I can't entirely agree with "Nike+ attracts only serious runners...", I have been a member of that site for just about a year now. I am in no way a serious runner, just some one who was looking for a good way to train for a short (one-time) race and get some encouragement.

I would definitely call the site very interactive, as well as 'cool'. I wouldn't immediately think to call the site 'social' though.

To be honest, I hadn't logged in in a few months. I guess it has grown a bit. However, I always felt that the social aspects felt very disconnected. This is mainly due to how everything was so based on rigid forms and processes (not to mention all Flash based!). I never felt very much like I was communicating with other members.

Aside from a few teams, most were never very well populated, and the events they pushed were few and never anywhere except the most major of metropolises.

So maybe it was partially due to me not getting into the community. But I'll say that I never felt like I could connect with another human w/ personality and feeling. It was just too detached.

Now, forgiving these issues, it is a great interactive site with the capability for social interactive and the possibility of being enhanced to a great social site.

I do think this was a great brand building experience and a way to build a strong relationship with customers. Until now I could have cared less about nike, specifically because I'm not a sports nut. But now I do have positive opinion of them and an emotional connection.

Kudos to nike+, but let's see it be more social in the future.

Your question 'Could it be that companies that disparage social media haven’t developed the right strategy to maximize its potential as a marketing tool?' is a good one, but maybe the problem is that these companies just haven't 'got' what social media is about: people sharing and creating, individuals having choice and having control. It's not just another vehicle in which to peddle marketing messages.

You can be sure Nike did not say to themselves 'how can we maximize the potential of social media as a marketing tool?'

Nike's strategy has always been to embed itself in the lives and hearts of people who are serious about their sports. Moving into social media is just a logical step for them, because wherever sports people are congregating, be it offline or online, Nike will be there also.

Social media requires different thinking from brands - I would suggest that the successful ones, before jumping in, will be asking themselves not 'what are we getting out of this?' but rather 'what is everyone getting out of this?'

(Disclosure: I am a former Nike marketer)

Ted,

I never thought of myself as a serious runner either, although there was a time when I ran 5 - 15 miles a day, five days a week. That said, in my experience runners are a "tribe" that love to interact with each other.

Nike is capitalizing on that social characteristic. Therefore, I'm not sure you can transfer the success of a sportswear social media site to other businesses, especially those that are B2B or B2C non-retail.

Adam,

Thanks for taking the time to add many great insights to this post. The fact that you find Nike's site a bit cumbersome deters you from using it as the "social media" site it was set up to be. Hopefully, Nike will streamline its processes so that users will be more likely to interact with each other. Overall, though, your impressions of the site seem very positive. I also like your observation that one doesn't have to be a serious runner to get involved on the site. That might encourage DF readers to check it out. Your statements say it all: "Until now I could have cared less about nike, specifically because I'm not a sports nut. But now I do have positive opinion of them and an emotional connection."

Thanks, Adam, for weighing in.

Robin,

I'm not sure I agree with your statement (even though I respect the fact you were a former Nike marketer): "You can be sure Nike did not say to themselves 'how can we maximize the potential of social media as a marketing tool?'" As a very savvy company, I think Nike launched this site--and sees social media--as a potentially strong marketing tool.

I do love what you said here: "Moving into social media is just a logical step for them, because wherever sports people are congregating, be it offline or online, Nike will be there also." Spot on, Robin.

This is also worth reiterating: "Social media requires different thinking from brands - I would suggest that the successful ones, before jumping in, will be asking themselves not 'what are we getting out of this?' but rather 'what is everyone getting out of this?'" Very well put.

Thanks, Robin, for your sharing your insights with us. Much appreciated.

You're very right, Lewis: runners are a tribe. And there are many other tribes out there: the Apple tribe, of which I'm a member, for example; the Harley-Davidson tribe, the Hannah Montana tribe, etc. This kind of social media site won't work for every brand; I concur with that, as well. The point for B2B and non-retail, service-oriented companies is: what kind of model will work? If companies are interested in tapping into their customers who are congregating online to some extent--some more than others--what will engage them? That's the question.

Do any Daily Fix readers know of engaging B2B or service social media sites out there? I'd love to have you weigh in, if you do.

Thanks, Lewis, as always, for making some very cogent observations.

Ted,

I'm not a runner, but I did visit the Nike site. One thing that immediately caught my eye is the pitch on the bottom of the page for Nike's latest shoe. I wonder if a better approach would have been to hide that link deeper in the pages, or just a "learn more about Nike shoes" hyperlink. It smacks of "selling".

Blasphemy I know (since most marketers would probably argue that selling is one key goal of the site), but I suppose I would have preferred a more subtle approach.

Ted,

I think those of us who are B2B Marketing Consultants find social media useful and profitable. But not because our clients use social media but instead our blogs serve as better places than web sites for our clients to make buying decisions regarding our firms.

I suspect many feel as you do, Paul, resisting social media sites that are blatantly used to sell merchandise. . .however, that is just what Nike has done with its sports kits here. It's subtle in a way--appealing to runners in a special manner--but it's there. If you were a runner, Paul, would you feel differently though? Especially if you could use the site to form relationships with other runners? That's the key question, I think.

Thanks for adding your thoughts to the post, Paul. I appreciate your input.

Yes, I'm aware that many consultants use blogs to communicate their value to prospective clients, Lewis. I'm wondering though: do you ever advise your clients, who may very well offer services vs products B2B or B2C, to launch blogs of their own? If so, what kinds of blogs have you suggested they develop?

Thanks for adding a great deal to this discussion, Lewis.

Ted,

My clients are mostly B2B and to date we have talked more about their presence in social networking than in social media. The reason: My clients, many of whom have no marketing or communications departments, would be forced to outsource to me with no end in sight or add a hire.

The first option works for the short-term but eventually a business should be hands on when it comes to social media. The second option is not a viable one for my clients in terms of either ROI or Value returned.

Lewis,

Thanks for shedding light on this. This is important: social media isn't for everybody and it isn't the end all-be all. It can be effective as one marketing tool among many, but a balanced approach is key, isn't it? Also: many small businesses simply do not have the resources to make this work. Then there is the issue of the "value" proposition. SM isn't viable for every business. For those businesses, networking is the way to go. With all the hoopla around all of this, it's important to really think it all through. That's obviously what you've done and do for your clients. They're lucky to have you, Lewis.

I totally agree with Adam. Nike has a great foundation but has not leveraged the social aspect of it. The have had success with it because it is easy to use and provides value to the user. I think they could drive a lot more growth and financial success by enabling more social aspects and adding features such as shoe tracking, 3rd party race results, other work outs, information, etc. They are the leading brand in the sports and fitness world and they have the ability to satisfy an unmet need online. Personally I don't wear Nike shoes but they can still influence my clothing and accessory purchases.

No mention of Nike's shameful racism and the recent multi-million dollar court settlement for discriminating against black employees at its Chicago store, including white managers liberally tossing around the word, "nigger?"

Success indeed. Don't support this company.

Garrett,

Both you and Adam have posted some viable insights and you have taken another step and made suggestions on how Nike might improve the social aspects of its site. Let's hope they're listening to the input from users and consumers in general.

Your statement is a testament to the strength and power of the Nike brand: "Personally I don't wear Nike shoes but they can still influence my clothing and accessory purchases."

Thanks for weighing in, Garrett. Good stuff.

LaTonja,

Yes, there were allegations and a suit filed in the Chicago area which was settled this past summer. DF readers can read about it in numerous places on the Internet, this article among them:
http://www.civilrightslawfirms.com/topics.cfm/african-american-racism.html

When allegations like these surface, consumers decide whether the actions of a few employees taint their entire perception of the company enough to refuse to purchase their products or not. The actions of employees always reflect back on the company, for good and for ill. When bad things happen, companies need to take control of the situation--in a meaningful and transparent manner--or be faced with a loss of customer trust and faith. This does inestimable damage to their brand. P&G CEO Alan Lafley once said that customers vote on brands every day--with their pocketbooks. He was absolutely right.

Thanks for sharing your perspective with us, LaTonja.

My colleague Perry Hewitt (CMO at crimsonhexagon.com) and I recently used Nike+ as an example of effective use of social media for a talk we gave to Pete Krainik's thecmoclub.com. I posted our analysis of Nike+ here:

http://www.octavianworld.org/octavianworld/2008/11/nike-yeat-another-good-structured-collaboration-example.html

A summary of the talk is here:

http://www.octavianworld.org/octavianworld/2008/11/cmo-club-talk-recap.html

Thanks, Cesar, for sharing our thoughts and those of your colleague on the Nike + site with us. Love it. Hopefully, these ideas will get some creative juices flowing out there...

As a runner, what Nike+ tells me is that Nike gets me. They know what running data is important to me, they know the types of people that I want to connect with, and they know that I want to run more than I want to be sold on Nike shoes. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find that this idea of 'Nike gets me' translates into shoe sales as well, because consumers think that if Nike understands their needs as a runner, then they must also understand what needs their feet have while running as well, and are able to design a shoe that caters to those needs.

Hi Cory,

As a runner and as the target for the Nike+ site, your input is invaluable. 'Nike gets me' demonstrates that the company has hit the nail squarely on the head with the launch of this new site. It is tailored to the unique needs of its core audience, isn't it? You are so right: . . ."consumers think that if Nike understands their needs as a runner, then they must also understand what needs their feet have while running as well, and are able to design a shoe that caters to those needs."

A well-constructed social marketing site can and should bring heightened brand awareness and help build sales, directly and indirectly. Thanks for weighing in, Cory. I appreciate it.

The one thing that I find hard to stomach is that someone from Nike is all proud on video about their brilliant idea, when they actually ripped the idea off a team of German inventors who had pitched it to them a few years earlier: http://www.brandeins.de/home/inhalt_detail.asp?id=2399 (German source, sorry.)

I don't read German, Martin, but some Daily Fix readers may, so they can view this for themselves. As I've stated in past blog posts, the whole area of intellectual property ownership is a cause for concern among entrepreneurs, inventors and companies these days. Not knowing the background in this instance makes it hard to make a judgment call. Many companies these days solicit ideas from outside sources and sometimes entrepreneurs freely discuss and share their ideas without getting any kind of patent on them, so they basically get thrown into the public domain. Then, there are instances where companies have independently come up with very similar ideas, as well.

Thanks for weighing in, Martin. I appreciate your adding another important dimension to this conversation.

I do not know about all that but I do know Nike is "running" the university I used to attend. To learn about Nike-governance at the University of Oregon and how the media has enabled it you can watch the six videos I recently posted at Utube. To find them use the search at the Utube site with keywords:nike university of oregon.