THE RELATIONSHIP ECONOMY......SOCIAL PRODUCER VS CONDUCTOR: BIG DIFFERENCES

If you haven’t noticed organizations and individuals are trying to produce something using social media. The efforts are intended to fulfill the desire for results, more sales, brand awareness and yes more followers.


The proliferation of social tools, social media and all things social is creating a frenzy to “produce” something, anything and everything aimed at getting results. The chase for the secret sauce to get results has the marketplace consumed with the production of content aimed at attracting awareness, attention and an audience. Marketers are trying everything to get our attention so they can move us to a transaction, the result.


The process of marketing has been focused on reaching the masses using numerous forms of media. Marketing has been designed to create attention and awareness of an offering targeted to a specific audience. Marketing followed “production thinking”. The more we market the more sales we’ll “produce”.


The model of “production thinking” creates environments in which “people” are used to “produce more” at less cost. The aim is to make profits from producing more and production is enhanced by optimizing people, processes and technology. Management methods to optimize production evolved around measuring anything and everything with the aim of finding out how effective people, processes and technology are at producing a results. The problem with the “production model” is that the 'people part' has changed while the model for using people has not.


The Difference Between Producer vs. Conductor


A producer creates things aimed at producing results using people, processes and technology.

A conductor helps people optimize their use of something which synchronizes with the talents and interest of others. The producer aims to use things to create a result for them or their organization. The conductor enables people to use things to create the result they want, desire and need.


The optimum business model is one of embracing the “conductor” function aimed at providing people with “ideas, information and knowledge” they in turn can use to produce what they want with their community of friends and followers. Giving people the “right instruments to create their own communities” of conversations will ultimate lead to production of commerce.


A producer tries to “pull people” to their business.

A conductor enables people to find the people, products and services they want, need or desire. A producer pulls people to their web site and the people are confronted with an anti-social experience and tricked into a “capture, control and frustrate” process. A conductor ensures that people are enabled to access, collaborate and share information seamlessly with no tricks, no intents to capture, control or frustrate people trying to use something to their benefit and the benefit of others.


Pepsi opted out of the Super Bowl Ads and chose to “conduct” a social experiment by giving away $20 million for the best community development ideas. Coke Cola chose to spend millions to run Super Bowl ads aimed to producing a lasting impression on viewers.

Which was the producer vs. the conductor?

Which method produced the best results?

You decide.


Jay Deragon
Author
02 09 10