The Social Technographics Ladder by Forrester Research now includes Conversationalists too. Covering majorly the US crowd in their survey, the resulting ladder reflects the level of engagement as:
Creators (24%) includes an individual who
• Publish a blog
• Publish your own homepage
• Uploads audio/video/music you created
• Writes articles or stories and posts them
Conversationalists (33%) are the people who
• Update status on social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, etc.
• Posts updates on microblogging websites like Twitter
Critics (37%) are those who
• Post rating/reviews of products or services
• Comment on someone else’s blog
• Contribute on online forums and discussion groups
• Contribute to or edit articles in a wiki
Collectors (20%) include people who
• Use RSS feeds
• Vote for websites online
• Add “tags” to web pages or photos
Joiners (59%) are the ones who
• Maintain profile on social networking sites
• Visits other social media channels too
Spectators (70%) are the individuals who
• Read blogs, tweets, customer ratings/reviews and online forums
• Listen to podcasts
• Watch video from other users
Inactives (17%) are the people who don’t come under any of the category mentioned above.
With an addition of “Conversationalists” in this ladder showcases how effective it is to generate and spread conversation about a company. If the main goal/objective is to spread brand awareness, it would certainly be worthy to create a Twitter presence and reach out to those people conversing about your company or point them to a site where they can get rewards, encouragement, or connections with other customers. They might find interesting content that’s worth talking about.
