BrandialogApril 2009

Marketing and Web 2.0:

How to communicate with consumers as creators of content

1

Brands that want to be present on social networks (and Web 2.0 in general) have to participate meaningfully in conversations rather than push advertising at consumers. Brands have to bring content, material and value through their interactions.

Marketing and Web 2.0: How to communicate with consumers as creators of content

Nobody can deny the evidence: the consumer has changed. Advertising techniques to reach him must therefore also evolve. The internet has brought us innumerable innovations and has become the ultimate interactive communication tool. And yet many brands still persist in using traditional marketing techniques to try to seduce the internaut. But it isn’t working any more…

In this article you will find:

A profile of the new consumer in the Web 2.0 era; The new thinking that brands must apply to enter into conversation with these

consumers; The hesitations and fears of brand managers faced with consumers who generate

web content; Solutions to stimulate public creativity without endangering the official brand

message; The advantages of dialogue, co-creation and transparency – for both brands and

consumers.

From word of mouth to Web 2.0

Numerous studies show that consumers are influenced in their purchase act principally by the opinion and recommendations of other consumers.

Word of mouth is therefore the most powerful media there is. This spontaneous dialogue between friends and consumers is amplified and globalised today on a worldwide level thanks to the Internet, via blogs, social networks and other forms of services and tools grouped under the name Web 2.0.

This new web appeared at the beginning of the millennium with the emergence of new multimedia production technologies and is characterised by the abundance of content

2

generated by users. Every day, more and more original audiovisual material, new ideas and fresh opinions are produced and distributed by users of popular services such as YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Wikipedia.

Beyond the debate on the status of amateur content creators versus professionals in the various industries concerned, one thing is certain: users have taken the high ground on the Internet.

Consumers use Web 2.0 en masse

Users of Web 2.0 naturally have their own needs and desires. They are consequently consumers who use the potential of Web 2.0 to express and share their opinions about the products, services and brands they use. They interact with other Web users, pass information and ultimately influence their purchase decisions. We therefore arrive at the word-of-mouth media model which we mentioned above.

It would not be a problem for brands if these Web 2.0 users formed an isolated group which was not representative of the population, as was the case when the Internet was in early development. But today the figures are undeniable, and they are shaking up the beliefs of product managers:

There are more than 100 million blogs on the Web, 120,000 new blogs are created daily, and 15.5 million messages are posted on blogs every day (Source: Technorati);

Facebook claims more than 200 million active users.

The Facebook social network itself is evolving continuously in function of the uncountable interactions between users. New content is uploaded perpetually onto the site. The statistics speak for themselves:

More than 850 million photos and 7 million videos are uploaded onto the site every month;

More than 28 million content items (all types including links, blog extracts, and notes) are exchanged every month;

More than 25 million active groups exist on Facebook. Some of these groups are in fact communities of consumers of a certain product or brand.

These colossal figures become even more impressive when you consider the fact that 40% of social network users use the networks to find out about products and brands they like or intend to purchase (Source: TNS Survey).

What’s more, 15% of all conversations on social networks include references to – or concern directly – a brand or product. (Source: Northeastern University).

3

A traditional marketing model that is difficult to challenge

Constantly increasing figures show without any doubt that the Internet has become a mass medium. It is now an entertainment, information and work tool of such importance that it calls into question most of the certainties developed over the years about consumer behaviour and the way to reach them. The consequences of the Internet’s popularity on consumer habits are numerous and very real. But they are also difficult to accept for brands since they force a total rethink on marketing models and a fundamental change in the relationship between consumers and brands.

Too many advertising professionals simply try to replicate the ‘interruption marketing’ model that worked so well in traditional media in the past. But the rules no longer apply.

Nielsen research on conversations that took place on social networks in 2007 and 2008 illustrates this point. The study shows that the word “false” is the term most often associated to the word “advertising”.

Back in January 2006, Marketing Magazine published a provocative finding: “44% of managers of consumer goods companies judge that their advertising strategy was not effective in 2005.”

In addition, communicators today are faced with another huge challenge: saturation. It is widely accepted that an average consumer in the industrial world is confronted with 2000 to 3000 advertising messages a day. Unsurprisingly, it is difficult for a brand to stand out in this situation. In the words of the renowned American marketer, Seth Godin, if I pass by a cow, I don’t notice it. But if I pass by a purple cow, I stop. It has become remarkable. The purple cow is an ideal for most brands that wish to prosper.

Thankfully for brands, the Internet offers some excellent opportunities for becoming remarkable.

And being “remarkable” also means “worth making a remark about”!

4

Brands join the conversation

According to a study by the Forrester Corporation, as individuals we remember:

15% of what we read 15% of what we hear 80% of what we experience

It is therefore experience which provokes (by far) the highest retention rate. The principal conclusion to draw from these figures is that to be remarkable, a brand needs to create experience! You have to experience something in order to have something to say about it afterwards.

As we saw at the beginning of this article, word of mouth is the best way to share an experience and influence others positively or negatively. Word of mouth traditionally occurs between two friends, colleagues or consumers. Brands are perceived as biased sources and are therefore excluded from this process.

The Internet, once again, has changed the rules. Today Web 2.0 offers brands the possibility of joining the conversation, to become a source of experience and information between consumers. But obviously, for this to happen, a certain number of rules have to be respected.

The most important rule concerns the humility that brands must develop. If they wish to enter into conversation with consumers, they must swallow their pride, leave their power behind and sit down with consumers as equals. A brand which pretends to be willing to enter into a dialogue but which tries to impose its viewpoint has already lost the battle. In any case, consumers have the means to find out the truth and nothing is more devastating than a consumer-internaut who feels betrayed by a brand.

The essential words are transparency, honesty and modesty.

Members of a social network, owners of blogs and individuals who create and share videos on line are all creators of content, and they all want to distribute their creations to as many people as possible. But they also have a certain sense of ownership of their creations. The consequence for brands is that they have to remain discreet and subtle in their approach, in order to avoid giving the impression that they have adopted – or even stolen – the work of a private individual. Brands that want to be present on social networks (and Web 2.0 in general) have to participate meaningfully in conversations rather than push advertising at consumers. Brands have to bring content, material and value through their interactions.

5

What are the risks facing brands? And how can they overcome them?

This model of communication between brands and consumers presents the brands with two principal risks, which most brand managers are unwilling to take.

The first risk is that of losing control of the communication. An advertising strategy is prepared beforehand, internally or by an advertising agency. Large sums of money are invested and other types of brand communication are developed based on this foundation. Letting consumers openly express themselves and encouraging the development of ‘amateur’ content runs the risk of deforming the official brand message.

To avoid an outbreak of creativity which could be harmful to the brand, the ideal solution is to propose a creative corner – an area where consumers are free to express themselves within boundaries established by the brand. This is why the majority of brands that have decided to surf the Web 2.0 wave invite content creators and consumers to express themselves on dedicated platforms. Certain rules are applied to protect the official message, while original creativity is encouraged.

This treatment is seen, for example, in the many consumer contests based on User-Generated-Content which have appeared on sites linked directly or indirectly to brands. The idea is to propose a subject or theme which allows consumers to use their imagination to the full, while staying within the limits of the brand communication strategy.

Another way to channel consumer creativity and messages is to offer a platform for dialogue and co-creation dedicated to a brand. The structure of the platform is controlled entirely by the brand and the content is based on a specific context. This is what, for example, Dell and Starbucks have done; both with great success.

6

The second risk linked to the opening of conversation between brands and consumers relates to negative messages. All too often, brand managers fear that opening consumer dialogue and encouraging feedback will open the valve to negative remarks and criticisms of all kinds. Two responses can be given to this problem.

The first is that criticism is part of the game and helps a company to identify its own shortcomings. Besides, an unhappy customer who nevertheless feels that he is being listened to, can become an excellent ambassador for the brand. The transformation from being dissatisfied to being satisfied is a powerful experience and one which a customer naturally wants to share with others.

The second response to the threat of uncontrollable criticism comes from the history of after-sales service.

Up until a few years ago, a consumer who wanted to talk to a company had only two alternatives. Either he picked up the telephone and was prepared to wait on-hold for ages or he sent a letter and prayed for a reply. The energy required to have a conversation with a brand was considerable and, quite logically, only those who were extremely motivated or irate would go to the end of the process.

Once again, the Internet has changed everything. Innumerable areas for self expression have appeared on the Web. Consumers today have access to a great number of alternatives for expressing their opinions about brands and services that they use. With blogs, social networks and videos, they can share with the whole world their ideas, suggestions, delights and grudges. You only have to tap in the name of a brand on Google and check the first two pages of results to see what consumers are discussing and sharing about it. What’s new is that most of the discussions are constructive, interesting and relevant to the brand in question.

7

(Example with Nutella on Twitter)

Discovering consumers’ opinions without the brand polling them directly reveals a mine of useful and spontaneous knowledge. What’s more, satisfied users shout it out loud and clear, and become top quality ambassadors.

The advantages of consumer dialogue for companies

Many companies are intimidated by the procedures that have to be followed to obtain consumer opinions and feedback. But if they can overcome this obstacle, there are many benefits to be gained:

The creation of a database of recurring messages. Knowing and understanding typical consumer messages can help to improve brand communication in terms of product packaging, Internet site and other marketing elements. It also enables the company to attract new consumers more easily and anticipate their concerns.

The collection of real and spontaneous feedback. Most opinion surveys are forced on a consumer who doesn’t necessarily want to participate or is tempted to do so by an incentive. In our model, consumer opinion is spontaneous.

A better understanding of consumer needs and desires. This can lead to the exploration of new segments and the development of new products.

The improvement of existing products and services.

The improvement of brand image and encouragement of word of mouth.

The improvement in R&D efficiency thanks to collective intelligence from the public.

8

An increase in consumer loyalty through transparent dialogue between consumers and employees of the brand.

The creation of an active consumer community around brands and products.

A reduction in the cost of consumer service thanks to the participation of communities.

The opportunity to give information to consumers and non-consumers.

Increased satisfaction of both parties: brands and consumers.

I cannot end this article without inviting you to test Brandialog, a tool created specifically to respond to the conversational needs of brands and consumers. You are of course encouraged to dialogue with us too, and give us your opinion about our tool.

About us

Brandialog is an innovative online platform allowing consumers to start conversation with brands (and real person behind them).

Mission:

Brandialog offers effective feedback to users and brand owners, to buyers and sellers in order to raise the satisfaction of both parties in dealing together.

More than 7000 brands are listed on Brandialog but the consumers can add the missing ones. We’ll go to all these brands on behalf of our users and get the answers they deserve.

Contact:

Email: info@brandialog.eu

Phone: +32475 23 34 34

Address: 21, Rue Joseph Bensstraat, 1180 Brussels, Belgium

Links

Website: www.brandialog.com

Blog: http://blog.brandialog.eu

Information website for brands: http://tmtbrandpulse.com

9

10