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MRG conference: Social media and the future of the media industry

MRG conference: Social media and the future of the media industry

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Keynote: Steven Van Belleghem, InSites Consulting

Steven Van Belleghem from InSites Consulting challenged Friday morning’s non-Tweeting MRG delegates to start implementing conversations with their brands’ consumers within the next 48 hours.  The author of “The Conversation Manager” argued that it is those brands that are capable of building a conversation with their consumers, that will be successful come 2020.

Already the way that we book hotels or buy cars has changed radically over the past five years due to social media. From the Catholic Church to Google, word of mouth has created brands with huge followings – and it is now broader and faster than ever before, having more impact on brand positioning then advertising alone can provide.

The online shoe retailer, Zappos.com, was recently sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion. Van Belleghem argued that this was because owner, Tony Hsieh, recognised his customers were his most important asset and did everything he could to make them happy – they are invited to call in on every page and each email is answered within 10 minutes.

People will only talk about brands if they are positive or negative about them.  In the UK, people see 3,000 advertising messages every day but only remember about 15 – the ones they like.  If you can socially engage people with your brand, you have created an unpaid sales force. Van Bellegham predicted that in 5 years’ time, preventing people from using Twitter and Facebook in the office will seem as ridiculous as preventing them from using a phone or email.

He gave a couple of examples where activating a conversation with consumers has been highly successful. Giving people the opportunity to follow the pregnancy and sign up to view the birth of a baby elephant online had a massive impact on Antwerp Zoo’s visitor numbers.  The launch of the Harry Potter Theme Park was initially announced to the seven most influential Harry Potter fans in the world, who were sent special information from Dumbledore, then given stuff they could share with their network. Finding these seven influencers and engaging with them turned into 350 million people who became aware of the new theme park.

Van Belleghem thinks that the greatest trick the media industry has played on brands is talking to them about opportunities to see, reassuring them with the illusion of these millions.  He argued that social media isn’t all about reach but changes opportunities to see into certainties to see.

To strategically develop a dialogue with brand consumers, Van Bellegham gave the following advice: observe as a manager; facilitate as a brand and join in conversations as a peer. Listen, be open, keep it personal, ask questions, hone your strategy and encourage engagement.  Don’t be defensive – say sorry and thank you and don’t wait for a critical incident to join in conversation – be proactive and start now!

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