7 tips for real-world businesses in Second Life

(Photo credit: C.C. Chapman)

It has been a while since I've written a proper Second Life post but that doesn't mean it hasn't been on my mind.  After all, crayon still maintains a virtual headquarters there.  One of the recurring topics at recent coffee With crayon gatherings (every Thursday at 9am EST/6am SLT on crayonville Island) has been a discussion about whether are marketers even interested in virtual worlds anymore. 

Interestingly, despite last year's rampant over-hyping of SL and the recent negative downturn, at least a few of the avatars that visit us for coffee With crayon say that there are still lots of marketers who are first discovering Second Life and other virtual worlds, and thinking about what opportunities and challenges they present.  Of course, these marketers (and more importantly, the consultants and agencies that they are calling on for guidance) seem a bit more focused on getting it right this time around.  That's good news.

I feel like those of us who have been advising clients on virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular for the past year or two have been prescribing a set of (if not best practices) rules of the road designed to help marketers entering the metaverse steer clear of danger.  Some brands (like crayon client Coke) listen up and reap the rewards in terms of learning, impact and most importantly resident acceptance.  But there are still plenty of other brands that persist in - and insist on - getting it wrong.

So when the folks at virtual worlds agency Elastic Collision reached out to let me know about their new Second Life marketing white paper, I figured now might be a good time to remind everyone who is still thinking about virtual worlds just what it takes to get it right.  Elastic Collision's "7 Tips for Real-World Businesses in Second Life" may tread familiar ground for those of us who are tuned into this kind of thing but their advice is sound and - here's the important part - backed up by some solid qualitative findings and avatar verbatims gleaned from a series of 800 or so interviews with active SL residents.  In short, "7 Tips" lays out the do's and don'ts of SL marketing, as recommended by the very people you are looking to reach and engage. 

You can grab the complete report at the Elastic Collision site, but here are the tips and a few choice quotes to tide you over...  (Incidentally, you can swap out the words "Second Life" and apply most of these principles to pretty much any form of social media.)

Get to know the cultural landscape

"Educate yourself about community norms and important milestones in Second Life history... Design content around the needs of residents rather than focusing solely on the aspirations of your marketing department."

Improve, don't invade

"Second Life is a collaborative experience, and leaving residents out of decision making is a serious error... Be prepared to engage with residents, instead of creating a build, walking away and working why no one visits."

Involve and engage

"People are more interesting than things and the social aspect of Second Life is more important in the long term stuff than 'the stuff'."

Prioritize usability

"Make your virtual spaces easy to maneuver and remember that fancy stuff is a waste of time if it causes bad lag."

Leave your parachute at home

"Abandoned building and poorly publicized events will not establish brand loyalty... Live representatives as a branded site are generally far more persuasive than any number of ads or freebies."

Understand technical limitations

"Newcomers should be prepared for a buggy environment.  Users will forgive organizations for technical problems byond their control, but they are less understanding if a technical mistake stems from a problem that has been well documented."

Work with in-world businesses

"As a way of demonstrating respect for Second Life's cultures, real-world businesses are encouraged to work with in-world businesses, be a good member of the community, and most importantly, makes sure not to eliminate the little guy."

And now it's your turn to weigh in.  What do you think?  Did Elastic Collision get them right?  What other tips and tricks would you add for any marketer interested in making their first foray into virtual worlds?