We are so used to it that we may have forgotten how to appreciate it. Conversation is a social activity that exists since the birth of mankind, and has evolved from “hums” and “beurks” into elaborated languages using various technological channels. It is a complex and perplexing activity that embodies rules and etiquette. A conversation or dialogue is a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, opinions or feelings involving at least two participants. Thus it is a reciprocal process including some key elements such as:

1. Topic agreement: to have a dialogue all participants must focus on the same subject(s).

2. Time: conversation demands an almost immediate response without time lags, except when one hesitates or fails to respond (which can have negative connotations).

3. Interpretation: we have to put words into context and make assumptions to give shape and make sense of what others are saying.

4. Involvement: all participants must be involved and accept to spend time talking and listening to the others.

In a dialogue the information flows from both sides. One starts the conversation and can be recognized as the source or icebreaker, but then all participants share this exchange and all become transmitters and receivers of this information. They are to be seen as stakeholders of this conversation. 

Communication between companies and consumers is often perceived in a very different way. On the one hand, a company usually has one uniform external voice, providing information which has resulted from various internal discussions. This gives the sentiment that a conversation is not possible between an individual and a company or any kind of organization as it’s not personal enough. In most cases, such organizations are looking for ways to broadcast their message to a large audience, thus gaining time, momentum and limiting costs.

This of course also has a negative impact on the requested immediate response. Most of the existing media used, such as TV and radio, do not offer a way of involving the audience and are therefore seen as portraying monologues or conveying one-way flows of information. However, it must be said that new technologies encourage limited interaction on these same media.

On the other hand, customer services, panels, events, surveys and polls are activities that support a company’s desire to go a step further and involve the market. Thus, we cannot say that the information flow is only one-sided.

Now the time has come for social media. Blogs, micro-blogs, aggregators, chats, forums, virtual worlds and others bring new meaning to conversation. Paradoxically, time lags while conversing online have become acceptable, even though we look for speedy reaction with micro-blogging and live aggregators. An email exchange can be considered as a conversation even though we might wait a whole week for an answer.

Furthermore, the internet has brought unique interaction capabilities. It is possible to share information worldwide through different platforms. We can listen, read and see the opinions of many people wherever they are located on the globe. Conversations can be saved and continued later. New participants can join at any given moment and rich media provides a whole new perspective to the word “involvement”.

So, what about the flow of information? Who is the transmitter and who adopts the role of receiver? How does a company manage such a flow? Do social media reverse the flow from bottom-up?

We asked these questions on LinkedIn and received some very interesting answers albeit too long to add to this post. The most complete answer was written by Chris James, Social Media & Community Strategist at AMD, while we certainly appreciate the systematic and value driven insight provided by Marc Rapp, Sr AD at Seesaw. All the answers can be accessed in PDF.

Without getting into a complex systematic approach, let us try and understand the situation.

First of all, it is important to realize that in the past, information wasn’t only top-down. Companies conveyed their messages, but consumers had their own organizations to voice their opinion. Word-of-mouth has always existed and people also used to share their opinion or recommend particular products to friends. In a way, we could say that the communication flow came from different places, different sides and different angles, but did not always collide and interrelate. You can compare it to cities that are not yet connected by highways. We know they exist, we know it is possible to get there, but it may be too complex or too expensive to physically get there; so we use the phone, radio and television to connect with the people living there.

What has changed is the integrated aspect of the internet: the fact that using a single computer can give you access to a multitude of media services and interconnect them. It is not only about information and virtual services, but also about purchasing products that can be acquired in the real world. And we’re only at the 2.0 version of it!

It doesn’t matter if there is no highway to a certain city. We can now interact, share and even get access to goods without being physically there. The world is indeed getting smaller.

Human communication adapts to the way a computer network works, or actually, the computer network is specifically designed to help improve human communication potential.  Such development shouldn’t necessarily be seen as an improvement as certain aspects such as empathy cannot be conveyed technologically… yet.  This means that any new technological advance brings us to a new flow model. Sounds like “Duh!”, doesn’t it?

So what’s all this fuss about this next evolution: cloud computing? Doesn’t it simply mean that human society is ready for a new conversation mode?

Social media has provided ground for a communication environment with various inter-and-co-related flow models. Like the chicken and the egg, there is no sense to start looking for the transmitter and the receiver; everybody can wear both hats. Also, like the Arab phone, a message transmitted can be transformed a thousand times and the resulting messages will be read a billion times by any kind of audience. Whereas the flow direction used to be very important and was useful for companies in measuring the audience receptiveness and return, today a phased (in time and space) dialogue remains central.

The same way that comments add value to a blog post or wiki’s are reviewed by users, the flow places the topic in centre stage. Where cloud computing uses hardware as clients to tap into the vastness of information and services, so will people and organizations tap into the vastness of self-regulated topics. Are we soon going to talk about cloud conversation?

Maybe our heads will be in clouds, maybe not. If technological advance will form or even force our future communication, we still believe that the actual usage will resemble existing natural phenomena such as clusters.

Would you like to learn more about our approach with the Clustered Conversation Model?

Stay tuned for the second part of this topic!

This has encouraged many companies to invest in software that will help them simplify communications and processes. Those are the likes of CRM, ERP, agenda’s, etc.

Social media and its marketing aspect have widened the frame, integrating a method of communicating easily on a broader scale, while at the same time giving a feeling of personal relationship. This also means that the account manager might, with time, see his role evolve and his title change once again.

Social media strategies are gaining ground in larger companies. Furthermore, such strategies observe an increase in their budget share, which also means that it becomes necessary to train and internally prepare its employees to learn a new set of tools and adopt different frame of mind.

The issue with social media is that it is still considered by many as a testing ground, an interesting solution that has not yet revealed proven results. On the one hand the actual economic situation forces companies to review their online activities, but on the other hand, many marketers start to understand the importance of dialogue with their customers and potential market. This results in an internal need to sell the potentiality of social media and web 2.0 to the upper management. By explaining the benefits, final decision-makers could comprehend the necessity to continue or start investing in a dialogue and hopefully view this as a proactive solution to a commonly complex market, which requires new innovative measures.

We all know it is not an easy task to sell something to the final decision-makers, even more so if it’s not their field or if they have never heard about the subject. In order to provide support to our readers and for those interested by our platform to come, we have asked on LinkedIn how social media specialists would formulate and define social media in order to help clarify its importance.

We will provide you with the best contributed answer as well as a PDF copy of all received answers. Please feel free to comment on our post and give your personal insight. We have received a total of over 30 answers and many keywords have repeatedly resurfaced: Networking; conversation; no spam; involvement; damage control and; cost-cutting.

Some gave to social media and web2.0 a more proactive role while others would position it is a way to control the situation.

Our personal favourite goes to Anthony Leaton (SEO, Email Marketing and Link Specialist at TravelCLICK) who succeeded into conveying key terms and ideas cherished by the Zackbrandit team.

“Why is this? For the first time customers have power in defining or redefining a brand or service. From love groups to flame groups and review sites, the brands are getting involved to defend and redefine themselves as human, listening, active and evolving. Once you have someone or a team doing this it earns you public 'global' respect in minutes!

People are now engaging the things they like, hate or just want to share. This goes back to c2c principle [word of mouth recommendation]. Give this one a try. Type in snowboarding into FLICKR.com . Now, sort by MOST INTERESTING. Now pick some photos you are attracted to. From seeing this, would you be interested or dissuaded from looking at some pictures.

I edged away from the company's photos and went for someone LIKE ME! The photos were nice, by some photographer who went somewhere and won a prize. He took some very good pictures of HOW HE SAW THE UNIQUENESS of the place he went. These are high quality pictures from a member of the public. Not some glossy photos of a utopian brand vision. This is the point.

Social media is finding people like you and experiencing the same thing. It's about knowing what they like, talking to them about it and then doing it yourself.

So, give me an example of how companies react? Daily [check out the link 1 below]. If you're interested in a hotel in Barcelona and had the budget how would you react to these replies? Would you be more or less interested?

So what have we learned? That people like to share and find likeminded people and things that they enjoy. Why? People are tired of being told. They want to get it right, if they can, first time. What consumer groups have been doing for years and companies have been avoiding in replying and they hope that it'll all go away - these days are over. If sites are optimised in the right way - customers will either defend, remain passive or attack a brand. Thus, the brand again looses part of its control to the customers!

Other than motivational theories of Maslow, the things I want to spend my money on, I want to know if they're worth it and how people have enjoyed it.

People still like great images and to have the latest ipod. So branding and other media still has its place. However, with any brand that no-longer delivers on its promises needs to be very careful with social media.

How you're going to implement the strategy involves significant risk and planning. How you're going to get involved in Web 2.0 is the main question. I would advise a step by step strategy. Don't start off with the facebook widgets or shameless promotion on these sites but rather respond in an honest way to people who like your brand. Give them access to enjoy it. This means show them how you see it [youtube, flickr] and then invite them to reply. How you handle this is by far the most riskiest decision you'll make. Don't make it tacky, make it entertaining. Invite the funniest ways to engage your brand.

Think Marmite's Love it, Hate It... well, this has become a phenomenon. The fan sites and the hate sites re-enforced probably some trivial marketing joke that turned even the brand haters into people who chanted the brand's name!”

[BTW: this all resorts were chosen at random and are not part of me shamelessly marketing clients]

Links:

I believe this summarizes very well our own position.

All the other LinkedIn answers are in PDF. 

To finish this post, here is a Chinese proverb shared with us by Frank Feather.

“Tell me and I'll forget;
Show me and I may remember;
Involve me and I'll understand.”

We have some great news!

The development of our platform is going very well and we have arrived at our first important milestone. This means we are also going to change some elements in our communication model. My personal goal as Mascot and PR Manager is to share information with the outside world. However, as explained in previous posts, the web has become a place where people interact, not just one filled with profuse one-way messages. It is now time to go a step further and add additional relevance to the information we share.

The ZackBrandit platform is about communication and interaction between different stakeholders such as companies, experts, consumers, etc. There is a lot of talk about the way companies envision Web2.0 and social media, and the way these should be applied to business. Some believe it is a necessity to partake in the community; monitoring their brand but forgetting about their own contribution. Others focus on one or several online tools in the hope of raising their brand awareness. Tools are just means to an end and require to be optimized. In using social media you also have to find the right balance between giving and receiving.

This is where experts join the game. They can be called Search Engine Optimization experts, Social media specialists or something else.

Our team understands this concern and wants to start developing a community around our platform, where those interested in partnering will help provide their customers with a set of suited tools.

In order to do so, we are launching the “What’s in it for me!” campaign using LinkedIn.

A ZackBrandit group has been created specifically for those interested in social media and are willing to join. For every post written on the blog, we will ask a relevant question which will be aimed to bring  perspective in our ideology. The best answer provided will be added to our post (with credentials), increasing the relevance of our information and creating a flux of interaction between our blog, its readers and LinkedIn contacts.

So what are you waiting? Join our LinkedIn group today.

Simply Click HERE

 The Mechanic

Mechanics have an adventuresome spirit.
They have a compelling drive to understand how things work and like to take things apart to understand its functioning.
They have an action-oriented, “independent” spirit.

Mechanics live in the world of the concrete and the applicatory . They have patience and may devote a lot of time to “research”. They enjoy taking their latest gift apart and analyzing the way it works. Though not interested in theoretical concepts, they are good at logical analysis. Mechanics have a free and adventurous spirit and a rich inner world where everything seems connected. Though not necessarily the most structured communicator, they know what they want to tell and will pass the message accordingly. Some Mechanics can write methodically and almost algorithmically while others may resemble mad scientists.

Mechanics are mainly attracted to technology, cars, computers, mobile phones, etc., but some are more scientifically oriented and will dissect formulas and algorithms instead. They are often technical-minded and quite skilled in their field. Mechanics are ingenious people, but their creativity may be used as a means to discover the truth: how something works. This also means that the Mechanic knows how to appreciate harmony.

The Mechanic’s blog is often very descriptive and will use many pictures and videos to present their discoveries and share their opinion. The blog does not necessarily require a unique domain name nor does it need to have amazing looks. This however might change based on the blogger’s readership and the desire to be more appealing and understandable.

Mechanics are not particularly people persons and tend to feel and understand emotions like the functioning of a clock. They are not critics and will first explain objectively before expressing an opinion. Their blogs are mainly a monologue, a place to share their discoveries. The blog-posting pace depends on their capacity to acquire new items. Mechanics do not often respond to comments and even less to critics and will provide personal information on a “to know” basis. (This is of course relative to their personal limitations).

The Mechanic’s blog is introverted, meaning the writing style and informative part will be based on personal vision and knowledge rather than external sources. They might carry out many comparisons between competitive products but will not specifically look for other sources to confirm their analyses (whether technical or theoretical).

Mechanics do not wish to convey a message or express an opinion. Their desire is one of objectivity and to share the truth with their readers. Though not a pioneer, they will often look for new products on the market in order to sustain their interest and remain relevant as an information provider.

Mechanics are usually not particularly well-connected and limit their involvement in social networks and media. Their Blogroll is often not comprehensive.

Mechanics do not care about commercials and will strongly limit them on the blog. Their focus is on the objective information they can deliver and the joy they have by sorting it out. The rest is secondary and can be perceived as a nuisance.

What is the difference between a small shop and a large supermarket or store chain, except the obvious such as size and revenue? And why would this be connected to Brand Equity?

Commerce has evolved considerably; altering the relationship between seller and buyer. The main differentiating factor between the stores outlined above lies in their branding strategy. Whereas large supermarkets focus on their brand and invest in advertising to create large-scale awareness, small retailers emphasize the importance of proximity. For the latter, the brand does not equal the name of the shop, but represents the owners themselves and their direct contact with the customer. This has become extremely relevant in a sales environment which is growing virtually and becoming more impersonal.

On the one hand, large supermarkets have been investing for years in loyalty cards and customer analyses in order to provide the best possible service and offers. This has helped select the most adequate combination of items on the shelf and develop a sound and competitive pricing model. On the other hand, smaller vendors tend to use less marketing tricks and develop their own, based on emotions and personal knowledge. Many small shops are owned by entrepreneurs with passion for the products sold (i.e. music) or passion for the way they sell.

One could actually compare both to a Marketing and Sales department, where the first focuses on mass and abstract data while the second on personal relationships and networking.

The coming of e-commerce and online media has introduced a shift. First of all, manufacturers do not require retailers anymore to sell to the final consumer. Some companies have decided to use their own e-commerce platform to sell, disregarding or limiting possible distribution partnerships. Secondly, a wide range of tools has helped companies develop sales platforms that try to combine both worlds. Though the Internet is a virtual environment and therefore impersonal, social software has helped create a feeling of proximity. Nowadays, it is easy to get in touch with a vendor and ask questions, give feedback and buy without leaving the house. Some ventures have become successful very rapidly in a mere couple of years, and have seen their brand equity rocket sky high.

Nevertheless, even they feel that change is needed once more. Consumers require attention and have to be nurtured. Now that they have access to a lot of information generated by companies and users, they become more critical and less loyal to a particular brand; and the decrease in purchasing power is enforcing this change.

Again, some pioneers have taken the matter in hand and succeeded in combining new techniques. Gary Vaynerchuk is one of them. With his Wine Library TV, Gary shows that it is possible to have a “local” wine shop and at the same time become a global figure. Using a video blog and being continually in touch with his customers and fans, Gary created a network with few boundaries and has proven that today’s branding revolves more around a personality and relationships rather than expensive commercials.

At Web2.0 Expo, Gary presented his view on personal brand and equity and stressed the importance of passion and patience. Both are traits of the entrepreneur, not the large supermarket.

Some of the largest technology firms grasped the meaning behind this and are now trying to “humanise” their leaders and company. Microsoft’s latest commercial with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld is one example of such an attempt.

The Internet is a playground that supported the creation of thousands of new companies and business models developed by pioneers, ambitious entrepreneurs or idealists. Some are more successful than others. The latest social software has helped the unnoticed become quickly known, and has shown that simplicity, low budget, innovation and personality are today’s keywords.

Does this mean that those same companies should review their communication model? Or should they start looking back at their roots? They were also once launched by entrepreneurs.

What about your company? What about you as CEO, Marketing Manager or Business Development Manager? Is your passion driving the company? Does the company reflect your passion? Do your distributors and resellers share the same passion? Are your customers passionate? And does your company reflect your customers’ passion?

Many questions around one common denominator: Passion!

Passion is viral! But can entrepreneurial-like passion boost your Digital Brand Signature?