Social objects are powerยญful pubยญlic relaยญtions tools.
As a PR proยญfesยญsionยญal since 2005, Iโve helped organยญisaยญtions of all sizes get their audiยญence to talk about their brands, spokespeople, serยญvices, and products.
This post will give you an in-depth overยญview of social objects and learn how to clasยญsiยญfy them. Along with examples of social objects for each clasยญsiยญficยญaยญtion, you will also get a recipe for runยญning a powerยญful word-of-mouth workshop.
Here we go:
What are Social Objects?
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Social Objects Meaning, Definition, and History
A social object is what people talk about with each othยญer. A social object could be a thing, a perยญson, an event, or a concept. It could be the latest Star Wars movie or what you had for dinยญner last night. It could be anyยญthing, but that speยญcifยญic anyยญthingโโโthatโs the social object.
Social object = an agreed-upon conยญcepยญtuยญalยญisaยญtion that people comยญmuยญnicยญate with each othยญer about as an object. A social object could be a thing, a perยญson, an event, a concept, an idea, etc.
In 2005, the Finnish entreยญprenยญeur Juri Engstrรถm disยญcussed social objects to argue that Silicon Valley formed social netยญworks around social objectsโโโand not vice versa.
Engstrรถm was the founder of the social netยญwork Jaiku, a much-loved meetยญing place for early adopยญters of social media, and this qualยญiยญfied him as a thought leadยญer at the time. 1Jaiku was a social netยญworkยญing, micro-blogยญging and lifestreamยญing platยญform founยญded in February 2006 by Jyri Engestrรถm and Petteri Kopon. The serยญvice was made availยญable for pubยญlic beta testยญing on March โฆ Continue readยญing
Social object theยญory served as a valuยญable frameยญwork to explain why some netยญworks seemed to thrive and othยญers didnโt.
Social netยญworks have evolved draยญmatยญicยญally, and today, we know more about dopamยญine-induยญcing gamiยญficยญaยญtion, the mathยญemยญatยญics of virยญal loops, and the inner workยญings of social algorithms that make netยญworks tick.
The Actor-Network Theory (ANT)
Thinking of conยญcepts as objects is deeply rooted in genยญerยญal sociยญology and phenomenology.
Approaching conยญcepts as objects is domยญinยญant in the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which focuses not on why a netยญwork takes a speยญcifยญic shape but on a methยญod or proยญcess for underยญstandยญing the relaยญtionยญships withยญin a network.
ANT is a theยญorยญetยญicยญal frameยญwork developed by John Law and Michel Callon in the 1980s to extend studยญies by scholยญars such as Bruno Latour. The theยญory explores the netยญwork of relaยญtionยญships between groups and organยญisaยญtions, emphasยญising conยญnecยญtions that are not hierยญarchยญicยญal or linear.
In ANT anaยญlysยญis, objects become objects of meanยญing when transยญmitยญted throughยญout the netยญwork. They gain or lose meanยญing as they pass through the netยญwork and change the netยญwork as they do. For instance, โfake newsโ sudยญdenly becomes more than just two conยญjoined words; it becomes a social object with addiยญtionยญal meaning.
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Social Objects: Principles
Social Objects: Principles
In 2007, carยญtoonยญist Hugh MacLeod (gapโingโvoidโartโ.com) starยญted disยญcussยญing social objects more pracยญticยญally. It made sense since MacLeodโs carยญtoons were funny and acted as a free-to-share social comยญmentยญary of the times; his carยญtoons were disยญtinct social objects.
MacLeod went on to outยญline nine prinยญciples of social objects. In his words: 2The list sumยญmarยญises points MacLeod made at a semยญinยญar in 2013.
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Types of Social Objects
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Types of Social Objects
To proยญmote word-of-mouth for your brand, you need ideas about what social objects to creยญate conยญtent around.
โThe first and most basic rule is to conยญsider social facts as things.โ
Source: The Rules of the Sociological Method 3Durkeim, E. (1982). The Rules of the Sociological Method. New York: The Free Press. p. 60.
There are difยญferยญent types of social objects:
Workshop idea: In the first half of the workยญshop, spend a few minutes on each type of social object. Write each idea as one senยญtence on a Post-It startยญing with, โHave you heardโฆโ. In the second half of the workยญshop, run through the ideas, disยญcussยญing, โIs this someยญthing real people would say?โ
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Book: Contagious
Contagious
Jonah Berger, a marยญketยญing proยญfessยญor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, proยญposed six key conยญcepts in his book โContagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Ageโ (also known as โContagious: Why Things Catch Onโ) that make ideas or products go virยญal or โstick.โ 4Berger, J. (2014). Contagious: How to build word of mouth in the digitยญal age. Simon & Schuster.
These conยญcepts are:
These conยญcepts can be used to craft mesยญsages and camยญpaigns more likely to be shared and spread, leadยญing to more effectยญive comยญmuยญnicยญaยญtion and marยญketยญing efforts.
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PR Resource: Six Principles of Influence
Influence
Robert B. Cialdini pubยญlished โInfluence: The Psychology of Persuasionโ in 1984, and his prinยญciples of influยญence are widely cited. They provide a frameยญwork for underยญstandยญing how people are perยญsuaded, and pubยญlic relaยญtions, advertยญising, and sales proยญfesยญsionยญals often use them. 5Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: The psyยญchoยญlogy of perยญsuaยญsion (Rev. ed.). HarperCollins.
Here are Cialdiniโs six principles:
These prinยญciples are powerยญful tools for perยญsuaยญsion and can be used indiยญviduยญally or in comยญbinยญaยญtion to influยญence perยญcepยญtions and behaviours.
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Annotations
1 | Jaiku was a social netยญworkยญing, micro-blogยญging and lifestreamยญing platยญform founยญded in February 2006 by Jyri Engestrรถm and Petteri Kopon. The serยญvice was made availยญable for pubยญlic beta testยญing on March 27, 2007. It had over 1 milยญlion users worldยญwide at its closยญure on March 18, 2009. |
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2 | The list sumยญmarยญises points MacLeod made at a semยญinยญar in 2013. |
3 | Durkeim, E. (1982). The Rules of the Sociological Method. New York: The Free Press. p. 60. |
4 | Berger, J. (2014). Contagious: How to build word of mouth in the digitยญal age. Simon & Schuster. |
5 | Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: The psyยญchoยญlogy of perยญsuaยญsion (Rev. ed.). HarperCollins. |