“The Social Technographics Profile”

Chapter 3 Summary: “The Social Technographics Profile”

Groundswell, what is heck is that? Have you ever heard of it before? Kind of sounds like something a farmer would encounter after a heavy rain… “Look here there Mary-Lynn, all dat darn rain has made the groundswell!”

While that could be an interpretation of sorts, the groundswell is something far more interesting than an expansion of the terra firma.

So, what really is the groundswell? In Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s 2011 book Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies, the concept of the groundswell is described as “a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, pg. 9).

Chapter three explains how consumers are active on the Internet and are classified into seven groups according to their level of participation in the groundswell, it discusses a bit on how they can contribute positively or negatively to a company’s image, considers the importance of consumer involvement, and focuses on the ways individuals can “participate in the groundswell” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, pg. 39).

Consumers are categorized based upon their observed online interactions, a grouping the authors have coined the Social Technographic Profiles. The Social Technographic Profile includes the following groups: creators, conversationalists, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators, and in-actives. The groups are often organized in the style of a ladder, known as the Social Technographics Ladder (Li & Bernoff, 2011, pg. 43).

The Social Technographics Ladder

Source* http://blogs.forrester.com/market_research/2010/01/the-data-digest-twitter-and-social-technographics.html

The Seven Groups:

1. Creator: The top of the ladder, contributing content online such as blogs, podcasts. Likely to post monthly.
2. Conversationalists: Those that engage in back and forth chit chat weekly. These users are often high participants of Facebook or Twitter.
3. Critics: React to content online, and do so by posting comments, and reviews or ratings.
4. Collectors: Save URLs and tags on a social bookmarking service like Delicious. They are more likely to use RSS feeds. (Collecting and aggregating info plays a vital role in organizing the copious amounts of content being produced by Creators and Critics).
5. Joiners: these are the consumers that have a social network profile, i.e. Facebook.
6. Spectators: This group consumes what others are putting out.
7. Inactive: These are the “nonparticipants”. There is no way to calculate those that are completely offline.

 

As seen in the image above, each step on the ladder represents a group of consumers more involved in the groundswell than the previous steps. To join the group on a step, a consumer need only participate in one of the listed activities at least monthly, or in the case of Conversationalists, weekly” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, pg. 43).

The authors provide a few examples throughout the chapter applying the Social Technographics Profile to such groups as young men and women, alpha moms, Asian and European consumers, and the Social Technographic Profile by American political party.

So why do people participate in the groundswell?

This answer is classified into nine reasons:

1. Keeping up friendships – Facebook is used to connect with people you know.
2. Making new friends – Lots of people are now connecting via dating sites
3. Succumbing to social pressure from existing friends – even if you are not a joiner, your friends ask you to join groundswell… “one of us!”
4. Paying it forward – The possibility to contribute to sites that you find interesting, helpful. What the heck, why not give that restaurant a review?
5. The altruistic impulse – “…people who put in hundreds or thousands of hours just because they think social sites are worthwhile. Wikipedia became the largest encyclopedia in the world, fueled by this impulse” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 61).
6. The prurient impulse – There is just something about others, I mean people are sexy, entertaining, stupid, and everything ‘…is on display in an endless parade of exhibitionism” (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 61).
7. The creative impulse – Social media like Facebook or Instagram are perfect platforms to showcase your works of art and get feedback from others.
8. The validation impulse – People want to be knowledgeable, and need validation from others. Knowledge is power, and so is validation.
9. The affinity impulse – It’s that impulse to join online communities and connect with people who share your interests, concerns (Li & Bernoff, 2011, p. 62).

 

How Chapter 3 relates to the target market of “Jonny Anvil’s Food Truck”.

Anyone who enjoys wholesome, locally sourced Alberta ingredients served up in various comforting culinary creations is an idea consumer of my proposed food truck. Ideally, however, Jonny Anvil’s target market has been identified as young professionals & college students ranging in age from 18 – 40 years, or those known as Youth (18-21), Gen Y (18 to 26), and Gen X (27 to 40) according to (Li, Bernoff, Fiorentino & Glass, 2007).

Source: (Li, Bernoff, Fiorentino & Glass, 2007) (http://www.icsd.aegean.gr/website_files/proptyxiako/277846938.pdf)

According to the data above, consumers in Jonny Anvil’s target market are most likely to fall into the groupings of being Joiners, those consumers that have a social network profile, i.e. Facebook, and Spectators, those that consume what others are producing and putting out on various social media platforms.

Understanding this information helps identify the best approach for advertising and marketing to get the most interaction and publicity for Jonny Anvil’s food truck. Creating and implementing a marketing promotional campaign aimed at and establishing a following on Facebook, and maintaining that presence would be an ideal way to start to build a loyal customer base, and allow me to be interactive with consumers in the most up to date way.

With a high amount of consumers being spectators, it would also be wise to utilize other social media platforms such as Instagram where I can upload the most recent content surrounding the ongoings of the food truck via photos and short video clips, to keep people entertained and coming back for more content.

I myself would have to then fill the role of Creator and Conversationalist if I am to maintain a social media strong hold over rival food trucks, earn my market share and continue to satisfy Edmontonian’s food cravings!

Cheers,

Jonathan Samis

a.k.a. Jonny Anvil.

 

 

Reference:

Li, C., Bernoff, J. (2011). Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Li, C., Bernoff, J., Fiorentino, R., & Glass, S. (2007). Social Technographics: Mapping Participation In Activities Forms The Foundation Of A Social Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.icsd.aegean.gr/website_files/proptyxiako/277846938.pdf