Diving into the network effect
When analyzing the results from our latest “10 opinions for 2021” report, where we talked to 10 digital leaders of Ireland's largest companies, we saw that one common theme that leaders chose to highlight as their learning from 2020 and the goal for 2021 was the network effect. This is why, today I decided to look into what network effect really is and why it is so important when building your digital presence in the 21st century.
What is the network effect?
The network effect is created when companies utilise their networks and all available means (digital marketing tools and channels) to give their content the best chance and reach the highest brand awareness possible. Sometimes it is performed in relation to a single piece of content (for example, the infographic style image), single campaign (some lead gen targeted funnel) or applied to a set of interconnected digital marketing assets or even a website.
The network effect is created when companies utilise their networks and all available means (digital marketing tools and channels) to give their content the best chance and reach the highest brand awareness possible. Sometimes it is performed in relation to a single piece of content (for example, the infographic style image), single campaign (some lead gen targeted funnel) or applied to a set of interconnected digital marketing assets or even a website.
The second stage of the network effect is activated by the company's employees, who share the content from the company page and official business social media channels with their private networks once they find it insightful, fun and engaging.
The 2 stages of Network effect:
Why bother?
In my opinion the network effect allows you to do mainly two things. The first is to reach the prospects who do not yet know about you. The second is to inform those who already know you (current clients and prospects) about some of your new services, knowledge domain expertise, leadership over the competitors and other important business updates. To answer the question, why is this important, let me share two simple examples with you.
In the first example I would ask you to imagine yourself as a tourist travelling to a new country. It may not be easy to imagine yourself travelling at the moment, with level 5 restrictions in place, but let's try and go to Barcelona, Spain in our minds. You are an Irish tourist in Spain, you arrive, check in at the hotel, unpack your bags, and now it's time to find a good restaurant and get something to eat. This is your first time in Barcelona, you have not befriended any locals just yet, so your only reliable information source is TripAdvisor. You submit the search query into TripAdvisor, and you get the selection of 10 best local restaurants, 200 meters far from you. Little did you know that your former colleague from Dublin has moved to Spain and opened his restaurant just half a year ago. It is a big one and locals who know about it love it. The restaurant has a Facebook page; however, your friend and his employees are very shy people who never shared about it on their social.
My second example is more B2B related. Imagine you are a company owner now. You run a business of delivering corporate meal plans for medium and large-sized businesses in the area. To deliver your lunch and donner boxes, you work with plastic containers and cutlery supplier called “PlastIT”. This year you have made a board-level company decision and a commitment to be more environmentally friendly. You decide to switch gradually, the first step being by keeping the plastic contained but replacing all plastic cutlery with the biodegradable option. You start the search, find several new suppliers and are prepared to review their price and quality options, most of them look somewhat unreliable.
In the meanwhile, “PlastIT” has committed to be a more sustainable company too, so they have recently launched their new biodegradable series of cutlery and boxes. They have a small campaign on their social, but their employees did not share any on their social. You are the CEO, and a very busy person, so you have no time to check your suppliers’ social media or newsletters, however you frequently check your personal LinkedIn and the updates from your friends, who include the CEO and a couple of managers from “PlastIT”.
Both cases show how the absence of the network effect makes you lose out on some excellent opportunities to, in the first example, have a great reunion, east some nice local food and, probably, get a discount, and in the second example – to mitigate the risks by choosing the trusted partner you have been working with for years.
How do you do it?
There is no easy answer to this question, but there are some tips to keep in mind.
- Different platform - different posting rules.
When it comes to the first stage of the network effect, it is important to remember that every social media platform has its different posting rules. It includes the best posting times, and best content formats. Before you decide to share your content elsewhere, make sure it is adapted to the style and format, which is most welcome on the platform.
Here is an example of how we at Arekibo amplify our content on different platforms:
- Develop the sharing habit
Developing new habits is not easy. Sharing content on your social is also a habit. As the management team, you need to ensure your employees understand the WHY of creating the network effect. As an employee who wants to help your business, commit to it, but give yourself some time. Some basic tips include: start small and commit to at least one post per week with your network. Do it for some time and then evaluate the results together with someone from the Communications or Marketing team. Don’t be shy to ask questions from more experienced members of the team too, it will helps to avoid some mistakes they have encountered and get to the best practices quicker.
- Give it time
Most things take time, and so does digital marketing. Don’t expect to see the results immediately, be persistent and keep sharing the content with your network. Eventually, you will start to see the results: reactions, questions, increased enquiry form submissions.
The network effect is not a one-day job. It is a long-term process that starts with some serious commitment on the company level. To try it or not to try it is up to each company, however the leaders in our report agree: in order to stay relevant and competitive today, businesses are required to not only have fully-equipped, scalable and secure digital presence, but they should be comfortable with utilising the network effect, to ensure that the content they create reaches the customers who would benefit from seeing it.
If you need help creating your digital presence or making the web work for you, contact us.