First we studied demographics. Then we studied psychographics. And the latest means by which you can understand your target? Social technographics.

What do we mean by this? Well, quite simply: how does your target involve herself in social computing. According to a recently released report from Forrester Research, your customers can be understood across six categories in terms of social media usage: Inactives (52%), Spectators (33%), Joiners (19%), Collectors (15%), Critics (19%), and Creators (13%). (Note that the categories are hierarchical and each step forward encompasses behavioural patterns from previous steps – i.e. a critic is also a spectator, a joiner, and a collector.)

If you’re creating a program that only engages people who do something, but your market tends to be more critic than creator, you’re spending a lot of money on a little return. However, if you flipped that strategy around and focused efforts on getting people to, say, comment on a promotional blog or vote on a new product name, your dollars and efforts would be more likely rewarded.

With so much buzz around social media, it’s easy for companies to simply jump in without asking these questions. But any social media strategy proposed without a thorough understanding of customer behaviour within the medium can result in net losses – not only in short term financial waste, but in long term brand perception.