Mini-Explosions

If social media is TNT (Trust, Network, Time), then perhaps it has the characteristics of dynamite. But dynamite is really one big explosion and social media has the effect of a bunch of small, or mini, explosions that ripple through your network. It can happen quickly, but the viral spread of information happens through a large number of small connections that reach more communities. The power of your message and communication will determine the number of explosions and how long the ripple effect will last. Done effectively, the exponential effects can be profound.

Consider the following:

You tweet 1000 followers

10% re-tweet to 1000 followers (100,000 have now received your message)

5% re-tweet again to 1000 followers (5,000,000 have now received your message)

Of course, you can change the variables and the number of mini-explosions, but the exponential effect remains. So, in the above example, one 140 character message reaches 5,000,000 individuals. Those that received the message were somewhat pre-qualified by the "trusting" nature of social media. Let's say that only 1% (5,000) buy a $500 product from you. You have just made $2,500,000. Again, you can adjust the variables, but the ROI can be significant.

This may be somewhat unrealistic, however, because there likely needs to be more marketing involved...initiatives with more hi-density content...and additional sales involvement. Again, I would contend, however, that the ROI is significantly larger than a traditional direct mail or telemarketing campaign, where the additional hi-density content and sales engagement will still be required.

Our goal, as channel marketers, is to create content that will maximize the number and size of the mini-explosions.