Email service provider Exact Target recently released their social profile tool, based on social consumption and social contribution. The interactive tool introduces you to the 12 distinct consumer persona’s online. The ability to study this data and consumer behavior online allows you to get to know your audience based on their personalities, not just their age, gender and other demographics.
The Social Profile Interaction Tool
In The Social Profile, you’ll learn about 12 distinct personas that represent motivations for interacting online. These personas aren’t mutually exclusive—consumers self-identified themselves as falling into as many as three of these 12 categories. We’ll also help you understand how consumers interact with marketers like YOU across email, Facebook, and Twitter.
• Get to know your audience based on their personal motivations, not just their age, income, or gender.
• Learn why consumers’ use of social media is dictated by their individual motivations, not by the channels themselves.
• Realize the importance of understanding your audience, so you can predict what they want from your brand, meet their expectations, and increase your ROI.
Customers no longer pay attention to your brand for the same reasons across all ages, incomes, and gender. That’s why you must give consumers a chance to interact with you based on their personalities. And by simply taking the time to meet your audience, you’ll be able to make informed decisions about what, when, and where your marketing messages should be delivered. With our 12 consumer personas, you’ll be able to deliver one-size-fits-one messages that will truly resonate.
Focus on 5 key social networking personas
Based on both the amount of content they consume and produce, the five most valuable, in order of their total content usage, are Megaphone, Open Book, Social Butterfly, Business First, and Enthusiast.
Megaphone
Representing 7% of online consumers, Megaphones want to connect, educate, and share resources and information online with others. Despite the relatively small number of them, Megaphones have a disproportionately large influence on brands and the internet as a whole. These consumers are by far the most active group of consumers in social media of all types. 65% regularly maintain a website, blog, or both.
Twenty percent of Megaphones use Twitter daily and have three times more followers than the average consumer. Their Twitter usage continues to increase, unlike many of the other personas. Megaphones are easily influenced; they’re the most likely consumers to become a subscriber, fan, or follower at the recommendation of others.
Open Book
Accounting for 6% of online consumers, Open Books are uninhibited consumers who freely express their likes, dislikes, experiences, and opinions with the online world. Open Books may appear similar to Megaphones as they’re active in creating content and commenting in social forums. But they’re more likely to blog regularly than Megaphones, and their biggest difference is in their intent. While Megaphones are primarily interested in connecting and educating, Open Books want to divulge their experiences online and find others who can relate to them.
Open books are motivated to fan a brand on Facebook or subscribe to email due to exclusive con¬tent and the ability to interact—not bypromotions or sales. Despite a high propensity to use Twitter regularly, Open Books don’t typically follow brands. Open Books want to interact with companies through email and Facebook. Monitoring a working ‘From Address’ and encouraging candid feedback is a good first step in gaining their loyalty.
Social Butterfly
Totaling 13% of online consumers, Social Butterflies focus on making and maintaining numerous online friendships. They use Facebook to manage their social lives, and Facebook friends are personal friends, not work contacts. Social Butterfiles are interested in becoming Facebook fans of brands, as well as promotions and sale notifications across email, Facebook, and Twitter. Social Butterflies are also active bloggers (mostly about their personal lives) and are among the most voracious consumers of online video and podcasts.
Forty-five percent of Social Butterflies become a fan of at least one Facebook brand, higher than any other persona. Twenty-seven percent of these consumers say they’re more likely to buy after becoming an email subscriber, com¬pared to 16% who report being more likely to buy after becoming a Facebook fan. Twenty-eight percent of all consumers under the age of 25 are Social Butterflies, and more than half of all Social Butter¬flies are Millennials. Keep Facebook interactions lighthearted. Promotions and freebies are better through email.
Business First
Representing 8% of online consumers, Business Firsts use the internet for business purposes, keeping up with the latest trends, communicating with business contacts, and making new connections through sites like LinkedIn. In short, they’re actively engaged in promoting their companies and personal careers online. These consumers use email constantly throughout the day, and although they don’t typically follow brands on Twitter, they’re among the most active Twitter users. Business First Consumers have nearly three times more followers than the average consumer.
They also maintain their own websites, blog frequently, upload videos, post to wikis, and write articles. The only exception is Facebook; they use this channel less frequently, primarily to connect with business contacts or to keep tabs on their children. These consumers are motivated to become a subscrivber, fan, or follower by the promise of product updates, company information, and education. They’re less likely to be motivated by discounts or entertainment.
More than half of Business First consumers are men between the ages of 25 to 54. These consumers receive more email per day and subscribe to more commercial email than any other consumer persona. Business Firsts are the most affluent persona, with a median income of $80,200.
Enthusiast
Encompassing 32% of online consumers, when Enthusiasts go online, they’re motivated by offline interests and hobbies. From sports, movies, and music to food, pets, and travel, they connect with people who have similar hobbies, or search for information that will support their lifestyle interests, including entertainment and education.
Enthusiasts tend to be younger, more affluent, are less likely to have children, and are active on email, Facebook, and Twitter. However, they view each channel as serving its own distinct purpose. They rely on email for promotions and in-depth content that doesn’t make as much sense on social networks. They use Facebook to show their support for their favorite brands, and they use Facebook and Twitter to network with other Enthusiasts.
Consumer Profile Tool
Last year Forrester’s Social Technographics® created a social profile tool that classifies consumers into six overlapping levels of participation. Based on their survey data you can see how participation varies among different groups of consumers, globally.
Digital Morning Interactive Tool
I highly recommend you to go download The Social Profile report and see what consumer persona you fall under. After you’re done reviewing the report I recommend checking out another another tool that shows you where your customers start their day online.
Digital Morning will reveal whether your customers wake up to Email, Facebook, or Twitter, so you know where to deliver your messages, and what to say.
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