In an earlier post I wrote about a shift in consumer thinking.  A shift from materialism towards experientialism.  In that post I also touched on social currency, specifically around what brands needed to do in order to play a role in the social networking environment. In simple terms, social currency is a commodity used to assist people make new or nourish existing personal network connections.  That commodity might be a news item, a joke, an interesting video, anything really.  Anything that has value to the recipient is valid social currency and is therefore likely to be shared or spread throughout a network. But just like in the finance markets, not every dollar is created equally and brands shouldn’t trade in weak currency. 

The easiest way to measure the strength of your currency is to gauge how well it has spread.  Items that have propagated throughout the network deeply, are obviously more highly valued than items that do not. So the question is, if brands wish to participate in social networks by creating spreadable content - is there a framework on which to base creative or application development to ensure campaign efficacy?

I read David Bodanis’ book E = MC² a few years back and was blown away by how much scientific history could be distilled down into such a simple equation.  Its elegance is inarguable and serves as the inspiration for the following {tongue_firmly_in_cheek}.

social currency (value)  = passion x insight x relevance

Actual measurement (efficacy) has to be done after the fact of course, but I believe that by focusing on the three variables of passion, insight and relevance we can ensure that we are creating campaigns that will genuinely add value to our customers’ network connections.

Passion

Without passion, content loses authenticity.  Without authenticity there can be no credibility.  Without credibility...well you get it.  Just because the media is cheap doesn’t mean you should accept sub-standard ideas.  And for the same reason why scrimp on production quality?  The old adage - you get out what you put in, inevitably still applies.  

Insight

Without insight, it’s likely that whatever you deliver, will be in the me-too category and will have a much harder job of cutting through the clutter.  It’s therefore important to understand exactly what an insight is, or rather what it needs to be in order to have value.   I found a great post at adliterate that speaks of an insight being a revelation, not merely the raw product of research. The post states that,

An insight is an astonishing disclosure about real people, the brands they use, or the world they live in.

It’s also important to realise that insights are semi-durable, i.e. they don’t last forever and importantly, you won’t own them past your first campaign.  It’s therefore critically important to keep dialogue going in order to pick up on shifts in thinking or reactions to environmental change i.e. to discover new insights!

Relevance

Relevance is closely tied to insight, I think of it as the cumulative sum of all customer knowledge as currently expressed by the brand. If insight keeps you at the edge of your game, relevance ensures you’re on the right playing field.  It’s your right to be there. If you can’t demonstrate that your brand is relevant, then your clever content will be wasted.  Don’t get me wrong, if it’s really clever it may well get initial views, however without relevance it will have little impact as a marketing tool.