Brand Development for Second Life

Finally an article on what agencies are charging to develop marketing programs for brands in Second Life.

“An initial build might cost a client between $75,000 and $100,000. Another $50,000 might pay for six or so events at the site. Monthly support fees could add another $10,000 a month to the cost.”

But I’m disappointed that the article didn’t go further.

“Creating a virtual destination packed with interactive content takes more than an expert in the digital stitching that keeps “Second Life” together. Artists, writers, marketing gurus and others are often needed to develop everything from the look and design of a project to event programming within the space that will keep people coming back.”

Of course, no one says how they demonstrate a return on investment.

“A lot of these companies are treating it as marketing research and development.”

Great, so what are they learning?

“A good campaign, you can expect a lot of people to pick up and use your virtual product for hours.”

So how did people find out about it? What tactics were successful at driving traffic to the SL destination(s)?

I find it frustrating that these journalists gain access then get lazy and just regurgitate the basic info we’ve all read/know already.

Making Sense of Second Life Demographics

A recent Reuters article became a good source of Second Life statistics beyond the self reported activity stats on the Second Life Home Page.

The following statistics are based on data released by Linden Labs (owners of Second Life):

Gender self reported
60% male
40% female

The average Second Life user is 33, according to self-reported data

Age of active users:
18-25 27.5%
25-34 38.8%
35-44 21%
45+ 11.5%

On the teen grid, where ages range from 13 to 17, the average age was 15.

Active residents by country:
United States 31.19%
France 12.73%
Germany 10.46%
United Kingdom 8.09%
Netherlands 6.55%
Spain 3.83%
Brazil 3.77%
Canada 3.30%
Belgium 2.63%
Italy 1.93%

“Europeans make up the largest block of Second Life residents with more than 54 percent of active users in January ahead of North America’s 34.5 percent, according to new Linden Lab data.”

“In a related blog post, Linden Lab Chief Financial Officer John Zdanowski aka Zee Linden addressed the much-disputed Second Life usage numbers. He said that unique users — consolidating multiple accounts held by a single user, and eliminating people who have registered but never signed in — totalled 1,974,607 in January, equal to 63 percent of the “total residents” figure that is displayed on secondlife.com.”

“Approximately 10 percent of unique users have logged in for 40 hours or more. Committed usage at this stage of Second Life’s growth requires a great deal of effort,” he said. “Clearly not everyone is going to find relevance, and be able to build on a technology at this early stage.”

So, imagine a scenario where we would want to exclusively target North American females, age 18-25, with a promotion or presence. How big is our audience?

Assuming…
Total Residents: 3,664,703
Logged In Last 60 Days: 1,253,228

Starting with 1,253,228 active residents
390,882 (31.19%) North American
107,492 (27.5%) age 18-25
42,997 (40%) female

Roughly 43m prospects that fit the profile. Then, the challenges become:

1. What to build in SL?
2. What to offer?
3. How to find them and drive them to the destination?
4. How to get them to engage with the brand?
5. How to get a repeat visit?
6. How to get them to tell a friend?

It’s a lot of work and expense, and your not likely to reach every one of those 43m females. Be cautious and think through whether SL is the appropriate place for your efforts. A CPA program on some targeted media properties or a target pay per click campaign may get you better return on investment.

Please share your experiences with Second Life marketing and statistics.
Thanks.
-Roland

Prevent Your Podcast from Being Deleted

I currently subscribe to over sixty podcasts that vary widely in topic:

• Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Project Management
• Sales
• Technology
• Mac-centric
• Parenting
• Fan groups (e.g. television shows)
• Humor

The majority are by ordinary folks. Some of these podcasters are marketing professionals sharing insights. Most have no marketing experience. None (that I listen to) are produced by corporations.

I have great respect for all these folks who put themselves out there. They’ve taken a risk and thrown something against a wall to see if it sticks. That’s awesome. They have more guts than many of us.

These podcasts all jockey for pole position in my iTunes podcatcher software. But I have to admit, just like a fickle consumer, it doesn’t take much for me to get burned out and start dropping the weaker podcasts. Here are some reasons why I drop podcasts:

• Loss of focus — If the podcast is supposed to be exclusively about X, don’t get side-tracked talking about Y or Z. Occasional diversions are okay, but if it gives me the impression of unstructured chaos, they’ve lost me.
• Long term drop in quality — Some people try hard but just can’t sustain good, compelling, thought-provoking content. Or they get bored. It becomes evident over time.
• Decline in frequency — Sometimes referred to as Podfading. If I got used to receiving something weekly and it now comes out monthly or an even more random schedule, I loose interest, too.
• Overly opinionated — Sure I like diversity in opinion. But I don’t want to tune in week after week for repeated opponent bashing. That gets boring too quickly.
• Profanity – Maybe I come across as a prude with this one, but frequent, unnecessary use of curse words just for emphasis or to fill time is not very creative. Plus, I don’t want to have to worry about my kids overhearing unnecessary foul language. Yes, I’ll admit that I’ve lobbed quite a few f-bombs in my time, but not as content I intended to publish.

Now I realize this is all free content, and these people all have lives beyond being a podcaster. But the rules that apply to my relationship with a corporate brand apply to podcasters as well.

I’ll open up and embrace you as long as you give me something of perceived value in return. When that ends, so does my loyalty.

Not always fair, but it’s reality.

Please share your thoughts.
Thanks.
-Roland

« Previous Page