We’re very excited to announce the launch of the Parents Community, the social community for Parents.com.
We’ll be talking more about the community in the coming days and weeks (so stay tuned), but today want to share some of the cool community features, as well as let you know why we’re so excited about this community.
Why We’re Excited
Meredith chose the Ripple6 social networking platform when they began developing Mixingbowl.com over a year ago. They’ve shown through the development of MixingBowl, as well as the special-edition magazine of the same name, that Meredith is committed to utilizing communities (and our platform) strategically.
Parents (magazine and website) is the “go to” resource for millions of moms and dads. Now they’ve deployed our platform on Parents.com, giving that audience the ability to connect with each other, share ideas/tips, talk to editors, and have fun with contests! We think it’s an extension of their commitment not just to our platform, but to connect people and marketers across social networks. And we think that’s cool.
What’s Cool in Parents Community
Here’s a quick look at some cool features for users of the Parents Community.
- “Talk to The Editors” section: Allows users to submit and discuss story ideas for Parents and American Baby magazines, as well as Parents.com.
- Due Date Clubs: Users can join moms with similar due dates to share the joys and struggles of their pregnancy brings.
- “Meet Moms”: Using Ripple6 Smart Groups, users can find groups and other moms with similar interests based on their submitted profiles.
- Facebook Connect: Users can link their activity in the Parents Community with their FB news feed…sharing stories, posts and groups they belong to.
- Treats: Users can send their friends special messages and online treats as a way to have fun and build online relationships.
We’ll talk more about the community in the coming days and weeks, so check back for more!
By Sang Kim
December 11, 2009
Brand marketers seem to be jumping on the Facebook bandwagon left and right. They know engagement through social networking is important to understanding consumers, so they’re trying to do it. However, creating a branded community locked within Facebook or any other broad-reaching social network is probably not the best long-term strategy for communicating with consumers.
Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is not a bad marketing practice — 300 million users is a big pond to fish in. Done properly and coupled with other social marketing tactics, it can enhance any big picture social media strategy. But let’s be clear, Facebook is a tactic, not a strategy.
Here are a few reasons why:
User intent
On Facebook and similar sites, you never really know why someone is there, but for the most part, the intent of the user is to interact with friends around a variety of topics — not, typically, to talk to brands. Unless it’s being “introduced” by a friend, in order to engage with consumers, brands have to interject themselves and disrupt the conversation. That sounds like what a TV commercial does, and it’s something consumers may ultimately resent. Or ignore.
That’s not to say consumers don’t want to talk to brands online. They do. According to the 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study, 89 percent of new media users believe companies should be interacting with consumers via social media. And a recently released Razorfish Study said 40 percent of U.S. internet users had actually friended a brand on Facebook or MySpace. But posting updates to a fan page every few days lacks any built-in value for consumers and certainly does not qualify as an effective social media program.
There’s also relevance
Most people would agree that it’s a critical factor when they decide to put out a welcome mat for marketer messages. Finding relevance in the ocean that is Facebook can be tough — in fact, lack of relevance is a choice on Facebook’s survey of reasons why users might not like an ad they see on Facebook.
Affinity-based social networks, on the other hand, are built around a common interest. They bring together like-minded individuals who want to connect on a particular topic. That oozes relevance. And that’s a perfect opportunity for brands.
For example, Meredith Corporation has begun creating affinity-based social networks as a way for brands to build strong relationships through social conversations. They took their expertise from Better Homes and Gardens magazine and BHG.com to create MixingBowl.com — a social network for cooks. It’s a place built entirely around recipes and people sharing them; sharing their ideas and passions for food. That’s certainly a relevant place for food brands to engage and add value to the conversation.
Additionally, Gannett has created a national network of 80 local communities, all specifically tailored for moms. Through MomsLikeMe.com, moms can connect, form groups, plan events, and share advice, while marketers have new opportunities to enter the conversation, create relationships, and gain valuable insights into what moms want and need.
As these examples illustrate, a successful social strategy needs to be tailored to your specific brand. So, before creating or implementing any strategy, you should ask yourself how these questions align with your social program.
Does the customer I’m targeting really want to talk to me through this channel?
Consumers are bombarded with advertising and marketing throughout their online experiences. Do you really want to be just another annoying brand? Make sure you are reaching your target audience through a channel where they are willing and interested in speaking with your brand.
What is at the center of this conversation? Is it my brand? Because it should be.
Don’t try to jump on the bandwagon of another conversation. The whole goal of social marketing is to engage with and better understand your audience. Popping in and out of random conversations isn’t going to help you gain intelligence into what your advocates are saying.
Can I replicate my effort in other places or am I locking into one specific network? Or can the strategy I’ve come up with scale across multiple platforms?
New media is ever changing. Don’t pigeonhole yourself by sticking to one thing. Explore different options, but make sure you always link back to one common hub.
Does the consumer have the option to opt-in/opt-out of the conversation?
Consumers want choices. Giving a consumer the opportunity to disengage and reengage in the conversation when they want will offer a sense of control that is sometimes difficult to find in a social world.
Am I able to gather insights and analytics from my conversations and connections?
The more you can learn about the people you’re talking to, the better. Insights into who your fans are, how they are connected and what they want to talk about will point you toward how to be most relevant. Those insights will drive not just your messaging with them, but can impact your entire marketing and product delivery.
How is this conversation being regulated? Who has control?
Ultimately, when centering a social marketing program on Facebook, you are putting your fate in someone else’s hands. Facebook is constantly changing and growing in a quickly evolving market. Consider if it will continue to align with your objectives. And if it doesn’t, who owns the data and insight that you’ve created by collecting fans?
Facebook has more than three hundred million users. Certainly it has a place in online brand marketing. But it should not be the center of your brand’s marketing.
To read the full article on iMediaconnection.com, click here
New Research: 83 percent of online shoppers express interest in sharing information about their purchases with people they know
NEW YORK – September 9, 2009 – As social networks proliferate and consumers report spending more of their time online, e-commerce is ripe to weave community into the customer experience. On average, two-thirds of consumers spend at least one hour per week social networking, with almost half spending three hours or more on the sites. In August 2009, the e-tailing group and Ripple6, a leading provider of social media services to e-tailers, brand marketers and publishers, launched the Social Commerce: Conversations Among Consumers survey to 1,000 frequent online shoppers.
For more information on this survey, visit www.ripple6.com/marketing/ecommerce.html
“The research objective was to explore consumer perceptions regarding social media relative to connecting customers to one another, to merchants, and the subsequent influence on purchasing,” explains Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing group. “We are pleased to report that our findings bode well for the online merchant community.”
The survey results confirm that consumers are social with 83 percent of online shoppers very or somewhat interested in sharing information about their purchases with people they know. In addition, 41 percent would be inclined to join and be active participants in online communities that share information about their favorite products.
Sharing/Community influences purchasing
This information sharing impacts commerce as pre-purchase opinions from others influence buying decisions for 74 percent of online shoppers. Additionally, 73 percent agreed that “people like me” are the most trusted sources when making a shopping purchase. In fact, product recommendations from friends are almost twice as valuable as product recommendations from merchants (46 percent versus 24 percent) for their ability to influence purchases.
“This research confirms that most of the things consumers find valuable are those delivered by community,” concludes Sang Kim , CEO of Ripple6. “Our social platform applied to commerce fosters strong connections with consumers to deliver more robust shopping experiences that generate incremental online sales and keep valued customers returning more frequently.”
Consumers want to connect via community
The next logical step in this social commerce evolution is to create online communities that focus on connecting shoppers directly with others who have purchased similar products. Survey results indicate that two out of three consumers would be likely to join such a community if invited via email. The primary reason for wanting to be part of such a retail community is sharing information to help make smarter buying decisions. Equally as important is the participant’s desire to reach out and help others by recommending products and sharing their expertise.
Merchants benefit from social commerce
These shopping-focused communities can noticeably increase Average Order Value (AOV) and aid customer retention. Sixty seven percent of users are more likely to purchase more based on recommendations from people in a community in which they participate and 62 percent are more likely to frequent a retailer they have shopped before if they can be part of a community within that site.
About the e-tailing group
The e-tailing group, inc. serves as the multi-channel merchant’s eye, bringing a merchant’s sensibility to evolving the multi-channel shopping experience. A Chicago-based consultancy, they provide practical strategic perspectives and actionable merchandising solutions to merchants selling online as well as to enabling technology firms. For more background about this research study or additional information on the e-tailing group, inc. please contact Lauren Freedman at LF@e-tailing.com or visit the e-tailing group website www.e-tailing.com.
About Ripple6, Inc.
Ripple6™ helps marketers, publishers and e-tailers implement their business strategy through social media. The company provides an enterprise white label social media platform to create consumer engagements and relationships, enhance social marketing, generate consumer insights, and facilitate commerce and collaboration. It is easily customized to incorporate a brand’s look and feel for integration into an existing web site or to create an entirely new site. Ripple6, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), is based in New York and its list of clients and partners includes P&G, Meredith Corporation, and Unilever. For more information, go to www.Ripple6.com.
Media Contact:
Julie Nicholson
Weber Shandwick for Ripple6
212-445-8371
Full-Featured Platform Offers New Revenue Opportunities, Fast Implementation, and Scalability for Publishers
NEW YORK – August 19, 2009 – Ripple6, a leading provider of social media services to brand marketers and publishers, today announced Ripple6 OnDemand, a turnkey social networking platform that offers easy implementation, scalability, and new monetization opportunities. With Ripple6 OnDemand, publishers can connect with their audiences and generate incremental revenue by helping brands tap into the power of social networking and community building in a fast, efficient, and cost-effective manner.
Ripple6 OnDemand offers a full-featured social networking platform that helps publishers unlock the value of their audience and create new revenue streams beyond banner ads and subscription models. The product enables a publisher to create a customized, content-ready site in as little as 24 hours. Content integration is simple, using standard web interfaces; design templates can be easily customized around branding guidelines.
Ripple6 OnDemand’s proprietary features include Brand Communities™, Social Insights™ and Ripple Analytics™. Brand Communities help marketers connect with consumers and start conversations in a social community environment outside of ads. Major national brands currently using this solution include P&G, Unilever, Walgreens and Benjamin Moore. With Social Insights, publishers can use primary custom research as a means to monetize their audience. Both solutions include Ripple Analytics, which delivers social metrics to help publishers better understand and demonstrate audience value to potential advertisers.
“Ripple6 OnDemand packages our feature-rich social media platform in a low-investment turnkey solution with powerful revenue generating opportunities for publishers,” said Sang Kim, CEO at Ripple6. “Using Ripple6 OnDemand is a unique opportunity for publishers to realize incremental income and positive ROI by enhancing the value of their audience without negatively impacting current ad revenue.”
To help publishers get started, Ripple6 offers Smart Start, a program created to leverage Ripple6 social media expertise and gather insights from real users in a live environment in order to design a successful community. The program includes the creation of a community and a one-month research project. Smart Start allows publishers to avoid costly redesigns by developing a blueprint for the social network based on user experience and feedback.
To learn more, visit http://www.ripple6.com/SmartStart.html.
About Ripple6, Inc.
Ripple6™ helps marketers, publishers and e-tailers implement their business strategy through social media. The company provides an enterprise white label social media platform to create consumer engagements and relationships, enhance social marketing, generate consumer insights, and facilitate commerce and collaboration. It is easily customized to incorporate a brand’s look and feel for integration into an existing web site or to create an entirely new site. Ripple6, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), is based in New York and its list of clients and partners includes P&G, Meredith Corporation, and Unilever. For more information, go to www.Ripple6.com.
For media inquiries, contact:
Julie Nicholson
Weber Shandwick
212-445-8371
jnicholson@webershandwick.com
Online Media Daily
By Gavin O’Malley in Media Post News, Online Media Daily
Ripple6, Gannett Co.’s social media platform provider, continues to sign advertisers hungry for more accountable social media campaigns. Post Grape-Nuts, Benjamin Moore, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever are among a growing number of top marketers leveraging the Ripple6 Brand Communities social marketing technology.
“We showing these brands how to effectively monetize social media,” said Sang Kim, chief executive officer at Ripple6.
Grape-Nuts and Unilever, in particular, are attempting to form deeper relationships between its brands and moms on the Gannett Digital Media Network. For instance, Unilever is using Ripple6 Brand Communities to run the “Living Beautifully for Less” groups across MomsLikeMe.com’s 80 local mom communities.
The groups focus on the Suave product line and how the current economy affects the way moms spend money. By posting tips, advice, questions, and mom makeover videos with Luke O’Connor, the Suave Celebrity Stylist, Unilever and Suave are attempting to form lasting relationships with moms…
Read The Full Article Here… (Membership Required)
We’re very excited to announce the launch of the Parents Community, the social community for Parents.com.
