State of Facebook | Its beyond explosive

Organizations from small businesses to non-profits to churches are giving up a prime opportunity to facilitate open conversation and vivrant community around their products. I’ve been reading marketing guru, Katya Andresen’s Robin Hood Marketing and it keeps resonating in my head with respect to the explosive growth of social networking and blogging:

That winning combination balances the marketing arrowhead and gives it the ability to find our audiences whereever they are, emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Why are so many organizations abscent from blogs and Facebook? (Or if they are in the new media space, they have Groups that lay both dormant and silent? ) (Perhaps the LOLcats have their tounge? Or maybe its that they are afraid of the LOLsaurs?)

We are undergoing a rapid change in culture, such that the internet is increasingly becoming an all purpose entertainment device. Whether its downloading music and movies via iTunes, Hulu, and Netflix or getting the news on blogs, podcasts, and YouTube, people are voting with their eyes and mouseclicks. And it’s increasingly not with traditional media.

You certainly can’t be where they are in any of these ways, without taking a dip and getting your feet wet. These organizations may be reaching for the stars in an attempt to pursue the common good or a better world, but it will likely fall on deaf ears if their organization is. Its like the ice cream distributor who opts not to send out ice cream trucks to playgrounds and neighborhoods, but instead stays safely nesseled in a aloof, bubble-like industrial park. Sorry, the kiddies aren’t going to come running to you amidst the concrete. As Rex Hammond has said Facebook is a sandbox of sorts. Its also a watercool of sorts. Its email. Its a rolodex. Its an RSS feed. Its memories. Its connections. Its culture and community. Its identity and so much more. And it’s the place where folks are living online. Why not attempt to reach out and connect with them? The “if you build it they will come” philosphy of web 1.0 simply isn’t going to fly. And its not conversational. Its one way. And its the opposite of customer service. Communications and conversations drive brands and are the key ingredient in business’ attempts to make the world a better place. These facts about Facebook speak volumes about our digitals lives and culture:

General Growth

More than 50 million active users
An average of 200,000 new registrations per day since Jan. 2007
An average of 3% weekly growth since Jan. 2007
Active users have doubled since Facebook expanded registration in Sept. 2006

User Demographics

Over 55,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks
More than half of Facebook users are outside of college
The fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older
Maintain 85 percent market share of 4-year U.S. universities

User Engagement

Sixth-most trafficked site in the United States (comScore)
More than 54 billion page views per month
More than half of active users return daily
People spend an average of 20 minutes on the site daily (comScore)

Why then are organizations staying away? [In fact, Facebook just recently took a huge jump internally by using translators, which suggests even further turbocharged growth with global impact.] Are they waiting for their competitors to beat them there? Are they waiting until users already have made their choice in their market? How can they expect to drive innovation or be a leader in the industry or even survive if they’re willing to aim for a third place finish?

Our marketplace is as competitive as Times Square. In this environment, we never command the full attention of our audience…If we ignore those forces, we’re one person standing on Broadway, holding a small, handwritten sign. Meanwhile the world is flowing around us, people are gazing upward, and we go unnoticed.

It seems to me, if organizations want to go from hopelessly holding the handwritten sign to communicating and making a real difference in the world, opting for existing in the environment that their clients and customers inhabit is the best opportunity for really listening and succeeding. By not listening to their audience, but not getting to know their audience, and by
not even attempting to exist in the environment their customers are living in. To me this seems like an odd equation for success. Perhaps they should meet Charlie…

Perhaps Charlie can help put them on the road to listening, conversation, and customer service. Thoughts?