Free & Social Media – A Seductive Combo

September 6, 2010 Written by History , Social Media

Does social media encourage free? Does free encourage social media?Free Free & Social Media A Seductive Combo

The “meet, know, trust, buy” process for businesses engaging in social media really makes me thnk about the importance of “free”…

Not only does “free” boost the viral aspect of social media but it means that as your consumer I can try your product/service to get to know you. If I like my trial I’ll trust you and be more likely to buy…

A couple of weeks back I was at a digital citizens event in Sydney where a number of small business owners where talking about their successes in social media…the one thing that none of them talked about was how social media had changed the way they packaged their offline offerings.

iThnk the fact that meeting and getting to know a business is made easier through “free” means that companies who can incorporate an aspect of free into the way they go to market are likely to do better in the world of social media…

What do uThnk?
Are you incorporating free into your social media strategy? If so how’s it going? If not, why not?

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  • Anonymous

    I like the insight you garner from such an offline meeting.
    SHows me WHY you are going to kill it in whatever you choose to do (so long as it’s Social Media :) )
    I would never have drawn myself to that line of thinking, but you are so right – it SHOULD affect the way they package their offline goods.
    One thing I would add though is that FREE is also associated with the connotation of cheap. Some marketers have clever ways of making you pay $5 for what should have been free, and making you feel better about it because ‘it must be good because it is not available free – even as a trial’

    Generally, I think your rule works better though.

    • Anonymous

      Hi Alex

      Alex. Firstly, was awesome talking to you today. I truly wish you all the best with the coming month. Make or break situations make for wonderful stories so will be following yours with great interest.

      Now on to your point. I agree completely. Free cheapens perceptions – as it should, it is ‘free’ after all. My observation on this is that it all depends what part of your service you make free.

      Retailers give away free heating, lighting and water all the time…but no one associates this with a negative impact on branding. Crap imagine what it would be like if they (directly) charged for these things…

      So iThnk the fine line to walk is between giving away enough to encourage trail/creating a positive store experience without giving away the essence of where you make your money.

      So if you give away the things that are complimentary but not essential to your cash cow you’ll probably walk that line just fine…

      Cash cows are also usually the things that people enjoy paying for so it likely that its foolish to give them away…