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Nine rules of engagement in the social validation economy by @nickykc

Ninerulesofengagementinthesocialvalidation economy
byNicolaKemp,06February2013,1:00pm

Consumershavebecomereliantonthevalidationthatsocialnetworkscanprovide.Nicola Kempaskswhattheimplicationsofthisdevelopmentareforthemarketersshapingbrands' digitalstrategies. LastOctober,a27yearoldwomanfromtheNetherlandswasreportedtohavehadanabortionafter theultrasoundimageofherchildthatshepostedonFacebookreceiveddisappointinglyfewlikes.She explained:'Iwantmychildtocomeintothisworldlovedandwantedbyhisorhersurroundings. Whenthatturnedoutnottobethecase,Ineededtotakeaction.Iunderstandit'spainfulforthethree peoplewhodid"like"theannouncement,butthisisadecisionIhadtomake.' Thistaleis,ofcourse,afictionalone,whichappearedonDutchsatiricalwebsiteDeSpeld.However, thereisnodenyingthatawealthofstrangeconsumerpsychologycomesintoplaywhenitcomesto socialvalidation. Theriseofsocialmediameansthatthetraditionaltrappingsofsuccessarenolongerenough.Where onceconsumerslookedtoownershipofluxurybrandstodemonstratetheirsuccess,nowrecording andsharingtheirexperienceswiththeirnetworksiskeytogainingsocialvalidation. Welikebeing'liked' PatriciaMcDonald,executiveplanningdirectoratIsobarUK,saysthereisa'nearinsatiable'needfor socialvalidation.'SixtypercentofUKconsumersagreethattheyfeelgoodwhensomeone acknowledgestheirpostsonlineandthere'sevidencetosuggestthatreceivingrecognitioninsocial mediaactivityreleasesendorphinsinthebody,soit'sanearaddictiveactivity,'sheadds.

Ofcourse,validationhaslongbeenakeypillarofmarketing.RobertChialdini,theauthorof Influence:ThePsychologyofPersuasion,explainssocialvalidationsimply:'Whenweareuncertain aboutwhattodo,wewilllooktootherpeopletoguideus.Andwewilldothisautomaticallyand unconsciously.' Theconceptmaybeanoldone,butsocialmediahasaddedanurgencyandimmediacythathasraised socialvalidationasapriorityforconsumersandbrandsalike. OmaidHiwaizi,planningdirectoratSapientNitro,saysconsumersareoutsourcingmoreaspectsof theirlivestomachines,intheformofthesocialwebandtheevergrowing'internetofthings'. Heexplains:'Thejoyandpainweexperienceasaresultofstimulusfromthedigitalecosystemswe liveinsymbiosiswith,arejustasprofoundasanyemotionsweexperienceinthenondigitalworld. Ourunconsciousreactiontosocialvalidationisidenticalwhereverthestimuluscomesfrom somethingourconsciousmindsfindincongruous.'
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Nine rules of engagement in the social validation economy by @nickykc

Forbrands,thebenefitsofsocialvalidationareclear:theycanachieverealworldrewardsinexchange forofferingconsumersvirtualvalidation.However,despitethegrowingnumberofbrandsembracing socialvalidation,successisnotacertainty. Withthisinmind,hereareninerulesofengagementforsuccessfulsocialvalidation. 1.Embracetheageofinfluence Inthebubbleofthemarketingindustry,whereastrongpresenceonsocialnetworksisimperative,itis easytobelievethatbuildingsocialinfluenceisanendinitself.Indeed,forsomebrands,ithas replacedtraditionalsociodemographicsegmentationasthekeypillaroftargetingconsumers.

However,TobyBarnes,productstrategydirectoratAKQA,warns:'I'veneverseenanyvaluein PeerindexorKloutit'safalseeconomy.ThekindofpeoplewhobuilduptheirKloutscoresexistina worldwhereonlyothersinthatworldcare.' Inessence,givingpeoplewithahighKloutscoreVIPaccesstoaclubnightmightbeaniceheadline, butlittlemore.Brandsmustthinkcarefullywhenitcomestobalancingconsumers'socialinfluence withtheirlikelihoodandfinancialabilitytopurchasetheirproducts. 2.MeettheProsumer:whena'like'isn'tenough Agrowingtrancheofconsumersaremaximisingtheopportunitytointeractwithbrandsonline,in searchofbothrealworldandsocialvalidation.JoshBullmore,headofplanningatLeoBurnett, identifiesanewbreedof'Prosumer'whohasfoundwaystomakemoneyfromtheirsocialactivity. 'Theytradetheirsocialinfluenceforfinancialgain,orfreesamplesandearlyaccesstocontentor products,'heexplains. However,heunderlinesthatthisisnichebehaviour.'Normalpeopleseekvalidationfromtheirpeers, friendsrealpeople.Theywillengagewithbrandswhentheyareofferedsomethingtheydesirein return,butwon'tactivelyseektheseopportunities.' 3.Understandstatussymbolsinthedigitalcontext Offering'valuelessassets'undoubtedlyhasacleareconomicattractionforbrands.Atatimewhen pressureonbudgetsisthenorm,ifmarketerscangettheirconsumersnotonlytoamplifytheir messagebutalsoincreasetheirloyaltyviameanssuchasavirtualbadge,thentheywillembraceit. Istherearisk,though,thatbrands,particularlyintheluxurysphere,aresimplyprovidingvalidationto consumerswhowillneverbeabletoaffordtheirproductsorsimplyarenottheirtargetmarket? Whiletheinherentlyopennatureofmostsocialnetworksmayseemtobeatoddswiththeexclusivity demandedbygloballuxurybrands,thesuccessofBurberry,MarcJacobsandLVMHshowsthatthe twocansuccessfullycoexist. Burberry,forinstance,iscitedbyChrisHirst,chiefexecutiveofGreyLondon,asapowerfulexample ofhowbrandsshouldembracesocialvalidation. 'It'snotaboutdemocratisingtheproduct,itsaboutdemocratisingtheattitude,'hesays.'It'sagreat
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Nine rules of engagement in the social validation economy by @nickykc

pieceofattitudinalmarketing,butthepricepremiumoftheproductremains.' Ultimately,luxurybrandssuchasMarcJacobsmightnotbeawardingvirtualbadgestotheircore consumers,butreachingaspirantconsumersonlineisequallyimportant. Fortheseconsumers,showingthattheyhavegreattasteandareafantasticcuratorofexperiencesand productsiskeytogainingsocialvalidation. 4.Gobeyond'gamification' Itisoneofthemostoverusedandoverhypedmadeupwordsinmarketing,whichmeansitis somewhatinevitablethataneverbroaderrangeofbrandshasbeenjumpingonthe'gamification' bandwagon. Gamingisbigbusinessanalystshavecalculatedthatthe10mplusregisteredusersofonlinefantasy roleplayinggameWorldofWarcrafthavecollectivelyplayeditforanamountoftimeequivalentto thattakenforthehumanspeciestoevolve:morethan50bnhours,whichequatesto5.9myears.Yet questionsremainastowhetherthisgamingmentalitycantranslatetosectorslikebankingorutilities. HelenLawrence,strategistforBBHLabs,saysthatagrowingnumberofbrandshaveturnedto gamificationtofuelsocialvalidation.'Badgingisagreatwaytogetattention,'shesays.'Inmany

ways,Nike'sFuelBandisprimarilyabadgingexercise.' Shebelievesbrandswillneedtomovetowardmoretangiblerewards.'Consumers'patiencewillwear thinifwedon'tseemorepersonalisation,'shewarns.'Fromcheckins,badges,fansandloyaltycards, it'sallveryfragmented.Unlessitbecomesmorejoinedup,consumerswillsimplytireofit.' 5.Accepttheendoftheownershipera Marketersmightbeforgivenforhearingonlywhitenoiseasmediaagenciescontinuallywaxlyrical about'paid,ownedandearned'media.Amoreimportantshiftistakingplace,however:theentire valueandconceptofownershipisinastateofflux. Themusicmarketprovidesperhapsthemostcompellingexampleofthisshifttosharing.Thedaysof consumersporingovertheircollectionofrecordswereendedbythemovetodigitalcollectionsand latterlybystreamingoptionssuchasSpotify. Therearealsobehaviourssomemarketersfindhardertoreconcile,suchasconsumersspendingreal worldmoneyredecoratingtheirvirtualhomesonline.Barnessaysthat,whilesocietymightdeclare thattheirphysicalhomeismorevaluablethantheirvirtualone,notallconsumerssharethesamevalue system.Thisshiftunderlinesthegrowingimportanceofthesocialvalidationeconomy. 6.Gettogripswiththeexperienceeconomy Evidenceofthegrowingpowerofsocialvalidationisallaroundus.Dinneristobepicturedand sharedonInstagram,notmerelyeatenconcertsaretobeviewedviathecameralensofasmartphone andtheBritishobsessionwiththeweatherisbroughtuptodatewithseeminglyendlesstweeted picturesofsnow. Itisnolongerenoughforconsumerstohaveanexperienceitstruevalueisinbeingrecordedand
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Nine rules of engagement in the social validation economy by @nickykc

sharedwiththenetwork. 'Formanyconsumers,recordinganexperiencehasbecomemoreimportantthantheexperienceitself whattheythendowiththatvideoislessimportant,'saysBarnes.'Whatbrandsneedtounderstandis thattheactofrecordinginitselfiswhatvalidatesconsumers.' 7.Theriseof'portfoliopeople' Nolongerdoconsumershaveonemainhobbythattheypursuevigorously.Theynotonlynowhave multipleinterests,butalsotheplatformstoshare,growandevencommerciallyexploittheirpassions, particularlyinthecreativefields,wherethesearchforsocialvalidationisatitsmostrampant. 8.Addressdigitalanxiety Sometimestechnologysolvesaproblem,butitalsocreatesthem,aswellastasksthatsimplydidnot existbefore.AccordingtoresearchfromcharityAnxietyUK,morethanhalfofsocialmediauserssay Twitter,Facebookandothernetworkingsiteshavechangedtheirlivesbut51%sayithasnotbeen forthebetter.Brandsmustthereforerecognisethatthereisasignificantpotentialdownsideto consumers'seeminglyinsatiabledesireforsocialvalidation. NickyLidbetter,chiefexecutiveofAnxietyUK,saysthatthepressuresfromtechnologyactasa tippingpointforthosepredisposedtoanxiety,makingpeoplefeelmoreinsecureandoverwhelmed. 'Somemayneedtoreestablishcontroloverthetechnologytheyuse,ratherthanbeingcontrolledby it,'sheadds. SimonMcEvoy,planningdirectoratagencyTangentSnowball,warnsthatmarketerswillseea backlash.'Thetermsocialmediaitselfisaparadoxit'santisocialbehaviourinmanyways,'heargues. 'Consumerssufferfatiguefromdoinganythingallthetimeandwewillcertainlyseepeoplerunning outofsteamandenthusiasm.' 9.Recogniseyourrealworldresponsibility MattLodder,directorofoperationsatR/GALondon,saysrecentstrifeonthehighstreet,with retailerssuchasCometfallingintoadministration,pointstothefaultlinesofamajorshiftinconsumer

behaviour. 'Nike'sFuelBandisattheforefrontofbrandsexperimentingwithproductasserviceashiftthatcan onlybegoodforallofus,'hesays.'Tostayrelevant,brandswillneedtobetterunderstandtheir consumersandofferahigherlevelofoverallutilityandengagement.Thosethatsurvivewillbe definedbytrulyintegratedproductrangesubiquitousandsophisticatedenoughtoplayanongoing roleinourreallives.' Increatingavirtualworldthatdamagesconsumers'realworlds,brandsaretreadingonshakyground. Socialvalidationatitsbestdrivesloyaltynotonlyonsocialnetworks,butthroughproviding consumerswithatangiblebenefit.TheexamplesofNike+andFuelBandshowthebenefitofsocial validationforsocialgood.Thebestbrandswillharnessthepowerofsocialvalidationtobenefitmore thanjusttheirbottomline. InthewordsofLawrence:'Thebalanceofpowerbetweenconsumersandbrandshasshiftedin favourofconsumers.Thereisonlyacertainamountconsumersarewillingtodotoengagewithyour
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Nine rules of engagement in the social validation economy by @nickykc

brandandthereisanupperlimitbrandsmustbewareoftreadingontheirtoes.' NicolaKempisHeadofFeatures.FollowheronTwitter@nickykc

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