Second Life for marketers

Any time I bring up Second Life when I am speaking or talking to clients I get this look like "What the hell are you smoking dude?". Do you know the look I am talking about? Well, this blog along with video are perfect to show you what Second Life is and what some of the do's and don'ts are.

Basically, Second Life is a virtual world enhabited by the avatar version of each community members. Avatars can ber completely customized to look like you or to look like a supermodel. It's up to you. The power of the medium comes from the level of personal interaction you can have with the population. Everything in Second Life has the ability to be connected to a web page, so if you want somebody to purchase something you can link them right to that page in the shopping cart.

Check out the video:


(I geeked out a bit at the end, but you can always tell a Bruckheimer movie/show if there is a spinning helicopter shot.)

DO

• Think before you enter this space and do your research
  
• Start small and build up as you learn
  
• Keep the momentum moving, don't let it stagnate
  
• Engage the community
  
• ALWAYS provide value! Ask yourself "does this provide value" and if it does not, scrap it
  
• Build something remarkable
  
• Remember you are in a virtual world, create something that you couldn't do in the real world
  
• Keep in mind this is ONE channel for your marketing message not THE channel
  
• Use video, audio and links to the web for content integration
  
• Engage, engage, engage. You will learn more by listening than anything else and you have to be there to do that
  

DON'T

• Pump all of your marketing efforts here, this is just one channel
  
• Jump in without looking
  
• Start with a massive build
  
• Abandon your area once built, have it staffed during certain hours (nothing is worse to a user than seeing a ghost town)
  
• Put yourself before the users
  
• Forget this is a community, it is people powered and they can make or break you
  
• Lose control of your brand and message. This different and think smart
  
• Forget video and audio to complete the experience to the user
  

Special thanks to Doug Meacham for walking me through his Second Life adventure and to Greg Verdino who has served as a guiding light for any marketer looking to enter this community. You guys rock!

One thing that Doug and I discussed is how in a couple of years you can expect more and more shopping to happen through virtual mall experiences where you can walk in to a store, try on clothing and buy it on the spot. Your avatar will have your measurements and clothing can be tailored to your build.

The low end of engagement with Second Life is about 30 minutes per session. What other way can you actively communicate with your customers one-to-one for 30 minutes? Let me know your feedback on this. The population is a little geeky and certainly early adopters, but it can be a powerful tool if you use it right.

More resources:

• Second Life
  
• Crayon
  
• Greg Verdino
  
• Doug Meacham
  
• Virtual World News
  

[Update: CC Chapman has a really great review of the new voice feature in Second Life. Check it out.]

Technorati Tags:
marketing, second life, innovation, interactive marketing, user generated content, trends, social marketing, Techno//Marketer, Matt Dickman, Greg Verdino, Doug Meacham

Comments

[Ryan Karpeles]

Thanks, Matt, for walking us through SL. You should've been a tour guide :) The possibilities really are endless with this. And it definitely rewards creativity and ingenuity.

It might be interesting to have Second Life sweepstakes where you give away chunks of real estate and create communities around your platform. (Have companies done this?)

I also like the idea of trying things out. This can definitely lower a multitude of risks for both company and customer.

Thanks again for sharing.

[Matt Dickman]

Hey Ryan -- Glad you like the video. I'd always wanted somebody to walk me through so I imagine other people feel the same way. It's really wild west stuff and people need to know what's possible.

To your question, Pontiac's Motorati area did just that. People submitted ideas and Pontiac gave land to the people with the best ideas. They then built the concepts and it's part of the experience. It's a great example of how to build and add value. Needless to say the time spent in that area of the world is among the highest of any marketer.

I still think having a scavenger hunt in SL would be a great way to engage people, involve them in the community and have some fun in the process. (This probably has already happened for all I know.)

The builds that I don't understand are the companies who replicate an exact model of a store for example. Why would you do the same thing when there are no limits to what you can do? If you were a coffee company, why not build an experience where you can "go" through the whole process on your way to the counter. You could travel to the tropics, pick the beans, roast them, etc. It's not feasible in the real world, but here it's perfect. Hell, you could even shape the store like a coffee cup and have steam coming out the lid. No limits.

[Toby]

Matt - Thanks for taking the time to develop this .. excellent!

[Ryan Karpeles]

I like the scavenger hunt idea a lot...

Another thing I like about SL is that you can have a ton of fun. Even the most boring brands in the world can come up with something clever and engage an otherwise passive crowd.

Like you said, companies who try to simply recreate real life will suffer. The potential to do the extraordinary abounds in Second Life. Why not take full advantage?

[Matt Dickman]

Toby -- I am glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the comment!

[Matt Dickman]

Ryan -- You're right on the money man. Just need to spread the word ;)

[Doug Meacham]

Matt, Excellent presentation of SL and thanks for the link love. A couple of other points for your readers:

1. "80% of internet users will have virtual world avatar by the end of 2011" (Gartner). So while most people today scratch their heads when you talk about SL, most will get it in just a few years.

2. "Do not expect to undertake profitable commercial activities inside most virtual worlds in the next three years" (also Gartner). The key take away here is that virtual worlds are not viable commerce channels - yet. They should be viewed as media.

[Matt Dickman]

Doug -- Thank you for that information. I appreciate the time you spent with me on it. You really helped crystallize some key points for me.

[Patrick Schaber]

Matt,
Great video! I haven't gotten into Second Life yet, but know it won't be far off when it's more common. Your video got me alot mroe interested!

[Matt Dickman]

Patrick -- That's awesome to hear. It's an interesting space for sure with a lot of potential. Just need to weigh the risks.

[Brad]

Great overview ... good to see this with all the antihype going on. I paid a visit to all the sims you mentioned ... Aloft gets the "SL for architecture" thumbs up, Coldwell for interactivity and Pontiac for community. To be honest, of all of them I thought Crayon sucked, They call themselves the SL guys and the whole place was empty! Not am employee in sight! I looked inside Crayon Towers (where they allegedly "live") and saw empty rooms... disappointing.

[Matt Dickman]

Brad -- Thank you for the comment and welcome! I'm really glad you surfed around SL and went to the locales that I talked about.

I am sorry that you found crayon empty. Like most of the sims in SL, I've seen them occupied and empty just depending on when I visit. I try to check back in the morning and evening just to gauge what's going on. Keep surfing around and if you'd like to meet up, let me know!