Why social media marketers should pay attention to the collaborative economy

As social media marketers, one crucial part of our day-to-day jobs is to keep an eye out on what's trending on the Internet. Often this means checking out new apps and websites that people are talking about. Sometimes, this means watching the latest viral video and sharing the latest meme.

More crucially, however, social media marketers need to be aware of the various macro-economic trends that will have an impact on how consumers buy and sell online.

One trend that social media marketers really need to pay attention to is the collaborative economy. This market is already changing how brands market and work with customers—and it is a trend that will certainly shape the evolution of the social media marketer role.

But you may be wondering what this economy is all about. In Sharing is the New Buying: How to Win in the Collaborative Economy, Jeremiah Owyang of Crowd Companies and Alexandra Samuel and Andrew Grenville of Vision Critical (Disclosure: Vision Critical is my employer) provided a definition of this space:

[I]t’s a powerful movement in which people are getting goods and services from each other (what people call the “sharing economy”), or even making them outright (also known as the “maker movement”). Just as social media enabled peer-to-peer sharing of content, the technologies of the collaborative economy now enables peer-to-peer sharing of goods, services, transportation, space and money at a speed and scale that were unimaginable a decade ago.

Think Airbnb, a website that lets travelers stay at a local’s place instead of checking in at an established hotel. Think Uber, an app that connects passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire and ridesharing services. Think Lending Club, a site where people borrow funds directly from each other instead of going to a bank. These all make up the collaborative economy.

Often referred to as the sharing economy, this movement is already mainstream, with 39% of the US population and 41% of the Canadian population participating.

So why should social media marketers care? There are at least 3 reasons why the collaborative economy matters to us:

1. It's the next phase of social business.

When Jeremiah first identified the emergence of the collaborative economy, he made this observation:

[The] Collaborative Economy is next phase of social. Social networks share ideas, yet collaborative economy shares products & services…The next phase of Social Business is the Collaborative Economy; Brands will enable customers to share, trade, lend, gift products and goods using social technologies.

The collaborative economy will disrupt businesses and industries in the same scale as social media did. We should be watching this space now. We should be thinking about how it will affect the brands we work with and how it will impact our day-to-day jobs.

2. Just like social media, it's part of a larger movement.

Social media and the collaborative economy are two distinct forces that are fueled by the same phenomenon: customers using technology to access what they want, when they want it and how.

If you have a deep understanding of what pushed social media into the mainstream, chances are you also grasp the underlying factors contributing to the growth of the collaborative economy. This knowledge will become increasingly valuable for brands, so it’s something that social media marketers should further explore.

3. Your next employer will likely be part of the collaborative economy.

People who participate in the collaborative economy are very satisfied with their experience: 91% of sharers in the Vision Critical/Crowd Companies study said they would recommend the last sharing app or website they used to a colleague or a friend. It’s no wonder word of mouth is fuelling the growth of this movement: 47% of shares found the last sharing website or app they’ve used through another person.

Even more interesting is the fact that many sharers in the collaborative economy plan to try new types of sharing soon. Translation: The collaborative economy could potentially double in the next 12 months.

The collaborative economy’s high-growth potential could be bad news for big brands since this movement is driven mostly by startups. That's why established brands—from U-Haul to Pantagonia—are already participating. Expect more big brands to experiment and innovate in this market in the next few years.

For social media managers, the implication is that your current or future employers will likely be playing in this space. You’ll likely work for startups that are already innovating here or for brands who want to compete more successfully in it. By having knowledge of how the collaborative economy is shaping consumer preference and behavior, we can provide more value to brands and we can help shape how companies use social tools more strategically as they enter the market.

Sharing is the New Buying makes it clear that the collaborative economy is here, and social business is a key business area that will be affected. If you’d like to learn more, read the full report below.

In the next few weeks, I’ll share some tips here on how social media marketers can help brands thrive in the collaborative economy. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out Vision Critical’s April 8 webinar with Jeremiah Owyang. During the webinar, panelists will share examples of brands innovating in this market, and they'll share insights on how you can engage your customers in the era of collaborative consumption.

Is the sharing or collaborative economy something you’re already actively monitoring? How do you see this space affecting the job of social media marketers?

Feel free to leave a comment below, or please tweet me at @kcclaveria to share your thoughts.

(Photo credit: Tomas Laurinavicius via Free Refe)

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