Web 2.0 Rule #3: Make your market the star, your brand now plays the supporting role.

In the past, companies worked to connect their brands to target audiences. But with social media, marketers must now work at connecting their audiences to each other--in hopes that those connections yield discussions, recommendations and, most important, new purchases of their brands. 

With old media, marketers launched one-way communications and campaigns with clearly delineated start and end dates. But in social media, marketers can hold two-way conversations that don’t have an end date, they keep on going (and going).

Through traditional and broadcast media, marketers had to talk at their audiences, with their brands placed front and center of their messages (so their brands were the stars). But no longer. Because now that social media enables marketers to speak with their audiences, their markets are the stars... with their brands relegated to playing supporting roles.

Switching from star to supporting role is a transition that's far from easy. For some marketers, it's laden with the fear of losing control (or fear of negative feedback). For others, migrating from a broadcasting to a conversational model is a huge learning curve--as many old practices are turned on their head. So what, then, are the key implications when our markets not our brands are the stars?

•Meet customers in their environment, instead of requiring them to meet in yours.

First and foremost, brands need to step out from the social media sidelines and into online environments where their customers are actively networking and forming communities around their preferences, passions, professions and ideas. The most successful brands are those that remain relevant by adapting to the changing needs, wants and media preferences of their markets. Your markets are already adapting to these new media, now it's your turn. 

•Switch focus from elevating your products, to elevating your markets.

Just as the goal of your social media efforts should be to yield brand ROI (not just "generate buzz"), your social media programs must focus on elevating your market, not just your product. Whether your programs make an everyday task easier, impart information that will help professionals excel at their jobs, provide customers a new channel for solving their support issues or offer one of many other points of value, by elevating your market, you directly elevate the equity of your brand.

•Instead of working to connect target audiences to your brands, work to connect audiences to each another.

People go online seeking connections, information, opinions and recommendations. They’re looking to hold conversations with other like-minded people much more than they are with companies--and they’re definitely not seeking sales messages (they're bombarded with enough sales pitches through other media). So instead of trying to connect target audiences to your brands, implement programs and practices that work to connect audiences to each other--and those will, in turn, enable them to discuss and recommend your brands. Think of ways that you can create and facilitate idea exchanges between your markets, and work to implement programs and tools that benefit their existing communities.

•Stop speaking for your markets--start listening to them speak to you.

Social media gives marketers the ability, in near real time, to identify new markets and brand opportunities, as well as to learn of potential problems and needed improvements. But the Social Web can't give companies any of these benefits if they're not monitoring it. Now that our customers are speaking to us in an open forum, it's time for marketers to talk less and listen much more. And once armed with this information, use it to better serve, support and delight customers and prospects.

As companies well know, our customers have always been the stars--without them our brands can’t shine.  But social media pushes marketers to place customers where they've always belonged: at the front and center of all programs, communications and, yes, conversations.

More posts providing insight and direction stemming from this rule:

• Want your social media programs to succeed? Focus on your market not your product: find out how here.
• Unlike all other media, regular people--not profit-driven companies--fuel the growth of social media. Learn all here
• When it comes to new media and your markets--your opinion doesn't matter, theirs does (and always has). Find out more on this important principle right here.

Rule #4 comes your way next...

(Psst! all posts in this series are archived here)

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

You see, it’s not only how your brand creates value for audiences offline but how your social media initiatives and involvement creates value for audiences ONLINE. Value that complements your brand's value proposition... but value that is both separate and distinct.

In fact, your audience should receive value from your social media programs even if they do not purchase your brand. Why? Because that value will encourage them to discuss, recommend and perhaps even purchase your brand.

For example, if I visit a blog by, say, a professional services company and it provides me with thought leadership--be it a new methodology, new viewpoint or new set of tips for handling age-old challenges--then I have received value from their blog (and I might even hire the company or refer the company to others).

But if that blog were merely a regurgitation of their press releases and product pitches? Then I would receive no value (and their perception would decrease in my mind). No-brainer, right?

Wrong.

You'd be amazed how often brainy companies blunder this principle.

If I go to a brand' "fan page"--that is so static it's the equivalent of signing up for a sign post--then their presence offers me no value. Zilch. But if, I go to the new "My Starbucks Idea" program where fans can submit and vote on ideas with other Starbucks fans, then I have received value. And I also receive separate-but-distinct value through the Starbucks products that I purchase offline (yes, the value is much-needed caffeine to jumpstart the day disguised in yummy, high-calorie coffee confections).

But I don't need to purchase the BlendTec products in order to wholly enjoy their campy "Will It Blend?" video series. (And lookie there, I just talked them up even though I'm not a customer!)

Moreover, I get value from the lessons learned vis-a-vis purchasing a MarketingProfs Premium Content membership... and I also receive daily tips from MarketingProfs' free blog. Additionally, I'm provided value (that's separate from their premium and free content offerings) from reading through and adding to MarketingProfs free "Addictionary." 

Now, this principle naturally begs the question: What type of benefit(s) should our social media program provide our markets? It's a case-by-case answer and a core part of your strategy as the benefit could be to offer knowledge or a functionality that makes an everyday task (or job) easier, provide a platform for them to find others with like interests, connect professionals within the same industries... or beget several other benefits (many of which are detailed here.)

It's very much contingent upon your company's area of expertise, your brand's personality, what benefits your competitors are offering and, most important, the needs and wants of your markets.

All told, in the past our value resided in our products and some of our promotions (think events, free samples or funny ads), but in the present our social media programs must provide a clear and distinct value all their own. Thus, there are two (TWO!) distinct types of value that companies must deliver upon for their audiences: the (1) value inherent to their brands and the (2) value inherent to their social media initiatives and involvement.

Are these sets of value complementary? Absolutely. But they are absolutely separate and distinct points of value from one another. Now, go forth and create double the value... and your results will double, too.

Psst! Here's a social media planning checklist that might help you in planning your initiatives.

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

Recently I met with a group of professionals who don't work in the technology sector and are just starting to dabble in social media (or perhaps it's more accurate to say they were just starting to dabble in the idea of using social media). The group I was speaking with were curious about all the buzzwords and hype they keep hearing. More to the point, they needed to better understand how these technologies affect them and their specific business environments.

As I explained to them, what we’re witnessing, and navigating our way through, is The BIG Shift.

While this shift is bolstered by technology--both Web 2.0 and other tech innovations--its effects cut across all industry sectors, be they professional or consumer. You see, Web 2.0 technologies are remarkable because they shift content creation and control from marketers to their markets. An unlike all other media, people, not profit-driven companies, fuel the growth of this space. In this era, consumers aren't waiting on companies to "get it" or get on board. Nope. Empowered by these tools consumers are fully equipped to move ahead all on their own.

From influencing the purchasing decisions of people located all over the globe... to building active communities and establishing mass movements... our markets are now leading us.

Via these technologies we're now able to reach more of the world, so geographical borders are of little relevance--with the voices of the so-called little guys reaching (and influencing) many the world over. Equally compelling, while technology levels playing fields and make for a world that’s more “flat,” the global connections and relationships that these innovations enable make for a world that feels, and seems, much smaller.

It's not that we aren’t reading as many books so much as using new technologies to read and archive them. It’s not that we’ve stopped buying music, we just purchase it in more portable formats. And it's not that we're aren't consuming as much third-party content; it's that time-shifting technologies, like TiVo and Hulu, enable us to watch what we want, when we want and through which devices we want to watch it on, be it TV, Web or mobile phone.  

Moreover, it’s not that we know of less news, thanks to social networks such as Twitter, we know of more world news and with greater alacrity. (And how much more commonplace is it becoming to use software accessed from the cloud vs. the client desktop?)

As marketers, we’re moving from launching finite campaigns (that start and end) to holding market conversations that keep on going (and going). In the past we worked to connect our brands with our target markets. But now we work to connect our markets to one another... and hoping that through these connections they'll discuss, recommend and purchase our brands.

The more we use these technologies to reach out to our customers, the more they’re confirming that they prefer to hear from humans in human speak, not from brands wrapped in corporate verbiage. Even more revolutionary, marketers are learning that they get further not in talking to their audiences, but through listening to them.

That said, many professionals warn of drinking too much of the “Web 2.0 Kool-aid.” It’s a caution with merit, especially given that there is so much hype around these new technologies and that new best practices do not negate age-old principles. Yet the more I interface with companies, the more I confirm how very steep the learning curve is for them--most profoundly to the change needed in their overall mindsets and a firm understanding of how these tools empower their markets (and how the online discourse affect the offline perceptions of their brands).

But just as the group I was speaking with realized, while these innovations equip us with new ways to market, create and compete, there's a much broader set of implications at play.

Welcome to The BIG Shift.

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

Here are the details:

The tools of social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) were created for people to keep in touch with friends and family, not to promote the latest computer or coffee products. But can marketers have authentic conversations with their customers?  Yes they can... so long as they understand how, follow the rules and avoid the risks.

In this show, host Toby Bloomberg, fellow guest Valeria Maltoni and I will discuss how to hold conversations that build relationships (not ruffle feathers), the hurdles that today's marketers face in holding real communications (and how to overcome them) and a host of best practices and examples.

• What: Keepin' The Social Conversation Real
• When: Tuesday, June 23rd, 6-6:30pmEST (note: the show will likely run a bit longer)
• Where to access: Go here to access the show
• How to dial in with questions: just call 718.508.9924

Come join us if you can... or you can always access the show after. Oh, and do keep it real ;-).

Web 2.0 Rule #2: Focus on creating Brand ROI, not here-today-but-gone-tomorrow "Brand Buzz."

I'm seeing a lot of brands seeking buzz--and I'm seeing a lot of companies and consultants promising it. What I'm hearing A LOT less of is talk about results (or, ROI). It’s sorta like… actually, it's exactly like… when the commercial Web debuted in the 90s and companies were seeking “eyeballs.”

Hey, eyeballs are great but if they’re not attached to your target market--meaning, those people who will buy from you now, will buy from you in the future, or who will recommend to others that they should buy from you now or in the future--then they’re just eyeing your site, not buying your product.

This sounds pretty darn obvious, eh? Yeah, I think so, too. But you would be amazed at the multitude of contests, videos, sites and promotions that my fellow marketers and I witness daily that were obviously concocted with the sole goal of "generating buzz."

And we do buzz about them...

... for one whole day. 

(But I do not think the things that we say are the type of buzz that the companies were aiming for, though.)

But sure as the seasons and twice as quick, there's another here-today-but-gone-tomorrow buzz-oriented scheme set to debut the very next day. And so on and so forth. You get the picture. Problem is, these companies aren't yielding results, they're just generating (fleeting) buzz. What a waste of brains, budget and bandwidth.

Yes marketers, you absolutely want people talking up (or, buzzing over) your brands. And you really want them saying great things. But you want the buzz you've worked so hard for to lead somewhere.

Think of buzz as a bridge.

That bridge leads from your strategy to a destination (your revenue goal). But the bridge (the buzz) is not THE destination in and of itself. In other words, that buzz is a means to an end. It's not THE end.

In fact, most times buzz is just the beginning.

So, what is the end that you seek? Well, it could be many goals, including buzz that:

• Creates awareness of your brand with your target audience
• Encourages people to buy your brand
• Prompts people to re-purchase your brand
• Moves people to refer your brand to others who will actually buy your brand, and hopefully refer it to even more people who will buy your brand
• Facilitates more brand advocates and evangelists
  
• Increases the perceived value of your brand so that people will pay more for your brand or so that other companies might be interested in buying or investing in your brand (or company)
  
• If you're a cause then you want for your buzz to increase sales (donations) or involvement (volunteers) with your brand, too.

Ergo, all of your buzz-oriented programs need to:

• Resonate with your target audience(s). They do not need to resonate with the entire World Wide Web. A $99,000 piece of construction equipment does not need to resonate with a teenage boy, but a $.99 mp3 does.
  
• Encourage your target audience(s) to act (see list above for the actions you want them taking!)
• Make a lasting impact on your target audience... not just a day of buzz that is quickly replaced by a day of buzz by another brand with the sole goal of "generating buzz."
  

The way to remedy this "buzz-over-brand-ROI mentality" is pretty darn simple. And with all your other goal-setting across all other media, should be a forethought not an afterthought. Work with your team and/or professional/agency/firm/consultant/expert to:

• Clarify not only the amount of buzz you are seeking to attain but the end results of it -- that way you're not sitting in a traffic jam of buzz on a bridge to nowhere.
• Pinpoint how this particular program targets your particular audience(s) of interest -- that way you're not selling steak to vegetarians or dentures to teenagers.
• Map out how Brand ROI will be evaluated, and over what period of time. ROI is not always instant, these things take time and effort.
  
• Identify how the buzz will be monitored. Many times you will need to optimize your program and or messaging, thus you need to learn from the qualitative nature of the buzz, not just the quantitative number of impressions. That means you need mortals reviewing the buzz, not just machines citing the number of impressions.
  

Remember, you're looking for maximum impact, not maximum impressions. Less noise, more signal. You want to increase earnings not just eyeballs, I assure you, your boss will agree. Now, go forth and buzz with a real revenue purpose.

(And yes, all of the above holds true whether you're in consumer, business or cause marketing.)

Here are some supporting posts to provide you with more insight and direction stemming from this rule:

• The basics of WOM (buzz): Learn how it works right here.
• WOM is freeing, but not free: Find out why here.

Rule #3 comes your way next...

(Psst! all posts in this series are archived here)

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

Sure, twitter is growing by leaps and bounds. But even more extraordinary, as pointed out in last week's Time article, is this:

"In short, the most fascinating thing about Twitter is not what it's doing to us. It's what we're doing to it." (The exact same thing applies to Facebook and other platforms.)

More to the point, when companies launch Web 2.0 initiatives the success of them rests on whether they can engage enough regular people to contribute to their platforms, and tell others to get involved with them. Those audiences might be consumers or professionals but, I assure you, they are by and largely regular people.

And, as I've said again and again (and yes, again):

The story is not that social media enables us to connect to the world. The story is that, given access to one another, the world is now actively connecting (and swapping stories).

Regular people. The vast majority of them using FREE tools. To freely voice their likes, dislikes, rants, raves, passions, preferences, pain points... and, yes, a lot of what they're doing/eating/watching on TV at that exact moment.

Think of it this way: just as there would be no television networks without programming created by studios and no magazines without columnists and reporters, there would be no social media if not for the people using these tools to (1) create, innovate and share content and (2) building communities and networks around their interests.

So where we needed CBS to fuel broadcast TV, Life Magazine to fuel print magazines and Amazon/eBay/Google to fuel Web 1.0, we need the everyday tweeters, diggers, MySpacers, Facebookers, commenters and bloggers to fuel social media. Ergo, unlike all other media, every day folks (regular people) don't just consume this space's content, they create it... and in turn, power this space.

Now, will companies lose money in this space? Yep. Many will falter at their first attempt and a bunch of offerings will never get off the ground. But this notion of a "Web 2.0 bubble bursting and dying!!" would mean that people, like, millions and millions of them, would suddenly *poof* burst--and worse, die. 

Do we think that all of a sudden everyone will decide, "Well, I've said all I've had to say for one lifetime; that was fun while it lasted, but now I'm reverting back to a passive not active role." If so, we're forgetting what is core to human nature and that's the need to communicate, express and, most essential, to connect with other humans.

I'm well aware that Web 2.0 is not the be-all and end-all. Folks, I've been in marketing for 15+ years and working in social media for but a handful of that time. But I well understand what social media is, how it changes culture and business, the extraordinary opportunities it poses and most important of all, who fuels its growth.

And I find it arrogant to otherwise assume that companies are to credit for this space's growth. Nope, I credit people. Regular ol' humans. Lots and lots of them. And more power to them. Why? Because 99% of them do not use social media for a profit motive. Nope, they use these media because of their passion and their need to connect. Don't believe me? Then believe this:

Facebook would be face-less without regular people posting, commenting, friending and fan-grouping. Twitter would not tweet without regular people following others (and out of the millions following Ashton Kutcher and Oprah on Twitter, I promise that the vast majority of them are not celebs and diplomats but regular people). A forum is not truly a forum when all message boards are empty, save perhaps the posts of the community manager. 

And the majority of bloggers, who avidly produce authentic content about this, that and a zillion other topics, do so for love of the content that they share, not because they secretly have a business model brewing. Heck, many of the most famous bloggers didn't even know they would one day make a living at the craft. They just really liked connecting with other regular folks.

As to this notion that the novelty of social media tools will wear off? Hey, some platforms will be irrelevant and some will be replaced, but won't you answer me this:

When humans have found new ways to connect with others, identified new vehicles in which to express themselves, and been given greater levels of freedom and power, when have they ever given those freedoms back?

It seems to me they never have. (Well, at least not willingly.) 

So keep innovating and keep sharing. Heck, keep being skeptical. But let's at least remember not to forget who gets the credit for social media's growth. And that's not profit-driven companies. Unlike all other media, it's regular ol' folks... which just happens to make social media all the more special.

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

Web 2.0 Rule #1: When diving into Web 2.0, mind your (Marketing) 101.

Web 2.0-- aka "social media"--is more than a set of new technologies. Conversely, social media heralds an entirely new era that puts customers in control because it places dynamic media tools within everyone's reach (not just marketers).

And in making the tools of marketing, communications, distribution and creation freely available to everyone changes things. A lot. As a result, this new environment turns many marketing practices on their head, with many companies scrambling to keep up with consumers.

But even though many best practices have changed in the new era, age-old marketing principles absolutely have not. Value creation, positioning, messaging, targeting, segmentation, differentiation and other principles apply as much today as ever (if not more so).

While Web 2.0 tools might be "one-click easy", your marketing efforts are far from simple. Because just as with ALL of your other marketing efforts across ALL other media, there's an extensive amount of work involved in planning, launching and maintaining your social media presence and programs.

And how well you execute on age-old principles will directly equate to how well your brands fare in this new environment. Don't look for shortcuts here.

Let's take Obama's groundbreaking (marketing) campaign for the top spot as a key example of this rule. And I have expressly chosen this example because so many get it so wrong. It's true that the Obama campaign leveraged social media tools like none had before, not even his opponent. In fact, many credit his win to how fervently he used these technologies to connect with constituents.

But this is far from the whole story--and one I remind fellow marketers of frequently.

What Team Obama did, and did exquisitely well, was to identify a robust platform (positioning) of "change" that set him far apart (differentiation) from his competitors--be those competitors within his own political party during the primaries or competitors outside his party during the general election.

What's more? Every communications vehicle he employed--be it Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, e-newsletters, stumping speeches, broadcast advertisements or broadcast television debates--reaffirmed his platform of change (messaging, repetition and consistency of message). Further, a critical part of his "50-state strategy" was to engage the youth market, vis-a-vis 2.0 technologies, to campaign for him... which is a case of targeting and segmentation. As when we segment accordingly, we not only look to identify which points of value will resonate with our audiences, but through which touch points we can best access them (in this case, social media).

The reason Obama yielded so much WOM was because he and his campaign were so unique (again, positioning, differentiation) and wholly resonated with so many (value creation, messaging). Yet most miraculous of all, in hitting all the right notes and putting the foundational principles in action, his marketing equated to less of a campaign and more of a mass movement--and that's a case of good ol' strategy which is wrought through tapping the current trends and societal climate and mapping those findings to the wants, needs and desires of one's target audiences.

Folks, you really can't get more marketing 101 than that.

Thus, Obama's marketing was not limited to a win for social media, but a win for tried-and-tested marketing principles--and yes, a win for the top spot as the new Commander-in-Chief of the USA.

All told, leveraging social media will keep your brands relevant and open you to new opportunities, but using core marketing principles will ensure that your brands resonate when approaching these new audiences and opportunities. While indeed many of the practices have changed--and we'll review those changes and their marketing implications throughout this series--we are all after the same old thing we've been after for centuries. And that's ROI.

So when people tell you that Web. 20 changes everything in marketing, just tell them everything old is new (media) again.

Here are some supporting posts to provide you with more insight and direction stemming from this rule:

• Social media planning checklist: check it out here.
• The work you do before you do the work: find out here.
• The secret of social media: get it here.
• Reasons for a social media presence: learn the many reasons right here.

Rule #2 comes your way next...

(Psst! all posts in this series are archived here)

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

These gaps in understanding make perfect sense given that these media have not only ushered in a new set of tools, but an entirely new set of trends. I frequently tell my clients that they'll learn so much of the Web 2.0 terrain once they're participating in it... but that they have a bunch of learning to do first.

It’s not that I want for brands to stay on the social media sidelines--quite the contrary, it’s that I want them better prepared before they jump in the game. Because results and relationships are what we're after. And, let’s face it, this space already has so much noise (and too little signal) and our markets need marketers who place them first.

As part of my projects, and part of my training work, I cover a host of these areas with clients at the outset. But there are a lot of companies who need guidance on the essentials. And that got me thinking... one of the speeches that I give, titled “10 (Essential!) Rules to Pass the Web 2.0 Go,” covers many of the basics. Here's the description:

Social media (aka "Web 2.0") provides marketers with groundbreaking opportunities amid a groundswell of consumer-empowered trends. It's also changing the way business is done, because now we have new voices in the business process. 

There is much opportunity and many rewards...but now without their share of new rules for avoiding marketing misfires and unnecessary risks. In this "monopoly-inspired" presentation, I cover 10 (essential!) rules that no marketer should pass the Web 2.0 Go without.

So here’s what I’m going to do: over the course of the next 10 weeks I’ll devote one post each week to covering one of the ten rules. Thus, including this post there will be 11 posts in all. While it won't be as dynamic or as high-impact as one-on-one instruction, it's the next best thing I can provide through my blog.

Each post will highlight: one essential rule (the "what"), the reasoning behind it (the "why"), and the corresponding action points (the "what now?"), along with links to any related posts I’ve previously penned that can provide further insight on the rule I'm illuminating.

I’ll archive all the posts in their own category, so if you miss any, you can always go back and review them, or point others to them. Hey, you can even review them again, perhaps some things are better the second time around!

That said, many of you who are already very involved in this space are familiar with these best practices. But there are many more who haven't yet begun to tackle this space, or are just starting to tinker with it. And I want to do my part in helping companies market smart by putting their market first.

Back at you soon with Rule #1…

Social Media Tips • Social Media *Extras* • Social Media Training • Contact CK

For example, if an employee from a company that sells, say, trucks, start participating in online forums that are discussing trucks and the employee starts chatting up how a specific truck (that their company manufactures) is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the employee doesn’t disclose--nor does the employee make it obvious--that he works at that truck-manufacturing company, then the employee has not been transparent... because he has not been up front about his truck-promoting agenda.

And that’s a BIG no-no (both online and offline). Further, by not disclosing any product bias or affiliation, it not only reflects poorly on the professional, but far more so on the company for which the professional works. It's a rule that all companies should abide--because when we disclose there is no deception, or question thereof.

Plus, if you don’t practice transparency in your communications, you’ll eventually, and many times quite quickly, be “outed" for not being transparent, since you did not fully disclose your position or agenda in your marketing programs and communications. And this is when controversies, backlashes and boycotts ensue, which place the reputations of both brands and companies at great risk. It's simply not worth the negative consequences. To be frank, it's not even an option for companies worth their salt given it's so highly unprofessional.

But that is not where the implications of transparency in this new era start and end. Nowhere near. The 'New Transparency' is not limited to employees (and promotional representatives) disclosing their professional affiliations to brands, it extends to users disclosing their personal experiences and perceptions with brands--and doing so in front of your entire brand audience.

While that truck example is indeed what transparency means in the context of marketing on the Social Web, it is far from the whole story. On the contrary, whether or not you’re transparent in your communications--in fact, whether or not you even engage in online marketing!--your brands are subject to a whole new level of transparency. And that transparency is a direct function (and byproduct) of your levels of product quality + customer service + marketing practices and programs.

Why? Because of the simple-yet-remarkable ability that these Web 2.0 tools afford consumers and professionals now that they are empowered to easily voice their rants, raves, preferences, passions, likes and dislikes using social media tools and platforms. But it doesn't stop there. Why? Because due to the global reach of these Web 2.0 platforms, these messages are then amplified across the world.

In a matter of milliseconds.

And those messages not only spread like wildfire, they are of permanent record.

Don't believe me? Just do a few searches: type in a host of different brand names + the word "sucks" and then do a few more searches with typing in a slew of different brand names + the word "rocks." Amazing what you'll find, and from how far back.

Folks, the implications of the "new transparency" are so pivotal for today's companies, yet so misunderstood, that I hope you'll oblige me as I'm going to say it again: Whether or not your brands have a social media presence, your products are now subject to a new level of transparency due to the efficiency and reach of these media, and the people using them (who are also using your brands).

And how well you succeed at this transparency is entirely up to You. Yes, you.

Even in a world where "Customers not companies are now in control!", how well or how poorly you do at delighting your customers is still wholly within your control. Thus, this new transparency need not work against you, marketers. Much to the contrary, it can very much work in your favor.

And it can be is the best marketing you'll ever do for your company.

Now, the natural next question is, "Well, CK, with a bold statement as such, how do we ensure we're executing well on this 'new transparency' you so adamantly tout?" Good question, and a thorough answer have I, but first I have a caveat.

I warn you now before reading further: Much as I would love to sound uber-brilliant in the ensuing advice, all the items I'm highlighting are common sense. Problem is, all too often they're not common practice. And in this truly transparent age, companies will need to identify and repair any gaps that are placing their revenue streams at risk by not executing on the basics, including:

• Walk, don’t just talk. Do what you say you’re going to do, instead of just saying that you’re going to do it and then not doing so. Talk meet Walk. If your product does not meet your product claims, you're now going to hear about it--in fact a heaping load of people are going to hear about it (just do those searches I suggested above). The upside? If your product does deliver on its brand promise, you're going to hear about that, too! So, wave goodbye to shortcuts, or say hello to a lot of mouthy markets rightly calling you out on them.


• But when you do talk, be more mortal less machine. While we're using technology to communicate, the Web is actually a very intimate space as people, not bots!, are behind all those comments, tweets and blog posts. They don't want buzzwords and brand speak, they want humans helping them in the ways that humans actually communicate. More on this here.


• Be supportive. Your job is not done when your product is shipped or your service is rendered. You now need to provide excellent customer support. Well, you've always needed to do so, but now your level of support is now tried in the court of public opinion. And it's important to understand that consumers and professionals do not only use their Web 2.0 voices to complain, they also use them to compliment. Further, if you want to encourage brand evangelism and advocacy, high levels of support will go a long way towards meeting that goal.

• Monitor like mad. Unless you're monitoring online feedback about your brands (and your competitors' brands as well), you will not know when customers need support, are complaining about your brands or are complimenting them. Thus, whether or not you use these media to market your brands, your markets are using them to discuss them--and it's critical that you are keeping an ear to the ground on what is being said, when it's being said and and where they're saying it. More on that here.

• Acknowledge others. It's simple, really--people want to be acknowledged, thanked and heard. So acknowledge them. Sometimes you'll be responding to a product query, other times you'll be empathizing with a problem and, many other times, you'll be thanking people for their kind remarks. Sometimes it seems we only focus on responding when someone is ranting, but not when they're raving. Be mindful that, when the occasion calls for it, you need to thank people, too. But please be careful not to thank everyone with the very same line of text (that's a terribly transparent shortcut). I know it can be a lot of work when you have a lot of people to thank--indeed that would be the best problem to have!--but you don't want to appear as though you're sending a canned response.

• Apologize when necessary, and quickly so. When people express a dissatisfaction, be empathetic and work with them on their issue--because while their issue will be publicly posted, so too will your response and that can gain you a ton of goodwill. Remember, it's both the type of response and the timing of it that can turn missteps into miracles. And you'd be amazed how forgiving people can be when they know you're working with them, not ignoring them. Also, let's not forget that if you are delivering on your promise and supporting your customers, the chances of dissatisfied customers voicing their qualms publicly are exponentially decreased (and the chances of them voicing their raves are exponentially increased--funny how that works, eh?)

• Tap these tremendous minds. Ask for feedback, query your customers and prospects on various aspects of how your product and support systems are delivering. Post a call for new ideas regarding product improvements and entirely new product offerings--it's really quite amazing how many insights people will provide you, and for free. Folks, these are your markets and the people who ensure your profitability (unlike members of a focus group who are usually there for the $100 check and free soda pop), so leverage this free-flow of feedback, share that with your management and R&D teams and then provide the public with updates on what you'll be doing with their generous ideas and insights.

• And now, let the promotions begin! Once you truly succeed at the above basics, your job is not done, you'll now need to create compelling, differentiated and highly competitive marketing strategies and programs that generate buzz that lead to brand ROI (not just buzz that leads nowhere). While the merits of your product, service, experience and support are your best marketing tactics and represent your best shot at yielding WOM, you also need to have a robust marketing plan for increasing product awareness and revenues.

To be sure, full disclosure, and what is commonly meant when people discuss "transparency" is a best practice, and one that should always be followed. But the best brand insurance--and how well your brands succeed amid this "New Transparency"-- is contingent upon how well you succeed at age-old principles.

Remember, those areas where you do well will be wholly transparent and amplified (bravo!). But the same rule applies to those areas where you don't do well (yikes!).

And now the full story on Web 2.0's new transparency--and it's tremendous implications for marketers--has been fully disclosed ;-).

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