ideas from Jeffery Giesener CEO ShoppesimpleNetwork.com
We all know people who seem to know everyone…people who can get you in touch with just about anyone.
Malcom Galdwell is his visionary work called The Tipping Point (written in 2002) used the term “Connector” for those people who like to make connections and is totally comfortable meeting people and offering help in facilitating connections.
It’s amazing that The Tipping point was written 10 years ago even before the birth of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and the iPhone.
From a Social Media perspective have you thought about where your Social Advocates are hanging out today? As you may guess, they’re hanging out in Social Networks. In fact, BusinessInsider.com reports that people who have 150 connections in Social Networks are called Super Socials.
Where Are Your Super Socials Hanging Out?
84% of Super Socials are connecting on Facebook, 39% are on Twitter and 38% are on LinkedIn. Do these numbers surprise you? They shouldn’t. BusinessInsider.com reports as expected, Facebook is the 800 lb. Super Social Gorilla. So if you aren’t targeting your marketing efforts towards your Social and Mobile customers you are missing a huge opportunity to engage with your customers and turn them into your Advocates.
So isn’t time to begin applying part of your marketing budget to testing/learning how to market to your Social and Mobile audiences?
The Power of Super Social Word of Mouth…
- When asked what sources “influence your decision to use or not use a particular company, brand or product” 71% claim reviews from family members or friends exert influence. (Harris Interactive)
- 53% of people on Twitter recommend companies and/or products in their Tweets, with 48% of them delivering on their intention to buy the product. (ROI Research for Performance)
- In a study conducted by social networking site myYearbook, 81 percent of respondents said they’d received advice from friends and followers relating to a product purchase through a social site; ClickZ
- Users put great trust in their social networks. One-half of respondents said they considered information shared on their networks when making a decision. (eMarketer)
- A study found that between 10% and 24% of US social media users turned to social networks when making purchase decisions about various categories of products and services. (eMarketer)
- 67% of shoppers spend more online after recommendations from online community of friends. (Internet Retailer)
- Facebook, blogs, Twitter and customer sharing are considered the most effective tactics for mobilizing consumers to talk up products online. (Etailing)
- Consumers say that word of mouth is still the number one influence for purchases. (Retail Advertising and Marketing Association/BIGresearch Study)
- Recommendations from family and friends trump all other consumer touch points when it comes to influencing purchases. (AdAge)
Tapping Super Socials For Commerce?
Here’s how I see marketers, we are working with, succeeding in Social and Mobile commerce. First they have identified their Super Social audiences by tagging source. Then they are targeting specialized Social marketing campaigns to impact this group. Their intent is to enable word of mouth enabling conversations to flow through to friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, email and of course Mobile Texting.
Imagine the viral effect for your business when you stimulate your customer’s social graph.
A suggestion: when you take the marketing time to focus on your Social and Mobile programs, it won’t take long for your business to see positive outcomes from your top Super Social customers driving their friends and family back to your website for transactions.
Best,
Jeffery
Jeffery Giesener
CEO/Founder
ShoppeSimpleNetwork
jeff@shoppesimplenetwork.com
612-349-2740
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jeffery-giesener/0/600/b82
PS. Need help putting your plans together just give me a ping or ring and I would be happy to