Dell really is a company that are getting Social Media so perfectly right at the moment. I have no doubt it will pay off in shareholder terms for a long time to come.
Yesterday Dell launched a new online community, www.digitalnomads.com. Like it's name, it's a community site for people who seek freedom from the office, to come and connect with each other.
I think this is brilliant for six reasons.
- It ties in perfectly with the company. It's not a community about Dell, it's a community about working remotely.
- They have some superstars involved to help launch it.
- They've discovered the cause to attract people, it's not Dell laptops, it's office freedom.
- The content looks like it will be great, with plenty of great advice about working from anywhere and tips for finding WiFi hot spots.
- Dell's promotion is kept to the minimal.
- It's perfectly tied to current and future trends
What Dell get right, and so many companies get wrong, is the dream. Very few products are capable of bringing people together. It's difficult to form a community around your solar panels, it's a lot easier to form a community for people who want to generate their own electricity. Find the cause or 'dream' that your product fits into, and create a community for that.
@Rich - thanks for your kind words on www.digitalnomads.com. We kind of like the site too and hope it will only get better over time. Thanks for visiting the site and for your post.
Bruce Eric
Posted by: Bruce Eric Anderson (aka bruceericatdell on twitter) | Sunday, 07 September 2008 at 22:56