Three leaders from very different social networks--LinkedIn, Path and Nextdoor--offered insights into how they understand their user's context and use that understanding to grow at the session "The Rise of Contextual Social Networks" at SXSW Saturday afternoon moderated by Colleen Taylor of TechCrunch.
Nate Johnson, Vice President - Marketing for Path, Francesca Levy, Editor of LinkedIn Today, Sarah Leary, co-founder of nextdoor.com, which offers free, social networks for neighborhoods, offered very different views of their audiences.
Johnson said the context that Path offers--sharing only with only 150 friends and family and only on mobile--is a context that is immeditate and intimate. He characterized Path as "the home" social network, while Facebook is "the city." "Because we're built for mobile only we're much more real-time" he said.
"I have two girls who are five and two years old and I only post pictures of them to Path," he offered.
Leary said the purpose of each social network creates the context for users. nextdoor.com is about community action, while Facebook is for sharing and empathizing with people who can be anywhere in the world.
"There is actually a lot of value in a smaller network because it creates greater stickiness" said LinkedIn's Levy. "Facebook is so huge that you really don't know what you're going to see when you visit. But something like nextdoor.com is about the people living right around you."
Is there room in the marketplace for more niche social networks? Path's Johnson thinks so. He offered a hypothetical example of a "bourbon drinkers" social network. "You could do that as a page within Facebook, but it would get lost in the sea of humanity."
"It's difficult for these large networks to open up for smaller interests," said Leary. "The way you start a niche network is to attract the (enthusiasts) who are experts and are passionate. These are the people who build the network to begin with and because of their expertise they create interesting content and dialogue that creates the identity of the network."
How does a smaller network survive with less investor interest and eschewing advertising dollars? Path is trying to build virtual goods and premium subscriptions. "We want to create services that people are willing to pay for," says Johnson. "The revenue models are ripe for disruption. You have to crack the code."
"We had users who wanted to add emoticons to their messages," he said. "So we created badges and had artists design other graphics that could be added to messages."
For nextdoor.com the answer(s) for survival might be very different. "There's a $100 billion local advertising market that's in slow decline. Most of the messages are about people looking for services. We're being contacted all the time by businesses who want to focus on a specific neighborhood."
"But we're focusing on the user experience first," she continues. "That's the key to establishing the network experience that people will love. We know there is a big market of businesses who want to reach local consumers. It's ready for innovation"
"You need to be a product anthropologist when you tackle a challenge like this" said Johnson. "We're constantly monitoring, analyzing and discussing and think about every day."
All three panelists have the challenge of growing a new social network, or in the case of LinkedIn Today, a new expansion of an established network.
"We have to try and convince people to come back every day, instead of just posting your resume," said LinkedIn's Levy.
"You have to focus on your core value proposition, I think" said Leary. "You don't have to come to LinkedIn to use LinkedIn. You can read a daily digest email and pick when you find some content you want to experience."
"We try to help the "inviter" who asks people to join a Path network," says Johnson. "The context of that is something where the burden is on us to create ways to keep going."
"What are the driving metrics of the first 48 hours after someone joins?" he asks. "Otherwise, if they can't create original content, they can't invite people easily they're lost."
Nextdoor gives the founder of a neighborhood 21 days to attract 10 verified email users or the neighborhood Website expires. "We do that in order to give someone else a chance to organize the neighborhood but also to get the neighborhood really established."
"We find people with kids in elementary school are great starters for us," says Leary. "Community activists, obviously, retired people who maybe have worked to get a bike path built. It's someone who can gather people together."
"LinkedIn users tend to be more white collar," says Levy. "Our CEO, Jeff Weiner, says we're trying to get this thing right first before really considering how well it would work for welders."
How do brands play in a social space? Path's Johnson pointed to sponsorship with Nike that highlighted their Nike+ running program. "No money changed hands, it was just a great service for our users who are also their customers."
"Any time you go into a market you're going to learn a lot," he continues. "You have to make decisions about do you go away from your core value proposition? Do you evolve special versions, localize it?"
For nextdoor.com there's time to get the experience right. "There's a $15 billion direct mail business that drops tons of paper at our doors every day," says Leary. "That's not efficient and not good for the environment. Somehow we think there's a great way to innovate to take advantage of that."