Creating a Sense of Presence

I had an interesting experience today. I took the day off and went with my wife to the hospital for a very minor test. Lately, I've been using Twitter more and more and without thinking about it I posted that I had taken my wife to the hospital. Almost immediately, I received a text message from Red asking if everything was okay. Right after that I received a Facebook message from my nephew, who had seen my status on Facebook change. He asked if he could do anything to help. You see, my tweets automatically update my Facebook status. I had to quickly send an update and put everyone's mind at ease.

This brought to mind a post I recently ran across that I found very interesting. Within that post Leisa Reichelt mentioned the idea of how technologies like Twitter create a "sense of presence." This means those who post and commuincate via Twitter, Jaiku or Pownce have a presence in each other's lives. While most posts are meaningless, sometimes it illustrates the presence others have in your life. Boy, was this true today, it was as if my followers were right there with me.

There's an important lesson here. This concept of creating a sense of presence is a powerful thing and should be embraced by brands. Today, effective brands will seek ways to be present in the lives of their consumers, not in an overbearing way, but in an authentic way. If a consumer needs suggestions for dinner or a family activity, today's marketers must know their zip code, the weather and what local events are happening and become a partner with the consumer by offering this information to them along with a relevant brand message. By doing this the brand creates more than a consumer, they create a brand advocate.