Interstellar Fourth and Fifth-Dimensional Social Media Marketing

INTERSTELLAR by Wordle

Ok, I'll be completely honest with you: I absolutely loved the movie "Interstellar" that was just released last week.

If you saw the movie that's great, but even if you didn't I think you'll find this social media marketing model interesting...
- And please don't hold this model to a strict Physics interpretation, just have fun with it.

2-Dimensional Marketing

If you think of length and width as being 2-dimensional, then all of the documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoints, graphics, etc. that we create are two-dimensional. Thus two-dimensional marketing would include any printed matter, like flyers, banners, etc. So direct marketing campaigns would essentially be 2D one-to-many marketing.
- Note: FYI, the first dimension is simply a line, which we need in order to write (or draw) fantastic content on our 2D marketing materials.

3-Dimensional Marketing

If you add heigth or width/depth to the first two dimensions then you get 3D. For our model I'd say that the third dimension is the Internet. Ok, technically I know that I'm cheating at physics here, but just go with it and see what happens.

If we upload our 2D documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoints, etc. to the Internet, that gives them the element of height which raises them to a level where they can be seen and read by many as well as the ability to be found on the Internet.

With 3D marketing you can have standalone websites and web pages.

• FYI this breaks down for sculptures, which are 3D in real life (but 2D photos of 3D sculptures uploaded to the Internet are 3D in this rather strained model of physics and marketing).
  
• It also breaks down for 3D-Printing and the "Internet of Things" or the "Internet of Everything"...so if this bothers you, then just add one dimension to each of the sections of this post and everything should be fine.
  
• But after all we're talking about 3D Marketing here, not just 3D. :)

4-Dimensional Marketing (4D Social Media Marketing)

Time and/or gravity is the fourth dimension.* So if you add "real-time" to the fixed websites and web pages on the Internet and the power (gravity) to share them, you get social media marketing.
* Huge pardons to real physics experts here!

If you factor in the ability to share websites and web pages this opens up the possibilities for blogs and social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, etc.

Now we have many-to-many shared interactions. Posts, status updates, likes, reviews, comments, etc. abound in this dimension. This gives power (gravity) to our other marketing efforts. 4D SMM is word-of-mouth on steroids.

5-Dimensional Marketing (5D Social Media Marketing = Strategy)

Now if I cheat a little again (semi spoiler alert here) and go back to the movie Interstellar: At the point that Matthew McConaughey's character ends up in the 5th dimension (yikes!) then we're given the ability to be outside of 4D marketing and we can view all of social media marketing from a perspective that we can evaluate it and decide what to do with it and how to implement it.

So with this 5D ability we can map out our social media marketing strategy.

We can fold space and time creating wormholes for the best social media marketing possible, connecting as many people to our marketing efforts as possible in ways they'll be the most likely to interact with...and be engaged with.

Strategy is hugely important to launching successful social media marketing efforts or campaigns.

Without strategy we risk having our social media marketing efforts collapse into a black hole. A black hole so powerful that it will suck all of our social media efforts into it and even light won't be emitted, meaning that none of our hopefully great marketing messages will be able to get out into the world and be seen...and shared...or interacted with...with others.

This is the metaphysical marketing equivalent of "the sound of one hand clapping" or "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, did it really fall?"

So be sure to use strategy...and get the applause (engagement) and have your social media efforts be heard (and shared)!

~~~

Ok, enough with my "warped" version merging bad physics with marketing.

What do you think? 
- And FYI, if you 'comment' on this, you'll be using 4D social media marketing, but if you're doing this as part of your SMM strategy, then you're using 5D social media marketing for extra credit!

- By Karl Kasca, instructor UCLA Extension (@KarlKasca @UCLAextension)