The Evolution of the "Social Web"

The internet has evolved with time from content to commerce to community to being “social”. In India today there are 50 million active internet users with a significant percentage below 25 yrs. A Large part of the youth live on the internet and closely follow opinion leaders. Their choice of brands, what they consider "in" and what they consider "out" is largely fashioned by the "beta customer". The habits of this new generation of consumers is vastly different from the first generation of internet users.

• They support ManU over the "Men in Blue"
• They text more than they talk
• They watch less TV and read even less newspapers
• They spend more time with friends online than ever before

The young world is different - we call it the “social web”

Social Web and the impact on brands

As a marketer, the evolution and now the predominance of the "social web" means one has to relook at traditional online and offline communications to ensure the well-being of your brand.

• Opinions are formed not from brand speak but from peer reviews and recommendations
• The social web is everywhere much like the proverbial long tail
• The social web talks to each other
• A brand is much like a human being in the social web
• You are either part of them or you are an outsider

What it means for a brand

• Twitter, facebook, Hi5, orkut, forums and blogs define the success or failure of brands
• People provide and ask opinions and people believe opinion leaders
• The power of exponential reach means 1000 followers on Twitter can take your message across to 5 lakh people in a matter of minutes!
• The brand fan following on social media creates much stronger bonds with the brand than traditional manufacturer speak or mass media communication would ever get

What it means from a 360° web strategy?

To make effective use of the "social web" the work starts with the website itself and leads into a multitude of activities. It is no longer a build a great website and we have a great online presence scenario. To start with the website itself must align to be social

• Discussion on content (not a separate forum for complaints)
• Allow users to promote content into their networks
• Recognize opinion leaders and feed them content to write about
• Integrate Twitter, facebook into the content publishing and interaction strategy
• The use of social media editors to have chit chat with the community

Social Media Marketing is a slow well thought out strategy that delivers a big impact for brands online. But it is not an easy task and certainly not a task for first time agencies and experimental efforts. While a well coordinated strategy can work wonders for your brand, a shoddy job will damage your brand severely. To know how best Interface can take your brand deep into the social web do get in touch with us. Also do read the case studies on social media marketing to see for yourself the power of the social web