SxSW 2012: Harvesting Consumer Intent from the Social Web

#intent

from the social Webharvest consumer intentHow to

The social web encourages us to send out a constant stream

of likes, Tweets and check-ins. Things weve done and want

to share. Most of it, however, consists of past actions.

But what about our future actions? Our interests? The things

in our bucket lists? Theres a new interest graph emerging on

the web that allows us to express our passions and plans in a

way that should be far more valuable to brands and

marketers than our declaration of things weve already done.

The social graph is

The interest graph

who I know.

what I like.

How is the interest graph (and with it the expression of intent) changing how both consumers and brands use social media?

How is the interest graph (and with it the expression of intent) changing how both consumers and brands use social media?

1

The social graph allows us to connect and follow individuals.

But we sometimes get more than we want.

But if we could filter our friends based on interests and only follow the content that matters to us.

It might be far more useful. We can filter and turn information into knowledge.

Better yet it remains persistent. So even if we miss it in the serendipity of the stream, its there when we need it.

Opportunity for brands, too. After 35 years of being a customer, AMEX doesnt know me, at least not on Facebook.

Enjoy a complimentary resort stay when you book a cruise of 7 nights or longer online with American Express Travel.

Cruises? Maybe my friends like cruises.

Im a cyclist. Imagine if AMEX could market to my interests?

What are the platforms and the dierences among them?

2

What are the platforms and the dierences among them?

add better explore sections

Foursquare getting in the game.

The Fancy

Springpad will help convert interest to action with lots of useful enhancements and alerts.

Consumer are jumping on platforms like Pinterest, but do marketers yet understand the opportunity?

3

Brands integrate more naturally into the interest

graph when compared to the social graph.

Consumers are using these platforms as a wish-

list and a scrapbook of interests and inspiration,

This aggregated content informs brands of

consumer aspiration and potential intent.

Brands understand that Twitter can be used as

a platform for conversation but most have not

made that connection with platforms like

Pinterest and others. The focus, for now, is

broadcasting content.

DO YOU CAPTURE PREFERENCES AND INTERESTS EXPRESSED BY CONSUMERS?

No

68.8%

Dont know

17.5%

Yes

13.6 %

4.5% 1.3% 0.7%

0.7% 3.3% 0.7%

How can brands and marketers start to leverage or take advantage of these platforms?

4

Marketers, brands, platforms have a lot of work to do.

Its going to take a shift in perspective from say & think to do & share.

If all you do is show,

the only thing users will do is look.

Foster discovery

Learn to engage in the new space

Market to

data

set up profile with multiple notebooks

include context and utility

include non brand based assets

invite others to curate

support and encourage users

this is the basic stu

Foster discovery with direct brand engagement:

Engage in platform appropriate ways

go where youre welcome

embrace your expertise in more than your own products

become a trusted source

link to & recognize your best advocates

sponsor tags

Use the data (pins, springs) to learn what to do next - with your content, your marketing, your product

Make product data sharable - and worth sharing

Continuous engagement & improvement - through alerts and enhancements

Develop APIs and make your product data free in a much richer fashion

Learn from and market to the data

Are any brands getting it right?

Basic approach

too many pins | all the same | little content variety

Doing it better

not only their own stu

Sharing, but capturing?

Inspiring discovery and learning interests from it

http://pinterest.com/modcloth/vintage-vantage/

What could they be doing?

6

What does success look like?

7

For some brands Pinterest is already driving more web trac than Google or Twitter.

Its becoming a top trac driver for womens magazines.

Distribution channel for retailers and content brands.

Web trac

Brand awareness and engagement

Outcomes in purchase and action (ROI)

Increased trust from demonstrating that you know someones interests rather than (marketing to) their demographics

More relevant engagement based on mutual interest

Relevant engagement leads to higher rates of conversion

How do brands get started?

8

explore all the sites

establish a presence

dont commit to just one

learn conversation strategy

measure and track everything

create relationships with platforms

understand data and market to it

QUESTIONS