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Out of this world

23.11.07 Victoria Arnstein

Facebook, MySpace and Bebo are just a few of the social networking sites that have burst onto the scene over the past few years. While the biggest concern publishers might have had until now is keeping their employees off them during working hours, figures show that one in every 20 internet visits in the UK are to one of these sites, meaning many are now looking at how to use them to boost brand awareness.

"The old model was always to get a site and run banner ads or promotions and try to get everybody to come to you. That has been the way of operating for everybody since the internet first reared its head," says Kenneth Wohlrob, associate director of internet marketing at Bantam Dell Publishing Group in the US, part of the Random House Group. "Now we are existing in a world where people are spending a lot more time on sites like Facebook, MySpace and SecondLife. Rather than driving people to your site, the idea now is to get your content onto sites where they are spending their time."

According to Hitwise, a subsidiary of Experian which looks at website trends, Facebook is now the fifth most-visited URL in the UK. Robin Goad, Hitwise research director, says that in August this year, around 5% of traffic to a bookselling website, such as Amazon, Waterstone’s or  W H Smith, had visited a social network immediately before—a trend he thinks will increase. "As booksellers get a bit more savvy about how they can take advantage of the opportunities [they will do better]," he says.

Joining the party

With social networking becoming so popular, businesses across all industries, including publishing, are keen to see whether they can benefit from the trend. There are two different ways of approaching these forums—one is to set up or approach fan groups within sites, the other is to enter into paid-for promotions.

Members of social networks typically have an online profile through which they can make friends with other users and message one another privately or publicly. The intricacies of the sites vary and attract different demographics, but they typically also allow users to share photos and -videos and share and download -widgets (applications). Many such widgets exist for book-lovers, such as one that lets users display the covers of titles they are reading and post and share reviews. Social networks dedicated purely to books are also starting to grow, such as Shelfari.com, which has links with Facebook, and Librarything.com (see the box right for more information on some of the popular social networking sites).

Lonely Planet started to recognise the potential of social networks around a year ago. Not wanting to "look like your dad trying to dance at the disco", travel editor Tom Hall said the company realised it should put someone who knew about social networks in charge of its strategy. That person happened to already exist in the form of a young man working on its London office reception desk. The travel publisher is now active in several social networks including Facebook, where it has its own group with around 1,850 members who talk to one another, post travel stories and interact with Lonely Planet.

Penguin also sees social networks as an opportunity. So much so that it has started one of its own, www.spinebreakers.co.uk, where young readers can network with one another. It is in talks with some of the main social networking sites about possible cross-promotion and -integration and also gets involved with other networks in other ways.

Rules of engagement

For example, after spotting a fan group for its Icelandic cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson on Facebook, Penguin contacted the group originator to offer some signed copies of his book. The group agreed and carried out a cartoon-drawing competition to decide the winners. "The rules are always ‘be courteous, be credible and be respectful’," says digital marketing director Anna Rafferty. "The author then went on and engaged in dialogue with his readers so that was great." Penguin has also made logos and book jackets of some titles available for fans to pick up and use on their Facebook or MySpace pages. "That is brilliant because it has a viral effect if you seed it out there," she adds.

Soft sell

HarperCollins has chosen to go down the route of offering downloadable content and applications. For its launch of the children’s title Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, for example, HC created a sponsored profile page in Bebo where visitors could take content and apply it to their own pages. Chris Michaels, digital marketing manager at the company, says that although the publisher has started groups within networks, this sort of activity is more effective if it is organic. "To a certain extent you don’t want to interfere with that process or it can become a fake experience," he says.

Publishers that are contacting existing fans and setting up groups realise it is important not to force their books on people. "People are extremely hostile to being sold at in these spaces," says Hall. "If you go in and you share people’s passions and enthusiasms then you can have positive interactions with people and when they are ready to think about the products and services that they need, they are more likely to think of you." Rafferty agrees: "You can’t just go onto someone else’s blog or profile and say ‘I’ve heard that this book is great, why don’t you check it out?’ because they will just see right through you."

Over at Bantam Dell, the focus on social networking so far has been on SecondLife—a 3-D virtual world populated by the online avatars of its users. The publisher opened a bookshop in the site last March where residents can search for books (although to make a purchase they have to transfer out of the site because of complications with the in-world currency, the "Linden Dollar"). It has also held events, such as a reading by Dean Koontz (see picture, left) through his online avatar, and has launched the vBook, an in-world interactive function allowing users to read excerpts of new books, listen to audio podcasts, and view video interviews and trailers.

Time-intensive

Maintaining a presence on social networks is time-intensive and Wohlrob thinks some publishers are struggling because "it is not something you can just throw money at". "If a project is going to be worthwhile you have to be constantly interacting with people," he says.

Hall agrees: "You need to put the resources of one person at least into this, and if you can’t you shouldn’t do it. There is nothing worse than having a stagnant blog—it shows you don’t care."

Not being able to directly calculate the result of time put into social networking might also deter publishers, although there are things that can be measured, such as the number of positive interactions with people. Certainly those publishers already involved are convinced that social networks offer a way to build relationships with readers. "It is still hard to gauge [the results] and I view this very much as the early stages," Wohlrob explains.

"There is no specific tie to book sales that we can point to right now, and all the experiments are still relatively new, but we consider it really important."

The fast-changing nature of social networks is the other downside. "The younger audience in particular treat social networks a bit like they would treat bands. [One] is the favourite and then next year it is something else," says Michaels.

But while the favoured sites might change, it seems social networking is here to stay and publishers may have to move with the times. "A lot of authors and publishers are still a little scared about having to interact with the public," adds Wohlrob. "That is going to have to change, they are going to have to learn to deal with being in constant communication with the people out there in a very two-way model," he predicts.

 

Virtually speaking:


Shelfari (www.shelfari.com)

Launched in October 2006, Shelfari enables users to build a virtual bookshelf of titles they have read, are reading and would like to read. Users can discuss the books on their shelf with others and participate in online book clubs.

LibraryThing (www.librarything.com)

LibraryThing enables users to display their books and view the bookshelves of others. It also makes recommendations of titles members might like. The site claims to have 288,000 users and can also be used by libraries, authors, publishers and booksellers.

SecondLife (www.secondlife.com)

SecondLife is an online virtual world built by its residents. Users choose an avatar to represent them online, where they can do many of the things they would do in real life. Some publishers hold book clubs and readings in the site for residents to attend. It currently has around 10,522,000 members.

Facebook (www.facebook.com)

Founded in February 2004, Facebook allows registered users to find and message friends and share photos. The site claims to have more than 49 million users worldwide, with 200,000 new registrations per day since January 2007. Age 25 and above is the fastest-growing demographic.

MySpace (www.myspace.com)

MySpace is similar to Facebook, but research carried out in the US suggests Facebook users are likely to be wealthier, while MySpace members are more likely to be at college.

Bebo (www.bebo.com)

Bebo claims to be the largest social networking site in the UK and third largest behind MySpace and Facebook in the US. It launched in July 2005 and has around 40 million registered members worldwide.

Flagship Feature Victoria Arnstein

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