Can Closed-Door Exclusive Social Networks Make Money?
Sean Carton | August 16, 2010
Excerpted from Clickz
Overall, most of us have looked at social media as a marketing tool, a way of driving traffic, building awareness, or building brand loyalty. But what if we looked at it as a way of driving revenue through access?
Social media: we all know that it’s a great marketing tool. Maybe it’s now time to start thinking about how to turn it into a revenue generating tool by making it less accessible to your audiences, not more.
My Take:
Closed door seems uncreative and Web 1.0-ish. Especially considering that marketers have yet to tap the rich potential offered by the Social Web to attach an actual dollar value to a service provided in a social transaction.
This can be done in a very "Webby" way - i.e.
- it can be done as a voluntary payment
- it can be paid after the value of the social transaction has been recognized - so it's not a "pay me now for value you may or may not get down the road" model like traditional advertising
- it can be distributed via the Web (PayPal, etc.)
- it can take brand affiliation to a new level and support affiliation with a cause (e.g. generating donations for charities)
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