Groundswell

Groundswell

There’s a book out there you should read. It could change the way you think about your work on a day-to-day basis and on a strategic level. It’s perfect for those of us in higher education communication, marketing, and branding. Once I read Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies, I immediately ordered copies for everyone on my team.

What’s a Groundswell?

 ”The groundswell is a social trend in which people use technology to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations,” says Li and her co-author Josh Bernoff on page 9. That includes colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning. I met Li at a recent conference co-hosted by my colleagues at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hass School of Business at the University of California Berkeley.  Li spoke on the opening night.

Big Takeaway

You’ll find several very important takeaways from this book including Li and Bernoff’s categorization of online media users. Once you know where your target audience (prospective students, adult students, alumni, etc.) fits, you can tailor your strategy and online tools to connect with them. The authors place web users into the following buckets:

• Creators:  People who write blogs, have a web page or site, and upload videos to places like YouTube. Creators, according to Groundswell, make up 18% of web users.
• Critics: These people react to content online. They’re the individuals who post comments on blogs, rate hotels and other products/services online. Li and Bernhoff say 25% of Americans fall into this group.
• Collectors: This is a small group (10%) that saves URLs and votes for sites on a service similar to Digg.
• Joiners:  A big group, say the authors, (25%) who have profiles on places like Facebook and Linkedin.  In our business—higher education—it’s important to remember prospective students/younger adults/millennials tend to fall into this group.
• Spectators: They listen to podcasts, watch videos, and read blogs. Almost half (that’s a huge number!) of Americans are in this group. Prospective students, alumni, journalists all fall into this category.
• Inactives: Still, over 40%, say Li and Bernhoff, are “untouched by the groundswell.” That means the online world has a ton of room to grow in terms of audience. 

Strategic Thinking

Sometimes we all feel as though we’re drinking from a fire hose when it comes to new media. You may be spending time worrying about all the tools and how to use them. Money is bound to be poorly spent on it and technology will come and go. But if you approach it strategically and thoughtfully, you can win with new media.

Knowing these categories and your target audiences will help you create your communication and marketing strategy while connecting with your customers. For instance, if your audience consists of a high number of spectators, then give them something to consume—podcasts, blogs, and online video. If, like millennials, they are joiners, start social networks on your site for incoming freshmen or other new students.

I encourage you to read Groundswell. I think it will change—for the better—the way you approach online communication and your audiences.