Just 16% of folks online generate 80% of the messages posted about products and services, according to Forrester Research’s Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler, authors of Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business.
It’s not news that a small portion of the audience is actively participating, but it is news that social media participation has hit a plateau.
Companies interested in social media marketing, in particular those who are running contests, should have a look at Forrester’s updated 2010 social participation ladder.
Compared to previous data, the Joiners group (social network participants) continues to grow yet the other categories are stable or declining. “For the first time, Spectators are down and Inactives are up. The declines are small and data is subject to margins of error, but it’s clear that we’ve at least reached a plateau.” (Source: Forrester)
What does it mean for brands in the social media space? If you have been monitoring how many people participate and how frequently, you’ll know whether you’re experiencing the plateau firsthand. If you haven’t been monitoring frequency of engagement, then get started so you can create some sort of baseline against which to track this metric.
Next step, of course, is to consider how your audience is spending their time. If they are diverted from social spaces such as blogs, review sites, discussion forums, and social-networking sites including Facebook, and Twitter, what are they doing online? Offline? Are they participating in other channels?
The Social Web is just one component of a healthy marketing strategy. A plateau or decline shouldn’t affect you unless you haven’t diversified your marketing mix and integrated your online and offline campaigns.
* SMM Is Not a Substitute for Search Marketing
* SEO and Social Media Optimization
* Measuring Your Social Media Marketing: KPIs for Product and Brand Awareness
Are you seeing a plateau in online participation? Tell us about it.
