The rewards of social networks: the influence of Consumer-to-consumer

"I must tell you something about the new brand of shoes I just found." "

Such a statement can cause a marketing person's heart to explode with pride. It means that the information being delivered, the way it is transmitted, has shifted from commercial to consumer (http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/37234.html ">b2c+") to consumers (Consumer-to-consumer). Most marketers believe this is a particularly powerful and valuable transformation. But how much is it worth?

MySpace has published a PDF report called Never ending dating. The report suggests "b2c+ c2c= value creation," and I essentially agree with this equation. For the tortured marketers, this is a formula worth putting into practice. It is easier to believe in the power of Consumer-to-consumer than to plan how (or how to measure it).

Social networks should be a component of online marketing strategies, but they have to be integrated into your overall plan. Many businesses may have rushed into the social networking environment, but found that they were pushing data in their own world. This situation is more likely to occur when multiple teams work together to create a project: There are some responsible for the location next to the traditional site, some are responsible for SEM (search engine marketing), and some are responsible for social networks. At this point, a cross-domain measurement and ROI model is critical before the new plan is tested.

Consolidation does not necessarily mean slow and cautious. Starting from a secure integrated marketing system can give you more freedom of experimentation. If you know from the beginning how you will measure it, you can focus on the plan itself. No matter how far you roam, owning a measurement framework and ROI model means you don't turn your back on strategic elements.

Letting consumers talk about your story can make your brand fire, but you should want to be sure of the story they're telling. Putting a foot in a social network will force you to learn how to track and measure what is happening. With some common service tools such as Technorati, and copyrighted tools such as "Visual technology," you can create a powerful toolbox for measuring the impact of Consumer-to-consumer.

The most important lesson to learn is that almost everyone else-your competitors, your partners, your clients-is trying to understand this. There are many young consumers who spend a lot of time actively participating in social networks. Study the MySpace generation carefully and see the lessons learned as a prediction of your own audience's future behavior.

So what should you do first?

1. Create your own MySpace page. (At least someone in your marketing department has shown you his MySpace page)

2. Look for a message circulating around you and try to track its origins. (for example, an online ad campaign that leads to subsequent consumer-to-consumer conversations)

3. Create a new business scorecard that includes a consumer-to-consumer strategy.

4. Participate in conversations with the application of social media.

5. Create an activity idea to run it among your team and the 10-year-old young.

(Original: July 12, 2007; compiling: Shi Ying)