Guy Kawasaki always has the best morsels of wisdom for us. Here he comments on the Avenue A Razorfish 2008 Digital Outlook Report which can be downloaded here. Their mega-flashy site is here. Says Guy:
"Only a few years ago, a Web site’s home page was the most prime piece of digital real estate a publisher could offer. Not so much today, however. The relevance of the home page as a media buy is on the wane. Search, social networks, blogs, and RSS (among a host of other online sources) are driving more and more users deep into today’s Web properties. Now, the majority of consumers bypass a site’s home page completely..."
My comment: indeed, now it's all about syndication, decentralization, un-control, engagement - central has too often meant CONTROL which is quickly fading in the rear view mirror.
Guy says:
Consumers don’t see the Internet as something distinctly different from their offline worlds anymore, and they expect seamless transitions. Every key consumer activity has online and offline components—each one contributing to the total experience. The reason? Finally, the online world is getting more social, and as a result, more like the offline world.
My comment: this is VERY important for us to understand. Once you are connected, and have started to use the web on a daily basis, there is no such thing as online versus offline anymore. Just like many other technologically induced cultural changes (such as electricity, cars, the phone, radio, xeroxing, car navigation, cell phones etc) the adoption will be 100% once it becomes so easy and cheap to use that almost everyone can afford it. It becomes social infrastructure.
In social media, marketers need to understand where their brands intersect with the passion points of their consumers. But ultimately, they need to empower consumers to express themselves via their connection to the brand. In most cases, brands can craft the framework of a campaign, but the customization of content and the dialogue around the campaign will be up to the consumer.
My comment: PASSION POINTS? Great phrase - need to start using it;)
