I am working on a project at the moment which has influence at the very centre of its strategy. But as soon as we mention the word “influence” it brings a whole hierarchy of associations along for the ride. For example, I’m sure that you, reading this, have already leaped ahead 10 steps – and that is the challenge. Many of you will have read Gladwell’s Tipping Point and will, no doubt, be thinking about the way that a small number of influencers can create the kind of network effect that drives consumer behaviour. But as I have written previously, when it comes to social or digital strategy (in particular), we can’t just focus on reaching the tipping point. We need to go well beyond this – to impact behaviour, create lasting and beneficial change and deliver against business and organisational objectives.
Yet, in doing so, we have no choice but to work with “influencers” – after all, we are working with people, not numbers. I was reminded of this great post, Curating Resonant Agents, by Katie Chatfield on the work of Duncan Watts, and the presentation that came along with it. Take a read, it provides a context for the type of thinking you will need to undertake to be able to apply the concept of influence to your business or brand.
View more presentations from Resource Interactive.
So, where does this leave us? I like Katie’s focus on resonance. When Stanford’s Eric Sun conducted research into Facebook “dispersion chains” – the length of connections through which a message/story would travel across a cluster of connections – he found that resonance and resonance agents are important. More important than sheer numbers. Influence, it seems, does not accrue to a particular person or even a particular group of people – certainly not, at least, when you are focusing on changing behaviour. Influence accrues to those resonance agents willing, able and (perhaps) predisposed towards sharing that message/story.
Where do you find them? Clearly they are not the people with the loudest voices. They are those individuals who facilitate the “weak links” between clusters. They are the connectors. And they sit in the cubicle next to you. They are often, as non-descript as a face in the crowd. How do you find them? You just have to listen.
We are all time poor. We skim RSS feeds rather than reading blogs. We prowl Twitter in search of answers rather than searching on our own (much to Google’s chagrin). And we look for simple answers to complex questions. And while there is much to be lamented in this, there is something deliciously inspiring about Fast Company’s 30 Second MBA site.
One of my favourites is this short segment from CK Prahalad – focus on sustainabilty as a framework for innovation – but there are plenty of other videos on a range of business subjects. Sure, these segments won’t qualify you for an MBA, but they will get you on the path to thinking about your business, organisation or brand in a new way. And there’s not a business around that doesn’t need that – even truly innovative organisations need a blood transfusion from time to time.
But the question remains. Who is the person who brings that blood transfusion to your business?
If social media is about levelling the playing field between businesses and consumers, then you would think that the largest businesses – the Fortune 100 – would be steering well clear. However, this infographic from Flowtown, based on a recent Burson-Martseller report shows that social media uptake and engagement is well and truly on the agenda of the world’s largest corporations.
Having said that, the uptake figures are quite low. These companies would obviously have more employees than they have subscribers to their YouTube channels. So perhaps there is some work to do around employee engagement/activation. It is good to see, however, that a certain level of experimentation is taking place.
How does these figures tally with your own experience? How engaged is your company with social media? Are you better/worse than the Fortune 100?
When Malcolm Gladwell wrote Blink
So it is hardly surprising then that a site like Chatroulette is generating a lot of buzz and, in the process, generating as much fear as excitement. It is a site that works on the level of the blink – randomly selecting two participants and allowing them to share their webcams. If you see something that you don’t wish to, you can click the Next button and skip to another, anonymous webcam.
When I first heard about it, there were various reports of voyeurism, exhibitionism and so on. It sounded like the early days of the internet – but with video. However, just weeks later, there is a certain level of “gaming” starting to take place – with participants seeking to surprise, confuse and even challenge others.
Take a look at this video. Think about the experience of the participants. What are they expecting? What are they hoping for? Is there a power relationship at play? What are the participants exchanging?
What we are seeing, already, is a maturing not necessarily of the TECHNOLOGY but of the PARTICIPANTS. Our capacity to work with and then transform the relationship we have with technology is accelerating (at least in pockets) – and those who are socially savvy on the web are engaging and challenging other participants. This is a trend that is not likely to end anytime soon.
The important thing to think about is not what the technology is doing, but which behaviours are these technologies enabling? Then you need to think about your business and whether there is a connection with your brands, opportunities for your products/marketing or a thin slice of innovation that you can apply to the way you do business. Platforms like Chatroulette may not not appear to have much value at first glance, but then neither did email 20 years ago. The challenge for us all is to find the value that lies underneath. It’s there. You just need to look below the surface.
We have conditioned ourselves to a certain style of thinking and a certain style of communication. We have overpopulated our collateral with jargon, strangled it with acronyms and leeched any remaining meaning from its thinning blood. Is there any wonder that we now struggle to deal with the immediacy and impact of social media?
Communications in the social world are a different beast entirely. Your blog posts, your tweets, your messages have to be full-blooded. There must be a pulse in the language and a beat to the message. This is storytelling of a new order or magnitude.
You have to think outside the content square. It means thinking and acting CLEAN:
Clever – Play to your audience’s intelligence. Don’t dumb it down. Amp it up. Create content that flatter’s your audience’s knowledge and understanding.
Layer – The advertising adage – tell them, tell them and tell them again – just doesn’t work. You need to layer meaning. Invite your audiences in. Wink at them slyly. Nod to their expertise. Appreciate their engagement. Remember they’re not here for you – you’re here for them.
Engage – Engage your audience as if you are entertaining them. Even the driest content can be compelling if you inject personality and passion into its creation.
Active – It sounds basic, but provide some form of activation. Can your blog post be easily shared? Is there a video that can be embedded? What about a book that can be downloaded and passed on?
Nervous – Does your content make you nervous? Do you get a small thrill when you write it? Do you worry that people will respond in a way that is unpredictable? If so, you may be on the right path. To produce content that is remarkable – you need to invest something in it. You need to have an opinion. The best content makes you a little nervous as you release it to the public.
Here is a great example from Marcus Brown. What’s he doing? Is he keeping it CLEAN? You be the judge.
Official Tweet Mime 2. Robert Scoble from Marcus Brown on Vimeo.
Here in Australia we speak of the “tyranny of distance” – the unmistakeable fact that we live thousands of kilometres from the cultures which spawned our multifaceted diasporas. And even in the age of international travel, the fact that you need to spend a day or two travelling to get to or from Australia serves to remind us that we are, as a country, a long way from everywhere.
Over the past 10 years or so, I have spent a great deal of time travelling TO other places – mostly for work. And while it can be interesting, hotels in Germany look pretty much the same as hotels in Shanghai. So when people from overseas offer to travel HERE, I welcome them with open arms.
In May, Matt Moore is hosting a workshop event on Innovation and Change. It features Johnnie Moore and Viv McWaters. They will be investigating the notion that “change is difficult and stressful, and that innovation is scarce and requires effortful management to succeed”. As Matt explains:
We’re going to explore how this is reflected in three tyrannies:
The tyranny of the explicit and the fear of not knowing.
The tyranny of excellence and the fear of not being good enough.
The tyranny of effort and the fear of failure.
We’re planning to explore these tyrannies and highlight some ways to bust them with a series of practical and impractical exercises. We’re going to reveal our own prejudices about facilitating change and innovation, which emphasize letting go of the effort to be spectacular in favour of being open to surprise and attentive to small ideas instead of chasing grandiose visions.
As a long term reader of Johnnie’s blog and an admirer of his work, I am particularly keen to participate in this workshop. And I only have to travel to Eveleigh. Will I see you there? Bookings and details are as follows:
Time: 09.30-16.30 May 13th 2010.
Location: Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, Sydney, NSW 1430.
Price: $150+GST for the day. Book here with Visa/Mastercard/PayPal.
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