You may be familiar with the name Robert Metcalfe. He was a pioneer in the creation of computer network technology. He developed a theory about the usefulness of networks that became popular and controversial during the 1990s and is still debated today.
Metcalfe’s Law states that the potential value of a communications network increases exponentially with its size.
Specifically, he proposes that for a network with ‘n’ endpoints (think of these as devices or people), the inherent usefulness of this network is on the order of ‘n’ times ‘n’ or n2.
Metcalfe’s Law was intended to be an approximation and a relative measure of value for comparing two networks or the growth of one. For example, according to this Law, a network with 10 endpoints (value = 10×10 = 100) is approximately 4 times more useful than a network with half the size (5 endpoints with value 5×5 = 25).
For our purposes, let’s apply Metcalfe’s Law to marketing. If you only have two marketing methods, let’s say it’s email marketing and direct mail; then you have the power of 2X2 = 4 effectiveness.
But suppose you use two more methods; your website and LinkedIn. You now have four methods, and according to Metcalfe’s law, you now have an effectiveness of r 4X4 = 16. This means that it does not have twice the effect, but four times the effect.
If you added four other methods, instead of two, say your website, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter, then you would now have six methods and 6X6 = 36. It would now be nine times its original effectiveness, not just four times.
Does Metcalfe’s Law Really Apply To Marketing? Probably not as straightforward as it does with networks. However, there is some correlation with marketing, and especially with social media marketing.
With social media marketing, you can spread your message from platform to platform, just by clicking the mouse. So this helps you spread your message exponentially, rather than linearly. And once it’s set up, much of it becomes automatic.
How many marketing methods are you using to spread your business? And of course, with social media, you just don’t reach the exact people you message, you have the potential to reach everyone on your networks as well.
As an example, I am currently connected to more than 9,700 people on LinkedIn. But my network extends to more than 19 million people. This is done through the three levels to which each of these people is connected.
Does that mean that every time I send a message, all 19 million people see it? Of course not, but it has the potential for that. This same week, a connection sent one of my messages to their connections, and thousands more people were able to see my message. This happens constantly on social media, if you have something worth saying.
If you are not using social media to the fullest and posting messages at least once a week, you are missing out on thousands of leads. And the more messages you publish, the more your network, and your network, will come to know you, believe you and trust you, because they see that you know what you are talking about.