Did you know that peer to peer flows of communication are between to 2 to 10 times greater than all other web traffic depending on the time of day, or that mobile social networking is currently worth $6.9bn in 2007. And, that all advertising will be digital by 2015. Or, that 65 to 70% of all purchase decisions are made via word-of-mouth.
How about this, that in the UK google makes more profit than broadcasters ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 put together.
We are witnesses and we are the midwives to a new world, a new way of doing things, a new way of creating media, communications and commerce.
At the epicentre of this transformation, is a very simple truth, and one that goes back to the very start of civilisations. Human beings are a “We Species”. Our DNA is programmed for us to be a social and networking species. We have an innate need to connect and communicate.
That is why there are 100 million people on You Tube, it’s why we see the explosion of web/mobile 2.0 technologies built around human interaction and co-operation, from Facebook to serious science and the wikinomics of mass collaboration, we see the unprecedented rise of social networking. So, it’s not about the technology, and for us that are interested in the monetising of this new world we must accept this truth, that human beings are deeply social, and that truth in fact changes everything.
Community Marketing Intelligence is the method of extrapolating valuable information from social network interactions and large data flows that can enable companies for example; to launch new products and services into the market place at greater speed and at significantly lower cost. This is a very new area of research. But for example Swisscom achieved a 90% improvement in how well the message spread in the communities after trialling a launch of a new product into the market place using Alpha User scoring.
So what are the real and unique benefits about better understanding communities and social interaction?
Through Community Marketing Intelligence Xtract can identify the people that are the most influential within their communities, these people are called Alphas.
But why are Alpha Users so important in this new world? The Alpha Users, are the most connecting and connected people within any given social network. The Alpha Users have considerable influence over the spread of information within their social network. Without wanting to sound dramatic, it is the missing link in the evolution of business and marketing, because it can make sense of the complex social interactions that occur between people and turn that into a commercial asset. Think about Malcolm Gladwell’s the Tipping Point and the importance of virality.
Once upon a time we discovered demographics as a means to become more effective in our marketing, then it was market intelligence, after that we got into behavourial analytics and today these have been superceded by Community Marketing Intelligence.
However its not that these existing forms of knowledge and information are redundant. Xtract is able to synthesise on the deep understanding of the social interactions between people. And remember there is an alpha user in every community ? it’s a growing area of investigation and will play a significant role in our businesses in the early part of this Century.
Moreover Xtracts unique capability is to take those existing sources of data and combine these with the ability to map social networks and to turn that mapping into relevant knowledge which can enable businesses to compete more efficiently and more effectively in highly competitive marketplaces.
Community Marketing Intelligence can do the following:
1. Reduce marketing costs
2. Deliver better and more accurate targeting
3. Intelligent introduction of new products to the marketplace
4. Faster uptake of products and services
5. Identify the most influential people (Alphas) that are part of communities and be able to monetise
6. Reduce churn
7. Increase customer loyalty
If I were Facebook, Myspace, Microsoft, a broadcaster, a bank, an insurer, a mobile company anyone in fact that is facing up to the significant challenges of the changing worlds of media and commerce in our digital age, I think I would be wanting to understand what exactly Xtract could do for me. It might help reduce costs and drive revenues. Companies that claim that they will derive significant revenues from Social Networking without Community Marketing Intelligence - I suggest that is a big call.
One can only achieve this properly with Community Marketing Intelligence, the black gold of the 21st Century.
