Global Innovation Reduces User Engagement

I was at the « Seize the new business opportunities » conference yesterday. The objective of the conference was to highlight new business opportunities created by the current economic crisis. Most speakers (Seth Godin, Tony Chapman, etc) focused on the creation of products that lead to word of mouth and social marketing.

The presentations were all relevant and highlighted interesting ideas and success stories but globally, I felt that something was missing. My issue with marketing has often been that ROI is not always quantifiable and social marketing is not getting us out of the woods.

The reality is that ideas that spread are rare. With more than 30 000 new products launched every year, creating a community or Facebook application for each product will only create new clutter. Attention is scarce, time is limited and it’s already spread across 2+ networks. Most people are on Facebook, more and more people are joining Twitter, LinkedIn is essential if you’re in business, etc.

Niches are a good alternative but they have limited potential. People can’t participate everywhere because platform ownership is essential to fuel user engagement. With limited time and attention comes a limited amount of success stories.

Innovation is great but if everyone innovates in the same direction it’s just creating noise. After all, if you have the same strategy as your competitor, you have no strategy.

Social marketing can definitely work and is a step in the right direction but, it does not guarantee success and is not the only solution available. With the right message and right values for the right people, your ideas will spread. Listening to your prospect users is the only way out.

But, it still feels like something is missing… What do you think?

Related posts:

• Making Money in Tougher Economic Times
• Small Things that Lead to Big Results