So, we’ve covered mobile. We’ve encouraged gaming. We reminded you about online video. We’ve emphasized location. What if there was some place on the internet where all of these tech trends might converge? A single touchpoint to rule them all?
Oh, it’s social networking? How anticlimactic.
While some attendees are still whining about the lack of “the next Twitter” at this year’s conference, the truth is that this year’s breakthrough technologies are probably going to be applied to sites we’re already frequenting. Facebook is an obvious example, as they’ve succeeded with their mobile app and their gaming efforts (and is looking to ramp up the latter), done a decent job with online video, and are gearing up for a huge location push. Better yet, the non-SXSW consumer will be relieved that they won’t need to join yet another social network and learn a whole new series of behaviors.
Moreover, the one thing that keeps us coming back to the Facebooks of the web is that all of these features are applied to social applications. In fact, Michael Sharon (of Facebook’s Mobile Products division), warns us that it’s ever-more important to emphasize social elements as people migrate to mobile devices, lest we face the scenario detailed in this article from The Onion. The fact that mobile devices are so friggin’ immersive is a good thing, but it can also be incredibly isolating if we fail to actively build-in social elements.
Fortunately, being “more social” is less daunting than it seems. Heather Nolte, founder of the Glamajama children’s clothing company, described her strategy for starting a Facebook relationship with customers as follows: when someone buys their product, the company looks them up on Facebook and asks if they’d like to become a “fan” of the brand. Over half of the people they contact end up friending the brand in response. And… that’s it. That’s how tough it is to be “social” in today’s world. We can do this, folks.
Of course, the other promise of today’s world is better targeting. For the consumer, that translates to more relevant content, which ultimately helps a brand’s message “break through the clutter.” Unfortunately, we often don’t get there. One SXSW panelist made this clear when she exasperatedly asked why she receives Groupon offers for places that are of no interest to her. Hmm, good point. By now, most consumers have shared some personal information in an online profile, or are willing to create a profile if it means they’ll get better content. Nokia’s Geoffrey Roberts sees an opportunity here for brands, as he argues that consumers are really looking to brands to help them make better decisions and provide filters for the massive amounts of data that are now available. In this sense, Groupon’s adding a lot of noise by not doing some basic targeting. Considering consumers’ social profiles (which are made accessible by services such as Facebook Connect) provides plenty of info to enable targeting; in fact, Nokia recently released an app called Gig Finder to help their users filter concert info based on their location and their music preferences.
Even consumers who are wary about sharing personal information may still self-define themselves online. The forums on TheMotherHood.com include a wide range of “discussion circles” on topics including “Shortcuts to Dinner,” “Healthy Moms, Healthy Families,” “Living on a Budget,” and more. As we’ve mentioned before, these types of niche networks provide more relevant insights for the participants, but also allow brands to encounter deep quantitative insights about their consumers. There’s even the potential to engage with these consumers by becoming an authentic participant in these communities.
Still, we’ll admit that when it comes to targeting, most brands would rather crunch numbers than sift through message boards. Fortunately, Twitter’s CEO Evan Williams is counting on that. Lost in all the hubbub about his keynote interview was Williams announcing that Twitter is looking to license its enormous hordes of data to companies big and small. Whether it’s though Twitter’s API or through a partnership with a brand, Williams thinks that Twitter can enable brands to provide “deeper experiences” for consumers. He cited a simple example called Baker Tweet (demonstrated in the video above), which allows bakeries to quickly notify their customers when they’re taking fresh-baked products out of the oven. Ad Age compiled a list of a few other applications here, including one that tells you when your plants need water. I can’t wait for the Twitter program that reminds me when I need to eat.
(Also lost in the keynote hubbub: Twitter will soon roll out their @anywhere service. It appears to resemble Facebook Connect, in that it brings the power of a user’s Twitter network to external sites in a frictionless manner. We’ll keep you posted on that as it develops.)
We’re closing in on the end of our SXSW coverage! We’ll wrap up some loose ends in our next post.
