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7.10.2010 Marketers must cut through "social clutter"

Marketers must find innovative solutions to stand out in the "cluttered" social media environment, a report has argued. Forrester, the research firm, has released a studyassessing how advertisers might engage shoppers frequenting crowded hotspots like Facebook and Twitter. The company stated 80% of US netizens now utilise Web 2.0 properties, and although this figure has "plateaued", it is equivalent to the penetration registered by DVD players or the number of people using SMS.

"As consumers' use of social media matures, a new challenge faces marketers: connecting with their target audiences in increasingly cluttered social platforms," said Nate Elliott, a Forrester analyst. "Users can barely keep up with their friends' social activities – let alone what brands and marketers are up to." For example, a Forrester survey found the average Facebook member boasts 135 friends on the site, rising to 220 among 18–30 year olds. These totals stood at 107 and 147 respectively regarding MySpace, while Twitter recorded a median score of 77 followers, including 96 for 31-44 year olds.

One key strategy, according to Elliott, is prioritising "mass influencers", a demographic broken down into two distinct categories. "Companies building new brands should focus their efforts on existing social platforms, offering topics and tools that haven't been used by other social media marketers," he said. "Those hoping to provide long-term support to established brands might choose to launch product- or brand-specific communities and networks."

Further alternatives could encompass utilising less popular networks, yielding fewer eyeballs but greater attention, and tapping "secondary audiences" if necessary. "Put simply, make sure you're not just following the pack in terms of audiences, ideas, or execution - because the pack is exactly the type of social clutter you're trying to avoid," said Elliott.

B.L. 7.10.2010