Social Media Lurkers:  They are Everywhere

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to experience South by Southwest, known to the social media crowd and those like me who use Twitter religously as #SXSW, in Austin Texas.  The one word that comes to mind to describe it is "wow".   The new technologies and ways to connect, communicate, and market our companies with customers available now and in the not too distant future are mind numbing.   And, the venture capital being put behind these new technologies confirms that investors believe in them.

A group of us with about 40+ years of social media and online community experience presented on a panel about Lurkers on Social Media sites.  As a follow up to my last post titled Social Media Lurkers:  Are They The Most Important Community Members, which has received a number of comments,  I thought I would share one of the key data points.

Attendee Feedback From SXSW  

We determined throughout a group exercise that all of us, without exception, either lurk in communities or have at one point.  Why is this important?  Over the years, the vast majority of people I know, from environmental consultants to stay-at-home parents to college students, tell me that they are not comfortable with posting.  However, they now are on social media sites regularly and feel like they don't add any value.  That could not be further from the truth.  Have you ever shared something you found valuable with your networks, perhaps over coffee, or maybe recommended a product you read about, or perhaps shared some insight on how to handle a problem?  Then, you have added value to your communities.    

In the last month, not a day goes by when a commonground member who was skeptical at first admits they are receiving tremendous value from many social media sites.  The majority still prefer to read vs participate, but two years ago we were thrilled to have 2-3 comments in a day.  Today, we have 35-50/day regularly.  For our most scenic photo contest:

• 86% of photos submitted were from members who are commonground newbies (not industry newbies)
• 88% of these members hadn't posted anything in the past 6 months
• 86% of these members had never posted anything ever before to cg -our first time posters on average have been members on cg for over 21 months and the contest enticed them to post.

To our first time posters, thank you.  For those of you who have never posted and think about whether you should, it is time to stop overanalyzing it.  Everyone I know does the same thing to a certain extent and 100% of the people in Texas, arguably the group who use social media collectively more than any group out there, are all lurkers too - without exception!

Moving forward, let's think of ourselves as "learners" consuming information in the ways that work for us.    When the time or topic is right, we just might jump into the conversation, check in on Foursquare, or sign up for Twitter account. 

For now, know that you are in good company so join the conversation when or if the time is right.  For those of you who recently have, we look forward to learning from you.

Additional Blogs and Resources from SXSW on Lurkers:

Social Media Clubhouse – What I learned lurking around the sxswlurkers hashtag

Urban Life Digital Magazine – Learning at SXSW

Corporate Executive Board – Are you neglecting your most important community members