I suppose this shouldn’t come as too big a surprise for any of you who have tried to start a forum or interactive community online, fact is getting people to participate is harder than pulling a mouthfull of teeth isn’t it?
According to a recent study analyzing ratio of visitors to top, so-called user-generated, Web2.0 sites including youtube, flickr and wikipedia – far less than 1% of the people that visit these sites (with the exception of Wikipedia which sits at around 4%) contribute anything at all.
Surprising how lopp sided the relationship is between voyeurs and content publishers isn’t it?
My initial take would have been that more than 5% of visitors post some form of content.
It would be interesting to see the statistics for review-based sites such as Amazon where publishing content is a little less daunting that designing and producing your own videos.
What is important about this study though is the degree to which consumers find amateur produced content fascinating.
Notice above that I used the word “voyeur” – that’s what seems to be at work here.
The fact that we can see inside the living room of someone who has a new guitar song to share with us, or we get to see actual people interact in the privacy of their own home excites and interests many people.
So, how might this apply to your business…
– Why not let people see you in a series of recorded clips as you work at your business, see your home office, how do you fit online marketing into your daily routine. How do you dress, what does your office look like?
– Better still, let them look over your shoulder as you setup a new webpage, launch a new marketing campaign, process new orders, record a podcast or write a newsletter?
– Take them on a journey as you research your market or prepare for your next campaign
– Record snippets from the next internet marketing seminar you attend – including some clips from when you arrive, meet the guests, your hotel, etc…
Customers want to “see inside” your operation, beyond the normal marketing and hype, that’s what is behind the real popularity of these user-generated content sites.
Instead of thinking about these sites as a way to deliver your marketing message, think about opening the door to a “behind the scenes” look at your business – now that could be powerful.
Jeff
