This connection came to me during a coaching session with Carlos Pou, MD from Puerto Rico. I told him I’d give him the credit for helping this idea come together.
So many marketing companies struggle when explaining why marketing on social networking sites is growing in importance. The stand-by reasons are: 1) the ability to reach a very focused demographic, 2) the volume of users (now that there are more Facebook profiles than US citizens) and 3) the easy ability to connect through others to a wide audience. All of these factors are true about social networking sites but none of these is the most important reason to market on Facebook in my opinion. Those factors describe the nature of the tool. I think the most important reason to market on Facebook is the nature of the user... and how they spend their time.
Facebook users spend leisure time on the site and in the network. And, what is leisure time? In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey offers a simple time management system. It has two principles: Importance and Urgency. Facebook networking occurs in Quadrant 4, Not Urgent and Not Important. It’s important to know what makes people retreat to Quadrant 4. What makes you want to relax? Stress is a main factor which leads us to Quadrant 4. It is understood that the more time you spend in Quadrant 1, under fire with Urgent and Important things to do, the more you need to unwind in Quadrant 4. Also, many people cannot focus for long periods or are motivated by social interaction or are by nature playful. All of these factors result in more time being spent in Quadrant 4, doing something not important and not urgent.
So, Facebook is quickly becoming a place where a lot of leisure time is spent. With time comes attention and opportunity. That is why this is an important environment to make marketing inroads. What should keep you coming back is knowing that this is a Quadrant 4 outlet and the factors that drive people to Quadrant 4 are not going to ever change. The need to recharge and relax is immediate and frequently needed.
If you think this is just a theory, then look no further than your own television. Broadcast TV rapidly grew from minimal programming in the early 50s. Eventually, it has grown to hundreds of niche stations available on broadcast, cable and satellite. Why? Because it is where we go for some Quadrant 4 time. And the advertisers followed because they wanted to be where people wanted to spend time.. easy time. Facebook is the same way right now. Quadrant 4 has not changed, only the options for touching people in their Quadrant 4 have. If you have any questions about how to do this for your practice, contact me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com
