Participation is the key to success

Say hello to an open, enthusiastic audience

I’m going to use CrossFit again as an example for this post. You’ll find that I’m very passionate about it and what it can teach us. If that bothers you, I’m sorry, but it won’t stop me from referencing it.

Anyways, I’ve written a decent amount about the topics of Social Media ROI and how people need to start using social correctly. People still aren’t fully “with it” yet, with “it” being the understanding of what social media really is all about (hint: it’s not a contest to see who can get the most followers or Likes). Yes, it’s frustrating to the community managers and social strategists that try to explain it to other marketing pros. But I know we’ll get there eventually. I was thinking about it a bit today and realized that participation is something a lot of marketers don’t grasp.

Personal experiences will win. Every time.

When it comes to marketing effectiveness the winner is hands down experiential marketing. Nothing hits home like a solid, memorable experience. Whether it’s the Nike Women’s Marathon or a branded booth with great activities at a festival, people will remember those moments more vividly and for longer than your television ad or Twitter campaign. So why don’t we bring this to social media?

Participation breeds honest enthusiasm

Here’s the CrossFit example. Starting this weekend (May 17th) and through the summer, CrossFit will be holding their regional competitions all over the world. These regional competitions are sold out, as well as the CrossFit Games (the World Series of CrossFit). The Games sold out in just a few hours, months in advance of the event. The CrossFit audience is faithful, passionate, and experienced.

Here’s the difference between CrossFit and most other sports: the people in the stands watching regionals, or at the Games (or on television) have probably done CrossFit before. Unlike the Super Bowl, World Series, or Olympics these spectators have participated in the same workouts, with the same training, as the professionals they are watching. The level of immersion reaches something else with CrossFit, and it creates a passion in the audience that is intense and contagious.

When I watch YouTube videos or live broadcasts of CrossFit workouts and competitions I can go to the gym later that day and do exactly what I just saw. I can’t do that with the Super Bowl. I’m not an NFL athlete, I won’t make it on a team. CrossFit is magical because anyone can do, anyone.

The ability to participate in the same programs as the pros breeds a culture that I haven’t found with other sports. Yes, I’m an Ohio State Buckeye fan at heart and have had some incredible experiences cheering on the Bucks during big games, but it doesn’t match CrossFit.

Your community is your fuel

Let your community fuel your page. You may manage it, create the content on it, and advertise on it…but your community runs it. Every action you take already is (hopefully) geared toward what you think your community will respond to best, so let them tell you what they want to see and hear. Encourage participation, let them create content, and become a brand for the community. That participation results in a feeling of worth for the consumer. People are buying celebrity tweets at this point, doesn’t that show you how much it matters to consumers that they are acknowledged? Feed that fire. Not the “buy tweets because I’m that desperate” fire, but the participation fire.

If someone posts great content, let them know, even use the content if it’s appropriate. You are marketing to consumers, but the consumers know how to market to themselves already. Let them tell you.

That’s the magic of social media. All bets are off. The old rules of advertising don’t apply. You don’t have to run focus groups on ads. You don’t have to wait days/weeks/months to find out if a campaign is being received well, you’ve got that data almost immediately. Every post, comment, tweet, and campaign comes with an open forum attached to it.

If you let your online community participate, and encourage their participation, it will result in success. It builds authenticity and loyalty. Users want to relate. Let them experience your brand on social, not just Like it. They’ll eventually go from Like to love.