…”But according to Affluence Collaborative, this was a much lower priority for the wealthy. Their top reasons for following brands were due to a preexisting affinity for and a desire to be kept informed about the brand. The least-cited reason mentioned by all groups surveyed was to be entertained, suggesting that social media marketers still need to provide fans with value, even if it isn’t directly in the form of a coupon or sale.”…eMarketer, May 2011

Forms of Value— I believe exploring and creating these forms of value is at the heart of what social sites can provide today. “Value” can be defined with dollars, it can also come in the form of enrichment to people’s lives, expanding views and perspectives, educating people, opening them up to new ideas and opportunities for growth and prosperity.

Value can be broken into savings, yet it can also be additive. It often just seems that determining tactical, real-life “value-adds” can be a tricky exploration for brands.

Social communities can be ideal opportunities for helping brands explore additive types of value. As a third party, social communities bring new and unique expectations of types of experiences users will have together. Brands can think strategically about their own benefits and “value-add” and select social communities to work with to determine additive types of value to consumers lives. Savings can be great, but sky the limit when it comes to value creation.

Source: vol25.typepad.com via karli on Pinterest