When you’re working so close to the edge, it’s easy to step into the abyss. Or so I say after some recent meetings, where our clients looked at me blankly as I rattled off the terms “UGC,” “Social Intermediaries,” “URN,” “Social Media,” “Virtual Communities,” “Core and Extended Teams,” “Crowdsourcing,” “Microproduction,” and even “Next-Generation Media.”
So, let’s take a step back and explain what the heck we’re talking about, and why it’s important. If you’re an experienced next-generation media marketer, move along; not much to see here.
But if you aren’t . . .
First, why should you care? Well, you should care because there are the terms that are remaking our world. Big brands are shifting big dollars to these next-generation ideas, as traditional markets like the TV up-front struggle for footing. Talking to your customers is no longer a monologue, but a dialogue. And new techniques are producing results far in excess of traditional campaigns.
So, let’s get started:
UGC, or User Generated Content. Also known as Consumer Generated Content, or User Generated Advertising. Why has YouTube grown from 0 to 30 million users, serving over 100 million videos a day, in only 1 year? User-Generated Content. Bypassing the traditional production houses and media giants, people are making their own video, doing their own interpretations of advertising, mixing and mashing-together their own entertainment. This is hugely important, because:
- It’s an entirely new way to reach your customers—free
- It’s great for market research, to see how your campaigns really resonate
- It’s a wonderful place to find new talent
- It’s real, unmediated, and unfiltered—the real reality TV
Social Intermediaries. Have you heard people referring to del.icio.us? How about Digg? Or even Fark? These social intermediaries allow users to submit links to news, sites, and other happenings that other users rate. If you get enough Diggs, you reach the front page, and site traffic explodes. If you’re list of favorites on del.icio.us is compelling enough, it’s shared around the internet. This is important, because:
- These are the party lines and gossip columns of the internet, spreading news fast and far
- If you want your viral campaign to succeed, you can’t ignore these sites
URN. Closely related to the social intermediaries are User-Rated News sites such as Digg. Digg is the newpaper of the heavy online user, skewing heavily towards the tech audience. Other sites such as Reddit also serve the same purpose. Why this is important:
- It’s a great way to get your news out without relying on PR, or the traditional media outlets
Social Media. By now, everyone’s heard of Myspace. The 800-lb gorilla of the social media world, Myspace is a network that has made bands and launched talent. There are many other communities such as Facebook, Tribe, and LinkedIn, some of which are aimed at the business community. Why is this important:
- If your audience lives on Myspace, you need a Myspace marketing program
- It’s a great way to spread the word to a core user base
- It can be used to find talent and do business
Virtual Communities. The big one is World of Warcraft, of course, but the real opportunity seems to be in user-built virtual worlds, such as Second Life. See the post below. Why this is important:
- A new way to market to an engaged group
- Insane growth rates for registered users in SL
- Insanely cheap prices to get started advertising or promoting
- Opportunity for experiential advertising
Core and Extended Teams. Every brand has its champions. These are your core team. You’ll find them on fansites, on review sites, on message boards. And every brand has its fans, who are more than happy to buy if the deal is right. These are your extended team. This is important because:
- Engaging this core team with a points-based system that can be exchanged for rewards is one of the most effective ways to activate your user base
- The core team can influence the extended team
- The extended team can be energized by sweepstakes and challenges
Crowdsourcing. One of the most powerful concepts, taken from the world of open-source software. In crowdsourcing, a task is broadcast out to a wide network, and the best results taken to move to the next step. The producers of the best results are rewarded. The site taking this concept to its logical extreme is CambrianHouse. This is important because:
- It can result in better ideas and higher quality
- It can reduce the time and cost of services
Microproduction. On one hand, you have people in their backyards with handheld video cameras. On the other, you have your full production crew shooting your latest national commercial. Microproduction takes the typical production model and scales it down to produce results that are perfectly fine for podcasting or hosting on the shared video networks. This is important because:
- You don’t want to spend full pro rates on a podcast
- There are lots of opportunities for video that isn’t broadcast quality these days
- The quality level of microproduction is rising rapidly
Next-Generation Media. Everyone thinks next-generation media means online, but it’s really everything. On your billboard, do you want to incorporate a display? Allow users to send SMS messages to it? What does the dying up-front market mean to your TV buy? How can you use newspapers most effectively as ad rates drop? All media is changing, online and offline. This is important because:
- All the rules have changed
- Doing what you’ve done before is no guarantee of success
- There’s opportunity to incorporate new techniques to dramatically boost response
That’s it for now. Are there any terms I missed? I’m sure there are. Let me know and I’ll cover them next time!
