If a bar had the opportunity to replace its bartender with a bartending machine, do you think it should? Even if the machine could hold a decent conversation because it was operated by a real person, do you think the bar would be as successful as one that used the real deal? Hold that thought, as we'll be returning to it soon.
Anonymous online communities have a bad reputation; but essentially they’re just powerful tools for collaboration and the spread of information. They can be used for good or ill.
One of the reasons the series rose in fame was because anyone who liked the series could be open about it, regardless of gender or age, in the anonymous community of 4chan. Since users could not be identified, there were no consequences, such as the social embarrassment of men admitting they liked a cartoon show for girls (it's not as creepy as it sounds, as My Little Pony was also designed with parents in mind). [Ed. note: It is as creepy as it sounds.] The community participants were far more forthcoming with information and honesty using the identity of “anonymous poster” than they would ever be on a network like Facebook.
The lesson for brands to learn here is that if they really want to know what people are thinking, give them the option of talking from behind a mask. This allows brands to achieve the following:
Calmly and fairly handle complaints. On anonymous communities, people are more apt to complain (and do so rudely), creating opportunities for the brand to demonstrate superior customer service in its responses and instill confidence from the target market.
Put privacy back into the hands of the consumers. Anonymous commenting gives the choice of privacy back to users, making them feel empowered.
Generate more comments. When people don't have to create yet another sign-up name and password, they are more likely to keep the discussion flowing.
Of course, the two major disadvantages of this approach are noise pollution from low-value comments and the amount of moderation required -- as news outlets will attest.
Ironically, to really reap the benefits of anonymous communities, a brand will have to give up its shield of anonymity and engage completely, allowing its employees to speak out on its behalf. A brand listening on a network is a faceless entity, inhuman and untrustworthy. A Scott Kinoshita who works for a brand on a network, however, is Scott Kinoshita first and a representative of the brand second.
Scott is human, he has a face, he is the bartender for The Brand (I told you we'd come back to it). Not only is a very human "bartender" more personable and transparent, but individuals who never wore a mask to begin with lend a distinctively authentic voice to their organization. The bartender becomes a familiar, trusted face the community opens up to.
While the setup of anonymous networks with "naked" organizations will have its fair share of challenges, it also offers a combination of consumer privacy with transparent engagement for brands, potentially generating superior data, engagement, and loyalty.
An anonymous community won't be appropriate for every organization, but it gives back consumers what they've lost -- privacy -- while offering brands the benefits of social networking.
"doesn't the most meaningful data come from knowing who the users are who are engaging with your brand on a social network?"
Maybe.
People can hide their data, can use personas, or simply choose not to engage as a matter of distrust. The anonymous element is an option, not a requirement. Those who really want to engage, who want their identities known are welcome to do so.
But providing an anonymous option allows those who don't trust the brand yet, or don't want to share all their data to still give their feedback and be heard.
By responding to intelligent anonymous feedback in a respectful way the brand builds trust. I remember you're not so found of companies being so grabby with your data, Nicole. Wouldn't it be nice for once if the control was given back to you? To let you say what the company may or may not know about you?
What if during account registration, for any field you had the option of "None of your business" or "I don't trust you enough yet to tell you that". So if you filled in nothing, you could be anonymous (other than your IP obviously). If you just filled in your name, you could always go back and say "OK, I trust you enough now to tell you X".
After all, do you give everyone you know all your personal details -- or do you wait to get to know them first and build up some trust?
I've noticed that analytics can fill in a lot of the gaps, and besides -- the less personally identifiable information the company has, the less lawsuits it has to deal with later if anyone breaks into it.
I think the more a company needs feedback from the target market, the more it should embrace anonymous networks. Not having require yet another password, not needing another log-in, not having to share one's social media account with yet another data-grabby organization removes a lot of obstacles that might discourage that oh-so-valuable feedback and opportunity to engage.
For example, McDonald's would be less suitable for an anonymous network; they know they have a lot of detractors, a massive market, and I don't think the brand is ready to engage them on that kind of level. It would require a lot of monitoring and more transparency than I think management is ready for. (This is more from my experience with McD's on Twitter)
It is an interesting idea, but I agree that most brands are now deeply invested in the idea of getting to know their consumers, and engaging with them as personally as possible.
Scott, I had one other question about your post. You write: "While the setup of anonymous networks with 'naked' organizations will have its fair share of challenges, it also offers a combination of consumer privacy with transparent engagement for brands, potentially generating superior data, engagement, and loyalty."
Interesting points. But doesn't the most meaningful data come from knowing who the users are who are engaging with your brand on a social network? Seems like the brand could lose out here.
Scott, interesting blog. I'm wondering what types of organizations/brands you think would best benefit from this idea? You note that it's not for everyone, and I agree. And I'm still not sold on this in general, but I'm curious to know which types of companies you think should and shouldn't try this.
@Paul Whyte: I think the guidelines I can offer would depend on both the goals of the organization, the organizational culture, the kind of market they currently engage and the kind of target market they want to engage.
As far as goals go, anonymous networks with transparent brands work towards building up trust, reducing the risk associated with doing business with the brand, and getting critical feedback on products, practices and image. The anonymous network is sales support and follow-up
If management isn't willing to buy-in to trying something new, if they're stuck in doing things they way 'they've always been done', then don't even bother. I guess the short version is that if the culture isn't one of engagement already, don't try to work a network with an anonymous option.
The organization will also need to have a game-plan in place to handle spammers and hijakcers when they occur in a way that doesn't disrupt the day-to-day engagement. (4chan uses CAPTCHA)
Probably the biggest factor though will the nature of the target market itself. The broader the interests and appeal your network has, the more moderation and work it will take to maintain.
A key advantage of an anonymous-option network I neglected to mention is the fact that it doesn't require an account to leave feedback, making it easier for the target market to speak. The harder feedback is to come by, the more suitable an anonymous network becomes.
Yes, that dialogue today is more than it was in the past - it's a vital part of the 2.0 existence of brands and customer relations.
As a marketing research guy, I know that the vast majority of the customer base doesn't engage but the fringes do and when the middle ground does participate in this conversation it is a very important thing. They tend to remain quiet until really pushed to a REALLY LIKE or a REALLY DISLIKE -- and this is very valuable to companies, a measure of something bigger if there suddenly happens to be a lot more "chatter"
The personal data issue is one which hasn't changed in the lessening, and has moved more toward the "more protection is better"
"An anonymous community won't be appropriate for every organization, but it gives back consumers what they've lost -- privacy -- while offering brands the benefits of social networking."
So can you help us with any guidelines to help organization decides as to whether an anonymous community is appropiate for them or not?
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