Being on vacation gives one the chance to sit back and observe things you might ordinarily miss. For example, yesterday my 16-year-old daughter came with me to the local Bell Canada “Hot Spot” so she could “play” on the internet. Twenty minutes later I asked about her excursion and it turns out she spent the entire time “hanging out on Facebook.” That’s what got her out of bed. Not the beautiful sunshine and a chance to work on her tan. Not a walk on the beach. Nope. All she wanted to do was catch up with her friends online. Without trying to pry too much, I asked her if she was using any Widgets. She said, “Of course, Dad,” acknowledging my question with proper teenage disdain. “My favorite is iLike,” she added right on cue explaining to me how she now shares iTunes playlists with her friends.
What is interesting to me here is how another company’s product is making Facebook even more appealing. Product enhancements don’t just have to come from your own R&D department–they can now come from anywhere. Apple has created an entire ecosystem with non-Apple products that enhance the performance of iPods. Even cars without an iPod connection and controller are at a competitive disadvantage. This model has been part of the computer world ever since IBM launched its first PC using a Microsoft operating system and an Intel processor. Most of the initial software used on these PCs were in fact made by other companies. But the idea of Widgets for virtual social networks like Facebook is a relatively new thing (or at least it seems new to me).
It is also a brilliant idea. Facebook users love it since it enhances their experience with little hassle and at no cost. They can try a widget at no risk and drop it if it doesn’t meet expectations. For marketers, creating widgets could become the ideal means of getting quality face time with Facebook users. An article by Emily Steel in yesterday’s Wall St. Journal noted how Facebook users hate advertising and love widgets. Delivering a marketing story via widgets is vastly preferable to this target than old-fashioned selling. But you better hurry because savvy marketers from Reebok to Disney are rushing out widgets as fast as you can say “Ratatouille.”
The key insight here is that consumers will embrace “value add” from marketers in just about any form. Marketing for Good embraces any marketing activity that enhances the customer experience, that transforms marketing into a service to your customers. Widgets are but one example of marketing as service. Creating entertaining “skins” or IMV’s for instant messaging services like Yahoo Messenger is another. In fact, there are an infinite number of ways to “add value” via marketing from live online customer support to training seminars to research studies to you name it. It simply starts by asking this question–how do I use my marketing dollars to help my customers instead of just trying to sell my stuff?
Okay, now its back to the beach. Happy 4th!