Open The Dialogue

As we close the year, real-time conversations, and their implications for brands, are emerging as one of the mainstream trends going into 2010. Consider these introductions, to name just a few.

As we mentioned in our last post, every marketing manager will sooner or later need to deal with these conversations aggregated in one central location.

The question remains: Should you capitalize on these conversations? And if so, how?

A Simple Framework

Here’s my stab at a simple framework that uses easily available data to bring clarity to such decisions. It isn’t all encompassing or definitive. But it will give you a starting point in answering the question – “should I leverage real-time conversations for my brand?”

The first step is to review conversation reports from your favorite social media monitoring service. Don’t have one yet? You’ve got to get one! Really. In 2010, you cannot afford not to listen to your customers online (shameless self-promotion: see D.insight.)

Consider the tonality and volume of conversations about your brand over the last 30 to 60 days and apply the framework below.

As you will see, analyzing real-time conversations based on tonality – and especially volume –can give you a good starting point to plan out your course of action.

Turning Insight into Action

No doubt, there will be several ideas specific to your situation on how you can leverage conversations or resolve issues. Below are a few general thought starters based on the quadrant most relevant to you:

Mostly Positive/Neutral, High Volume (I): If your brand lies in this quadrant, congratulations! Your customers are probably excited about your brand, and they certainly voice it. In my view, your biggest opportunities are:

1. Aggregate & promote: Next to ensuring that your customers are happy, the most important thing is to let others know your customers are happy (apologies to J.D. Rockefeller for twisting his quote). By aggregating conversations in one place you can serve up a stream of endorsements and candid commentary to potential customers.  True, you cannot completely control these conversations, and yes, you will see occasional negativity. But these risks are inevitable and exist irrespective of your participation. But the benefits outweigh the risks when you know that most of the chatter is positive. In fact, by actively listening and contributing, you can also address any negativity quickly.
2. Market research: It’s not very sexy, but its true. Tuning in and listening to the stream of chatter about your brand can deliver immense insight about your customers’ true tastes and preferences. This unfiltered, candid feedback can be further sliced and diced in numerous ways to offer deeper insights.
3. Customer support: Using customer-powered forums to provide tech support is already a popular practice. Adding real-time conversations can add a new level of immediacy that could further reduce your customers’ reliance on phone support. By identifying and rewarding the biggest contributors in a moderated forum, you can very quickly create a small army of fans who can help others out in real-time.

Mostly Positive/Neutral, Low Volume (II): The good news is that your customers are mostly happy. But sadly not too many others know about it or talk about it using social media. But you could explore ways to jump-start the conversation:

1. Identify and embrace your greatest fans: Everyone is passionate about something. Chances are, there are people passionate about your brand or product. It’s a matter of finding them and empowering or motivating them to share their candid thoughts online with others.
2. Chime in and participate: You can also jump-start conversations by building a presence across social media channels and adding distinct value. Remember, adding value means sharing something your audience cares strongly about.

Mostly Negative, High/Low Volume (III, IV): As you probably know, your greatest challenge is to understand why your customers are dissatisfied and negative. Typically, negativity results from:

• Misinformation: Inaccurate facts can spark rumors and negativity. However this is relatively easy to fix if you have an established presence online.
• Poor one-off experiences: Inevitably, mistakes will happen and some customers will be dissatisfied. Your reaction to such a situations will define the tonality of conversation. An established presence online and moving quickly to resolve issues can help you turn negative conversations into positive ones.
• Consistent product/service issues: You may need a more comprehensive program – including reviewing your product/service offering – to mitigate negativity.

If your volume is low, you can also address negativity in real-time. By monitoring the conversation and resolving issues on a case-by-case basis, you can turn the tide to some degree.

Ultimately, the opportunities with real-time conversations are clear and the ideas above may help. But perhaps the most important determinants of an organization’s success with real-time conversations will be its posture toward transparency, willingness to accept the inherent risks with conversations and a commitment to resolve negativity quickly.

How are you using real-time conversations in your conversations? What ideas can you suggest?

FOOTNOTE:

Notes and Assumptions:

1. Tonality: ‘Positive’ means that most readers consider a product/service favorably after viewing a post or conversation; ‘neutral’ means readers’ views remain unaffected; ‘negative’ means readers’ view product/service unfavorably.

2. Volume: ‘High’ volume means that, compared to your competitive set you get at least above average volume. (A steady stream of daily chatter – several posts a day.) ‘Low’ volume means significantly below average volume (occasional posts in a week/month – little to no daily stream.)

3. Why ‘Neutral’ is combined with ‘Positive’: Our assumption is that neutral conversations can still influence customers’ opinions positively because they reflect dominance/top-of-mindedness of a brand/product/service.

The real-time web is creating thousands of conversations about brands and products. These conversations, ranging from tid-bits of opinions to live mobile streaming videos, aren’t fleeting away as fast as they were created. Instead, they’re indexed, archived, streamed and searchable. Combined together, these conversations form a collective intelligence that is influencing choices, opinions and purchase decisions.

Can brands find opportunity in these streams of chatter? Can they use them to reach more customers or build greater loyalty?

We think the answer is a resounding yes as long as certain criteria are met.

But before we go into our reasons, let’s consider why brands should even care about this topic.

Why should we care?

When Seth Godin announced his Brands in Public Project, it drove plenty of discussion. The project automatically aggregates real-time conversation and trends about a brand on one side of the page. The other side is handed over to the brand, allowing them to feed their own content, add commentary and curate the page as they see fit.  Godin faced some Brands in Public Project, it drove plenty of discussion. The project automatically aggregates real-time conversation and trends about a brand on one side of the page. The other side is handed over to the brand, allowing them to feed their own content, add commentary and curate the page as they see fit.  Godin faced some criticism about the idea’s execution, fee structure, and legal/ethical issues.

However, there was very little discussion about the aspect we felt that mattered most: implications of a real-time collection of opinions for brands, CMOs and consumers.

Fact is, real-time conversations are increasingly becoming sources of information for consumers. Google’s introduction last week of real-time search shows how easy it is for consumers to access real-time conversations – even if they’re not participating.  In fact anyone can use simple feed aggregators to quickly create public portals that track conversations about a brand from sources like twitter, backtype and blogsearch.

Trying to control, restrict or discourage such aggregation or expect company permissions will probably prove to be naïve in the long run.

Take Wikipedia for example. Brands have no control over what’s written about them. They can persuade, influence and educate but they cannot control. A parallel for the real-time web is inevitable.

Taken a step further, if technologies like Google’s sidewiki find popularity, millions of users will be empowered to have conversations about your brand, right on your home page (well, next to it) without any permission or control from your company.

This underscores why we ought to focus on finding opportunities to embrace conversations rather than trying to control them.

Where’s the opportunity? Where’s the risk?

Opportunity and risk go hand-in-hand with real-time conversations, especially when they are aggregated in one place. Let’s break some of these down:

Opportunities

• Powerful endorsement: We trust each other’s opinions (or even strangers’) far more than we trust advertising. By simply streaming the genuine excitement and opinions your customers express for your brand, you can get powerful endorsements for prospective customers.
• A chance to chat: A central hub that aggregates conversations about your brand also offers you the opportunity to join in. You can educate, influence and persuade people to see your point of you.
• Steer a situation rather than be steered by one: Issues will occur. But when customers know where to go for answers from the official source and from other customers, they can resolve issues faster.
• Real-time research: You can continue to spend thousands on market research but don’t ignore the powerful insights you can get for free and in real-time by listening in on the conversation.

Risks

• Conversations can be biased: Though every member of a community can voice opinions, sometimes only a fraction of them actually do, making conversations susceptible to biases. Often times a vocal minority dominates a majority of the conversation and tone.
• Anonymity can skew tonality: Anonymity online can lead people to act in extremes (online disinhibition effect) and the resulting conversations can skew the (usually negative) tone or gravity of any situation to extremes.

Should You Capitalize on Real-Time Conversations or not?

There is obviously no template answer to this question. Developing a strategy that leverages conversations online depends on variables such as brand, reputation, culture and internal support, among others.

That said, if the current tone of conversation about your brand ranges mostly between positive and neutral, then it’s likely you can leverage this conversation very successfully. On the other hand, if current conversations are mostly negative, measures to fix this are critical.

Ultimately, every marketing manager will sooner or later need to deal with real-time conversations about their brand in one central location. And they will have neither the ability to impose permissions nor control.

So how can we take advantage of the opportunities created by the real-time web?

We’ll explore this in greater detail next week. But meanwhile we’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you see opportunities? If so, how would you leverage these?

Endorsement deal: Real-time conversations about Avatar aggregated by Google’s real-time search show average folks raving about the movie – the most powerful endorsement you can get.

We’re really excited about launching the M.insight mobile app today, for the iPhone/iPod Touch, Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices.

Our colleagues often ask our recommendations on great blogs covering marketing communications and social media.  And quite honestly, with a bewildering number of blogs covering the space, it can get a bit overwhelming trying to decide which ones to read regularly to stay on top of news affecting our industry or clients.

Well, M.insight is designed help.  It’s a simple, free mobile app that aggregates content from a hand-picked group of highly respected blogs and news sites within the industry so you don’t have to dig through hundreds of blogs to get to articles that really matter to you.  And M.insight delivers this up-to-the-minute content right to your smartphone, so you can catch up on your reading whenever you have a few spare minutes.  You can add as many of your favorite feeds as you like, or delete feeds you don’t care about.  You can even monitor social media right from your smartphone.

Check out mww.com/minsight to learn more about the app and download it to your smartphone.

We really hope this app becomes a useful and time-saving tool for our colleagues and peers.  We’d love to hear what you think!  Let us know in the comments section.

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Lately there’s been an obsession among marketers over social media. And while normally I’d be thrilled that more brands are considering new ways of connecting with their customers, the latest frenzy over blindly creating Facebook fan pages, Twitter accounts, social media programs and <insert latest network> is worrying.

Why, you might ask, would I ever be against the idea of brands using new tools and social technologies to connect with consumers?

Well, I’m not.

But our disproportionate obsession with the medium, rather than the opportunity and the message, is a trap for many marketers. Fact is, social media is only one part of the equation: it is the medium (or the vehicle) that empowers social content and participation (or conversations) whether initiated by consumers or brands.

But in our rush to embrace new marketing channels, let’s not forget about the other most important ingredient that powers the success of social media: human conversations.

This distinction might seem trivial, but it’s extremely important.

Without social media, online conversations would not be possible. But without meaningful conversations, the channels of social media alone are useless.

It’s All About the Conversation.

The real power of social media lies in its ability to empower conversations and participation. And this is what marketers should spend most of their time and energy thinking about.

Unlike ever before, we can have real, two-way conversations among consumers and brands in tremendously efficient ways – a golden opportunity for marketers. Conversations can ultimately drive business results, whether it’s selling products, influencing opinions, or resolving issues.

We can build the most awe-inspiring Facebook fan page, but if we don’t have anything meaningful to say, or add any real value to the community we hope to connect with, we will be wasting our time. Similarly, we can build an army of followers on twitter. But until we use the service to have real conversations, our followers won’t help drive any business impact.

Ultimately, we’ve got to step away from the tactics and think: are we engaging in social media because it’s the buzzword du jour? Or are we trying to have a real impact on our business by connecting with consumers in ways never before possible.

If you’ve read this far and you’re nodding in agreement, then read on. Below are four simple filters that can help you focus your efforts in social media

1. Have a measurable objective: Yes, I know this is rather obvious. But it’s easy to get caught up in the technology of social media. Ask yourself: what specific result do I hope to achieve with an effort in social media, and how will I know when I’ve achieved it. The web is remarkably measureable – take advantage of it.

2. Listen first, build second: Use one of several tools available to tune in to the existing conversation on the social web about your brand. Is there a consistent issue you can solve? A perception problem you can address? A need you can fulfill? By listening in, you can shape your efforts to be highly relevant to the audience you want to connect with.

3. Bring value to the party: Developing a presence in social media is somewhat like walking into a crowded bar where everyone’s friends. If you stand up on the nearest chair and scream about special offers and press release headlines, you’ll be thrown out rather quickly. Walk in, make friends, offer something valuable, and you’ll quickly be a much loved member of the community. If you can inform, entertain, help, support, enable or empower the community, you’re adding value. Just remember – you’ve got to answer their needs before yours.

4. Be prepared for a conversation: This one’s pretty black and white: social media empowers conversations. You cannot get real results from your efforts if you cannot have genuine, authentic conversations. Oh and, remember – conversations include listening.

Are you at the crossroads of deciding how to embrace social media? I’d love to hear your thoughts, challenges and suggestions.

Photo credit, choconancy1

I want to take a moment here on OTD to make some brief announcements as well as give you a peek into what the future will bring us.  My name is Saurabh Wahi and I’m a senior vice president at MWW Group and, now, our DialogueMedia practice. I’ve been with the firm for over seven years, and during the last three, I’ve immersed myself in digital media strategy behind the scenes as I sought to bridge the gap between traditional public relations and the digital media world for our clients.

It’s been a great ride so far. I’ve learned a tremendous amount, made my fair share of mistakes, created campaigns I’m very proud of and most importantly, made some great friends along the way. And although my erstwhile partners in crime, Tom Biro and Chris Thilk, have moved on to pursue their own individual passions (movies for Chris, rock stars for Tom) – I will definitely treasure the great friendship and partnership I enjoyed with each of them and the amazing work we’ve collaborated on for our clients.

Change, as they say, is the only constant and our industry has seen more of it in the last 24 months than perhaps several years preceding.  DialogueMedia has evolved successfully, maintaining its lead through every wave of new technologies and trends and continuing to deliver great results for our clients.

The next evolution of DialogueMedia is now underway. Tectonic shifts in the media landscape have changed consumption habits. New ideas and technologies have been introduced and the role of public relations has continued to evolve. And all this has got us really, really excited here at DialogueMedia. Without giving away too much about our near term plans, I will say that you can expect some exciting new thinking and perspectives, some new faces in addition to the familiar ones, and a whole lot of innovation.

Oh and, after all this talk of change, let me just finish off by mentioning some things that won’t change.  I remain incredibly passionate about my photography and Nikon remains one of my all-time favorite brands to work on. So that won’t change. I’ll continue to lead that business while replacing my group management responsibilities with strategic initiatives for DialogueMedia.

The team and I will be ramping posts up again in the next few days and you can look forward to hearing a range of different perspectives from folks at MWW Group and DialogueMedia.

We look forward to a dialogue with you.