This is the third installment of a five part series based on a recent emarketer survey. In part one we discussed the concept of Exclusivity. Part two spoke to the idea of Education. Today we discuss: Entertainment as it relates to Apartment Internet Marketing.
Here is the chart for reference:
What is Entertainment?
Princeton defines entertainment as; an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention. There is no doubt that we are living in an attention economy today. And, the key point to this economy is that the consumer has choice. Consumers have near holistic control over the spend side of the attention equation when it comes to on-line activities. As such, goods and service providers are left to tailor their offerings to meet a new set of standards and expectations. Attention is the currency of today’s consumer and they will only agree to give it up if it is in exchange for they perceive as having value.
Value Exchange
While it is a race to attract a consumers’ attention, it is in the same respect just as, if not more, important to keep it once you have it. One way to do that is to entertain your audience. Two great examples of this from the blogging world are Perez Hilton and TMZ. TMZ ranked number one in the most popular blogs of 2009 – I contend for the absolute entertainment value it exudes. For their massive audience there is a willingness to give up time and attention because of the exchange they receive in the way of value [entertainment].
Consumer Expectation
Consumers in the age of new media have grown accustom to a very high set of standards that sites like; Facebook, Google and Twitter have imbued on their minds. At the core of these standards there are three apparent consumer behaviors. First and foremost, I think it fair to say that we as a population have grown much more impatient in that we want our information now and we want it delivered our way. Second, I think it fair to say that we have grown very intolerant in that if a good or a service does not meet our expectation – we vote by not returning and moreover we tell our friends about it. And, finally we expect and demand trust. Our ability to sniff out the BS has gone hyper and as such we return to the things we can trust most. Now I’m going to step out on a limb here and look at these things in aggregate and contend that their essence is entertainment.
Offer it and they will come
I contend that if apartment internet marketers get these things right – we will have created an activity that diverts and holds attention. I write that presupposing an understanding that content is king here – the content has to be compelling. But, I am considering that a given. The point I am attempting to get across is that entertainment is a key concept in working up to that thing we are all after. That thing we will discuss in the final post of the series. But, not before we pen our thoughts on one last concept. We will have that out in a few days.
Until then – make this a compelling and entertaining week.
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Apartment Internet Marketing – Entertainment: Consumers in the age of new media have grown accustom to a very high… http://bit.ly/dcYEM3
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Mike, I think this is a great series of posts. People participate in social media sites primarily to connect with friends and colleagues, not companies. That means that brands have to be even more interesting/entertaining/unique/engaging than the personal contacts of their audience. Jay Baer articulates this well over on his blog.
I'd love to hear more of your thoughts about how apartment marketers can develop a brand that embraces entertainment and rest of these principles in their content strategy, and I hope you can share your observations as you work these ideas into your own marketing efforts.
Mike –
As always – thank you for taking the time. I will admit there is a ton of theory going on here. And, as you know – we are moving to embrace and implement a ton of change relative to our internet marketing strategies. In that respect I would tell you that this series of posts has been a way for me to start to frame a foundation on which we will build our future.
In some respects I have been overly anxious and at times frustrated that the company I represent is not out there in the big middle of new media. And in other respects I feel blessed in the stall – in that I have managed to meet and take in ideas from some crazy cool new media masters in the making. That is to suggest that I think we will have been afforded the lessons in what to do and what not to do when we get the ball rolling. Item of note: know that we see our strategy more as an art project in lieu of a cookie-cutter tried and true approach. A lot of it will be made up as we go along. Not unlike many of the other successes we have seen in the application of new media in the apartment space.
All that being said – we will tell the story here or somewhere as we are under no illusion that we have the answers and we absolutely value the voice of the community. On that note – thank you for all you do to advance the cause – it's all crazy cool.
Have a Saint's filled day!
Mike, Brands have been telling their stories for many many years now. Typically as a form of advertising, and branding , the 'telling' has involved reaching (and impressing) as many people as possible.
There will be a shift from brands telling a story, to brands helping consumers tell stories to other consumers. Think word of mouth marketing! This is precisely why Sharpie picked up Eric’s story for their Blog. Big brands understand the power of “others” telling stories about their brand.
The Uniqueness of your brand is important because No longer do consumers want to be like the Joneses, the Smiths. When individuality rules and conformity is frowned upon, having an experience is unique, something no one else has is sexy. So brands will increasingly not want to, or will not be able (if only for financial reasons) to tell their story to the masses. It is up to the customer to tell a story, any kind of story, with the brand providing the ingredients.
Besides the shift from the mass to the unique, consumers now predominantly live in and for the experience. Experiences are inherently more unique and people want to hear and read about experiences. This is why blogs, review sites and networking sites have become so extremely popular.
Bottom line: We HAVE to help our residents tell our story by providing them with tools and experiences that they want to talk about.
Tami
Hey Mike W or Mike B,
Unrelated to Mike B's post, how did you embed a link on your comment referring to Jay Baer? That's pretty cool,
RE: Mike –
As always – thank you for taking the time. I will admit there is a ton of theory going on here. And, as yo… http://disq.us/bcrsx
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RE: Hey Mike W or Mike B,
Unrelated to Mike B’s post, how did you embed a link on your comment referring to Jay Baer? … http://disq.us/bctao
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Hey Eric, you can use HTML in Disqus comment boxes, so you can ,
and to your heart's delight. You can also reply to
comments directly from your email, which is a cool feature I use a lot.