Web 2.0 and the Reinvention of Marketing and PR
If a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear it, did it really happen?
Web 2.0 has changed the landscape for how companies broadcast and respond to customers, stakeholders, and influencers.
People, aka the new influencers, not only have access to the Web and a shed full of social tools to publish and share experiences online, they also have the power to shape perception and evoke emotion that can positively or negatively affect even the most seemingly invincible brands.
Web 2.0 has sparked social revolution and it’s forcing companies to evolve and redesign any and all outbound and inbound communications strategies.
If necessity is the mother of invention, then observation, mobility, and reaction are the attributes for Darwinian evolution.
Marketing and PR are shifting from an inbound, one-way channel into collaborative streams of market, product, and service-related conversations. Socialized media is yanking brands into new territories providing representatives with the ability to contribute to and shape public perception, one very public conversation at a time.
Those companies that apply resources to help steer and bolster their brand across the social Web will create relationships that will ultimately pay dividends in the form of customer loyalty and referrals. Those companies reluctant, naïve, or ignorant to the conversations taking place without them will be introduced into social media out of necessity –- usually in the form of damage control.
It all starts with listening and observation. The conversations and relationships that take place with your participation are investments in the enhancement of business development and processes that help companies stay customer-focused, empathetic, and most importantly, ahead of the game.
The social Web gives us the opportunity to inspire communities populated by active brand ambassadors. People are the new influencers and their collective voices contribute to the improvement of everything we do and most importantly, everything we are.
Web 2.0 is humanizing companies, brands, and the products that define them.
We’ll review the landscape of strategies, communities, and tools to observe, listen, and build strategies for meaningful engagement in order to contribute and shape your brand in a Web 2.0 world.
comments
100% my feelings. Heck, even a book that said "Not so many words on a slide" and "don't read your slides to the audience" would be a start.
I thought he made a very good point about how public relations has to evolve to stay relevant in the digital space and has actionable ways to address it within your own company.
Despite the name of the session, it was purely about PR. Disappointing as I attended for the bigger marketing idea which was not covered at all.
Funny, I was joking with Brian about his slides and offered up my visuals for my next presentation. :-) But slides aside I found the talk to be very good. I think Brian's call for all of us to think like "sociologists" is spot on.
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I got something out of this talk despite it being positioned as a "101". I also thought the verbal delivery was very articulate and effective.
I'm with you, David. I think Brian touched upon all marketing in general. In many ways it’s the responsibility of everyone at a company to listen and participate in the conversations that matter to every facet of a business. I like the idea of removing “marketing” from the equation and focusing on sociology, service and market expertise instead to humanize a company's story.
I really enjoyed Brian's presentation and I'm looking forward to reading his book "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations."
What is the URL of that You Tube video you were going to show?
It's frustrating to flip past Powerpoint slides without giving the audience a chance to read the content. It would have been better if you had just spoken without any visual materials at all.
At least, please make the presentation available as a .ppt or .pdf file on the Web 2.0 website so we can see what was left out of your talk. You probably spent a lot of time putting the presentation together & I was (and still am) interested in reading what you had to say!
I expected more to be honest, simply because of Brian's rep. But if you listened, there were some very good nuggests in there.
Powerpoints definitely went too fast. Nonetheless, I got a lot out of the first part of this presentation. Seemed rushed at the end
I enjoyed this presentation. I agree with Marc's comments that there were some really good nuggets there which I will be implementing as part of a marketing strategy for my company.
Marina London
Despite being an 'entry-level' subject talk, Brian absolutely nailed the topic with a killer insight into understanding this change in PR and marketing.
Disappointed. Expected a broader discussion of marketing per the name of the session. This was exclusively on PR which is not my interest. If session name was more accurate, I would have gone to another session.
Poor Powerpoint presentation - way too many words and he didn't leave enough time to read them. Also style of speaking was way too casual for my taste - I kept wanting him to get to the point and stop with all the filler. Needs to take lessons in how to give an effective presentation.