Widgets - Room To Let

Flat shares. Everyone's done them. A hotbed of social interaction and Gastroentiritis; some people will have fond memories, some not.

Few people will have been in the unenviable position of 'auditioning' for the one room in a London flat larger than a shoebox but cheaper than a pair of Manolo Blahniks. Those that have will understand the import placed on just a few minutes with the owners of said room-to-let: candidates must show themselves to be sociable and trustworthy. More importantly, they need to prove that they'll be around long enough to pay the gas bill so as to avoid a nasty eviction notice. And the possibility of the owner's 'friends' coming round to 'do your knees in'.

Widget ads. Everyone's doing them. A hotbed of social interaction and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; some people will have fond memories, most not.

Where widgets differ from flat shares is that they are in the enviable position of auditioning for the small real estate available on users' social network sites. Why is this enviable? OK so there's competition, but this is the perfect platform for getting users to truly engage with your campaign and, ultimately, your brand. The problem is, no one's taking this opportunity to anywhere near its full potential. Widget ads should be considered in a similar way to how you would approach a flat-share audition - the widget must make the owners of the real estate need to let it in their lives and maybe even introduce it to a few friends. To do so, it's imperative that the widget covers three major factors of consideration - namely incentive, interactivity and longevity.

Incentive - consider that your widget represents your brand. Simple enough. Now, understand that the social networking site represents the user's brand and that the user will have their own brand guidelines to which they will vehemently adhere. Not so simple. It's up to you to make sure your brand is going to fit with the user's. If what you're selling isn't going to immediately engage with users in a social network context then, well, you might want to reconsider widget advertising entirely. But if you really want to get down with The Kids then the least you can do to better your chances is to offer them a bung in exchange for the box-room. Let them download content exclusive to widget users. Promise to keep them updated with new releases. Give them that reason to let you in.

Interactivity - No one's going to let their spare room to the sort of person who timidly uses the 'Self Checkout' at Tesco in the small hours of the morning so as to avoid human interaction. And if your widget is just as reticent to engage with people then users will reciprocate this antipathy. Remember that you're targeting
the // (SlashSlash) generation who want to use the Internet as the interactive medium it is. DO approach users with open arms: command them to talk to you; embrace you; tickle you. DON'T approach prospective flat mates in the same way. People scare easy.

Longevity - You wouldn't apply for a flat share on a short-term lease so why do the same for widget users? Just as you'll need to prove that you'll be in the flat long enough to share bills, cleaning and cheese you'll need to prove to users that they'll need you on their social network site for years to come. Longevity ties-in nicely with incentive - promise them The Earth in ten installments (not including the Gaza Strip) and, as long as you deliver, they'll be yours forever. Or at least until they complete the collection. Use dynamic updating in your widget and they'll be telling their grandchildren about it. Who wouldn't offer their spare room to the person who can tell them the latest on the FTSE 100 whilst keeping them up to date on weather patterns over Grimsby and train times to Ormskirk? Exactly...

One last important thing to consider: the widget that will appear on users' social network sites is, quite simply, a whole new ad tag. This means that the widget content can be completely different to the ad that drove the users to accept it! Use this to your advantage! DON'T just stick a share panel on the back of every ad - it won't take users long to become savvy to the idea that they'll be sharing just another advert to their social network site and the widget will soon go the way of the pop-ups. So don't spoil it for everyone else.

If you can deliver all of these things then you will have a truly viral campaign. And if that doesn't work, at least you'll have a roof over your head and new flatmates to console you.