Brandialog

April 2009

Marketing and Web 2.0:

How to communicate with

consumers as creators of
content

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.

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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.

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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 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).

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

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.

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

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

(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

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 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.

• 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:

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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

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