Social Buzz Communities

Social Buzz Community - Laura Sicolo

THE REQUEST

• Advertising is loosing its initial power: spots and print campaigns are no more able to point out target’s attention and people believe less and less in what they are told trought the traditional media.


The solution

• Advertising agency and big companies are more and more interested in alternative ways of communication:

Viral videos Guerilla campaigns The word-of-mouth phenomena


Buzz and “word-of-mouth communities”

Everyone has in average • 10 continued contacts• 150 frequent contacts• Up till 1500 occasional contacts • Everytime you speak with friends, co-

workers or family about a trend, a brand, a service or a product you generate word of mouth, or ‘buzz’


Definition • A “social buzz network” is a community of

active, curios and well social linked people whowant to be the first in testing a new product

which is going to be launched in the marketwant to be aware of what happens in the market

and have an active rule in it spreading a buzz• The aims of each member is

to help in spreading the buzz in the enviroment he/she lives or operates, both real (family, friends) and virtual world (blog, forum)

after testing the product the member has to fill up a report and send to the agency


Some examples

• BuzzParadise

• BzzAgent

• Zzub


PARTS INVOLVED IN THE PHENOMENA AND STRUCTURE


Brand companies, advertising and marketing companies

• This company looks for more and more information about their potentional customers and want to know their opinion about a product before launching it in a market

• Use the community as an alternative way to advertise a good, creating a ‘buzz’ around the services and products


Buzz and communication agency

• Most of them belong to big advertising companies and are specialized in buzz and viral phenomena

• Their aim is to connect the brand company and the customer, they provide the platform in which they met and collaborate


Social Network • Community formed by well-informed

consumers, experts, bloggers and opinion leaders (BuzzParadise) and common internet users (Zzub.it)

• to become a buzz angels/zzubers/ buzzagents you have to fill up an application with your information, hobbies, your blog, the platforms you use (Facebook, MySpace..).


How does it work?

Step 1 • The brand contacts the buzz agency

asking to advertise a new product throught a

buzz• to test a good, changing some features if it

need before launching it in the market


Step 2 • The buzz agency edit the campaign in the

platform and people spontanesly apply for (“Vodafone recycle car” in zzub.it) or the agency select the proper member who will test the product (Nokia mobile)


How does it work?

Step 3• The member will received the sampling,

product, an invitation to a VIP event or exclusive information

• The member has to use it, helping and generating ‘buzz’ around a product or a service, if he likes it, in exchange for samples. He has to fill up a report with the comment, this is the feedback (karmapoint)


How does it work?

• The one which really exploits the social network is zzub.it

• The buzzparadise has more a vertical structure. The reason is that they pratice more “seeding campaign” than democratic buzzing, giving sampling quite expensive to only important people. The community communicate trought MyBlogLog


Values • The members feel imporant to belong to

this kind of network because they will be the first in testing the new fragance, the new drink, the new mobile. It will attract people that want to be “cool” (buzzparadise) and they will give important information to the agency

• Member has to be honest and quick in their answers and filling up the report (feedback)


• On the other hand the agency will send the sampling, but their cost will be always less compared to a complete panel research

• The agency also promise not to share with other the information about their members (privacy) and to respect them, and their opinion


CONSIDERATIONSRelation between on-line and off-line lifeThe community is based on shared product experienceIt’s different from a normal forum about some kind of product (ciao.it) where people discuss about a camera, mp3 a mobile; it’s a relation between brand and the single customer (and all the potential customers he/she knows)Architecture of partecipationPower to people who can change some feauture’s product trought their reportEconomy of experienceAs MySpace and similar, belonging to these communities is a sign of member’s social capital


Social Buzz Communities

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