Influence is King: A pecha-kucha on Control in Digital

There was a time where we only bought things from people we knew. Commerce was localised and there was no such thing as advertising, marketing or brands.

You did business with people you knew. It wasn’t an information economy and nothing was mass produced. It was a trust economy.

As consumers, we are weary of marketing speak, and suspicious of buzz (it can be bought)

Put simply, we don't trust strangers.

Relationships are far more powerful than marketing

Caring about the answer to this simple question is the basis of every friendship.

In the dominant digital social environments, we've learned how to broadcast the answer to this friendly question. And now we've created ways for us to continually update as many people as are willing to listen, cultivating an increasingly substantive relationship with each of those people.

But how many online friendships can we really sustain? Professor Dunbar at Oxford University has concluded that the human brain can only really cope with around 150.

Yet each platform is subtly different. On Twitter, for example we follow other users, with varying levels of engagement.

Oxytocin, the hormone released when we cuddle, is released when we Tweet. It “stimulates feelings of trust and security”, providing a physical reaction to a digital interaction.

This spectrum by Mike Arauz, shows the varying levels of engagement defining the types of ‘friendships’ we experience online. From passive interest, right through to investment.

The Great Schlep, an online campaign launched during Obama’s 2008 election campaign was a brilliant example of successful positive influence. Through social media Jewish teens were empowered to make the trip to Florida to educate their grandparents and persuade them to vote for Obama.

Obama won the swing state of Florida by about 200,000 votes and won the election.

One of the most important things to consider when moving a brand into digital through social media is risk. Accepting that risk is OK is the first step in developing honest relationships with consumers.

Vodafone were subject to an employee tweeting offensively via the official @vodafoneUK account. In response to a comment that they’d been hacked, they showed honesty. It went a long way to diffusing the situation quickly.

The biggest challenge facing brands is that we want to engage with people. Not faceless corporations.

Skype are a good example of a brand already doing this neatly.

And @vodafoneUK have added the human faces to their Twitter profile.

After 23 years of SuperBowl advertising The Refresh Project from Pepsi represented a huge shift in the company’s approach to marketing. Through a cause-driven social media campaign Pepsi changed the basis for it’s relationship with it’s customers.

By understanding the types of individuals that engage in social media and why these friendships form, we as marketeers can start to devise campaigns that resonate with our audience.

Earlier this year Ford launched the Fiesta Movement without spending a cent on traditional marketing.

Ford simply handed keys to a Ford Fiesta to 100 young influencers and asked them to document monthly ‘missions’ via social media. Through this they raised awareness from nothing to 60% in 6 months.

In conclusion, remember business is not the first order of business.

Building genuine relationships with your customers can only be a good thing for your brand