Humans are social creatures and we seek to build those social bonds
through the quickest and most efficient ways possible. Without strength
of numbers, we never would have survived the wilderness and, together,
we have come quite far.
But if social gathering is the result, what was the cause? What
drives people to attract, and more importantly to stick together?
“We’ll always have Paris”
The question of what binds people together into a social group is not
a new one. It has simply been rephrased. Why do two people, complete
strangers, become friends? Why would two enemies join together? How do
two people fall in love?
These are all social events, so they should come as no surprise that
their answers are tied to our own question. The same thing that binds
people together in everyday life is the same thing that binds people
into social circles online: experience.
Common interests and values are important aspects, yes, but
experience is what allows for even complete personality opposites to
come together. More importantly, it is how greater numbers of people,
who are so varied and different that they hardly have anything in
common, are able to unify under a single banner.
The common experience is that common thread and, sometimes, it is the
only thing that distinct individuals share. Even if a group eventually
disperses, they’ll always remember that one time, that one incident. And
if they were to ever mention it again, anyone else who also experienced
that event would instantly recognize it.
These two splinters of that long-lost mob can now together revel in
the nostalgia of the event. The fact that they can share that memory
makes them distinct from everyone else who wasn’t present. Two
acquaintances can be closer together in this way than even with their
respective lovers. That’s the power of experience.
“That One Time, In Band Camp…”
Inside-jokes are another example of this. Or funny recollections that
are amusing only to the people who had been present – one of those “You
had to be there” moments. Internet memes thrive on shared experience,
being inside-jokes of a sort themselves.
“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” is now a pact between
buddies. Saving somebody from choking in a restaurant binds together the
savior and the savee, not out of any necessarily moral obligation but
simply because they shared a common experience. “Remember that time you
saved me / I saved you?”
A lot of viral marketing banks on this notion of experience as a
binding agent. When the viral campaign gets big enough it becomes an
“event” in and of itself. People start participating in it simply to be
part of the experience, even if they had little to no knowledge of what
it’s for. Anybody who misses out on participating in the viral
experience is just that, somebody who missed out on the fun.
“I Was There, Man”
Social networks have become the bulletin board for people to both bait and stumble upon others with similar experience.
Everyone who tweeted during a crisis is bound in some way by the fact
that all these fellow faceless commenters also underwent the same
disaster as them. Even the simple happenstance of an “epic thread,” or a
long-running stream of comments fueled by some interesting discussion
becomes highly memorable, even spawning friendships afterward as a
result.
Two individuals who experience the same adventure can find themselves
bound by it; simply because they were the only ones to feel what the
ordeal was like and that’s something no one else can understand. This
can happen to hikers, to adventurers and to two people who later fall in
love because of it.
Likewise, when a couple ceases to have new experiences with one
another they can start to find themselves getting bored and stagnant,
and without that fresh binding glue begin to drift apart. A new
experience can keep a relationship strong, because it is a new
experience for the participants in that relationship to undergo together
and relate over afterward.
Anyone who’s seen a plot-intensive movie understands this; they can
only talk about it with others who have also seen that movie. Even if
revealing spoilers wasn’t an issue, simply retelling the cinematic
experience isn’t enough. Unless the other person experienced watching
the movie like you did, any attempt to relate the feeling of the moment
to them just feels lacking and awkward.
Forging Relationships, Building Communities
In social media marketing, the old rules of advertising don’t always
apply. One cannot just “advertise at” somebody; no one is on Facebook to
be lectured at. People are on Facebook to relate their own experiences
and revel in the experiences of others. Social marketing is all about
participating in this social game, as a peer and not as an outsider.
So, if the goal of social marketing is to bind people to the
brand/product, to not only attract a loyal following but also retain it,
how can we go about this? Through experience. Experience is the real
meat behind the viral campaign, but not all experiences have to be
viral. A clever advertisement, shared across social media, becomes an
“event” in itself; in this case it’s an inside joke. It’s something to
relate to others while standing around the water cooler. It is … a
Superbowl commercial.
Give your audiences an experience, and they’ll walk away with an
impression. Now you’ve given them something they can use to identify
with others and, even better now that they have this common experience,
it distinguishes them from others who don’t share that same impression.
Now you have a clique, an exclusive club. And if people want to join
that club they’re going to have to subscribe to your brand/product to be
a part of that experience. That’s why commercial advertisements on
YouTube can still garner so many hits; it’s why some people would rather
watch the Superbowl ads instead of the big game itself.
Perhaps the most rewarding part is that if the experience you
provided audiences was memorable enough, that fond memory can later
become an icon.
That’s how brands achieve longevity and make their way into the
social consciousness. We’ve taken part in the experience of the return
of Classic Coke, of the Budweiser Frogs, of Apple’s 1984 commercial and
even of the terrible Star Wars prequels.
The Full Experience
Because it can bind people together and later bind them to your
product/brand, experience is one of the most subtle and powerful tools
in any marketing arsenal. It thrives like never before on the Web
because social networks were practically built on that same foundation.
When executed properly, the experience of a successful campaign can
deliver a tight and loyal audience right into your hands. And with that
binding agent, people can retain a part of the campaign within them for a
long time. In terms of branding and awareness, there is nothing better
for the task.
What are some of your favorite experiences, and how have they
lingered with you? Do you think the experience of taking part in a viral
campaign or ARG (augmented reality game) really cemented you into that
community of users?
Vince Ginsburg
