With cyber communities proliferating online, the concept of a global village has become reality. These virtual social networks unite people around shared interests, ideals, and ideas.
They may also be the next big opportunity for marketers, Nielsen Online EVP Pete Blackshaw writes in Nielsen Consumer Insight.
Blackshaw notes that savvy marketers are already monitoring online chatter to learn how to craft marketing messages to more effectively target key consumer segments.
Eventually, he predicts, marketers will court influential members of cyber communities to generate positive buzz around their companies and products.
“Companies should look for logical ways to create organic connections between products and services and key influencers…and incorporate social networking sites into media plans,” Blackshaw advises.
