What it is that makes people line up 6, 12 even 24 hours in advance? Is it the deal? Being able to claim first in line?

Certainly price has always had a lot to do with it and even more so in this economy as evidenced by the degree of the deals being offered and the scrutiny they’re getting. But only a few get the $199 doorbuster TVs while hundreds more wait in line knowing they’ll be picking at far smaller deals – there has to be more. At the end of the day we’re talking about sacrificing personal comfort, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner [or at least a long conversation after it] for something that can often be matched online and savings that amount to just a few dozen dollars on items that are hardly necessities.

Great Deals + Sharing = The Black Friday Experience

If we put aside our brand / marketing hats for just a minute, pull out the social science degrees so many of us spent years working on, and put ourselves in the shoes of consumers I think we can see that the success of Black Friday it boils down to our social nature. No doubt the deal is essential but looking at the person to your right and left and realizing that you all share the same goal changes things from a deal into an experience, something you don’t have to quantify the measurable ROI from and are willing to do not just once but year after year. Add in the exclusivity — whether it’s a limited count doorbuster or making a “sacrifice” to just be there and it’s not surprising that many people find the whole event to be, well, fun.  Seeing how Black Friday checkins, social comments and posts have grown even faster than the lines is certainly a testament to our desire to participate with others about what really amounts to nothing more than shopping.

As I talked with people tonight and heard their excitement, even saw a few faces walk out the store after hours of waiting without a purchase or disappointed look, there’s no doubt that for businesses to thrive in this market means going beyond the price war and building on the sense of adventure, chance … of the Black Friday experience. In the race for the customer, the bottom price is not where you want to try and make your stand and yet without offering anything but a deal, its where so many have ended up to the point that 30% off no longer feels special.

As Black Friday Becomes an Event, Success Will Depend on More than Price

But this year with the big transition towards 12am openings, I saw new ideas being tested out there. Best Buy ran movies at select locations; Food Trucks were called in by malls, and straight giveaways like free water are becoming more and more common. It’s personal too: I watched security guards and store employees spend hours outside chatting and standing alongside the crowd when they could have just as easily remained inside their warm stores. All of these actions speak to the link between our customers and our brands – you can call it an incentive, a hook, but the result is that its building community and giving people a sense brands are relatable.

As we see more consumers take part in this communal shopping event, more stores will get into the early openings and offers will increase making it even more important to be seen in the right light, to be more than just a place looking to take people’s money but instead offering up a little empathy, some excitement and perhaps soon a free cup of coffee in exchange for 12 hours of someone’s time.

Of course 8 hours in line are quickly forgotten as the doors open and people rush as fast as they can “walk” towards that big offer – but as I watch people filtering out of this store and back to their cars, it’s clear that the experience is as much a part of their excitement as the savings that exist at 3:30am.

Gunnar Opticks provides “digital performance eyewear”. Yes, that’s a real category and according to the Gunnar marketing materials, a very important one given how much we stare at our monitors these days. For gamers vision become even more important as eye fatigue can lead to [virtual] death, as well as cause long term “real world” problems.  [my disclosure on gunnar optiks at the end of the post]

So what do you do when you’ve got a product that solves a problem people don’t know they have? You could talk up the benefits until you were blue in the face, or you could take the social road and get the top customers of arguably the top mainstream gaming system manufacturer in the world to do the talking for you. But getting people to talk requires them to have your product — and that’s where seeding comes into play.

Gunnar’s seeding program is straight forward – take the top 10 posters on the Alienware Arena forums, send them out a pair of shades and ask for their initial thoughts & a full review in return. Throw it all into its own sub-forum for branding & to keep the conversation visible and in less than a week you’ve got a few hundred comments and thousands of views from the core of your target market.

4 ways to social success with Gunnar’s seeding program

1. Encouraging honest reviews.

In their program overview the request is simple: Post an initial comment, in-depth review and final thoughts. No mention of the tone of the posts, no requirements for a good story, no pulling unknown members who may just be employees. It’s up to the, already respected, user. By not forcing “positive” you actually encourage it – transparency goes a long way to winning people over, add a solid product and you’re in business.

2. Asking for a follow up [keeping the conversation alive]

Gunnar didn’t just want to get a week’s visibility, they want mentions down the road and they want people to know the long term benefit too. So rather than taking a one hit & go approach they’ve asked for 3 phases of comments getting them 3 waves of exposure. On some forums people will put their gear & reviews right into their signature; it’s all about fitting into the individual community to make the most of it.

3. Engaging with the testers & other users

This isn’t set it & forget it. Gunnar’s done the right thing getting the forum staff involved and also bringing their own employees onto the site to answer questions and provide the facts. It’s full transparency since those employees are marked as a part of the company and are sticking towards the facts, offering positive thanks and leaving the opinion to the user. The seeding program shows their commitment to the community, the one to one engagement puts them in the “good brand” category.

4. Backing it up with sponsorship banners [the action opportunity]

You don’t want to stop in front of the finish line, you want to cross it. Gunnar’s program is all about conversation but with people talking, sharing comments, and hyping the product up, it’s essential to have a way for those not in the program, whether it’s other members or casual visitors of the site, to have a way to act. Gunnar chose to sponsor the forum their post is in with a few targeted banners – nothing too strong but an easy click to get members around the community into the area & reading the review.

As the Gunnar example shows, forum seeding is a great way to stir up conversation about a brand people may know about but not have tried or just aren’t talking about. In the world of community, nothing is going to outweigh a trusted member’s opinion on the overall perception of a product and getting involved with a few giveaways is at the same time a great way “in” to a community without having to worry about seeing as spamming or advertising – it’s value for consideration – a win all around.

* Disclosure:  I know the team at Gunnar [although finding this example was a pure coincidence thanks to @alienware on twitter] and use a pair of Gunnar 3D glasses and sunglasses in addition to my Oakley shades.

As the original social network, forums dominated the web for since the early days and have grown along the way. Often started as a hobby or network between friends, these small sites can reach hundreds of thousands, even millions of users and unlike the big networks, the topics can be very focused from Frequent Fliers to Disneyland Tricks to Headphones. But just as the close-knit community built and user to user focus of forums give them huge reputation power, it makes entering into them tricky to say the least.

Here 4-steps to getting involved and unlocking the potential of forums.

Understand the community, its membership and dynamics.

The first part of getting involved in any niche community is of course knowing the niche. I’m not talking about product expertise here but rather community – does the forum allow businesses to post? Does it have certain requirements for disclosing information? When can links be used? Is it owned by a company or a few friends? Does it have rivals? Who uses the site? Novices in the space or the top players or both?

Make a plan to integrate, not just advertise

In the past most companies considered a social strategy to mean placing ads on a site where customers could interact with each other; not exactly engaging and thankfully we’ve learned a lot since then but old habits die hard. While it’s easy to write a check and treat it as another opportunity for direct marketing, that’s not utilizing the opportunity and not likely to succeed.

This doesn’t mean going in and selling but educating, answering and simply participating is a huge win and done right, generally welcomed. Stick to the facts like when a product hits, how it works, what support is available [social support goes great with forums if you have the CSR staff]. Leave opinion, debate and subjective analysis to other members or at best referring to a previous post that gives it. By showing that you’re more than an ad you can demonstrate domain expertise and the experience your company offers.

United Airlines may not get a good rep in every post but having a representative on FlyerTalk.com, the world’s largest frequent flier site, to share company updates and respond to comments insures the FT users know the airline is, at least, listening. That’s a critical first step for driving business.

Leverage sponsorship to show your commitment to the community

Since most forums are self funding or even unprofitable businesses and hobbies, brands, especially larger ones, that come on board aren’t just buying advertising, they’re helping to keep the lights on.

Whether it’s on the site, at events or even at your own trade or press events, reminding your industry of the commitment your company is making to the community and the ability for users to share with in it is a strong message that you can leverage as your sponsorship continues on over time.  No matter how much people may dislike ads, or even question your brand, if done right your sponsorship becomes a symbiotic relationship.

When I founded Scubaboard.com in 2000 we had no idea it would grow to become the largest site [and community] in the dive industry. As we grow, so did costs, and our early advertisers stood up not for the exposure value but to drive something they saw potential in. Many years later, the owners of the site still call on them for events and posts: they are a part of the community.

Devise ways to put your product in front of the user honestly

Of course the goal of your involvement is to drive your business. Whether it’s gathering feedback, market research or seeding a new item, forums are an ideal place to learn and influence but it’s got to be done right.

When it comes to topical communities like forums, the single most effective way I’ve ever found to build positive influence [in more than 11 years of experience] is getting product in the hands of users through challenges or, for a more general product, open sampling.

It’s a simple concept – you invite users of the community to try the product by chiming in with a few details. After a couple days or weeks of collecting submissions your team, along with a representative from the forum, selects a number of “testers” spanning different interests, experience levels and statuses within the community. Each gets the product, theirs to keep, in exchange for an honest review on the forum [with disclosure of the freebie of course].  Keep it easy, transparent [that means allowing a review good or bad and promoting this heavily] and large enough to be seen.

A couple weeks after launch you’ll find that not only did you get a pile of reviews but chatter about your brand is up all over the forum, after all, you’re the guys who believe enough in your product to give it to people to test.

Just like on the major networks, the big leap in truly leveraging forums comes when you stop seeing it as a silo and start seeing it as a part of your communication strategy.

Integrating a community into your business process is like having your own open focus group of target customers 24x7x365. Input and commentary, whether it’s positive or negative, flows freely for those willing to take it and use it.  The more you give, the more  you get seen, known and trusted.

So if you’ve integrated your business with a community brought product in and are looking to what comes next, start thinking about how the community can exist within your business…

• Run new products by the community for first stage testing?
• Invite members to special events at trade or consumer events?
• Seed every launch out as a source for kick off marketing buzz?
• Bring commentary on products & your company into team meetings, reports, and the flow of business…. It’s not good until the community says it is.