New Media, Trust, PR

Web 2.0: Building Consumer Trust

What should corporate communications do about the social

media

Web 2.0: Building Consumer Trust

What should corporate communications do about the social

media

and Killing PR?

The Platypus CaseTo many people, the platypus is a proof that God

has a sense of humour

The Platypus CaseTo many people, the platypus is a proof that God

has a sense of humour

To Russian bloggers, it is a second name for bad PR in the blogosphere

The Platypus Case (continued)

December 2008

The Platypus Case (still continuing)

• ‘Utkonos’ (platypus) has become the internet slang for poorly disguised advertising on the Russian blogs.

• This ploy has brought the chain under scrutiny, and all of its drawbacks are cheerfully discussed on blogs (with its overall image being quite poor now).

Where has it all gone wrong?

What is Web 2.0 from a PR point of view?

What essentially is Web 2.0?• Networking

(vs. broadcasting)• Users (vs. publishers)• Collaboration &

participation (vs. consumption)

What does this mean for the media

• Instant dissemination of information

• Multiple angles to every story

• 360° scrutiny on coverage

• Real competition to conventional media

Enter New Media

How does the new media compare with the old?

• Big audiences• General topics• ‘Industrial scale’

publishing• Professional

• Segmented audiences• Narrow topics• Customised publishing• Hobby

Conventional Media New Media






Sells audiences to advertisers






Sells audiences to advertisers

Exchanges content with

peers

How does new media compete with the old?

• Hardly any blog can really compete with any major traditional news outlet in the long run.

• Not that it needs to…• Aggregation services

and social bookmarking give everyone easy access to audiences bigger than one would expect

How does new media compete with the old?

• Hardly any blog can really compete with any major traditional news outlet in the long run.

• Not that it needs to…• Aggregation services

and social bookmarking give everyone easy access to audiences bigger than one would expect

• Based on our emotional link to the writer• Inseparable from our trust

for personalities• Decentralised

What about trust?


Personal Trust

• Based on our knowledge of procedures and practices in the media.• Separated from our trust for

particular writer• Centralised

Institutional Trust

We need to trust our sources of information to a certain degree



What about trust?


Personal Trust






What about trust?





Trust 2.0• End of authority,

expertise and certification• Availability and exposure

to peer opinion• Small world networks are

becoming ‘big’• Availability of alternative

sources and background info

Trust 2.0• End of authority,

expertise and certification• Availability and exposure

to peer opinion• Small world networks are

becoming ‘big’• Availability of alternative

sources and background info

Social Media & Trust• Utilises existing ties• Builds new links• Facilitates exchange• Creates new

knowledge• Makes access to

information easy and efficient

Social Media & Trust• Utilises existing ties• Builds new links• Facilitates exchange• Creates new

knowledge• Makes access to

information easy and efficient

Web 2.0 and & the social media generate trust

How does Trust 2.0 work?


Shared media, Hosted media


Joint projects carried out by

online communities (Wikipedia)



Joint projects carried out by

online communities (Wikipedia)

Communities & Social Networks that

plan ‘offline’ activities(charity)


What about trust?

Trust 2.0Trust 1.0

Advertising, product PR, marketing communications

What about trust?

Trust 2.0Trust 1.0


What about trust?

Trust 2.0Trust 1.0


Dante’s Inferno• Dante’s Inferno

distinguishes between the two types of trust when punishing the fraudulent ones.

• So do social media: hidden advertising may be a part of the media, but not of peer-to-peer relations

So what was wrong with Platypus?

An old-fashioned attempt to ‘exploit’ personal trust in the way you would use the institutional one

Old-school PR• No trust involved• Authority assumed• Audience is passive• No feedback expected

Old-school PR• No trust involved• Authority assumed• Audience is passive• No feedback expected

Leading the blind

Why is new media ‘dangerous’ for PR?

The End of Spin• PR used to rely on a

scarcity of channels and an ability to impose its own ‘spin’ through these channels.

• With channels multiplying, our ability to impose spin becomes pretty limited.

The End of Spin• PR used to rely on a

scarcity of channels and an ability to impose its own ‘spin’ through these channels.

• With channels multiplying, our ability to impose spin becomes pretty limited.

• Public Relations have virtually turned into Media Relations, since the media used to be the most obvious and cost-effective way to reach your audiences.

• It no longer is…• PR has to adapt and

meet ‘the public’

Press-relationsEventsSocial Media Relations

• Public Relations have virtually turned into Media Relations, since the media used to be the most obvious and cost-effective way to reach your audiences.

• It no longer is…• PR has to adapt and

meet ‘the public’

Press-relationsEventsSocial Media Relations

What can be done?

Web 2.0 ‘Merits’• Create• Share• Connect• Collaborate

• Quote• Link back• Comment• Participate

Web 2.0 ‘Merits’• Create• Share• Connect• Collaborate

• Quote• Link back• Comment• Participate

What can we do with them?

Public Relations 2.0• Engage audience• Build communities• Expect and inspire

feedback

Public Relations 2.0• Engage audience• Build communities• Expect and inspire

feedback

Deal with people, not with the media

Social Media Rules

Social Media Rules• Nothing is boring

Social Media Rules• Nothing is boring • Nobody is unimportant

Social Media Rules• Nothing is boring • Nobody is unimportant• Go after your audience

Social Media Rules• Nothing is boring • Nobody is unimportant• Go after your audience• Give them content

Social Media Rules• Nothing is boring • Nobody is unimportant• Go after your audience• Give them content• Give them voice

Social Media Rules• Nothing is boring • Nobody is unimportant• Go after your audience• Give them content• Give them voice• Listen to them

In other words• You can always find an

interested audience• You never know what

will be BIG tomorrow• Public services can be

better than your website• Make sure you

participate • Make sure you interact,

not broadcast• Learn from your

audience

Bring Wispa back• Chocolate bars that are no

longer on sale are not a story

• Even a new chocolate bar is not a story

BUT• Every newspaper wrote

about re-launch od Wispa after thousands of people demanded Wispa back in blogs and social networks

ZaZhelezo [‘about hardware’]• Data-centres are boring• The media does not cover

every step of a project• IT people don’t trust

advertisingBUT• A community blog about

the launch of Troyka-Dialog’s new data-centre has become one of the most successful blogging PR projects.

Press Club• Journalists don’t trust PR

people• Journalists like to keep

their blogs privateBUT• The Telecom Press

community, built by Beeline, has become the biggest media-club in the industry.

So is Web 2.0 the death of PR?

Yes, if you don’t change

No, if you really ‘ride’ the wave

But be careful what you ride

Thank you!

[email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mmdblog.com








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