Social Media Success: Understand Social Technographics Ladder
Are you someone who likes to keep watch from a distance or do you easily join conversations? Do you thirst for and seek out information? Or are you the one creating and publishing new content? Whatever your engagement zone, there’s a social technographics ladder rung for that!
How you act online reveals more than your friend groups and interests. Your online behavior is a window into your communication preferences, and how you use social media determines how marketers can best reach you.
Social technographics, defined by the Forrester Research company, outline the various roles and categories we may fall into online. Imagined as a ladder, each rung represents another step up into how invested you may be in your online presence.
From top to bottom, we have:
- Creators, who have their own website, publish a blog, create and upload videos or music, and are all around active online.
- Conversationalists, who are adding to the online conversation by frequently updating their status, posting photos on Instagram, and promoting the work of creators.
- Critics, who respond to the content available online, perhaps through posting a review of a service or commenting in a forum or on an article.
- Collectors, who are eager for information and absorb articles, images, video, podcasts and more, and may also participate in online polls, “like” and share content, or subscribe to a newsletter.
- Joiners, who can be found on social media platforms and maintain their profiles but do little else.
- Spectators, who watch for content and stay informed, but do not become as involved as collectors.
- Inactives, who stay offline and do none of the above.
What kind of social media user are you?
Of course, you may find yourself identifying with more than one category. For example, maybe you climb up and down to creator, conversationalist, and critic. That’s why a ladder is such a great way to visualize social technographics—a different way to use social media is always a step away.
Additionally, it’s important to note that for the most part these roles aren’t contained in boxes. A collector is able to seek and find information thanks to the creator. And a creator is able to find success thanks to the enthusiastic support of a conversationalist.
Age, location, gender, social group, and industry all play into how we use social media. But, while you may find that a large portion of your target demographic in one social technographics group, it’s still important to have a robust online marketing plan.
Reach your joiners on Facebook, listen to your critics on Yelp, engage with your conversationalist on Instagram, and find inspiration from your creators.
Leverage the social technographics ladder by understanding where your audience is on the ladder and their motivations. To get started, ask yourself these questions about your audience:
- Are they collectors? Be sure to provide Pinterest-worthy images.
- Are they critics? Respond to their reviews – both positive and negative.
- Are they creators? Give them opportunities to create user generated content (UGC). It’s a win-win with content that features your product or service and lets their creativity shine.
Looking for some assistance with your social media management and reaching your users on the social technographics ladder? We’re here to help. Reach out and let’s have a conversation and get your social media success to the top of the ladder!
