Welcome to the Digital Marketing Inner Circle

The 'Buzz Generation' hang out, arrange events, flirt and exchange media using their smart phones and Internet SNS's. They consume multiple-media, often in short ‘nuggets’, and they are multi-tasking whilst browsing their favored media, commenting and sharing with their friends as they consume. They are able to move rapidly from one platform to another, although this fluidity across platforms does not imply literacy across platforms. So as a marketing wanting to tap into this group I need to know where to find them... know where they hang out!

Looking for the Buzz Generation

There have really become two distinctive spaces within social networks- open and closed. The Buzz Generation move between these two spaces so gaining a better conceptual understanding of this notion is important for reflecting this within your client communication and social media site plans.

The open spaces are very public spaces. Think of them like an open air market or an open plan office. They are busy, noisy, active places where crowds can gather or be gathered, exert influence, generate discussions or have fun. Music is performed, art and media displayed and passed around. Entrepreneurs hunt for clients and opportunities, campaigners beat their drums, friends operate together in groups and people seek out new connections. As we have seen, this dimension of SNS offers enormous opportunities for organizations and movements. It can appear that a traditional broadcast-model communication is effective here but, although loud one-to-many messaging will generate a response, the most effective forms of communication combine this with more sophisticated approaches that are sensitive to the culture of the spaces and the way that people operate within them.

However SNS also provide very private spaces. Thinking of them like a teenager’s room, or a private club or even as places where people can squat and claim ownership over small territories generates equally useful and valid images. They are places to present self, experiment with identity, hang out with small groups of friends and share intense development phases. They are places to be found, to be introduced to new ideas and to secure help and support. This dimension of SNS is important territory for seeding/feeding new ideas and views.

It is certain that both dimensions of social networking sites, public and private and all the representations that exist in the space between these polar opposites are rich hunting grounds for social marketers.

As noted above, working with Social Media in particular and Web 2.0 in general requires a very different approach to traditional principles for engaging with technology. I suggest that organizations using advertising campaigns in social media should engage with established social networks and this needs to balance working to a standard structured, managed framework with relaxing control in terms of content and engagement activities. Many of the most successful activities started informally, often with an “amateur” look that gave space to more informal conversations. Establishing new campaigns, possibly leveraged through competitions or a branding effort, is an effective way of encouraging engagement “at arms length" as this can become a bridge between the open and closed spaces ... Further, recognizing these two distinct spaces and understanding how to use differing communication strategies will result in a much more effective outcomes.

Be interested in what you think about the idea or open and closed spaces? Do you think there is a new 'Buzz Generation' phenomena? Have your say by commenting below.