, make their lives easier - doesn’t mean selling
relationships are built on trust - demonstrate credibility and value up-front
customers looking for more from the brands that they engage with
want deeper meaning and an overall ‘experience’
Contributing creates value and builds confidence in your brand
made up of people - want to talk to other people
don’t want to ‘integrate’ or ‘engage’ - related to as human beings
Being human? talking at the same level - ditching marketing speak - not selling
having fun and not taking yourself too seriously
relating to customers directly as humans creates emotional bonds; and emotions drive all decision making.
members don’t expect to simply be provided with a solution
have an input - expect to be involved in the creation
not to just be seen as consumers
unparalleled resource for gaining feedback and stimulating innovation
debate it and talk around different scenarios
Pertino - $875B SMB technology market - validate their assumptions and gain valuable insights - feedback was real-time
building and using community advocates to share their story
23,000 IT professionals in Spiceworks and over 3,000 registered companies, The Wall Street Journal, PandoDaily and ReadWrite.
Brands which evolve through community interaction remain relevant because they're constantly adapting to the changing needs, interests and values of the people who give them meaning.
built around human engagement - doesn’t just happen in cyberspace
happens organically - members convene their own meet-ups to develop their relationships and conversations
‘SpiceCorps’
brands members of the community in their own right
scales back online - good-will and advocacy
brand is seen as supporter of wider community
Backup Exec 2012
launched amongst much hype
IT Pros picked up on this very quickly sharing their dissatisfactions
Matt Stephenson - understood communities
got involved directly asking and probing them for their feedback
damage limitation - made the brand look legitimate to critical audience, after years of ignoring IT
global social strategy
most credible brands within the Spiceworks IT community
Matt celebrity
role and impact way beyond key marketing channel
infrastructure of the new relationship economy
relationships are the new currency
communities places where those relationships are developed and cultivated
focus and authenticity offered by communities providing richness of experience that people are increasingly craving, filling a void left by the transient development of social networks
brand perspective
get intimately close to your customers on ongoing basis
not about short-term Lead Gen - long-term relationships based on honesty, transparency and mutual trust
provide context within which brands establish meaning, offering value above-and-beyond a product transaction