(This is part of the roots of the revolution series.)

Since the end of World War II, traditional communities have been breaking down, and virtual communities have been rising up to replace them. Even before the internet, communities of interest such as Star Trek fans and Grateful Dead afficionados have made a name for themselves.

These special interest communities differed from traditional communities in that they were looser in structure, and had a stronger sense of passion.

The arrival of the internet allowed communities to connect, regardless of geography. Case study after case study shows the growing power of virtual communities, sometimes only in existence for a short time, to create social change.

Read more about virtual communities:
Seth Godin, Tribes
Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody
Avi Shankar, Bernard Cova, Robert Kozinets, Consumer Tribes

(Photo courtesy of David Orban)

What’s your favourite resource on virtual communities?

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The biggest lesson for any marketer – or any leader, for that matter – is that we no longer have control. We demonstrated this in a very radical way when we launched our current brand.

The reasoning was sound: by choosing a catchy, short phrase and putting a # in front of it, we instantly turned it into a search term in Twitter that others could tap into.

Our research was pretty easy: see what was already happening on the #sy hashtag. Not much, as it turned out – and we were monitoring it for about a month. The only common thread was references to Sonic Youth … not a bad brand association.

Then, about two days before launch, we started getting the weather report from Damascus. Why? Damascus is the capital of Syria … or for short, #SY.

That’s okay. We can share the weather. We even tried to make conversation, but the weather forecaster wasn’t interested.

But as time has gone on, we have met some of the stupidest people I have ever come across. People who tweet foul jokes about sex, but can’t bring themselves to spell the word “pussy”. Instead … you guessed it, p##sy.

If you know me, you know I’m pretty easy going and will roll with the punches. But as the launch faded and we weren’t using the hashtag, and others were (to misspell “pussy”!) it was less and less a reflection of our brand, and more an embarrassment.

So without any fanfare, we’ve quietly dropped the # from sy. There are lessons for every brand here, we just made them very tangible. Here are some of those lessons:

• Possession really is nine tenths of the law. Perhaps even 9.5. Trademarks and patents are okay, but unless you’re actively using “your” IP, it’s up for grabs in the public perception.
• Your brand is what others say it is (especially online). Even if they’re not referring to you! Google (and Twitter search) doesn’t yet know the difference between a social media consultancy and a middle eastern country.
• Your brand is in many places. We’re still finding the # in places we didn’t expect. There are so many places to be listed, which is great for search engine optimisation, but no fun when you have to update everything.
• Facebook doesn’t let you change your company name on your Facebook page. Which is really ridiculous.

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We're just like this guy ... every day

This blog has been a wee bit quiet lately, because there’s a lot going on with us.

I thought it might be helpful to get the word out about some of the upcoming excitement.

BarCamp Auckland: 17 July 2010

(That’s this Saturday!) BarCamp is an unconference, which means anyone can speak, which includes me. I’ll be debuting my Ragtag Leadership concept and look forward to some great discussions.

Online Marketing & New Media Masterclass: 19-20 July, 2010, Wellington

Our 2-day masterclass will be in Wellington on Monday and Tuesday next week. It’s very soon, but I don’t think BrightStar would mind a few late registrations! These are comprehensive and very interactive, we always come away with some good questions. Register here.

NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants, Auckland, July 27th

Social media affects everyone, including accountants. This presentation will look at how social media is affecting internal communication, and also introduce some Ragtag Leadership ideas. Register here.

Wordcamp, 7-8 August

I won’t be speaking but will be attending this gathering all about the popular blogging platform (and for many sites, including this one, a full content management system) WordPress. Details here.

Marie Workshops, Auckland, 18 August

Our very successful one-day workshop continues in Auckland at the University of Otago centre on Wednesday August 18th. We’ve had great feedback from these workshops, particularly about the personal touch we bring to the workshops. We’d love you to join us if you’re new to social media (or even in need of a refresher course).

Google BarCamp Auckland

Another BarCamp, but this time all about Google. Not speaking, just attending (as long as I’m in Auckland) and listening and learning! Info here.

3rd Annual Marketing Education Services Summit, Wellington, 25-27 August

I’ll be holding a special one-day workshop for educational marketers wanting to harness social media to reach potential students. I’ll also be giving a presentation in the main summit, alongside some pretty high-calibre presenters including our friend Charlotte Mayne from Lincoln University, who’ll talk about how Lincoln revitalised its brand without losing its essence. Register for the summit here.

We’ve also got some exciting in-house engagements with clients coming up, including a talk to some research scientists, educators and PR people. It’s really exciting to see awareness of social media’s influence beyond marketing and PR. These are truly exciting times to be alive.

If you’re interested in getting us in for a workshop, or to speak at an event, please contact us.

Why websites don’t work

Okay, so maybe I exaggerated. Websites do work, and our website plays an important part in letting people know who we are and what we do.

But most of our enquiries don’t come through our website. Our latest two speaking engagements came through Twitter and Facebook respectively.

A simple benefit of social media is being available on multiple channels, so you can serve your clients/customers more effectively.

Also interesting; these enquiries came through a personal channel, rather than the official Twitter account or Facebook page. Again, it points back to the increasing importance of personal brand.

More on this soon!

(Clever calendar pic borrowed from this ingenious page)

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“How much humanity is too much?” That’s my paraphrase of a question asked by an attendee at our recent online marketing & new media masterclass (we’re thinking of a catchier title).

In context, the question was about tone and manner. And like all good questions, the answer depends on a lot of different things.

If your business is small and owner-operated, you cannot get human enough. People do business with people, and if you can show the personality behind your brand, you’ll do two things: 1) you’ll build a genuine emotional connection with your customers, and 2) you’ll save yourself the time and effort of faking it.

If your business is large and service-oriented, it gets a wee bit trickier. Zappos is famous for having over 400 employees interacting with customers through Twitter. Other companies also have employees combining personal and business information into one account, such as the Dell team Richard, Lionel et al.

Sure, customers may say they just want business stuff, but just a little bit of humanity makes a difference. It’s really important that the people you choose to represent your brand understand and reflect that brand. Because unlike a press release or an advertisement, there’s no rehearsal for social media. It’s a live, fully improvised performance. Much like a call centre, but in public view. And just like a call centre, you need to find the right people to face the customer.

Join the conversation in Wellington

If you missed the Auckland masterclass, it’s okay. There’s another one coming up next week in Wellington. Bring your burning questions about social media or online marketing. You’ll get a detailed workbook and also numbers are small enough to drill into your specific questions.

Find out more and register here.

(Photo from onefish2. thanks!)

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