SOCIAL CURRENCY

In ancient times, before money, the currency was Trust. If you sold something, you simply had to trust that your buyer would trade you something of equivalent value. Today we are coming full circle towards again being a “cashless” society; partly due to increased electronic payments, and partly because of a new form of value: social currency.

In simple terms, social currency can be explained as follows: in the past, a company was valued by its physical assets. But there’s no greater asset than loyal fans, so in future a company will be valued by how influential it is in social networks, how loyal its fans are, and how much they refer it to others.

To be more specific, MIT has created a formula that measures social currency through 6 factors: Utility, Affiliation, Identity, Conversation, Advocacy and Information.

Unfortunately, most marketers do not yet know how to fully exploit social currency, because they underestimate the short-term and long-term benefits of having a solid Reputation, Quality, Positioning, Internal and External Marketing.

As someone who is extremely passionate about social media, I find it unthinkable that many companies are still wondering whether or not to use social media! That’s like wondering whether or not to be in business…