Don’t just do Social Media – Think like a digital native (Part 1)

by Stephanie Weg

Social Media is the magic term everyone talks about when it comes to company success nowadays. Without doubt, it is a force to be reckoned with: Business Insights (www.business-insights.com) predict that 80% of the total consumer expenditure worldwide will be reachable through social media by 2015. At the same time, users are becoming more sophisticated and as small and medium sized companies start to take up on the Social Media hype, it is possible to compare Social Media initiatives. In the past, it used to be enough to be on Facebook. Now, companies have to be good on Facebook.

So how do I create a “good” Social Media initiative?

The answer is easy: Think like a digital native. Digital Natives, or Generation Y and Generation Z have a different perception of the world around them and their place in it. To illustrate, I will use the example of how different generations view the buying decision of getting a new car.

Baby Boomers are happy to get the car they want with the features they need. Accessibility matters.

Generation Xers are happy when they can make informed buying decisions by drawing on all relevant information, comparing features and prices of cars. Transparency matters.

Digital Natives take it a step further – they want to determine the features which are offered. Participation matters.

Adidas was spot on in addressing this attitude with "miadidas" in 2000, setting a trend with mass customisation by allowing people to express their individualism and take control of the dimensions, colours and design of their shoes.

Dell went one step further and established Dell IdeaStorm (http://www.ideastorm.com), a platform which allows people to submit and rate ideas for new features in Dell products. The most popular ones are implemented (given that they are feasible). Dell managed to put an effective crowd sourcing solution in place, gathering data with little effort by tapping into on people’s motivation to give feedback.

Taking it to the next level, PepsiCo’s Bluebird (NZ) and Smith’s Chips (Australia) ran their “Do us a flavour” competition 2008/2009, asking customers to submit ideas for new chips flavours. The most popular suggestions were created and the inventor received a significant monetary reward and/or a small percentage of proceeding sales. This is how the buzz that every marketer dreams of is created, how consumers feel that they “own” a brand and get excited enough to tell their friends about it on Twitter, on Facebook and in their Blog.

So we have established the fact that participation is key in Social Media initiatives. Using Facebook  or blog with the old “push” mindset will not do the trick, it takes a new mindset to use the new tools to their full potential.

This is not the end of the story though. Three principles were applied in each of these examples. These principles are key to successful Social Media initiatives regardless of whether we talk product development, marketing or customer service.
I will write about these three principles in my next blog entry. Stay tuned!