Is Participatory Marketing Social Media’s Bigger Picture?

Brands have to participate to interact with consumers. Common buzz terms like “1.0 versus 2.0” crop up. Gary Vaynerchuk tells brands to “get in the trenches” in this blunt and accurate video. Douglas White calls it “broadcast versus engagement” in this excellent article. Everywhere marketers go, people are looking for one thing—interaction!

Consumers want to interact with a brand. This forces businesses to share their brand with interested communities of people. Thus brands must allow consumers to participate in the brand experience. This coins the term “participatory marketing” and leads businesses down a path where their brand is no longer their own. And that can be a good thing.

From that first “customer review” tab or “how’s my driving”-esque feedback request, businesses were no longer in the driver’s seat of their brand. Feedback has evolved. Consumers offering feedback are more than just teach-heavy insiders working for some industry magazine; they are working moms wanting to know how a stroller handles in a crowd. Consumers go beyond simply the product, but also rate customer service, helpfulness of employees/staff and even how well the product survived shipping. Simply put, the John/Jane Q. Public’s opinion means so much more to a brand than ever before.

Adding to the power of the individual we the rise of interest communities. Online groups of everyday people linked by common interests. This community is not tied to geography, age or social economic status, but by interest. These brand followers are willing to stand in line at three in the morning for a new iPhone. Interest communities follow all aspects of the brand almost to an obsessive point.

As if the vox populi wasn’t strong enough, social media comes into play. From instant messages to Twitter, communication and thought-streams transmit brand critical information not only to highly sensitive interest communities, but to other casual communities. Someone who is interested in a home theater system and gets shafted by a big box retailer may express their displeasure to the interest community, but also has numerous friends and family following. Soon, their cousin takes business to an online retailer over the big box store because of the return policy. This business “butterfly effect” plays out in full force. Gary Vaynerchuk had this excellent video demonstrating how a bad tweet can impact hotel bookings.

With brands now at the mercy of the people—vox populi, vox dei or the voice of the people is the voice of God—how does a business manage its brand? By participating. Participate in the user groups. Participate at TweetUps. Participate in things that matter to your brand’s interest community. Not by only blasting information out over Twitter, Facebook and other community areas, but by listening and responding.

Listening? Social media is for listening? Yes. In every aspect. Listen to consumer’s compliments, complaints, commentary and most importantly—respond! Show the community your brand is listening. Your brand is accessible. Your brand responds. Your brand takes care of it’s customers. Use that given interest in your brand to take people from treasured customers to brand evangelists.

By participating, your brand can be nimble and see market forces in real time. Responding to changes in marketing conditions will keep your brand keep ahead of competitors not “in the trenches” with your interest community. Simply put, your brand becomes a part of that interest community with as much loyalty and trust as found in any community. It will take time, sweat and some brand “self evaluation”, but what comes out of participating will be a rock-solid brand with a devoted following.