Share and Earn to monetise social networks

Social networks are a big industry. They have billions of members, and draw more attention than nearly any other form of media. 

That gets plenty of marketers and advertisers excited, but it can also pose a very real problem.

How can businesses monetise a social network? 

Many people have tried simple banner advertising, but that can be expensive and is more and more prone to ad blindness. 

A new way of reaching an audience using social media is to incentivise customers not only to buy but to pass on deals to their friends. It is this sort of model that has seen Groupon become the fastest-growing company of all time in the US. 

This is the idea behind On Holiday Group chief executive Steve Endacotts' latest venture, Share and Earn. . He presented his strategy in a debate with Google's Daniel Robb at this year's TTE. During their conversation, Endacott accused Google of monopolising the search market by buying up the competition. Robb countered that Google's dominance is due to its ability to provide superior service and that it welcomed competition. 

While the two could not agree on whether Google was a monopoly, they both saw monetizing social media as a priority. For Endacott, that means proceeding with Share and Earn. He said, "We came up with the first personal affiliate scheme. What we are trying to do is incentivise our customers in a very simple low admin way to promote our offers. So we came up with Share and Earn." 

 

The company sends out weekly travel offers to customers that can be viewed and shared via social networks. 

Anyone can refer offers to a friend, and if that friend buys, the first person gets paid. This system takes advantage of personal recommendations which Endacott feels are the most influential to customers. 

He said his company is not a replacement for Google [although the original name was Google Bypass until the search engine's lawyers got involved] but it does provide a way around the search giant. 

"Companies have got to look at using their customers. Customer loyalty, if they rely on Google, is inherently going to be low because every time people put a company's brand into a search they get 20 other names popping up against it, unless of course you are a major brand and you can influence Google," Endacott said. 

He believes people can use this social monetisation model to augment current paid search options and SEO. 

The idea is to pay for successful referrals using the money that would have gone to Google. As Endacott himself conceded, this type of social monetisation is still in its infancy, but it could soon be helping companies tap in to the vast potential of social networks. 

travolution.co.uk