The beauty of social media is that information sharing is common place―and quick. Blogs, micro-blog applications, social networks, and forums are all tools that allow for information sharing. In the past, there has been reference to cross-pollination from an application perspective, for example, cross-pollinating a blog or article across StumbleUpon, Digg, del.icio.us, reddit, etc. in order to garner more reach.

How does cross-pollination work?

Here are a few examples:

• Someone new to a forum might begin to engage by asking questions. If it’s a topic that was discussed previously a forum or topic expert will usually guide the new person—by sharing the URL—to the original thread. However, sometimes regardless of the original URL being shared, the conversation will continue on the newly started thread. Now there are two threads on the same topic, but different conversations take place because different members are engaged.
• An older topic thread is re-issued because the topic has become relevant again. Now people who never saw or responded to the original thread have the chance to provide their opinions, insights and experiences.
• A thread is thought to contain enough valuable information that a community member might blog about the subject and use the original thread URL in their post, which then can ultimately spreads virally to other applications such as StumbleUpon, dig, del.icio.us, etc. As well, it could generate potential new traffic back to the community or to the website of the company, product, or service discussed.

In all of these examples, there is an opportunity to share information and to add new and unique comments. But more importantly, the sharing of information leads to the establishment of new connections and relationships—the foundation and major benefit of social media.

What business benefits does cross-pollination offer?

1. Company and product information sharing occurs within communities, especially if it’s a community based within a certain industry. Seek out these communities and engage the forums—it’s easier than building from scratch [Tip: know the rules of the community prior to engaging them].
2. Topic experts always surface in a community. Embrace the brand champions; they are an extended member of your team.
3. Fragmented conversations happen and they spread information about your company, product or service—without marketing dollars. [Tip: Here’s a list of tools that can help with brand monitoring and management.]
4. Whether it’s B2C or B2B, communities are now commonly engaged during the buying process. A huge pool of people willingly—and transparently—provide information on new products, advice on where to find more information (remember, cross-pollination), thoughts on options (i.e. competition), purchase decisions (‘I bought X’) and post-purchase evaluations (satisfaction or regret). This influential power could potentially lead to shorter buying decision cycles.

These are my observations on cross-pollination. What have you experienced? Have you ever cross-pollinated information? If so, what was your reason? What additional business benefits do you think cross-pollination contributes to?

[Image: Purchased from iStock]

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