The Value of Conversations vs. Mass-Messaging

If you read my last post, you'll see a great example of an agency focused on creating conversations through Social Media rather than blasting a message out to a larger number of consumers. When it comes to a smaller event, like the one Iris was communicating about, it makes a lot more sense to have smaller, focused discussions around the event rather than the traditional mass-messaging. But does it work in all cases? Of course not. If a brand wants to maintain its awareness or has a broad message to promote, traditional marketing may work best. But let's take a deeper look into Conversations vs. Messaging:

The Time Factor:

Conversations: This would probably be the biggest hindrance to brands trying to develop conversations with their consumers. It's true, building a lasting relationship with someone takes time. There will be ups and downs, fires that need to be put out and celebrations that need to be shared; so yeah, cultivating a relationship will take time.

Messaging: If your brand has the financial stability, sending a mass message takes little time. Sure, you will have to spend some time crafting the message and make sure that it is displayed when and where you want, but after the fact, you can sit back and see what kind of response the message gets.

The Support Factor:

Conversations: A company may not see the value in directing resources around a conversation but it is important that there is a lot of support in developing these conversations. While there may only be one "voice" for the brand, it should have a lot of support in place. Both pre- and post- conversation, it is important to realize this. A fully supported conversation will last longer than one that is developed and supported by a single resource.

Messaging: Support for a mass message before it is displayed is very important. There usually needs to be assistance in strategy, audience development, placement, etc. But after the message is produced and displayed, little resources are needed.

The Longevity Factor:

Conversations: This aspect of marketing is why creating and cultivating conversations with consumers has become more important than simply mass messaging. Companies and Brands alike need to understand that creating conversations with consumers is truly the only type of communication that will lead to a long relationship. This will undoubtedly help attract more revenue per consumer which in turn will lead to a more beneficial growth rate for the business.

Messaging: Unfortunately, most messages do not live much longer than they are intended to and if they are it is usually because of some aspect of social media or WOM that has kept it alive.

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I believe that Brands need to figure out the right method to make their messages stick while contributing to the conversations developed around the brand. By participating online and off, Brands can continue to lead the conversations as well as send smart, sound messages to a large number of people.

The Value of Conversations

I recently read about an initiative that one of my VCU Brandcenter classmates, Luis Carranza implemented at his agency, Iris Digital. The shop, based out of London, experimented by bypassing traditional advertising and focusing on social media to engage its audience for a party sponsored by Sony Ericsson. The invitation-only party was centered on the World Cup, so Luis obviously built his strategy around Soccer. He used Facebook, Twitter and built a presence on soccer blogs to get the word out. Based on his strategies, I believe it is safe to say that his goal was to develop conversations around the party as well as what Iris is doing. It is safe to say it was a success. Please view this article that explains it in more detail.

Luis Carranza featured on BrandRepublic.com

The aspect of the article that is important to all is what Luis sees as the advantages and disadvantages of using Social Media:

Advantages:

1. Knowing that there is a person, someone with a heartbeat behind a brand is good for business.
2. People will look for you if they like what you have to say.
3. People have names, and too often we simply refer to them as consumers. It's more difficult to think of someone as a consumer, when they tell you their name. This approach is more human.
4. Reaction time is faster. You can make adjustments on the fly if something isn't working.
5. People opt-in and out as they wish.
6. Engagements and experiences more memorable than page views.
7. Consumers have more control and input.
   

Disadvantages:

1. Finding the right people takes time. You can't talk to every single person, so you have to spend time finding the right ones.
2. Social media campaigns don't start at 9 and end at 5. Constant monitoring is required.
3. It's not easy. You can't just say you want to use Twitter and just start doing it. Expect obstacles and set backs, but push forward.
4. Bud Caddell said it best in his slideshare presentation: "Digital Media isn't Mass Media for Cheap".
5. It's complex.
6. Much of the value added by a campaign like this isn't measurable in the traditional sense. An offline conversation as a result of something online doesn't register until after the campaign is over.
7. What worked today doesn't always work tomorrow. There's no cookie cutter way to be honest with your audience.

This idea brings up a much broader topic; The Value of Conversations vs. Messaging. I will explain my thoughts on this tomorrow.

Transparency: The Latest Buzz Word in Business

Pronunciation: tran(t)s-'par-&n-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -cies
: thequality or state of being transparent
: easily seen through, recognized, or detected
: manifest; obvious
: open; frank; candid

Considering my youth in terms of professional experience, I am unaware of how businesses conducted themselves decades ago. What I do know though is how important transparency has become. In the years since I first attended Ohio State, the term transparency hasn't been used when discussing business as much as it has been the last 6-18 months. One of the main reasons why I believe it has become the latest buzz word in business/marketing is because of consumer expectations. As consumers, we are tired of companies promising one thing and following through on another. We are sick of hearing about internal company problems when externally, we are led to believe something else. Lastly, it gets old when companies are too secretive about the business they are in and the need they will serve.

I first heard the buzz word in late 2007. I realize that it was probably being used before that but it was very refreshing for me to hear. In fact, it was used by Path101.com, a yet to launch start up website focused on helping people figure out their career path. You can read about the site below. I was drawn to them because they were not afraid to document their experience securing funding, hiring the team and working towards an actual launch date - which happened to be last week. It is no surprise that this transparency helped them gain an audience - whatever the size - and has put them in a better position to succeed. In a time when most start ups are secretive until they launch, it was just the surprise I needed to learn what type of company I want to work for.

Another reason why transparency has become so important is Social Media. Social Media tools have allowed companies and consumers alike to develop stronger, deeper, more fulfilling relationships where honesty is necessary. These tools require that companies are open and honest because if they are not, consumers can and will call them on it. Here are three simple ways a company can become more transparent:

Step 1: Use your company blog to have a discussion with consumers - First off, I really hope your company is blogging. It is the easiest and possibly, best way for consumers to truly understand what goes on behind the scenes at your business. This is important because it helps develop a personality for your company, making it less of just a brick and mortar business and more a neighborhood hangout (if you will). Its also important to have a presence on other industry blogs and association websites, making sure your presence is known on the Internet.

Step 2: Develop a strategy for Social Media - Earning respect and trust takes time. If it didn't, it wouldn't be that important. With that said, setting up an account on every social media site doesn't make sense. Your Social Media strategy should fall in line with who your target consumer is. If for instance your business is geared toward grandparents, don't build a fan page on Facebook that is targeting your audience, rather focus on the grandparent, grandchild relationship and build trust with the grandchild. This will undoubtedly, albeit in a small way, help make your business more authentic.

Step 3: Be Inclusive - I understand that it doesn't make sense to try to beat a dead horse. That is why if you have multiple conversations with consumers who can't seem to understand your brand, it may be time to move on. But it IS important to try. Find your "haters" and try to help them understand the value in your business. Don't necessarily try to convert them into customers but rather develop a conversation about why they feel the way they do about your brand. Remember, an angry consumer can be as important as a happy customer.

Transparency is also important on an individual level. It is one of the qualities that I am most proud of. As always, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on transparency and its place in business today.

Path101.com Launches Today.

For those of you who have followed my blog since its start knows that during my last semester at the VCU Brandcenter I worked on an assignment for path101.com. Path101 bills itself as Community Powered Career Discovery. Basically, it wants to help you figure out the career path you would find most exhilarating. A tough task indeed as for it to be community driven, it needs a large community to lean on. With that said, it was extremely smart in that its first step was to discover career path tendencies from scouring the Internet for public resumes. **Did you know there are well over a million public resumes online?**

In any event, here are some screen shots of its launch:













I recommend you go to the site and explore; check out what career your personality matches up with. Even though they technically launched today, they have been using social media to build a presence through their company blog, their CEO's blog, Twitter and attending events such as SXSW. They are definitely a blueprint of success for any startup to follow - and that's before you measure whether Path101 will continue to be around. They have always depended on being transparent and I couldn't agree more with that idea. Congratulations to Charlie and the rest of the Path101 team!

White Horse Marketing webinar: The Only 3 Social Media Metrcis that Matter

An aspect of unemployment or consulting is having the extra time to attend Webinars. You can find companies hosting webinars across the Internet but I, for obvious reasons, focus on Marketing ones. Today, I will be listening to White Horse's webinar, The Only 3 Social Media Metrics that Matter: a Sanity Plea. I have listened to quite a few of White Horse webinars and find them very interesting. I plan on commenting via my Twitter feed so follow me if you already don't.

http://twitter.com/ari_ratner

If not, I will write a brief follow up afterward. Hope you all are having a good week!

UPDATE:

The webinar was fairly interesting. It hammered home some points that we already clear, like social media is about interaction, not direct action. This point, while obvious to some, is an important point in developing social media strategy. In addition, they focused on the trouble of placing an ROI on social media tactics. I disagree with this. While it may be hard to find an exact return on most social media tactics (unless its direct sales), companies need to measure something. Even if its the number of users interacting with the brand, that will help them gain a stronger understanding of managing expectations and recording a success or failure. If a company is not measuring its tactic, there is no chance to know whether it was a success. With that said, overall the webinar kept my interest and I will continue to check in on what White Horse has to say.

How to determine a "strong" online presence?

I have thought about my last post and whether having any presence online is smart, even if it is not up to par. What is par though? My plan this week is to build a questionnaire and try to get as many people to answer it. It shouldn't be too long, maybe 10 questions; but the goal is to set an 'industry' standard for participating online. I would appreciate any help with questions to ask. Thoughts?

Is it better to have any online presence rather than none at all?

Earlier today, I had a conversation with an acquaintance of mine about my online presence. He made some extremely valid points about having a strong online presence, especially during these tough times. He is aware of my situation and gave me some great pointers in building my brand more effectively.

After our conversation, I thought about whether it makes sense to have an online presence if it’s not up to par with your peers. After some initial thought, I think having a presence online, whether strong or not, is important. First off, it shows that you understand the direction business is going. While I may not write frequently on my blog, I have a strong sense of the value updating your blog has. Secondly, it allows for two-way conversation. Whether it is over IM, Twitter, Facebook messaging or commenting on blogs, a conversation is more impactful. Lastly, it is therapeutic. Everyone has a blog for a different reason; some to tout their expertise, some to voice their opinion, some to let people in on their lives. I personally blog because it allows me to vent, explain, comment on anything that I am experiencing.

See for me, personal blogging and branding is unique to everyone. If a company makes its decisions solely around someone’s online presence, there are missing the point. An online presence does not make a person but rather is an extension of who they are. It should be one aspect of the decision but by no means the only one.
With that said, companies need to have a strong online presence. This is their way to connect directly with consumers and building a strong online strategy is the first way to do so. That is what I will be doing today – developing an action plan for a startup company that will help it build a strong presence online. I hope I can use what I have learned through my offline and online network to recommend sound, smart solutions.