Energizing the Groundswell -> Better Online Shopping Experience

Whether you're a Adult Lego fanatic, a confused pre-teen girl, or just a penny pinching college student like me, I guarantee you this: there is a place for you in the internet.  I'm sure even the most anti-mainstream, non-conformist, couch-surfing of hipsters can find a place where they love to post their musings to a online community of followers (even though they probably won't admit it).  In other words (or rather, Li and Bernoff's words), the Groundswell has swelled enough to reach anyone, anywhere, at any time--and it's only continuing to grow.

Although this is great news from a marketing perspective, Chapters 7 through 10 of Groundswell show why many approach this phenomenon with cautious optimism--and righteously so.  On the bright side, the opinion of customers, which would often fall between the cracks of company bureaucracy, can now be directly read and interpreted according to what they have to say on your website's comment board.  Furthermore, if your customers like what you're doing, they will easily--rather, willingly--do the marketing for you, which is arguably one of the most persuasive channels of communication out there.  By executing traditional PR and marketing techniques via social media, you can easily help your Groundswell help you, and Li and Bernoff argue that all you need to do is this: 1) Give your customers what they want or something that can help them, 2) Create a community to get energized about your product, and 3) Innovate with the help of your consumer base.  It really is that easy!

However (and here is where the cautious optimism comes in), many refuse to accept is that their Groundswell community is no longer an idle consumer base, but rather an integral part of their sales, marketing, development and innovation initiatives.  And on top of that, some are terrified about the possibility that a simple viral video or a forum on a blog can destroy their company's reputation--after all, when it's online, it's there forever (do you remember the Domino's prank and how much it damaged Domino's credibility?  See below).  But see, crises happen all the time, and damage control (yes, even in the internet) is possible.  And, as Li and Bernoff reiterate many times in the book, there is no point fighting it--we just have to embrace this fact, and instead try to get a handle the uncontrollable viral power Groundswell contains.  It will be interesting to see if the book contains a chapter on what to do when the Groundswell starts to turn against you and your company.

While reading the book, I was reminded of a store that I frequently visit which has really embraced social media to create a symbiotic relationship with its customers.  As risque as this store's history has been, it seems as though those behind the American Apparel website have been living religiously by the Groundswell manual and have thus garnered an extremely positive reputation with their online customers.  From their blog, Twitter, Facebook, ebay pages, and even live-chat options, the American Apparel site contains multiple web 2.0 platforms where they can interact with their customers, listen to their feedback, and even give promotional discounts and giveaways.  Furthermore, through the use of social media they also make shopping online, which can usually be hit-or-miss, a very easy and interactive experience.

Not too long ago, I was looking to purchase the cotton spandex jersey leotard from AA (see above), but was a bit on the fence about it.  How would I wear it?  Is it worth the pricetag?  What was its functionality?  What was the best color to choose?  What size should I even get?  I knew the wisest move was to go to the store to try it on, but since the nearest store was all the way in Boston, I figured I'd first check the website to see if they had anything more to say about it.  What a pleasant surprise!  There were over 400 ratings for this item from all over the world, and people were saying everything they could about it.

Some really helpful comments sounded like this:

* Jen, USA - This is a very comfy piece. I got this as a bonus when I ordered a bunch of stuff. Its a medium but I wish it was a small. Im a 32a so the top was loose but the rest of it fit like a dream. I wonder if the small would be too tight on the bottom. I'm 5 feet and 100lbs but i am pear shaped. I pair this with the interlock high waist skirts and it looks great.

* Natalie, UK - Ari, because you're petite its best for you to buy an xs, because you're small in length as well as in width. Your likely to find that the small will be slightly too big -definitely in the shoulders and bottom half of the leotard (the crotch and bum area) as there is a considerable change in these two areas when going a size up or down in most of AA's clothing. xxx

 * Whitney, Australia - I am 5 foot 3 & 115lbs: I got it in a size Small in Black. I do ballet every week - it's a beautiful leotard & if you want, you can wear it under some nice jeans and go out. I totally recommend it!!

AA didn't stop there.  They even have picture gallery below the item description, where people who have purchased the item can submit a picture of how they incorporate it in an outfit.  This is actually the first time I have ever seen anything like this feature, and have actually visited the AA website several times after purchasing an item to get some outfit ideas.

After spending over an hour browsing their website, I ended up buying the leotard, and loved it so much I also gave it five stars, a positive comment, and on top of that, told all my friends about this easy online shopping experience.  It is now clear to me that AA followed the laws of Groundswell perfectly: they were able to give customers what they need to know, build a community and energize them through ratings and comments, and innovate itself through creative outfit ideas and submitted photos from users.  For a store that has such unique and eclectic designs like American Apparel, it just seems apt that they would also be as creative with their marketing techniques--but I still really enjoy reading Groundswell and finding Li and Bernoff's helpful guidelines being used in many of the successful social media players out there.

Wins All Around for Social Media

This week was definitely not for the social media faint of heart.

It all began with Kenneth Cole's untimely tweet.  On February 3, in a careless move, designer Kenneth Cole tied his Twitter update to the ongoing Egyptian revolution as a plug for his spring collection:

The 140-character tweet immediately went viral, leading thousands of tweeters to criticize Cole's  insensitivity and force him to withdraw his statement.  Caving from the pressure, he profusely apologized on his Facebook page the very next day.  As a designer who has had a history of tactless print ads such as post-9/11 "God Dress America" and "On Sept. 12th, families returned to the dining room table. TODAY IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL" (I'm not even kidding), this was an unprecedented moment as it was the first public apology from Mr. Cole himself.  Was it the change of medium (from print to Twitter) that allowed Cole's audience to show him the error of his ways?  Who knows.

Next was Groupon's Superbowl commercial, which featured the Tibetan liberation movement to highlight all the deals Groupon has on Himalayan restaurants all over the country.  The gist of the ad was this: Sure, thousands of Tibetans continue to be violently oppressed because of their religious beliefs and cultural traditions, but at least you can get their amazing fish curry for $15 instead of $30 through Groupon!  If you haven't seen it yet (first of all, which rock have you been hiding under?), here it is:

Although meant to satirize a PSA and direct viewers to Groupon's website where they can donate to Tibet's cause, the commercial backfired terribly.  A social media firestorm erupted, where thousands of Tweeters and Facebookers used Groupon's message board to call for a boycott of its product and services.  Talk about social media irony.

Even then, Groupon's CEO Andrew Mason failed to apologize, instead defending his commercial and saying that the ad was meant as a nod to “the often trivial nature of stuff on Groupon when juxtaposed against bigger world issues.”  I guess Mr. Mason didn't get the memo: if you have to explain the joke, it's not really that funny.

The social media backlash has continued to grow, proving that Mason's point was moot and in spite of intent, the commercial was just made in bad taste.  People want an apology.  And when they don't get it, this is what happens:

This week has proven that because of social media, the line between what is effective and what is ethical in marketing is once again blurred.  Have we become too hyper-sensetized, as Mason said, to have a sense of humor?  Are we trying too hard to be politically correct to get a simple joke?  All I know is that when you fail to monitor your social media responses and then blatantly deny what people are saying, that's when you know you are taking two steps forward and one step back.  What we have seen this week is the power of social media to unite individuals who refuse to be manipulated by executives that trivialize and poke fun at legitimate causes for the purpose of their own profit.  What is even sadder is at this very minute, people in Egypt and all over the world are sacrificing their lives to attain the same fundamental freedoms that people like those in Kenneth Cole and Groupon irresponsibly exploit.

From Kenneth Cole's untimely tweet, Groupon's marketing mishap in the Superbowl to Egypt's Youth Revolution, the same message has reverberated across borders and timezones many times this week: Whether you like it or not Mr. Cole/Andrew Mason/Hosni Mubarak, the public is here to stay.

Yay social media! 

PS. Continue to stream live updates of what's going on in Egypt here.

Groundswell 101

A few days ago my roommate, her boyfriend and I were watching TV when a commercial for Match.com came on.  Anyone who has a television is familiar with the ad: raw footage of a rather attractive couple sitting in a dim-lit, intimate-looking restaurant, laughing over some witty inside joke, and (of course) exchanging the flirty-eyes and coy smiles.  Then, suddenly, cue the most loaded sentence that all single people dread to see:

According to studies, One in Five Relationships started online--and most of them start at Match.com.

"Online?"  I scoffed.  "That's ridiculous--what ever happened to locking eyes across a crowded room or meeting in a coffee shop, or even the concept of soulmates?  Meeting online takes all the romance out of it!"

"I don't know about that," my roommate said.  "Matchmakers have existed since the beginning of the practice of marriage--maybe this is just society's way of catching up with the times."

I quickly dismissed her defense as underlying gratitude that she didn't have to resort to online dating anytime soon, but later that night I found myself thinking about that disturbing statistic.  Was my roommate right, and was I just being old-fashioned?  Is Match.com just part of an ongoing evolution, and were we the guinea pig generation for internet dating? 

I thought of that conversation again as I started reading Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Ideologies, and suddenly found my sentiments petty compared to the PR and marketing industries whose worlds have been turned upside down because of the social media phenomenon.  Professionals who have spent their entire careers in these fields are now finding themselves in direct competition with Alpha Moms and cheap college students who are blogging, tweeting, tagging, hashing, and streaming anything and everything about the products they use.  A five-minute YouTube video, gone viral, can directly impact a product's success or failure.  People are no longer easily manipulated by conventional marketing techniques that are being used, and are in fact fed up with them.  Things are happening faster, from the bottom-up, and more chaotic than ever.  Bottom line is, when your career is dependent on the mysterious phenomenon that is the online world, well, that's a scary thought.

However, the beauty of the chaos theory is finding the various conditions and factors that form predictable patterns in the midst of the chaos.  This is where Groundswell comes in.  Right off the bat Li and Bernoff say that the difference between successful businesses and those that are trailing behind are those who see social media not as a challenge, but an opportunity.  When you think about it, they do have a valid point: it is now easier to gather information about your customers, predict their next moves, and be more creative about it!  Marketing is no longer a one-way dissemination of information followed by a crossing of fingers hoping that your target audiences respond positively; now you can consistently check up on, support, and defend your product by using a variety of online tools, many of which are free or low-cost.  It is time for all of us to get over the intimidation of social media, and accept it for what it is with open arms.  Here is a helpful little chart I found on Forrester Research's blog on Groundswell about the different ways you can take advantage of social media for your business:

I am looking forward to reading the rest of Groundswell and seeing what guidelines they have regarding web 2.0 and marketing.  From the perspective of someone who uses social media for mainly personal reasons, it will be extremely interesting (and advantageous!) to see it in the eyes of a community that uses the same tools we do, but for different reasons.  Just as my roommate implied, this is a different game that requires the same basic rules.  Hopefully by the end of this book, I can be schooled in the art of social media jujitsu and be able to take these skills with me as I enter the job market.  Will keep you updated, fellow bloggers!

Oh, and in light of this post, Happy Valentines Day everyone!