Book Review: The Dragonfly Effect

Social media is not a fad, its a revolution. It’s revolutionizing the rules of game and is redefining the way we communicate and share. If Facebook was a country, it  would be the most populated after China and India. With so many people on social media, how do you design campaigns and carry out activities that become viral with netizens? Stanford University Professor Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith of Vonavona ventures explain how Social Technology can be used to drive social change through their new book ‘The Dragonfly Effect’. 

The Dragonfly Effect is based on the premise that small actions can lead to a large changes and help achieve the desired results. The book also delves into the human psychology and explains how social technologies can be harnessed by understanding the psyche of the human mind and appeal to those senses that make people behave in the way required. 

Aaker and Smith put down a model which explains how we must design our social media efforts to achieve the desired results: Focus + GET or social media is a function of Focus, Grab Attention, Engage and Take Action.

FOCUS

It is very important to identify concrete and measurable goals. This can be achieved through the design principles of HATCH. The first principle is to be Humanistic - to understand your audience, rather than making assumptions about them. The second is Actionable - the goals need to be broken down into long-term macro goals and short term micro-goals so that there is proper direction of thought and efforts. The third is Testable - while designing a campaign it is necessary to identify core metrics that can test the effectiveness of the campaign. The fourth is Clarity - the goal must be very clear so achieving success is more possible and the last is Happiness - your goals and efforts have to meaningful and important to you and your audience. 

GRAB ATTENTION

There is a lot of friff-fraff out there. How can you capture the attention and imagination of your audience in all of this? The Dragonfly Effect explains how through the design principles of PUVV. The first principle is Personal - it is important to make you campaign very personal and make it important to your audience. It must appeal to each member of your audience and there must be a personal connect. The second principle is Unexpected - the campaign must have an offering that catches your audience off guard, but is able to catch their fancy. The third principle is Visual - visuals must be used to communicate your message. The last principle is Visceral - campaigns must be designed to evoke all the senses of your audiences and appeal to deep underlying emotions. 

ENGAGE

Just grabbing attention of your audience alone is not enough, you have to keep them engaged. This can be done through the design principles of TEAM. Tell Stories - Stories move us, make us feel alive and inspire us. They must be compelling and convey critical information. Empathize - Let your audience engage with you. See what is important for them and how that fits your campaign. Be Authentic - It will be easier to connect with your audience if your campaign is authentic; it will facilitate a greater connect with you and your audience. Match the media - Align communication and context. Its just not about how  and where we say it, but also what we say. 

TAKE ACTION

Your campaign must be designed in a way take empowers your audience to take the desired course of action. The action is what you want your audience to do or consume after they have received and engaged with your message. There are four design principle that enable others to take action: EFTO. Easy - make it simple for others to act. Chose the right call to action and ensure people understand what is needed so that they can take action immediately. Fun - make taking action fun and playful. Use humor, competitions, rewards and game play. Tailored - Make people feel they are advantaged to have a huge impact. Open - Empower others to take action, no one should have to take permission to act. 

These principles are explained in the book with interesting and succinct examples which give deep insights and understanding of how these principles work in the real world. Prominent examples are the Obama Presidential campaign of 2008, Kiva, Team Sameer and Team Vinay.

The book provides a clear roadmap on how Social campaigns must be undertaken and gives models and flowcharts that helps marketers answer questions about their campaigns that expose a gap (if any). This book is a must read for anyone who wants to use Social Media, but doesn’t know how to.