For decades, executives have been comfortable with the reach of traditional media networks. Whether their ease came from contractual relationships (advertising) or trusted relationships (journalism), executives have faith in the statistical probabilities of blasting marketing messages at large audiences.
A new network called the World Wide Web was introduced to corporations in the early 1990s. With the development of powerful search engines, some executives began to embrace “inbound marketing” practices, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC). When it came to the dissemination of their messages, both traditional and Web-based networks put some level of control into their hands. However, the rules changed when these same executives were introduced to social networks.
Social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, differ from their traditional and Web-based counterparts because of their decentralized nature. Instead of relying on powerful delivery hubs, such as ABC, NBC, Westwood One or Google, social networks rely on the connectedness of individuals like Tom, Dick, and Harriet. Messages transmitted through the first two networks are primarily motivated by money. Tom, Dick, and Harriet are motivated to share/transmit messages on their networks based on the quality of the products, services, and the messages themselves. This fundamental shift in network philosophy represents one of the largest sticking points for executives trying to get their heads around social media. Before executives can understand the power of social networks, they must come to grips with The Rule of Thumbs.
The thumbs-up sign has become a universal visual representation of our preferences. Whether it’s used to determine the fate of an ancient gladiator, or it accompanies the “Aayyyy!” of Arthur Fonzarelli, the orientation of our thumbs has become the de facto standard for people to share their preferences online.
For example, Facebook lets us express what we “like” by clicking on a symbol of an upturned thumb. YouTube offers both thumbs-up and thumbs-down choices. LinkedIn offers us ways to “share,” Twitter a way to “tweet,” and Google a way to “+1” the content that we wish to endorse. While these buttons remained locked within their respective social networks, their value was insignificant. But when social networks began allowing companies to integrate these buttons into their own websites, their communications value skyrocketed.
Let’s use one of these social networks as an example. For every person that clicks on a Facebook “like” button, that content is posted onto their Facebook Wall. But the content doesn’t stop there. Depending on a proprietary algorithm called EdgeRank, Facebook determines whether the content should also be placed into the News Feeds of that person’s friends—complete with its own “like” button.
According to Facebook, the average user has 130 “friends.” Therefore, by liking a piece of corporate content (clicking on a button on your website), Harriet has the potential to spread it to 131 places: her Facebook Wall and the News Feeds of her friends. If Tom and Dick also “like” that content, either from her Wall or their News Feeds, the content has the opportunity to spread to 262 additional places. In short, by getting three people to “like” your content, it has the potential to spread beyond your website and onto 393 people’s screens.
Social networks give executives another way for their content to spread far beyond the confines of their websites. Because people tend to connect with those who share their interests, the more specialized the content, the easier it is for these relationship-based networks to deliver that content to exactly the right person---someone who actually cares about it.
If you’re a content creator who is trying to help your executive staff understand social media, try to understand where they are coming from. Help them see the evolution of networks, from centralized outbound and centralized inbound to decentralized outbound. The conversation might be difficult, but the numbers are on your side.
