Ever since human interaction migrated to the world wide web, people have been trying to describe the effect the technology has had on social behavior. New phrases have become part of the strategist vocabulary: social media, social messaging, social currency, social gestures, social markers, social objects. In order to simplify the discussion, there are really only three words marketers should be concerned with...
1. Nouns / Social Objects
Lorcan Dempsey summarizes the evolving discussion of object-centric sociality better than I can in this post, but the basic idea is this:
The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason two people are talking to each other, as opposed to talking to somebody else. Human beings are social animals. We like to socialize. But if think about it, there needs to be a reason for it to happen in the first place. That reason, that "node" in the social network, is what we call the Social Object. - Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid.com
Social networks cannot exist solely on the idea of being social alone, there needs to be something to be social about. Traditionally, people don't have conversations about having a conversation. And while the nature and tone might be influenced by the type of relationship, the subject of the conversation is not limited to being someone's friend, boss, mother, classmate, etc. Which is a long way of saying that people talk about things, and thus people are connected by things.
This is common sense but unfortunately it's not included in the image of the network diagram that most people imagine when they hear the term 'social network.' The fallacy is to think that social networks are just made up of people. They're not; social networks consist of people who are connected by a shared object. - Jyri Engestrom, Jaiku
2. Verbs / Social Gestures
Hugh MacLeod refers to them as "social gestures", Jyri Engestrom uses the term "verbs", but they are really talking about the same concept. In addition to giving people something to talk about, you need to give them the actions and methods by which to propogate that conversation. With Flickr, it's "upload a photo" or "comment". With YouTube, it's "share", "rate", and "embed".
3. Adverbs / Social Metrics
But, not every social gesture is created equal. In order to determine the success of anything social, one needs to prioritize and measure the social actions. Many of the popular social media sites share the same vocabulary of social gestures. But, friending might be a more important interaction to measure reach for a MySpace campaign, while sharing might be the true success metric for a YouTube campaign.
How to use social objects for marketing:
Own the conversation by improving the conversation
1. Products
For the lucky brands, the product sold is a potential social object. An exciting new car is certainly an object that can inspire much discussion. In order to own that conversation, the brand needs to offer consumers some valuable social gestures. By encouraging video and picture sharing, inviting friends to brand-centric events, and providing a nurturing platform for enthusiast discussion, the brand can own and thus measure the success of that conversation.
2. Campaigns
For brands without a traditionally product model, the conversation can center around a campaign. Viral campaigns like Subservient Chicken are lightning in a bottle, that cannot be the expectation. Luckily, most everyday conversations are pretty dull too. The key is to identify the most socially valuable aspect of the offering, and ensuring that social gestures are properly encouraged.
3. Brands As Communities
Many of the smart brands have worked hard to build advocacy and thus extend the lifetime of their conversation. The social objects include the brand itself and the lifestyle to which it contributes. For them, the objective is no longer just starting the conversation, but harnessing the power of it. My Starbucks Idea is a great example of empowering the brand conversation.
4. The Personal Brand
Finally, some of the most inspiring social objects are people themselves. Gary Vaynerchuk has made quite an impact selling himself, the personal brand in front of WineLibraryTV. He succeeded not by networking, but building a network. It was the addition of the gestures that allowed him to improve the user experience for his brand and become the shining example of a social object that he is today.
Further reading:
What makes a good social object, Jyri Engestrom
Why the "social object" is the future of marketing and The social marker - the "social object" on steroids, Hugh MacLeod
Community and Your Business as a Social Object, Laura Fitton
Josh Breslin's visualization of object-centric sociality
Marta Strickland
Strategists & Planners