The success of social networks and the move to socialise many others aspects of the web – from content and search to deals and commerce – has captured the imagination of analysts, content creators and brands. Those best positioned to monetise these changes, however, are developing strategies that extend beyond social networks built on who-knows-who to those built on shared interests: so-called "communities of interest".  "It's no longer just social media that's social any more – all media is becoming social thanks to the maturation of creative tools and digital distribution," says Troy Young, president of SAY Media, the vertical media business with online properties including Remodelista. "The new model is 'inspire, connect' rather than 'write, read'. This is important to brands because they want to be in passionate environments. Their challenge, however, is how best to integrate within this space."  Evidence of the rise and rise of social media is not hard to find. In recent months alone Facebook exceeded 750 million users, LinkedIn went public, Twitter generated 1bn tweets a week and Google launched is own social network, Google+, which in its first weeks attracted 10 million users.  Technology has democratised publishing. This, in turn, has resulted in a new breed of media businesses that see themselves more as curators of content rather than owners. These companies aggregate and package content drawn from a plethora of sources – a vertical publishing approach typified by Glam Media, which launched the world's first blog network in 2005 and now boasts 94 million unique monthly users in the US and more than 200 million globally for its curated content from 2,500 publishers worldwide.  "In a world in which people feel disenfranchised when it comes to big issues beyond their control, online communities represent a kind of glue making them feel part of something bigger that's real and authentic," says Ed Levine, founder of Serious Eats – a food-themed website which has built an online community of 2.5 million without spending anything on digital advertising, search engine optimisation or traditional marketing. "Once, reach and scale were all that counted. Now depth of engagement is what everyone – users and brand partners, alike – is looking for."  New technology is creating new opportunities to socially interact, too. TV app IntoNow, for example, was recently launched to "tag" TV shows using its patented technology, SoundPrint. This allows the user to "tag" a show they are watching and "like" by pointing their phone at the TV. IntoNow then identifies not just the show but also which episode is being viewed, making it quick and easy for the user to share their "likes" with friends on Twitter or Facebook. IntoNow has since been bought by Yahoo for a reported $30m (£19.2m).  Technology is also enabling end users to become their own content curator. For example Zite, a downloadable reader app recently acquired by CNN for a reported $25m, taps into a user's Google Reader and Twitter history paying attention to how that user interacts with the news articles to understand both their interests and behaviour. This is a step beyond simply customising content because it creates an individually personalised experience.  The opportunities for brand owners to capitalise on all of this are significant. But to do so effectively, they must understand more closely the nuances of socialisation, believes Francesco D'Orazio, research director and head of social media at co-creation planning agency Face.  "There's an overall trend towards socialisation of all media, but at the same time there is a growing realisation that social relationships are no longer enough," he explains, citing a recent attempt by US airline Delta to enable customers to share socially details of their ticket purchasing with friends online – an opportunity few took up. Too much attention has been paid to mapping personal connections – plotting an individual's "social graph" at the cost of understanding the value of shared interests – their "interest graph". D'Orazio adds: "Many brands are confusing social graphs with interest graphs. Yet our social connections are not always driven by shared interests – who you know does not necessarily conflate with what most interests you."  Brands need to get smarter about the kinds of social interaction they seek to build online, agrees Ben Ayers, head of social media at communications agency Carat. "Communities of interest are tremendously powerful but you've got to have a reason to talk to them," he explains. "Brands must create something of value for the user to earn that user's attention. This could mean providing a piece of entertainment or a specific tool or service. The key is being useful – something a brand such as Nike has done very well."  Another interesting opportunity lies in the development of social currencies such as Facebook Credits – the recently introduced virtual payment system that enables products and services to be bought within Facebook, adds Oli Newton, head of emerging platforms at Starcom Mediavest.  "Entertainment companies are at the forefront of a wide cross section of businesses now looking at how to use Facebook as a proper commercial platform," he says, pointing to the recently launched social voting app for Channel 5's Big Brother, which lets users vote using Facebook with each vote costing no more than 7p to cast. In the US, meanwhile, Warner Brothers has been running a movie rental service on Facebook since the start of the year with users renting titles for $3 each or equivalent Facebook Credits.  Newton adds: "Other brands, however, will surely follow as they work out value propositions consumers will be willing to pay for, or find ways of incentivising engagement through the offer of (social) credits that don't devalue the brand."  Another focus moving forward will be the role social media plays in planning, D'Orazio adds. His agency, Face, is now working closely with brand owners including O2 to use social media and online communities to co-create products, service and marketing campaigns.  "This isn't about just thinking of social media as a way of driving word of mouth about a product or brand – it's more fundamental," he explains. "Clustering consumers by interest allows you to build far more meaningful profiles of your audience." In this way brand owners can better understand their market and engage with it more deeply and at an earlier stage, encouraging consumers to feed into the product development process and feel a sense of shared ownership.  D'Orazio adds: "The commercial value of the communities of interest, and the information contained within them, can only grow."  This article was produced in association with SAY Media. Click here for our sponsored content editorial guidelines.
Online 'communities of interest' are becoming increasingly influential when it comes to developing reach and products on the web. But how can brands engage with these persuasive groups and share their expertise? By Meg Carter