The term “prosumer” isn’t a new one. It’s been around the marketing world for years, but in today’s world of the social web, it has taken on a new importance that marketers can’t ignore.
The term “prosumer” has transformed from “professional consumer” to “product and brand advocate”. Rather than simply “consuming” products, people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly thorugh their involvement on the social web.
In simplest terms, no longer are businesses completely in control of their products, brands and messages. Today, consumers are in control. The leaders of this shift are the members of the social web — bloggers, microbloggers, forum posters, social networking participants, and so on, who spread messages, influence people around the world, and drive demand. Prosumers are the online influencers that marketers must not just identify but also acknowledge, respect and develop relationships with in order for their products and brands to thrive. The high level steps to leveraging the power of prosumers are as follows:
- Identify the key online influencers for your product, brand, business or industry (i.e., the prosumers).
- Acknowledge those people (e.g., send product samples, ask opinions, etc.).
- Join the online conversation where those people already spend time.
- Develop relationships with those people by interacting with them, providing useful information, and being accessible and human.
- Leverage the opportunities of the social web by creating your own branded destinations such as a blog, YouTube channel, Twitter profile, Facebook group or fan page, LinkedIn group, podcast, etc.
The bottom line to connecting with prosumers and to get them talking about and advocating your brand, products and business is to deliver content that adds value to their experience with your brand. Then, don’t be afraid to let them take control and spread your messages. That’s where the power of the social web and online influencers to drive word-of-mouth marketing farther than ever comes into the picture, and that’s the ultimate goal for marketers.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc. and Founder & Editor in Chief of an award-winning blog, WomenOnBusiness.com. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored 10 books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.
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interesting and informative! thank u so much 🙂