Learning from Female Creators
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Noiembrie 2011 |
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MEC ROMANIA |
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Strada Dr. Iacob Felix , Nr. 63-69
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Bucureşti, Sector 1
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+40-21-319.71.54/5
Fax
+40-21-319.71.53
Website
www.mecglobal.com
Since economic times grew tough, there has been talk in some media about a female recovery from the recession, the market opportunity of women, and a growth in women’s income that brands could tap into.
But this thinking seems out of step with the changing relationships between brandsand their users. As more of us turn to the social web to express ourselves andconnect with others, brands need to regard people as more than just consumers of products and services.
So for MEC’s latest Sensor research, we set out to understand the behaviour and motivations of the most engaged female users of the social web, to see what lessons could be transferred to brand communication. Learning from Female Creators isthe first report to be published from this research.
We talked to 130 young ”Female Creators” from around the world – 16-24 year old women who create social content online, such as blogs, Tweets, video-uploads, or regular forum posts – using our online qualitative research tool, DigiFacesTM.
Why are Female Creators interesting?
As ‘social mavens’ they have much to teach us about effective communication. They are the most prolific female users of the social web: 56 % of 16-24 women online are Creators compared to 43 % of all women online. And their behaviour is much like brand behaviour: a passion for creativity, selling their ideas to others, a constant output of new content, and a desire to engage and broaden their audience.
In some categories – such as technology, entertainment, fashion, or health and beauty – they will be among the most influential sources of information and advice for others; all the world’s most influential bloggers and forum participants are, by definition, Creators. Hence they are an important audience for brand communication.
Female Creators actively try to drive conversations on the social web. They are three times as likely as other women their age to try to influence people by changing their opinions; 60% have posted their opinions about products and services during the past month, and 53% do so to make sure other consumers pick good products. And they actively try to change brand behaviour: 52% post opinions to get companies to improve their performance.
The Female Creator’s guide to using the social web
The guidance that Female Creators give to less experienced peers is useful advice for brand communication.
Inspiration
■ Come to inspire and be inspired: inspiration is why Female Creators are online – to be inspired, and to inspire others. Be thoughtful and intelligent.
■ Quality over quantity: only speak when you have something to say. This means no status updates ten times a day (for example, look at Nike’s Facebook page: just ten updates in three months, all based on engaging content).
■ Create scannable content: catch people’s attention with appropriate headlines and summaries.
■ Be prepared to fail; learn from your mistakes: Female Creators are constantly learning and evolving their online personae.
Sharing
■ Show you’re passionate about what you do or make: people need to see that you believe in what you do.
■ If you have knowledge or expertise, share it: Speak about what you know; share informed opinions and experience that will help others. Building relationships
■ Comments and feedback are conversation-starters: respond quickly and appropriately; deal with feedback in consumer time, not brand time.
■ Respond thoughtfully and substantially, or not at all; comments should be genuine, specific, and most importantly, personal.
■ Be yourself, please yourself: don’t chase an audience; be truthful, open and honest. Say what you think, not what you think people want to hear.
In the social web, you are what you contribute
Lesson: the goal of brand communication in the social web should be to inspire and make a contribution to online communities. Brand communication should occupy the ‘space between’ members of your audience: its effectiveness should be judged by whether it creates social interaction between people.
Inspiration: the currency of Female Creators
If Female Creators’ motivation for engaging with the social web can be summarised, it is this: to inspire and be inspired. They are not there just to entertain others: 45% say that getting ideas and inspiration drives them online. They go online looking for like-minded people to learn from, and then in turn, to pass on their own learnings,thoughts, and creativity. So if anyone wants to engage a Creator’s attention and influence their behaviour, they have to inspire them first.
