Why Top Marketers Are Joining Ello
Ello, the new social network that boasts a minimalist interface and clean user experience took its word-of-mouth mantra to the masses last week.
Along with an abundance of negative space, the site is also void of ads, data mining and third parties. Yet, the very marketers who create those ads and analyze those lines of that data are a large contingent of the early adopters of the platform.
Why would a successful marketer want to join an ad-free social network? Here’s what some of Ello’s early users think.
Simple Connectivity
“So far I see Ello as a non-complex clean way to connect with people. [click to tweet] Though it is full of bugs and fixes that need to be worked out, it is currently a quiet place that may, for a little while, be refreshing. That said, the question is — will it just be another Google+ where mostly tech and socially savvy crowds hang out? Will it pass the mainstream test?
There’s been a lot of buzz about Ello and whether the new network is a new Facebook’s competitor. With people vested in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr — their current digital rolodex — it’ll have to be a heck of the UI that fills a specific need to get people to switch. People already have social networking fatigue and, so far, I don’t see Ello as a serious competitor.”
— Ekaterina Walter, Global Evangelist, Sprinklr
Network Nostalgia
“Right now I’m most attracted to its population of curious, earnest, engaged, intelligent, big-hearted people. Many of whom are folks I knew years ago or “met” via early Twitter and lost touch with. There’s a reunion feeling. So for a lot of us, the current appeal is nostalgic.”
— Laura Fitton, Inbound Marketing Evangelist, Hubspot
The Barriers Are Down
“Its appeal is that early adopters are there. Barriers are down temporarily.”
— Christopher Penn, Vice President of Marketing Technology, SHIFT Communications
Trial & Exploration
“People are signing up to try Ello.Only time will tell if its utility surpasses that of the primary social network for most living beings. Ello’s interface is different, but the core features it offers — follow, be followed, post and engage in threaded conversations — is offered by nearly every social network on the planet. Until the network can illustrate it offers the same or better utility for users — including brands — it will always be at least second.”
Jason Falls, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy, Elasticity in Entrepreneur
FOMO
The general consensus is that Ello won’t be a mainstream part of any brand’s marketing mix in the coming months. But for marketers, Ello is an uncharted stream emptying into a very familiar ocean of content and comments.
