If it can pulverize an iPhone, Blendtec’s Total Blender - featured in the Will it Blend video series - will definitely do the job with your fruits and veggies. A 2 minute video demonstration was posted on YouTube back in 2007 and has been viewed nearly 10.5 million times since.
Check out the slow-motion replay at 0:38!
After proclaiming the finished product “iSmoke,” Blendtec CEO Tom Dickinson invites viewers to learn more about the blender and submit suggestions for future videos at the Will it Blend minisite. It’s like a low-budget infomercial gone viral, but it’s also interactive. According to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s book Groundswell, it’s a great example of social media marketing.
“Blendtec had exploited the groundswell’s viral potential for marketing messages.” (Li and Bernoff, 100)
One the biggest lessons I’ve learned from reading this social media guide, is that people are the most important factor in any online interaction. Would as many people watch a video showing how the quality of eye glasses is tested? Maybe, maybe not. Li and Bernoff say “there is no one ‘right way’ to engage with the groundswell.” (75) But you’re more likely to succeed if you follow the POST method. The acronym is a step-by-step process of how to approach social media; it stands for People, Objectives, Strategy and Technology.
According to their research on U.S. adults who are online, the most people – roughly 48% of those surveyed in 2007 - are considered spectators, who “consume what others produce.” (45) So it makes sense that the most common groundswell activity is watching videos from other users. Of course most companies would try to develop a more specific profile based on their consumer’s age, country and gender.
As you saw, Blendtec found its social media niche hooking consumers – and other viral video fans – with its online demos. But the company has capitalized on that success by creating a conversation with customers. After all, it was a viewer’s idea to blend the iPhone. The company not only listens to suggestions, but also shares news, live demonstration dates, health tips and recipes on the Will it Blog section of its website.
One the biggest lessons I’ve learned from reading this social media guide, is that people are the most important factor in any online interaction. Would as many people watch a video showing how the quality of eye glasses is tested? Maybe, maybe not. Li and Bernoff say “there is no one ‘right way’ to engage with the groundswell.” (75) But you’re more likely to succeed if you follow the POST method. The acronym is a step-by-step process of how to approach social media; it stands for People, Objectives, Strategy and Technology.
Read more: The POST Method by: Josh Bernoff
So how do you find out about people? It starts with developing a Social Technographics Profile. In chapter four of Groundswell, the authors describe 6 categories of social media participation: Creators, Critics, Collectors, Joiners, Spectators and Inactives.
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| Some people fall into multiple catergories - what are you? |
Try it now: Social Technographics Profile Tool
As you saw, Blendtec found its social media niche hooking consumers – and other viral video fans – with its online demos. But the company has capitalized on that success by creating a conversation with customers. After all, it was a viewer’s idea to blend the iPhone. The company not only listens to suggestions, but also shares news, live demonstration dates, health tips and recipes on the Will it Blog section of its website.
“Conversations require work, but they do influence people […] – and not just those who comment, but those who read those comments.” (102)
Sometimes these conversations can be tricky, just ask Facebook. The social networking site is no stranger to backlash when it comes to layout changes. It happened when the news feed was introduced and it’s happening again with the upcoming mandatory adoption of Timeline.
But this time around you actually can ask Facebook – you just might not get a direct response. In an attempt to be proactive, the company created a Facebook Timeline page where it shares new features and talks about different privacy settings. The posts get a lot of comments – a good mix of complaints and questions. Facebook may not have the time to answer everyone, but it has done a lot to prepare users for the change.
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| Are you ready for Timeline? Would you delete your account because of this change? |
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ReplyDeleteGreat post Ashley, I read an interesting case study about how Red Bull is using "strong content" to make their social media presence felt. The company creates Red Bulletin, a magazine that celebrates all things extreme sports. They also produce videos of people doing anything but drinking Red Bull. The link to the article is http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/How_four_brands_manage_their_wildly_successful_Fac_10752.aspx
ReplyDeleteI thought you might enjoy reading this.
Ashley yet again great post! I really like how you talked so much about how consumers vioce's are what matter, and what smart companies pay attention to! Groundswell really focused on how important people are and I think Blendtec and facebook are good examples of this phenomena! I love that you took t he Blendtec example and put a picture (and video) to a story! I know I am supposed to look at another person's blog, but the visual stimulation of your blog has hooked me and brought me back for more!
ReplyDeleteI agree that its hard to say there is one right way to interact with the groundswell, but there are wrong ways to do so - mainly ignoring the groundswell all together. I like that companies now have more accountability to their customers than ever before, because if one person has a big enough problem, they can actually create change in a company, whereas years ago, customer issues could easily be kept from the public.
ReplyDelete