“The impact of social networking” seminar

Ian and I attended a seminar by Blue Skies at Dukes 92 in Manchester last week. Dubbed “the impact of social networking”, the event was summed up like so:

Socialised media such as blogs, wikis and photo-sharing sites have moved far beyond simply a meeting place for techies or a posting board for complaints. It is now a way of reaching key demographics… This brave new world will impact all businesses. Topics will include:

What the new online universe looks like

Spheres of influence and shifts in trust

Changing communication channels

Future opportunities

Interesting stuff on paper. It must be said however that the presentation wasn’t what we hoped. We expected case studies of how brands had successfully engaged with individuals and communities like MySpace and Facebook to improve their public image and inform product development. Those answers were not forthcoming.

We got a wandering history of how social networking sites have appeared and the potential impact on (the assumed audience) the PR professional. An impact which they went on to say, we may all simply choose to ignore.

The more things change, the more they stay the same?

The essential message was that it’s all business-as-usual for PR agencies. Their job is still to target their messages to a core of “opinion leaders”. The only difference is who those people may be. The position of trust held by political leaders, celebrities and journalists is being encroached on by the blogger, the Amazon reviewer etc.

I agreed that monitoring discussion on the web and reporting is a PR function. It’s comparable to the current practice of gathering press cuttings. I don’t agree with their definition of “community marketing”. This is a term that I have heard before, and what it means seems to depend on who you ask.

The seminar would have it mean marketing to communities, but I think it should mean being a member of communities, inhabiting and supporting the markets you wish to serve. In the hope of generating sales of course, but also to create an enduring relationship with your customers.

I can produce a case in point from my own site. When Photoshop Product Manager John Nack commented on a post of mine I was both surprised and impressed. I was pleased that an ambassador of a huge company had taken the trouble to personally address my questions. This did more to raise my opinion of Adobe than anything they’ve done for many years.

Truth is, it’s absurd to think that you can manufacture community. People make a community. You can build it, but they will not necessarily come. If you censor it, or assault people with sales messages your efforts will fail.

Seek your customers out where they are. Break down the walls between the product makers and users. Allow your people to talk frankly (under disclaimer if you must). Take criticism on the chin, rather than denying it exists. Answer questions. Listen to requests, even if you don’t act on them. Use this to drive your product development. Rinse. Repeat.

This isn’t PR, this is customer service

This is how you benefit from the Internet, which was always one big social network. This isn’t PR, this is customer service. In this day and age, I think most would agree that personal service is the weakest link. I’m in the habit of Googling a company before I enter into any kind of long term commitment. The difference can be startling.

It will be amusing to see whether Blue Skies respond to this post