Job Security – Social Media Participation Grows
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I’m a huge fan of Groundswell and Charlene Li. I often refer to both the book and the Social Technographics Profile Tool provided by Forester at work. It’s a great way to kick start the conversation with clients about why social media has become such an important piece of the online marketing mix. I just went back over to the site today to get a screenshot of the profile tool when I noticed it had been updated with 2008 data. I think the difference between the old version and the new version speaks for itself:
Technographics Profile 2007
Technographics Profile 2008
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I noticed mainly that the number of spectators increased. How do you think this would change the way clients would interact with their customers? If at all.
What do you think is the most important shift shown by this tool? And like the white rabbit, are most of us too late? (in responding and utilizing the Social Media tools?)
Well you have to realize that some of these categories overlap. If you’re creating content, for instance, you’re also probably a spectator. So it would make sense to me that spectators would always be the largest group. I almost see it more like spectators = actives give or take a little. But mainly the lesson about the spectator group being so much larger than the creators, etc is that brands can’t brush off a few blog postings as “just one or two people’s opinions” they have to realize that those opinions will be viewed by a much larger group of people and might sway their opinions.
I don’t think that there’s necessarily a “too late” in social media. Brands like Dell and others have shown you can mess up at the beginning and still be able to make the shift and make up for it later. I think the key takeaway is that this is important, it’s happening now, and the longer you wait the longer you miss out on opportunities.