Page 274 - Foundations of Marketing

Digital Marketing and Social Networking | Chapter 9 241

emerging, the attrition rate for digital media channels is very high, with some dying off each
year as new ones emerge. As time passes, digital media are becoming more sophisticated so
as to reach consumers in more effective ways. Those that are not able to adapt and change
eventually fail.
Forrester Research, a technology and market research company, emphasizes the impor-
tance of understanding these changing relationships in the online media world. By grouping
online consumers into different segments based on how they use digital media, marketers can
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gain a better understanding of the online market and how best to proceed.
The Social Technographics Profile developed by Forrester Research groups the online
community into seven segments according to how they interact with digital media. It is impor-
tant to note that these segments overlap; many online consumers may belong to multiple
segments simultaneously. Table 9.2 provides a description of these seven different groups.
Creators are those consumers who create their own media outlets, such as blogs, podcasts,
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consumer-generated videos, and wikis. Creators are becoming increasingly important to
online marketers as a conduit for addressing consumers directly. These types of consumer-
generated media are becoming a major part of companies’ public relations strategies. For
instance, many marketers are pitching new products or stories to professional reporters and
bloggers. Bloggers who post this information can reach online consumers as well as reporters
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in the mainstream media, who often read blogs for story ideas.
The Technographics profi le calls its second group of Internet users conversationalists.
Conversationalists regularly update their Twitter feeds or status updates on social network-
ing sites. Although they are less involved than creators, conversationalists spend time at least
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once a week (and often more) on digital media sites posting updates. The third category is
critics. Critics are people who comment on blogs or post ratings and reviews. If you’ve ever
posted a product review or rated a movie, you have engaged in this activity. Critics need to be
an important component in a company’s digital marketing strategy, because the majority of
online shoppers read ratings and reviews to aid in their purchasing decisions. As mentioned
before, consumer-generated content like ratings and reviews are viewed as more credible than
corporate messages. Consumers often visit review websites like Yelp for recommendations on
businesses. Yelp is one of the most comprehensive review sites on businesses. Hence, mar-
keters should carefully monitor what consumers are saying about their products and address
consumer concerns that may affect their corporate reputation.

Günay Mutlu/iStockphoto.com Critics

Yelp provides consumers with
an opportunity to provide
reviews and recommendations
on businesses and their
products.

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