Business
Cultivating communities: the best way to be and feel protected?
- By Nurun Lab TEAM | Culture October 6th, 2011
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Illustration: Dondy RazonAs is the case in many sectors, businesses find their roots in local communities where the needs are addressed by local solutions. This used to be the case with financial services, such as banking (Desjardins Bank in Québec was born to help the French rural community of New England access credit offers), but it was also true for insurance services. First providing protection to the community of overseas merchants, every group started creating their own closed circuit insurance system based on their specific needs and risks. Such was the case for The California State Firefighters’ Association in the U.S. or the MAIF in France, designed to provide teachers with car insurance packages. Being part of a community was a key factor in feeling protected, as the community supported its members through good and bad.
With globalization, companies have grown national, even worldwide. But, some have lost touch with the local community where they laid their roots.
Today, digital – and especially thanks to the social spheres and virtual communities it recreates – could help bring back the mutual structure of insurance and foster the community and local protection feeling that was first at the root of such a system.
Some companies have already paved the way for this type of initiative, such as friendsurance that pulls in friends from the user’s Facebook account to provide help to cover a fellow member’s claim. It’s a great way to recreate community and a sense of protection for insurers, but also to minimize the risk of fraud associated with services offered by unknown brokers from multinational insurance companies. A win-win offer for sure, but will insurers be fast enough to change their business models before consumers take the lead and create their own system?
Google+ brand implications
- By Nurun Atlanta TEAM | Culture, Social, Strategy September 12th, 2011
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From left: Claire Scully and Lauren Thomas, Nurun Atlanta.
As the social media landscape becomes more disjointed, brands need to develop and maintain an appropriate presence on multiple social networks to connect with audiences and fish where the fish are. Marketers have to expand their media reach, increase media spends and get more creative in order to engage with an increasingly fragmented audience.
Now, with the rapid growth of Google+, the question persists: what does this mean for my brand? Though the social network does not currently support business use, business pages are expected to launch in late-2011 and here are a few things we’re looking forward to exploring:
- Advertising: If Google+ expands upon Google’s search and Display Networks, advertisers may have new opportunities to fine-tune media to reach niche audiences by leveraging information about users’ web, search and social behaviour.
- Analytics: Analytics and ROI are the Holy Grail of social media marketing. When Google+ business pages launch with Analytics and Adwords, marketers will have a new way of tracking Web activity and conversions to better understand how their social media initiatives impact the bottom line. The integration of Analytics within Google+ business pages will create one of the most robust analytics offerings in the space.
- Innovation: Competition fuels innovation. As Google+ continues to grow, it will force other networks to evolve at an accelerated pace. For example, Facebook is already responding to the Google+ “Circles” feature by making it easier for users to share information with specific people. When Google+ launches business pages, other social networks will have no choice but to offer more robust analytics and insights to stay competitive.
So what can brands do now to prepare for the launch of Google+ business pages?
- Get your Google house in order
- Optimize digital content for search and social sharing
- Update (or launch) a YouTube channel
- Claim business listings on Google Places
- Experiment with services like Google Offers and City Pages
- Align digital marketing strategies with business goals and with the needs and interests of target audiences
What do you think is next for Google+? And how do you think this new social network will impact the digital landscape?
Written by Claire Scully and Lauren Thomas
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