It’s not the numbers, it’s the trends

Insightful short think-piece from Chris Brogan on the natural ebb and flow of conversations:

“Conversations ebb and flow. Our interest levels in something come and go. Our attraction to something can come and go. It’s part of life”

As he points out, you can’t expect people to be interested in, or talking about, everything all of the time. Steady or predictable volumes of word of mouth are far less useful than the patterns and trends revealed by their ebb and flow, as these form the basis of understanding WOM triggers. Why are people talking about this now, and not then? How do the cycles of their interest and engagement work?

It’s also a reminder of the importance of adopting a sustained approach to WOM, rather than jumping on every spike and dip in a reactionary way. Data is only meaningful over time and with context; conversation is inherently capricious. Long-term engagement must respect and develop these dynamics, not try and hold them still.

Read the full post here.

Brought into the world on Friday, February 13th, 2009 and filed under Uncategorized.