Using strategies from Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff’s book, Groundswell (2008), This brand analysis will focus on the social media marketing presence of Boost Fitness, asking the question: Is the organization utilizing groundswell tactics effectively? If yes, how so, and if not, what areas can they improve in?
The good news is that one can immediately see Boost Fitness understands the importance of social media. They have newly revamped their website, and now offer links to their facebook fan page and a Boost Blog (started in Nov. 2010). They also have an “icon” link to Twitter, however it appears they have not set it up yet. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as Li and Bernoff state (chap 4.) if they do not master the “relationships” (rather then simply the “technologies”) then any aspects of their groundswell presence will be negligible. A quick look over their social network presence reveals they do have some work to go with establishing the relationships, as nearly all of their facebook group wall posts are what Li and Bernoff refer to as “shouting,” pitching sales or providing info, but not making a strong enough attempt to actually engage in dialogue with the participants. In short, they are talking to participants when ideally they should be talking “with” them. Not only will this create greater participation in discussion, but as is continually reinforced by Li and Bernoff, it makes business much easy for the company as customers often provide the best innovation. Even though Boost Fitness is not doing this currently, the good news is their attitude toward embracing the groundswell is positive, they simply have to change their approach. Let us now consider a few specific examples from their facebook page contrasting with other leading pages in the industry.
Clearly they have frequent posts, but they talking at their consumers rather than conversing! Farther down the page there was one instance where dialogue between members and management was started up.
Immediately there are several differences with this post. First, it is an original post rather then simply a reposting of a link from their blog. Rather then an “info-blast,” it is a personable notice. Now regard the comments below. The “groundswell” is taking hold even though that was not the intention of the poster. Simply giving the Boost community a place to converse instantly facilitated two very beneficial outcomes, buzz and new product and marketing ideas. Not only did this action “energize” the groundswell, it was completely free. Simply by providing a forum for communication, by talking to fans as if they were in a “relationship,” they very effectively used the groundswell, by accident or not. Boost fitness needs to do this on their facebook page MUCH MORE. I like to use the analogy of social media as one big cocktail party. If you walk up to a group of people and a) Try to sell them a product immediately, or b)tell them a long story they don’t have the time or interest for, they will at best hear you out, at worst walk away, and 99% of the time very little will come from your interaction. No one else will join in the conversation, the ideal scenario. Blog links and articles can be helpful, but they must include a semblance of “relationship,” THEY MUST NOT BE ALL TECHNOLOGY. This can be as simple as prefacing the link with a statement and question. For example, lets examine on of their most recent postings, the article “Are You Drinking Enough Water?” The effectiveness of their attempts at energizing could be increased ten fold simply by prefacing it with something such as:
“This article has really made a difference in the way I train! What do you guys think? Do you feel like you get enough water? What are some of the ways you help make sure you are adequately hydrated?
Even a statement as simple as this makes a potentially huge difference. Now, instead of seeing Boost Fitness Facebook as a mindless automaton, fans are reminded of the truth that there is a person behind all of this! Furthermore, as Li and Bernoff State, perhaps the most important groups to reach regardless of the technological medium are the critics and creators. As of now, Boost could certainly benefit from their presence! Responding to a question like the above query gives participants a direct opportunity to accrue the psychic value we all hold in significance in some way. As Li and Bernoff relate, it is important to appeal to people’s humanistic and altruistic motivations. A conversation as simple as this could start out as a simple energizing attempt, but lead to much bigger relationships and innovations that will be extremely beneficial to both the management and clients. For example, dialogue could begin with “I like such and such water bottle, its big, but not too big to fit in the side of the treadmill,” and continue towards “You know, I have heard a lot of complaints about the lack of a water fountain on the second floor. Do you think that could be something you guys could look into in the future? Thanks!” Boost needs to realize that embracing the Groundswell hinges on the ability to make customers an invaluable and involved part of their innovation. They are actually very receptive to dialogue such as this in traditional person to person communication, but again, need to facilitate these RELATIONSHIPS with their social media ventures.
With this in mind let us take a glance at a few facebook pages from other fitness companies. Keep in mind, boost fitness is a privately owned gym, and does not have the immense budget of these “Globo-Gyms,” but nevertheless, the lesson learned is the same! Even better then that, thankfully it can be done very cheaply!
Notice: Not only does asking a question personally involve members in dialogue, it motivates them personally (as well as encouraging them to come into the gym more/purchase more classes!) One woman even suggested a potentially new target market, and at none of the cost of a focus group, survey, etc.
Notice: Questions creating buzz and relationships both within the user community and between the user and company!
Notice: Questions can be effectively targeted toward specific audiences! Also note the personalized response.
Notice: Groundswell feedback is invaluable for employees as well! From posts like these a trainer such as myself could easily assess their performance against what clients clearly love. Trainers can ask themselves questions such as "do I have enough enthusiasm? Maybe I could pump up the encouragement? Ahh, high energy music, thats a great idea!" These are general examples, but the application is endless.
For next assessment, I will focus more on the specifics. Yes, "relationships" are important, but what are some of the best ways to establish long lasting and effective "partnerships" that are mutually beneficial? I will also delve more into Twitter and Youtube integration.
Let me know what you think! Which Facebook/social media posts do you find yourself most likely to respond to?
-Sam
