In the same week 3 people who I respect and listen to on different sides when it comes to considering the future.

First Tim Beadle of Marketing Improvement says as one of his forecast for 2008 that...

Web 2.0, or the semantic web or the user-generated content web (choose your favourite term) will be quietly dropped as businesses and consumers recognize the inherent risks of a) linking web systems together and b) telling the whole world about yourself. If Web 2.0 becomes anything, it will become the home of web applications that will work well on a mobile phone. As more and more phones adopt the format of the iphone, why would you need a big, heavy laptop or clunky PDA?

This is in the same week that both General Motors and Coca Cola announcement even greater support for user generated media and social media conversations rather than traditional marketing.

In the same week the head of Intel talks about the 'personal and portable web'. Tim is wrong on the first count. User generated content is here to stay. I do agree with him on the second point. Smart mobiles with customised applications merging the functionailty of PDAs and laptops with location specific filtered information will be available in the next 5 years. I cannot wait for my smart phone to start delivering specific information based upon my Facebook profile and other information when I arrive in a country. Give me some maps. Locations of places to eat based upon known availability (and if reservations are needed) and filtered to reflect other peoples recommendations. The recommendors profiles will be matched and ranked against my profile so giving me more confidence to trust their judgement. To me that is where the real value of social networking lies. Using their generated inputed of experiences and recommendations to influence my decisions.

Now check out what Jeff Jarvis says in his latest blog about journalist training and them having their own personal blogs. Also see what David Brain, CEO of Edelman Europe says about candidates having social media awareness and experience.

In a marketing newsletter I subscribe to from Marketing Improvement I read an article on Web 2 that I found interesting as it goes to the heart of the opportunities and risks companies have with Social Media Marketing. For completeness here is the article:

Here's a salutary tale for you. Right now I'm writing this while ensconced on a balcony overlooking the north end of Lake Garda. Blue-green lake meets sheer cliffs to my right, towering 500 metres to grey-gold summits flecked with outposts of foliage from trees foolhardy enough to experiment with growth on the fractionally less vertiginous slopes. Below me is the Piazza, surrounding the harbour, tables lie in gay abandon in front of a plethora of cafes and restaurants, all waiting expectantly for the lunchtime crowd. Tourists amble by in an amazing variety of clothes and body shapes, occasionally stepping aside to avoid another vividly lycra-garbed cyclist. It is, quite simply, a little bit of heaven on earth. But I nearly didn't get here - thanks to Web 2.0. Why? Because I Googled the hotel (Hotel Sole, Riva Del Garda) and Google found a bit of Web 2.0 content - a review on TripAdvisor.com that said it was a rubbish hotel, with awful food. And the review was posted just five days before I was due to arrive. But, I re-read the review and concluded that the reviewer was miffed by a 200m walk to the hotel in the rain and was not being as fair as he might. Suffice it to say, Hotel Sole is in a superb location, the rooms are great, the food is good and the service far better than most five star hotels (it is only 60euros a night!).

The point, however, is the Hotel had no idea (I asked them) that there was such a hugely negative comment about them on TripAdvisor and that Google was highlighting it for all to see! This is the danger of Web 2.0. It encourages us all to comment and, allied to Google, our comments are then given a prominence they perhaps do not merit. Reputational management is something major organisations have long been used to. But for smaller organisations it can now be just as critical. This hotel is currently half empty (it would usually be full) - the reason, one bad review!

For some reason it would seem we take critiques by complete strangers with no creds more seriously than we do those from "professional critics". So what can you do? Simple, search for YOUR company or your product or service every day on Google and see what is being said about you. Then at least you can do something about any injustices you may find. In the case of the Hotel Sole, I have written an alternative review - you can find both here. Enjoy!

I think I know the writer and admire them immensely both personally and professionally and so trust their opinion but I will try to be objective in my comments. To see the above review and all the others go to TripAdvisor.

Leaving aside the rather catchy articles title (showing the reviewers copy writing skills and knowledge of using a good title to pull the punters in) here are some comments on the interesting points the reviewer raises especially about the power of Web 2 and Social Media.

Firstly a legal warning.

From the end of this year it will be illegal under European Directive 2005/29/EC for a company to write or have commissioned to write or communicate a glowing reference by pretending to be a consumer without disclosing that fact. This has serious implications for ‘buzz’ and ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing, where marketing agencies are paid to promote products and services. They must disclose their contractual and financial arrangements. A number of big PR agencies have been exposed as being behind ‘we love x’ campaigns. Under the new Directive this will be illegal. A disclosure of the relationship is necessary. 

A great example is the blog by David Brain, CEO of Edelman Europe. When mentioning clients in blog posts he always discloses current and past relationships. 

Back to the newsletter. The artcle author raises a number of good points:

• The internet with Web 2 allows all consumers to have a voice. This can be used to praise and criticise. Think of it as Citizen Watchdog. Being a multi-billion organisation does not allow you to ignore people as Dell found (see my earlier post about Dell Hell) to their costs. The ‘little people’ now have a voice and are getting more confident to use it. We can now have online ‘fan’ groups and ‘rant’ groups forming around issues and companies. With ever increasing internet connections and improved speed this is a global reach. Within 15 minutes a consumer can create a blog and be posting globally using free software and an interface just as easy as a word processor. For less that the cost of a stamp you can share your feelings – good or bad!
• Online PR and Reputation Management is important. As the reviewer mentioned they ‘Goggled’ the Hotel before booking. As they said the ‘hotel had no idea’ about the negative review or maybe even the existence of TripAdvisor. Most people will check multiple sources of information, including reviews before buying something. You may ask a friend or work colleague for advice or use a social media site like TripAdvisor. You may read magazine reviews. Companies that ignore the online ‘chat’ about itself are missing an important and rapidly growing source of information for consumers.
• Synthesising the data. The Reviewer mentioned that they thought the negative reviewer ‘..was not being as fair as he might...’. There are many reviews at TripAdvisor on the hotel and by reading them all you will get a balanced view. Certainly more objective than you would expect the company web site or brochures to portray. Multiple reviews are in effect what is called ‘The Wisdom of the Crowd’. If one person says something it has influence. When multiple people say the same thing it increases our confidence in the information. Research has shown (common sense?) when we use one review as a source of advice proximity, authority and depth of knowledge is important. We trust close friends judgements more than strangers unless they are in a uniform or are ‘authorised’ in some way. But if a room full of strangers says to do something or not do something we will usually follow their advice. This is where I disagree with the reviewers statement that Google maybe give the comments prominence they do not merit. At a philosophical level all comment has merit and everyone should have a chance to have their say. Secondly companies have always had more power than a citizen customer. When we complain about something how often do we feel ‘fobbed off’ or given the run around. We are often made to feel our issues are unique, unimportant and trivial. That the company has better things to do than sort us out. What can a single person do? They can now see if others feel the same way and create a blog or comment on review or similar site.
• Web 2 is out to get you! Nice title. How about - Web 2 is a great tool to help ensure you (the company) maximises customer service and gets repeat businesses. Uum...not as sexy I know....A company can use social media/web 2 tools to get immediate 356/24 customer satisfaction reports from customers. Now what is that worth to a company?  Where mistakes have been made (and you will - you are only human after all) you can address the issue by commenting on that persons blog or posting and take action to address it and tell people what you have done. Maybe if everyone is writing negative comments about the food you should acknowledge it, fix it and tell people what you have done. The next person to post may says the changes are working and this will help drive business. The reviewer says to check everyday. 100% agree. You should and you can. Do it automatically using tools like GoogleAlert.
• Why do we trust ‘wisdom of the crowds’ and not professionals? Well quite simply because the professionals have sometimes been shown to be anything but. Even the venerable BBC has been shown not to be above a little ‘spin’ or maybe more accurately ‘allowing spin to happen’ through independent producers rather than BBC employees. As I said I think I know the reviewer. They have no financial incentive to write anything positive as far as I know. It is personal so has more impact.
• Facebook/MySpace and Web 2 tools. This is a very interesting development. TripAdvisor is great. I use it all the time but sometimes I would like to know a bit more about the reviewer so I can weigh-up the value of their comments but they hide behind a name without any personal data. So you have to use judgement and ‘safety in numbers’ where you look for patterns and threads. What if I knew more about that person? Food and musical tastes? Similar family circumstances and life styles, hobbies and interests? Similar opinions on a range of subjects? It is strange but we often have friends we like even if we do not know lots about them. We may have friends through social media tools that we have never met but we know so much about them – maybe more than maybe our physical friends. Now armed with our online matching profiles am I happy to follow their advice? Yes. What I will do is see what they say about a movie or a restaurant. Try it myself and if I agree with what they thought I would have even more confidence in their opinion when I come to decide on a bigger value purchase.

 Finally. Notice the date the reviewer joined TripAdvisor by checking their personal profile. They joined just to make the comment. They had such a good experience that they wanted to ensure the other negative review had a counter balance. That is the real power of social media that companies can leverage. Customers can become evangelists just as easily as critics. With no payment the reviewer took time out while on holiday to write the review and post a photograph.

A very interesting video post by David Brain of Edelman Europe. He interviewed their head of Online Communications about the use of Social Media tools by French politicians in the Presidential campaign. If you watch you will see that two different strategies are being employed. One candidate is using the technology as a message delivery format. They are controlling the content. The other is using it as a conversation or engagement tool. They start a conversation and then participate in it. It remains to be seen who will be successful in the election and if either strategy helped. Shel Israel made similar comments on the US Presidential candidate campaigns recently.

Thinking about David's post I was struck by an issue raised at a HR conference I attended last week called 'Managing the Employment Relationship' held at Westminster Business School at the University of Westminster. Every speaker mentioned 'employee engagement' as a critical key to business success. (For politicians read 'Voter Engagement'). We heard lots of mentions of attitude and satisfaction surveys, line management communication failures and top-down communication techniques but only one passing mention of Social Media tools. This goes to the heart of the issue of engagement. Without interactivity how do I know that people have got my message, have dealt with possible issues and are then fully supporting? How do I know that I have not left them 'undecided' or worse 'not supporting'?

I work a lot with senior managers and executives, helping them improve their communication and presentation skills for live audiences and via podcasts. They care passionately about the audiences perception so we work with them on the message structure, use of ‘power words’, body language, voice pitch, tone and pace and personal image. Some are starting to use Social Media tools such as blogging and podcasting but most still rely on traditional surveys, focus groups and other 'non-interactive' forms of feedback. 

Some business leaders are happy to 'brainstorm' but most want it controlled and managed. Just like politicians (think party political conferences or debates) they seem to fear direct feedback. The danger is that the publics (and employees) attitudes are changing. Looking back at social history we see that each successive generation is more independently minded than their parents - almost like a right of passage.

Today's digital generation (15 - 35) is more inter-connected than ever before. Even older generations are getting comfortable with IT. My father, sadly no longer with us, was 78 when he went on a computer course to learn how to use the internet and e-mail so he could keep in touch 'with the world and my grandkids' and the biggest responders to Number 10’s e-Petition on road charging were the over 50s. Bill Gates and most of the early IT pioneers are now 50+.

Many people are using social media tools to communicate, share ideas and content. If business people (and politicians) are not using the tools in a way that the audience wants and expects they risk disengagement.

Very interesting post regarding trust from Edelman PR following their conference this morning. Thanks Hugh MacLeod for mentioning this in his blog. 

It appears that research is showing traditional media and sources are being trusted less and less. No real surprises that the 'masters of spin' are past their sell-by-date. What is shocking is the rate of decline is so fast. Trust in Government fell from 33% to 16% this year. Trust in the media was only slightly ahead at 19%. Trust in business was over 40% but not so strong for CEO's themselves.

Social media enabled 'communities' have come to the fore as trusted sources of information. The concept of the independent reviewer has been around for a long time - look at Which. Certain individuals can build 'personal trust'. Richard an Judy and their book club for example. For the last couple of holidays and trips abroad I have used TripAdvisor (feedback from ordinary people - not PR spin or paid travel writers). I found that the input was honest but like all opinions - coloured by that persons experiences, beliefs and values. If mine were a close match to theirs I could see immediately what they meant but if not I did not always agree with them. 

Edelman found that -

"A ‘person like yourself’ and a doctor/healthcare specialist are the most trusted people in the developed world (both 52%).

In the UK, the credibility of a ‘person like yourself’ is influenced by shared interests (72%), while same gender (7%), religion (6%) and race/ethnicity (2%) are far less important."

The challenges for companies is how to engaged an increasingly sceptical audience. One that does not always trust them, their CEO's nor the media they use to communicate with them. In addition the traditional marketing communication platforms of TV, radio and print are not as impactful as they once were.

What are companies to do?

They need to fundamentally re-think their communication strategy. Instead of the heirachical, command and control infrastructure that de-personalises the communication into corporate speak they need to empower their employees to show that they are 'just like the customer'. Social media provides tools to enable this to happen.

At a recent conference StrategyOne, an Edelman subsidiary presented interesting data on the state of text blogging in Europe. Whilst the research looked at political engagement rather than B2B or B2C communication it did give an interesting overview.

The highlights:

• 23% people in the UK and 22% in France read blogs weekly (US is 27%)
• Almost 3 in 10 people took action after reading a blog  (in this research that resulted in attending a meeting, writing to newspapers or a politician etc)
• On average in most European markets twice as many males as females read blogs (US only 25% more male)
• Except in UK age (younger are more active) did not mean more action taken (US is reverse – older take more action)
• ‘Influencers’* are 50% to 300% more likely to blog than others.

For politicians this shows that one way to engage with disenchanted potential voters is to use blogs and social media tools.

In the UK active membership of all political parties is falling and so the average age of members is increasing. Mobilising the ‘youth vote’ is critical.

What does this mean for business?

1. HR - blogs are a way to engage with potential future employees. Current employee blogs are a great way to showcase what it is really like to work for you and ensure you attract the type of person with the right ‘attitudinal’ fit.

2. Marketing/Sales – depending on your target market there are active prospects out there! 22% of people in Europe say they blog. Younger people more so. These numbers are growing fast.

3. Customer Services – blogs are a great tool to build and sustain customer relations. With this platform up-sell and cross-sell becomes easier.

* Defined as people already engaging in a number of dialogue type activities (attend meetings, write to newspapers and politicians)