My presentation (with narrative) at Social Media Week in Los Angeles in September 2010.
A video of the presentation is available at j.mp/socialmediaflings (skip to 1hr 13min mark).
(Special thanks to @lanewinfield for design help.)
9. PAID MEDIA
Channels brands pay to use
EARNED MEDIA
People as channels
OWNED MEDIA
Channels brands control
This construct isn’t wrong. It’s how we approach
it…
10. EARNED
PAID
OWNED
… which is as a FUNNEL. Why do marketers love funnels so damn much?
The goal is to get people through.
Paid media doesn’t brand build– you’re buying likes.
Earned media is sweet, sweet heaven.
Owned media is *closing* the deal.
Even when we don’t show this funnel to clients, the thinking is clearly there.
11. EARNED
PAID
OWNED
3 MAJOR ISSUES
But actually, thinking in a funnel kinda
sucks.
12. PAID
EARNED
OWNED
IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE THIS
So few people make it to the end and they’re generally an echo chamber of hardcore fans. this isn’t bad– but it’s not broad enough to drive social media
strategy.
This type of thinking is exactly the mistake most marketers made with click‐thru‐rates years ago. 99.9% of what we were doing was considered value‐less– a
means to an end.
13. PAID
EARNED
OWNED
IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE THIS
BRAND = SOCIAL OBJECT
The second issue with the funnel is that when the end game is “OWNED MEDIA”, it’s like believing we’re the center of the universe.
No one wanted to hear Galileo talk about‐ well the freakin’ SUN‐ so I hope I’m not found “vehemently suspect of heresy” as he was.
.
14. SOCIAL OBJECT
“the reason two people are talking to each other, as
opposed to talking to somebody else.”
HUGH MACLEOD
Social object = why 2 people are talking to each other. this can be a movie, a shared history, the fact that we’re plane neighbors (no but really don’t talk to
me on planes)
It seems insane to think of a world where that Social Object would always be 1 of the 2 people (except maybe Kanye)
So why do brands do it? Why do they force people to talk only about the brand? It’s a bit Copernicus of us all, no?
15. PAID
EARNED
OWNED
IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE THIS
BRAND = SOCIAL OBJECT
REQUIRES A BIG COMMITMENT
Even the word “owned” shows how we think about it.
It’s OURS and you’re either IN or you’re OUT.
16. TILL OPT-OUT DO US PART
You really have to love someone to marry them if they only talk about
themselves.
17. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
BRANDS ALLOW OTHER
SOCIAL OBJECTS?
What if a brand we’re to be willing to socialize around all those other things people connect
about?
19. What’s a social media fling
look like?
What are some things people might say if we didn’t a) only talk about ourselves and b) demand such commitment from them?
20. What’s a social media fling
look like?
LET’S HANG OUT...
for right now
What if a person only had to “opt in” for a bit, naturally and without having to “opt
out?”
21. What’s a social media fling
look like?
LET’S HANG OUT...
only when it’s relevant
for right now
What if someone knew our only connecbon would be when it was relevant– and not because our data knew it was a “transacbon” moment?
22. What’s a social media fling
look like?
LET’S HANG OUT...
when you can credibly
contribute
only when it’s relevant
for right now
People would be open to it if we were credible, no?. They might be socializing about something and welcome a brand with a credible / interesbng point‐of‐
view.
For example, Red Bull feels like a brand that can credibly talk about Extreme Sports. I mean, they built Shaun White a half pipe, so they probably know a
thing or 2—
or at least have cool stories.
23. What’s a social media fling
look like?
LET’S HANG OUT...
in specific company
when you can credibly contribute
only when it’s relevant
for right now
The biggest shie in social media in the last year has been our ability to organize contacts be:er– Twi:er lists, understandable FB privacy sefng, etc.
Clearly people don’t see their network as A network, but a digital collecbon of MANY networks.
So why don’t brands try to figure out where they fit in? Because that’s NOT part of the funnel mentality.
25. WHERE CAN BRANDS HAVE FLINGS?
IN THE RIPPLES AROUND
SOCIAL OBJECTS
26. VIDEO RESPONSES
INTEREST-BASED
COMMUNITIES BLOG COMMENTS
HASHTAG
PRODUCT CONVERSATIONS
REVIEWS
GEO-MOBILE
CASUAL GAME OPPORTUNITIES
LOBBIES
MULTIPLAYER GAMING
SCAFFOLDING
Flings can live in all of these places. They seem small at first, but just stop and think about how much you’re influenced about things you care about in these
environments.
I love technology & food. Much of my discovery/opinion/thinking about those subjects come from people I have no formal social media relabonship with.
These are powerful ships passing in the night.
27. POP-UP COMMUNITIES MOMENTS IN TIME
CURRENTS OF DIALOGUE
This is by no means comprehensive, but flings fall in a few types of clear categories.
Pop‐up communibes = dsicussion / engagement around any piece of content. think blog comments, reviews & response videos**
Currents of dialogue= any passion subject has a flow through. people just gefng into gardening, people preparing for a child, people becoming experts in
biology.
Moments in bme = real‐world events that people “gather around.” think elecbons, Monday Night Football, holidays, fesbvals.
28. WHY ARE
FLINGS GREAT?
★ Way more people will have ‘em
★ They can be meaningful
★ Brands get to be more human
★ Digital media is headed there
29. A MORE SOCIAL
MEDIA LANDSCAPE
COMMITMENTS FLINGS
Ditching the funnel opens up our eyes to how social the ENTIRE media landscape is.
Think about all of those ripples inside content properbes – not “social media”.
Now imagine we saw the value in this collecbvely as an industry? How much would brand push on sites to be *more* social in their offerings?
The good news is all sites and apps are trying to be more social at this point because traffic/usage depends on it.
30. WHERE BEING
COMMITTED…
Commitment isn’t bad… it just doesn’t feel like
enough.
31. DOESN’T RULE
OUT HAVING A FLING
…when there are so many more opportunibes for brands.
So let’s open up our relabonships from commitment only and start having FLINGS.
33. DISCUSSION:
WHAT MUST
BRANDS TO HAVE
FLINGS?
The Social Media Week event then broke into discussion groups and we idenbfied what brands could do to have flings.
An interesbng conclusion was that most people felt almost every brand (even those that are the opposite of lifestyle brands) could have flings in areas at
bmes only tangenbally related to their product category. In fact, a brand like Starbucks was acknowledged to have flingy‐ness in everything from music to
technology to local community to news events. That’s a huge opportunity for a brand to expand their social presence outside their cult of fans.
If you want to know more about our discussion, ping me on twi:er: @saneel.