Piaras Kelly PR – Public Relations in Ireland

Adrian Weckler raises a few interesting points in a recent realityBYTES column in the Sunday Business Post from a communications perspective. Adrian highlights the fact that consumers aren’t going to download movies in their droves to watch them on their iPod.

Looking past the obvious point that consumers prefer to watch films on the big screen, he also highlights research shows that consumers tune into Mobile TV for an average of twenty minutes a day. They do so in order to catch up with news or watch highlights, rather than watch programmes on end.

So I bet you’re asking yourself what the hell the title of this post has to do with anything. Peter Drucker once said, “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him, and sells itself.” In much the same way, if people like me in the communications industry are going to use social media tools in a meaningful fashion, we have to understand how the target audience is using them.

It’s content what people are after, channels like blogs or YouTube are the architecture which help it spread. Your content will only spread though if people find it interesting. You can give yourself a helping hand if you know what type of content your audience are viewing and how long they’re using it for. For example, if you want to offer content by mobile phone in Ireland, research indicates that you should offer snippets. So rather than offering news analysis, you should offer the news headlines.

If you think of content in terms of toothpaste, then here are some pointers to bear in mind:

• Everyone owns a toothbrush, but not everyone uses it – Not all consumers are going to view content by Mobile TV, download podcasts or use YouTube, etc.
• How often do people brush their teeth – how often are consumers using these services and how long does the session last?
• What type of toothpaste is the most popular – what types of content are people downloading? As a result should your company offer branded content or allow viewers to remix content?
• Are people willing to pay for toothpaste - Will consumers pay for content?
• What shops sell your toothpaste – Should you look at different outlets to provide your content or just focus on YouTube?
• How do we encourage people to brush their teeth more – Should companies explore similar initiatives such as Virgin Mobile’s offer of free minutes to customers if they watch ads.