Social Community Shortcuts
June 30th, 2008
They don’t work.
So many companies want the popularity of a Facebook or the reach of an Engadget so badly, they that jump right in without doing any of the heavy lifting. Then they expect people to flock to them and can’t understand it when they don’t.
But you know what? Facebook started with a tiny handful of people. And Engadget started out with a small audience. Then they grew. Organically.
It’s tactic-itis people. It’s throwing applications against the wall and hoping to god that one of them sticks. When you jump in the middle of the process, you sacrifice the most important component of what makes a community work (and what makes it sustainable, too) – the groundswell. The legwork of going out and talking to people and asking them what they want from you. How you can support them. Connect them. Empower them.
When you try to bypass the heavy lifting and jump right into tactics, you’re doomed. You’re creating MORE noise.
So know before you embark on creating word of mouth movements online and offline: there are no shortcuts. The road to long-term, sustainable movements might be a little longer than the quick-fix, but the ROI blows it out of the water.
Other posts by Spike.
Amber Naslund says:
Amen! Community isn’t like a Chia Pet where you just plant the seeds, water, and WHAM. It’s a carefully and organically grown thing that has to nurture itself. No amount of forcefeeding is going to MAKE something popular, “viral” (ack), or catch on like wildfire unless there’s something of value to the people coming there.
“If you build it, they will come” is NOT workable in social media. It has to have value, substance, and a connection with the community itself.
Thanks for the great post!
June 30th, 2008 at 5:17 pmGasPedal's You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! says:
Word of Mouth Geniuses of the Week…
Spike Jones, Brains on Fire: “Social Community Shortcuts” Spike shares some good advice to remember before starting in WOM marketing: “There are no shortcuts.” (link) John Moore, Brand Autopsy: “The Other Starbucks Social Networking Site” John once aga…
July 1st, 2008 at 7:18 amSpike Jones gives a proper rant on community - Rod Trent at myITforum.com says:
[...] http://brainsonfire.com/blog/2008/06/30/social-community-shortcuts/ Published Wednesday, July 02, 2008 4:42 PM by rodtrent Filed under: Community [...]
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pmCommunity Guy, Jake McKee - Rapid Fire - Tuesday, July 08 says:
[...] Brains On Fire Blog » Blog Archive » Social Community Shortcuts “It’s tactic-itis people. It’s throwing applications against the wall and hoping to god that one of them sticks. When you jump in the middle of the process, you sacrifice the most important component of what makes a community work (and what makes it sustainable, too) – the groundswell. The legwork of going out and talking to people and asking them what they want from you. How you can support them. Connect them. Empower them.” [...]
July 8th, 2008 at 11:01 pmMiley-Cyrus-Fan says:
hmm.. thank you very much. usefull information
August 1st, 2008 at 10:07 am