Posts Tagged ‘Citizen’

Gen X + Gen Y = Social Media Citizens?

July 2nd, 2009

Recently I read quite a few posts identifying the differences between gen Y and gen X. I agree that there are some real differences between generations as such, even though I believe that it is not right assumption to target them as two completely different consumers’ groups, especially to do that on Social Media Properties. Why?

In my opinion these 2 generations are not that different and actually have quite a lot in common. So called “Digital natives”, “Millennials”, “Generation Y” represents tech-savvy, success driven, self-confident, independent but community-minded people, who according to Tapscott are quicker and more tolerant of diversity than their predecessors. Even though, they are not the only ones who understand the technology adapt well to the new mediums. Some of the “Digital immigrants” arguably might have even bigger influence on the on going changes in the market as they are aware about the changing situation and they have the power, knowledge and resources to influence this phenomenon.

That’s where the term of “Social Media Citizens” comes in. It defines people united by the inspiration for sharing and engagement, for which the age difference is just another opportunity to learn from each other, not in fact to behave in some different way.

These eight norms identified by Tapscott just confirm my assumptions as most of the points are clearly relevant for Social Media Citizens from both generations:

  • They value freedom and choice in everything they do.
  • They love to customise and personalise.
  • They scrutinise everything.
  • They demand integrity and openness, including when deciding what to buy and where to work.
  • They want entertainment and play in their work and education, as well as their social life.
  • They love to collaborate.
  • They expect everything to happen fast.
  • They expect constant innovation.

Therefore, when planning SMO strategy marketers should really consider this target group, who are very likely to be the “evengalists” of the brands and not blindly follow the assumptions supported just by the age difference.

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Posted in Consumer Behavior, Trends

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Seth Godin, Tribes and Brand Communities

May 12th, 2009

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQGYr9bnktw]

Was watching this new inspiring TED talk by Seth Godin and remembered my earlier research about tribes and brand communities which are so important  in analysing the post-modern consumer behaviour . Here are some of the main concepts of tribes and brand communities reviewed in the research:

“In the post-modernity period which encourages a move away from individualism towards a search for more social bonds, these communities tend to reorganize themselves into neo-tribes, networks of people gathering homogeneously together for social interaction, often around consumption and brands (Simmons, 2008). From the marketers perspective it is very important to consider tribal relationships as it may be a powerful tool in building loyalty and trust among the consumers. Even though neo-tribes and brand communities are two different concepts they share very similar features and often are very related to each other. According to Cova and Cova (2002) the main differences are that the brand communities are explicitly commercial whereas tribes are not, furthermore, brand communities are concerned about relationship between brand and consumer, whereas tribes – relationship between consumers. Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) (citied in Ouwersloot and Odekerken-Schroeder, 2008) describes a brand community as a specialized, non-geographically bound community that is based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand. Mairinger (2008) suggests that:

  • The brand community is not just formed around a brand; it creates the brand.
  • The brand community is not just formed around a product; it is part of the product.

Therefore, the creation and development of brand communities is one of the most important tasks of the marketer as it can guarantee the company success in the long term. According to Mairinger (2008) brand communities can add real experiences and emotion to the brand, reach the long tail, address both individualism and collectivity needs and replace the celebrity endorsers with community brand advocates. Considering that 49 % of people made a purchase based on friends recommendations on social media property (Razorfish, 2008), social media can be viewed as an important channel and tool to interact, manage and enable these brand communities.”

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Posted in Community Management, Trends

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