When Netflix raised its prices last month, users reacted in a big way. Through social sites like Facebook and Twitter and even on Netflix’s company blog, users responded to the announcement with thousands of negative remarks.
Will users abandon the site as a result? And is the company’s reputation tarnished? WebProNews spoke to Bryan Gonzalez, the director of Social Media Labs at the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, who told us that he didn’t think the impact would be that significant for either Netflix or the users.
Although some users could actually drop Netflix, they would have the chance to see what other services are available. On the Netflix side, Gonzalez said that users might realize just how valuable its offerings are.
What do you think the impact will be?
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 5th, 2011. 
Image by Arenamontanus via Flickr
This is the fourth part of a series of reflective articles on the future of buyer personas. In part 1 through part 3 I focused primarily on misconceptions, what needed to change, and why changes must take place in buyer persona development in the social age. In part 4, I would like to center on the role needed in organizations for buyer persona development to adapt to social business.
When looking at the future role of buyer persona development as well as a specific future role within organizations, one must first visit the origins of the term buyer persona. When a term becomes viral, as the term buyer persona did just a few short years ago, it can lose its’ original meaning as well as association with its origin and the professional foundation under which it originated. The term has been used in many variant ways, especially over the past two years. It has been used inaccurately and without full understanding of what exactly the term represents. By talking about the future role, I hope that simultaneously it will help to clarify the unfortunate misunderstanding that exists most prominently in marketing.
The Science of Buyer Persona Research
Buyer persona research has been and will always be about understanding buyer behaviors and perceptions. The actual persona itself, the archetype created, is a representation derived from researching buyer behaviors and is meant to be an interpretative tool. The type of research needed to uncover deep behavioral and cultural percepts are those closely associated with participant-observation methods aligned with anthropology and the ethnographic research techniques commonly utilized by this social science.
The primary purpose for researching buyer behavior is to gain revealing insights into how and why buyers buy. I also will note here that the expression, how and why buyers buy, has also gone viral and has lost its original meaning. Getting at how and why buyers buy is an anthropological inspired behavioral and cultural research effort and not a market or sales research question. It has been misinterpreted to focus solely on the sales questions of buying process, buying stages, decision criteria, and the many other terms used commonly in sales related probing methods. Anthropological methods are extremely important because over 50% of buyer behavior indicators related to how and why buyers buy are determined by social and cultural factors. Conventional market research and sales research or probing methods do not provide insight into these all important determinants. It does not provide the deep understanding that paves the way for shaping better as well as innovative strategies leading to improved profitability and market share.
The distinction is crucial for buyer personas couched in market and sales research methods is a capture of reactive actions. It is devoid of meaning related to goals and context. It will give you a chronological stage view perhaps but will not give you meaningful social contexts that can reshape strategies. For example, you can have two senior IT executives working in different corporations and environments. It is fair to say that if you examine their buying processes and decision criteria’s and other sales related variables, you would wind up with very similar buyer profiles. The social and cultural context however for each may be entirely different and this is where organizations need to gain revealing insight in order to shape strategies for specific markets and groups of buyers.
At this writing, I am very concerned about where the emerging concept of content marketing is heading because as I see it, is caught up in the viral spun around buyer personas incorrectly. Recent qualitative research I’ve conducted show early signs that buyers really do not see anything different. I believe the root of this is related to the fact that while the B2B marketing community may be calling what they do differently – as in content marketing – buyers are still seeing the push messaging that result from conventional market research and sales probing techniques. The term buyer persona is being defined incorrectly as a target profile for content as opposed to an informing process that shapes content strategy.
The New Role of Buyer Behavior Research
As we continue to witness the evolving social age, the need for buyer behavior research becomes more important than ever. Social and cultural contexts are increasingly becoming more prominent in viewing how and why buyers buy. The term Social Customer is becoming more prevalent and there are two major components of this term:
- Social Buyer: I’ve used this term frequently in association with buyer personas to identify the Social B2B Buyer as a category in the social age. The obvious focus here is on the purchase decision.
- Social Consumer: This term is related to B2C and the focus is on consumerism and consumption.
Specifically to the social buyer, newly formed social interactions and social perceptions are playing a major role in preferences towards products, services, solutions, and relationships. The future role of buyer persona development in organizations will need to focus on identifying the deeper social fabric that are forming and how they play into the overall buyer experience. Social Buyer Personas that are derived from anthropological and ethnographic research can help organizations to identify social and cultural identities as well as be used as a communications platform for aligning their organizations to buyer goals.
The future of buyer personas resides in a new role and framework for organizations. That role is one of a Social Buyer Behaviorist and Anthropologist. A role that uses existing and new social science methods combined with that of developing social buyer personas to create an interface for the research. I recently wrote a series on Social Buyerology that attempted to address such a new role and framework. This role and framework is important also for another crucial reason: if buyer personas are developed and created through the prisms of marketing and sales research orientation, they will tend to be self-referential views of target buyers (an inside-out view) as opposed to a means for discovering not so obvious and hidden meanings that make up social and cultural contexts.
We are witnessing a social revolution today and it is literally changing the face of B2B business. Buyer persona development is not excluded from the impact. Buyer persona development must be coupled with the techniques of the social sciences of social and business anthropology to develop a new role and framework for being of value to strategy within organizations. The term and the practice of buyer persona development must once again be firmly rooted in its origins and original meaning. The future of buyer personas is truly social – it is the interpretive tool organizations will need to make sense of the social anthropological inspired research that reveal deep insights about the evolving social buying behaviors of buyers today.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 5th, 2011.
In a tough economy, one market that frequently does well is beer. In hard times, people turn to their love of good beer to maintain their spirits. Microbrewery fan, Kevin Dragone of Phoenixville, Pa., is turning his love of tasteful beer into a new business venture. Dragone has created a new site, http://www.phoenixvillepubcrawl.com/, inspired to bring attention to the area’s bar and restaurant scene.
Dragone’s expectations are to build an audience through the site, its Facebook page and Twitter account. The site reviews the beers and events hitting the area every month. Dragone hopes his potential followers begin to post their own insights into the area’s beers and restaurants.
“Phoenixville is more than just my home for 27 years. The pride I take in myself comes from the people and the businesses that make up the community. I’m doing what I can to show the love of the area and to do it with a good beer,” Dragone said.
The site plans to offer videos of interviews with bartenders, owners and drinkers. The site also includes photos such as a recent visit to the Philadelphia Zoo for its annual event, “The Brew at the Zoo.” Dragone wanted to focus on the Phoenixville area and its amazing people. The beer scene has been highlighted in the magazine, Philly Beer Scene with awards being given to Sly Fox Brewery.
As Dragone’s motto goes, “Live, laugh, clink, drink.”
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 6th, 2011.
Most businesses now realize the potential of social media and its compelling way it reaches customers. Social media is an equalizer of influence. It’s not about the technology, but people being engaged. Customers are more influential as part of the social media arena. Social media has created an involved, connected and more perceptive customer audience.
Businesses must embrace this opportunity and the relationships they’re shaping with their customers. By adopting a new perspective, a meaningful engagement strategy for building customer relationships, businesses can take advantage of the growing opportunities via social media networks.
There is no doubt about it. Customer influence is growing! Businesses that embrace customer engagement to form and guide experiences, and to innovate products and services will gain significant brand and competitive advantages.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 6th, 2011.
In the last few weeks, Google Plus, the company’s latest launch into the social media space, has generated a lot of buzz, and it may be the fastest-growing social network ever, with recent reports claiming the project may already have 10 million users. Currently in beta, Google Plus has been the company’s most successful venture in the social space, after many different social projects it has launched to mixed results. So, what is Google Plus, and why does it matter for local businesses? Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know:
What is Google+?
Google Plus is a social network, with similarities to Twitter and Facebook, but some interesting differences as well. The site is based around the idea of offering users some control over who they share information with through a feature called “Circles.”Essentially, a circle is a group of people you define and curate, designed specifically for sharing information. The site also features “Huddles,” which are group chats, “Hangouts,” which are group video chats, and “Sparks,” which are streams of content from around the Web based on topics you’re interested in.
Instead of having a wall like on Facebook, the primary user experience is through viewing feeds of information, similar to Twitter or the Facebook news feed. But what’s unique about Google Plus is that you can view one feed of everyone you’ve added to a circle under the “home” view, select to view unique streams of information based on the circles you’ve created, or view a feed called “incoming” for people who have added you to a circle that you haven’t added to one of your own. Your posts aren’t limited to a short character length, and you can edit a post once you’ve shared it. Like a Facebook wall, you can comment on people’s posts and interact with other people, and if they’ve posted publicly, you can comment on someone’s post even if they didn’t share it directly with you.
Google Plus integrates the +1 feature that the company launched last month, which has similarity to a Facebook “like,” except that it doesn’t actually share the content on your Google Plus profile. For example, you can +1 a comment or a post on Google+, just like you can +1 a website or blog post that has added the +1 button.
http://www.youtube.com/v/xwnJ5Bl4kLI?hl=en&fs=1
Read our overview of Google Plus, walk through a Google Plus demo or learn more at the Google YouTube channel’s Google Plus Playlist.
Who’s on Google+?
The project is currently in beta, and you currently need to receive an invite to get a profile. If you want to join in, try asking someone you know who has an account to send you an invite or ask your Twitter or Facebook connections.
Officially, Google Plus is currently just for personal profiles, meaning that businesses can’t set up their own profile yet. But, Google is launching a business page pilot soon, and they will work with a few hundred big brands and local businesses in the project, and will officially launch business pages later in the year. If you’re interested in being considered for the pilot, you can fill out a request form, though Google has already received thousands of applications and said they will close the form submissions at some point. Google also noted it will be shutting down business profiles that are not part of the pilot, so if you want to get involved in Google+, it’s best to just set up a personal profile so you can experience the site for yourself.
What Can Businesses do on Google+?
Just because businesses in general can’t have an official Google Plus Page yet doesn’t mean you can’t use Google Plus for your business! Here are a few ways you as a business owner can use your own Google Plus profile for your business and learn the rules of engagement on this new social site so you’ll be ready to use the business pages when they officially launch.
Connecting – Because of the Circles function, Google Plus is a great place to connect with different groups of people online, including people in your industry and community. Creating circles that help you share and connect with different types of groups is a great way to use Google Plus to boost your visibility and grow your personal brand as a local business owner. You can also use the Huddle and Hangouts features as a digital networking platform, by sharing messages or creating video chats with associates, mentors, or peers.
Linking – As a business owner, building your own personal profile and linking to your business’s website, review pages, and social sites across the web is a great way to get your business presence started in Google Plus and to create more inbound links to your sites. Make sure to list your business name in your own personal Google+ profile under the “About” section. You can share about your company in a variety of places on your Google Plus profiles, such as the introduction, bragging rights ( for example, XYZ Spa Named Relaxation Spot of the Year), occupation, and employment sections. If your profile is public, people will be able to discover links to the different elements of your business’s web presence through your personal Google Plus profile.
Sharing – Google+ is a great place to share content. So, sharing blog post links, specials and deals, and other information about your business, community, or industry can help you interact with other like-minded business owners and help you learn and promote your expertise.
The Future of Google+ and Local Business
As the user base expands and official business pages launch, Google+ is set to be an important tool for local online marketing. Google recently ended its contract with Twitter to source its real-time search, and it’s likely Google+ will become the company’s source for real-time search data. There is potential for the social network to impact search discovery and SEO, especially since public posts on Google+ are available to search engines. Google Plus may also be an important tool for reputation management, especially if they integrate Google Places Pages with Google Plus Business Pages, as many
expect will happen.
The bottom line is that Google is an important player in the digital space, and as Google Plus continues to evolve, now is a great time to get involved as a local business owner. Have you joined Google Plus yet? What are your initial thoughts? What features or tools do you hope they’ll add as they begin to work with businesses on the site? Leave your thoughts in a comment!
Author: Tiffany Monhollon writes about social media, marketing, and local business success as the lead blogger for ReachCast, a service that helps local business owners develop their web presence.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 7th, 2011.
