Huge Numbers May Not Mean Huge Conversion
With Twitter followers numbering 1.2 million, Alyssa Milano sent a tweet in support of a new book; “Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks & How They Shape Our Lives”.
The book, available at this Amazon page, broadcast to 1.2 million people who likely follow Alyssa closely, would probably have experienced a spike in sales, right?
So, Did the Tweet Convert to Buyers?
No. None! One point two million people – and not even ONE measly sale as a result?
Wassup? As the story goes (told by John Kremer, Book Marketing Guru), the authors of the book, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler then turned to Tim O’Reilly to send it out to his 1.5 million followers. The result: ONE sale.
Influence and Impact
John Kremer, intrigued by this book marketing phenomenon, goes into elegant detail about how social networks actually influence – or not; and how we’re in the very early stages of learning how social networks and social media tools impact behavior.
Nicholas Christakis, a professor at Harvard, contends that “If we’re really going to advance this field, we need to figure out how to identify not just influential people, but also influenceable people;” and “we need to distinguish between influential, or real ties online, and uninfluential, or weak, ties online.”
Monitoring, Segmenting and Tracking is Just a Start
Like never before, the internet enables marketers to monitor, segment and track data – and its subsequent actionable behavior. But there’s more to it than just statistics. According to Christakis, “if we’re going to exploit online ties … measures of meaningful interactions will be needed.” We need to determine “…which online interactions represent real relationships, where an influence might possibly be exerted.”
Which means to me that there’s an important subjective human behavior element involved, too.
Kremer suggests that this is where the niche concept means much more than the sheer number of followers. Marketers must tap into communities of like-minded individuals – influential people – (not numbers) who share because they care.
(Many thanks to John Kremer – one of my book marketing heroes. Nice guy, too!)
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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.
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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:
Ms. Chapman’s new book, How to Make Money Online With Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com