Cultivating Relationships with FarmVille

Many view Facebook as a social platform to play games and stay in touch with friends. Where as others view these games a waste of time and perceive that those people playing these games have nothing better to do with their time.

It would be quite difficult to explain to the latter group, why and how FarmVille has 80 Million users! FarmVille is the popular farming game developed by Zynga which is now worth just over $4 Billion.

The question really is - why are so many people attracted to that game? and why are more people joining?

There are many reasons why FarmVille in particular and Zynga in general are so successful. Zynga is an extremely clever group of people that have amazing marketing skills and a very strong understanding of Social Gaming. Some concepts they put into their game are; Challenging tasks, points, levels, badges/ribbons, rewards and best of all interactivity. Interactivity is probably their key to success - "Share with Friends" or "Help your Neighbor" techniques were used excessively with FarmVille.

They marketed themselves by having the players share and post updates to their walls and by gifting their friends. This didn't only benefit Zynga, but it also benefited the people sharing and gifting.

You see, Social Media is all about sharing, building and "cultivating" relationships - whether new or existing. People that would like to have discussions seek a common interest with the second party, once that connection is made, a conversation is born! Zynga provided just that! A reason for people to talk, something to have in common, and ultimately a reason to be on FaceBook!

Personally, as a non-traditional marketer, who uses social media in order to market products/services, or to compile research data. I found it challenging to enter into conversation or to get the satisfied results I was after. This is a general challenge that most people face in life, it is not easy to stay in touch with everyone and it is quite difficult to start a conversation when you have a targeted agenda.

That is where Social Media comes in! On these platforms we are more likely to find a common interest that will ultimately lead us to conversation. FarmVille may be one of these examples amongst many other similar applications and status updates.

Here's an example of a conversation:

1. On my wall I see: "Jonny - needs 1 more nail to complete his barn"

2. I then see him online and I choose to chat with him.

3. Chat goes something like this...

Me > Jonny - "Hey, how's your farm doing? I need a nail and a brick to finish my barn"

Jonny > Me - "Hey, great, I'm almost done my barn, only need one more nail... can you gift it to me?"

Me > Jonny - "Sure, one sec..."

Me > Jonny - "Done..."

Jonny > Me - "Thanks"

Me > Jonny - "So other than FarmVille, how are you doing?"

Jonny > Me - "All is normal, how about you?"

Me > Jonny - "Great, I'm working on this marketing project - which you actually might be able to help me out with"

Jonny > Me - "Sure, how can I help?"

What happened in this example was, the common interest was used to get to a predetermined agenda by using social means. The marketer was able to give something to his friend and get something in return. When people are playing a game, their "guards" are lowered, they are now in a more social attitude. Right now their concern is to get as many friends to join their co-op or send them materials for the barn they are building. Once a friend does this "favor" for them - the latter has just scored some "brownie points" and now has the opportunity to ask a favor in return, whilst the first friend does not see it as a threat or a bother.

This is one of the many benefits of social media and what many businesses and individuals are catching on to now. No wonder why Social Media is growing at such a successful rate. Games are being used as powerful marketing tools and Ice-Breakers. Businesses can now offer fun experiences and individuals have a common interest to start a conversation.

So, will you ever play FarmVille the same way again?

Please share your experiences and your take on Social Gaming or the like.

Join KolBaKol and Social Media Squad to find out more about The benefits of Social Media and what opportunities can be found - find out how you can catch on and milk this cash cow today!

Yermi Kurkus is the Co-founder of KolBaKol and runs their Social media squad department which advises businesses, job seekers and entrepeneurs on how to use social media to maximize its usage to their individualized benefit. KolBaKol builds privatized social platforms for businesses that seek to catch on to this competitive advantage and seeks to interact with their audiences. Social Media Squad offers services for this platform which creates a unique and innovative experience for the company's audience. For more information Yermi can be contacted via email or Twitter.