Is Social Media the New Commercial?
September 9th 2011 -
I remember back to a time when I was young, sitting in front of the television watching a movie or a TV show and a commercial would come on the air. It’s a chocolate chip cookie commercial. The mom sees her kids playing outside and has a brilliant idea to make them chocolate chip cookies. She mixes up a recipe, puts them in the oven, and just when the kids run inside she pulls them out of the oven, all hot and gooey. The kids all gather around, happy and content with their cookies. The commercial ends. I want a chocolate chip cookie.
Of course that’s what commercials are supposed to do. They put an idea in your mind about a product and by the end you should be convinced to get one, buy one, ask for one… and if you’re lucky, maybe two.
Now something like this is happening across social networks as well. We’re posting faster than the speed of light and the messages we put out into that digital stream have real affects on our networks. The perfect example is with food. Last night I Tweeted: “The best thing about being an adult is having a cupcake whenever I damn well please.” Not only did I get responses and ReTweets but I actually influenced people to get themselves a cupcake just by tweeting about them. One of my followers actually Tweeted me back, thanking me (with much sarcasm) for bringing up cupcakes, now she must have one. And then she preceeded to go to the store and get cupcakes. This happens all the time. You see someone Tweet about something they have and it puts that idea into your head. You want it, too.
So that gets me back to my original intention for this post. Yesterday someone asked if our klout on Twitter really makes a difference to anyone. Well I think it does on many levels. Not only can I influence someone to take action simply by posting random thought but brands are capitalizing on this as well. Companies like Klout are taking that to the next level. I have a decent following on my personal account @alliecine and I have a very specific and dedicated network. When I talk about something, they pay attention. So when Klout and their partners send me perks like they did today, a $25 gift card to OneHopeWine.com… what did I do? I thanked them on Twitter, “purchased” the free wine online, and I Tweeted about it. What did that do? It let my network know, in no less than three tweets, that I was excited to get free wine and it was from @KloutPerks and @OneHopeWine (because I tagged them in the Tweets like the good Tweeter I am). I guarantee there were people in my network that said to themselves, “I want free wine.” and they checked out both companies.
So yes, I believe that our klout online makes a difference and we have ways of influencing each other more now than ever before. It’s not a chocolate chip cookie commercial – in a way it’s more dangerous and exciting at the same time.
Now I want a cookie and a glass of wine.
Tags: Klout, Klout Perks, OneHopeWine, social media influence
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