Groups and Social Media

types of social power - referent power = parents - legitimate power = police - reward power = judge on TV - information power = Wikilinks - expert power = scientists - coercive power = bullies

(examples of all) - referent - legitimate - reward - information - expert - coercive

social power

capacity to alter the action of others

buzz agents

consumers who promote products; serve as "opinion leaders"; (ex. ambassador programs on college campuses)

Dispreferred Marketer Effect

couch negative product reviews in soft terms to avoid looking harsh/judgemental

social identity theory

each of us have several "selves" that relate to groups

minimal group paradigm

even when people are arbitrarily assigned to a group, they tend to favor those who are placed in the same group

(S.T.E.P.P.S.): 1) Social currency - people care about how they appear to others 2) Triggers - something easy to remember about a product to keep it top of mind 3) Emotion - when we care, we share 4) Public - "build to show, build to grow" 5) Practical value - news you can use 6) Stories - vessels of info that get passed along

factors that drive online sharing:

opinion leader

frequently able to influence others' attitudes and behaviors; valuable sources; **socially active (involved, connected)

viral marketing

getting customers to sell a product (or idea)

megaphone effect

individual blogger's ability to share opinions on products with large number of online people/followers

deindividuation

individual identities become submerged its in a group

WOM (word of mouth) communication

product info transmitted by individuals to individuals; more reliable form of mktg; influence 2/3 of sales

network effects

recommendation systems become stronger and more accurate the more people engage in a net

- minimize logo use - use emotion, but keep interest (people get bored easily) - target the influentials

recommendations for creating viral content

- luxuries rather than necessities - socially conspicuous

reference group influences are stronger for purchases that are...

Homophily

the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms of education, social status, and beliefs

sociometric methods

trace communication patterns among members; maps of group interactions

- membership (people we know) - aspirational (people we don't know) - avoidance (those we don't want to be like) = negative reference group

types of reference groups (3)

wisdom of crowds perspective

under the right circumstances, groups are smarter than the smartest people in it

Red Sneakers Effect

we assume someone who makes unconventional choices is more powerful or competent

spotlight effect

we over estimate how much attention others give to us; (ex. bad hair days = EVERYONE notices)

reasons to conform

1) cultural pressures 2) fear of deviance (sanctions given to non-conformers) 3) commitment 4) group unanimity 5) susceptibly to interpersonal influence (want others to think highly of them 6) environmental cues (warm room = more likely to conform)

* 7 actors commit to the obviously wrong answer, the 8th real person will conform to the group's wrong answer; when test alone they guess correct answer

Asch Conformity Experiment

false; people weight negative WOM more heavily than positive

T/F: People weight positive WOM more heavily than negative WOM

true

T/F: Generalized opinion leader < monomorphic expert

true

T/F: Marketers shouldn't over look surrogate consumers

brandfest

a corporate-sponsored event intended to promote strong brand loyalty among customers

surrogate consumer

a marketing intermediary hired to provide input into purchase decisions; (ex. interior decorator, stockbroker)

brand community

a set of consumers who share a set of social relationships based on usage or interest in a product

serial reproduction

a technique to study how information changes as people transmit it to another where each person has to repeat the stimulus for the next person

lurkers

absorb content that others post rather than contributing their own

reference group

actual or imaginary groups that significantly influence an individual's evaluations, aspirations, or behaviors

market maven

one who accumulates knowledge - actively involved in collecting and transmitting marketplace information of all types - just into shopping and aware of what is happening in the marketplace - overall knowledge of how and where to get products

social loafing

people don't devote as much to a task when their contribution is part of a group; (ex. people tend to tip less in a large group)

principle of least interest

person who is least committed to relationship has the most power because that party doesn't care if they get rejected