SOCIAL NETWORK SMACKDOWNJune 22, 2007

Laura Halsch & Qui Diaz

An Online Community Is …

• “A group of people that primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet, rather than face to face”

• Listserv, bulletin boards, message boards, chat rooms, media-sharing sites, consumer review/sales, social bookmarking, social networks

• eBay, Craigslist, Amazon.com, Epinions, Del.icio.us, Wikipedia, DIGG . . .

Some History

• Where did online communities come from?– Shift from information gathering to relationship

building online– Steps taken (the well, message boards, listserves,

AOL)

• Built on foundations of social interaction– Participation in a group– Membership in a community with common

interests/goals/etc.– Trust

A Social Network Is . . .

• Equitably facilitated (user-to-user contact, not just response)

• Focused on identity & relationships, not just topic (profile)

• An opportunity for image management

Why should you pay attention?

• 61% of people trust other people like themselves when forming an opinion about a company.

• Marketing is dependant on listening to those people and engaging them in promotion and development.

• Online communities provide a place to do just that.– “focus groups” of consumers

Conversation Map

(Laura Halsch)(Laura Halsch)(Qui Diaz)(Qui Diaz)

VSVS

• Launched in 2004• 20,284,357 members• 15,000 new members a

day• Up 14.8% in the past

month, 88.3% in the past year.

• Users in MA, NY, RI, and CT, NJ are the heaviest users of the site

* compete.com

USERS

• Launched in 2004• 167 million registered

members• 208,000 new members a

day• 57% of Social

Networking Market Share• “86.5% of members are

18+”

AUDIENCE

Facebook –

Mostly college students

MySpace –

No one really knows for sure, but . . .

The Smackdown …

• Profiles• Friends• Messaging• Photo/video• “Wall”• Events

Profiles Friends Messaging Photo/videos Comments Events Blog Music Bulletins Groups

FUNCTIONALITY Facebook MySpace

• Feeds• Applications• Cuter

Conversation Map

Over 71% of early “power users” were using Facebook in May 2007, and visiting the site an average of 27 times a month.

“STICKINESS” Facebook MySpace

Nearly 2/3rds of early MySpace “power users” were using MySpace in May 2007, and visiting the site an average of 30 times a month.

Conversation Map

• Feeds• Online to offline

activities• Group

membership/updates• Invitations

CONNECTIVITY Facebook MySpace

Blogs/feeds Online to offline

activities Group

membership/updates Invitations

• Marketplace• Toolbar thing

* compete.com

THE FUTURE• On May 27, Facebook

announced their new platform which allows users to add third party applications (widgets) into their profiles.

• There are currently 900 applications available for categories like business, food/drink, politics, travel, music, and videos.

• This is an opportunity for brands to get involved.

THE FUTURE

• Entrenched users – are they reachable & actionable?

• Niche networks on the rise

• Innovation waning

Users: Facebook

With regards to• Design• Media• Community• Ease of Use . . .

+1 for MySpace for “usefulness”

“Facebook Hammers MySpace on Almost All Key Features”Mashable, June 2007

• The arena is growing– Social networks are getting bigger (MySpace)– Gaining in numbers/popularity/membership– Mainstream within popular sites (USA Today)

• The arena is increasingly segmented– Niche groups forming (Flubies)– Corporations and brands becoming involved (Mini

Cooper)

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Top 20 Social Networks(Ranked by Attention, April 2007, Compete.com)

Where we are now

From:xkcd webncomics

THE WORKING PROFESSIONAL

LinkedIn

PartnerUp

Visible Path

Monster.com

Create your own network of direct & indirect professional connections

• “Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended

• Be found for business opportunities

• Search for great jobs• Discover inside connections that

can help you land jobs and close deals

• Post and distribute job listings• Find high-quality passive

candidates• Get introduced to other

professionals through the people you know”

LinkedIn.com

Traffic: 1.2 million unique visitors/monthLinks: 322,000Members: Over 11million members in 150 industriesFree(Paid accounts = more tools to reach people outside your network)

OPRLinkedIn for Good

THE SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS /ADVOCACY-ORIENTED

• Omidyar.net• Idealist.org• Care2• Treehugger

“the largest online community for people who want to make a difference”

• Groups• Petitions• Donation portal• News network• e-cards• Photos• Personal email and web

page

Care2.com

Traffic: 745,854 unique visitors/monthLinks: 276,000Members: 7,300,000 +

THE DATING SCENE

Match.com

eHarmony

J DateChemistry.com, PerfectMatch.com, True.com . . .

Friendster, Orkut, Bebo, FaceParty, Facebook, MySpace . . .

MOMSClub Mom

iVillage Connect

Parents Connect

Mothers Click

BlogHer

Parent Center/ Baby Center

Cafe Mom

Launched in November 2006, this is an online community created specifically for moms.

• Profiles• Public Message boards• Private Messaging• Journals• Photo sharing• Groups• Status Messaging

Cafe Mom

Traffic: 421,108 unique visitors/monthLinks: 2,532 links inMembers: Thousands of Moms

THE FAITHFUL • SmartChristian• IslamicTube• Buddhist

Gateway• Zaadz• Beliefnet• ldsplanet

“The largest spiritual web site helping you find your spiritual path.”

• Discussion & Dialogue groups• Prayer circles• Memorials (online

tributes/commemorations)• Birth announcements• Wedding albums & vows• Religious events & misc.

celebrations• Comfort & support• Blogs, news, videos, resources

Beliefnet.com

Traffic: 2 million unique visitors/monthLinks: 97,700Members: Majority of faiths represented

Boards and groups

Quepasa.com

MyGrito

Black Planet

Asiantown.net

MULTI-CULTI

“A groundbreaking online community for African Americans. We enable members to cultivate meaningful personal and professional relationships …”

• Profiles• Public Message boards• Private Messaging• Groups/Events• Photos/Videos• Professional Groups• Dating• Polls• News aggregator

Black Planet

Traffic: 1 million unique visitors/monthLinks: 2,532 links inMembers: Black Community (18- 44)

• The Student Doctor Network• Sermo• Medscape• WebMD• iVillage• Revolution Health

THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

“The fastest Growing community created for physicians, by physicians.”

• Posts and Comments • Rating• Groups by Field• Conversations• Anonymous Membership

Sermo

Traffic: less than 2,000 visitors per monthLinks: 2,532 links inMembers: Medical Professionals

Examples

• Party Builder• YouTube• TownHall.com• Meet Up/Upcoming• Facebook/Myspace• TuGrito 2008• John Edwards 08

POLITICS

Launched in November 2006, this is an online community created specifically for moms.

• Profiles• Groups• Events• Campaigns• Fundraising• Blogs• Letters

Party Builder

Traffic: 115,418 unique visitors/monthLinks: 21,792 links inMembers: Democrats

It’s really about RELATIONSHIPS

How do you want to engage with others and where?

Boxing = poor metaphor for the purpose of social networks

Conversation Map

• Facebook (Laura)v.s.

• MySpace (Qui)

That is . . . until you realize the competitive advantage of engaging in conversational marketing.

R U READY TO RUMBLE?

GET IN THE GAME

• Join 2 social networks TODAY

• Make your profile compelling

• Connect with others

be your best true self

How can you get more involved?

• Listen– Know your audience: what matters to them– Determine influencers (volume, discussion,

affiliation …)

FLUBLOGIA & FLUBIESTracking the online pandemic flu community

Weekly monitoring of:

• 20 blogs• 6 message boards• 1 wiki

How can you get more involved?

• Engage (online or offline)– Invite influencers to participate offline– Respond to comments/questions online– Revise products/initiatives based on feedback– Aggregate to amplify

The Humane Society of the United States

www.myspace.com/thehumanesociety

How can you get more involved?

• Advertise/Sponsor– Look for opportunities– Brand existing conversations– Host conversations/forums

NHLBI and Blog Her

Blogher is a network of highly connected women bloggers who cover a variety of topics.

•77% of the Network's readers visit the blogs at least weekly, and two thirds of those visit daily.

• 93% of the Network's readers are "certain to return" to the sites

How can you get more involved?

• Create your own– Clear call to action– Focused incentive– Clear timeline– Amex, Omidyar, Trader Joe’s …– Don’t get in their way

Timeline: 5.15 – 8.7

Incentive: American Express donates $1 for every card member that registers

Community Building: Card members submit project ideas – proposals for spending the $5 million to “help the world”

Card members read, discuss and rate proposals within the community site and eventually vote on the winner.

Brand:Card members are “passionate, creative people,” and American Express is able to create a community around the card and the people who use them.

American Express: The Members Project

“Our Money. Your Ideas. Your Decision.”

Toyota Hybrid

Incentive: Hybrid owners are proud of their cars and want to talk about it.

Community Building: Toyota gave them a place to do it. Toyota Hybrid owners log in to connect with other owners from across the country.

Each owner’s reasons for buying the hybird are posted to and scroll through the site.

Brand: Hybrid owners already feel a strong affinity for their cars. Toyota created a place for them to express it.

The site tracks numbers of owners and which cars they own.

MORE EXAMPLESOF BIG BRANDS

• Dell• RedBull• Wendy’s• Aquafina• Honda Element• Verizon

CRITERIA FOR INFLUENCE

• Traffic• Number of inbound links• Number of Members• Breadth (groups/forums)• Number & quality of

comments• Street cred – what are

external sources saying?

Additional Resources

• Wikipedia (“List of Social Networks”)

• Mashable• danah boyd

(danah.org)• Compete.com• 360°Digital Influence

Questions? Concerns?

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” (Muhammad Ali)

"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I just beat people up.” (Muhammad Ali)

"There's more to boxing than hitting. There's not getting hit, for instance.“ (George Foreman)

And Remember . . .