Social media has transformed the way and medium of communication by providing opportunities to have interactive dialogues without the need for physical proximity. This virtual social interaction has become the preferred technique for communication, giving businesses in this field, opportunities to grow and expand while also innovating and improving. Experts believe that social media is now set to achieve critical mass. Critical mass is a crucial stage in the development of a company when the business can become self sustainable. At this point no more capital needs to be invested and the business is economically viable.
Social media as a business has reached that stage when it can achieve critical mass. A business introducing a new technology is said to achieve critical mass when approximately fifteen percent of households adopt it. The same principle can be applied to social media which has the potential to exceed the fifteen percent barrier, if all social media networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and others are included. Newer technologies being included are social gaming, ecommerce and micro-blogging.
Critical mass can be achieved when 15% of a target clientele can be captured. This number has been verified and found to be repeatedly accurate in all applications pertaining to critical mass in social media. The goal all social media networks then is to hit this percentage.
Ways to achieve social media critical mass
- Increase frequency of interaction by creating special groups- One way social media can achieve critical mass is by leveraging the present relationships and networks among members. People who are closer can be made to form a special group which will see more frequent exchanges and communication on diverse topics, experiences and desire to spend time together in the virtual world. Strong relationships thus will be sustained and these will provide the frequency needed to reach the critical mass level. This is because the level of confidence in introducing a product or service in the group is higher in terms of acceptance, and probability of its success becomes higher.
- Focus on value provided to the world- Social media needs to highlight the value it provides to its members, and how they benefit from this ‘service’. As word about the benefits and value spreads the membership figures will surge ahead and competition will increase. The more existing members show off their shared platforms and how they have benefitted from them, more and more people will join.
- Growth and expansion is important- Growth and expansion alone will make room for reaching critical mass levels. The Facebook story is an example that explains this. Facebook reached its full capacity when limited to Harvard, but it was at this point that it opened its doors to other universities and eventually became a worldwide phenomenon. As it grew in size by widening its domain, more members joined, helping it stay at the critical mass level of over 15%. The same holds true for Groupon, which started with daily deals in one city and expanded city by city to achieve its critical mass.
- Quality must be monitored- The bottom line for success is always good quality. Quality content is expected when people join social media, knowing it is safe and reliable. Unique content must be added to keep up member involvement and have them evince interest, since this will invite more content of similar quality.
Thus achieving social media critical mass is a challenge that all networks are striving to achieve.
