With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/325830
BCBuSINESS.CA July 2014 BCBusiness 65 playful, human-centred response from Telus about its mother's meatballs is just one of many new strategies that engage denizens of the online world and both promote and protect a brand. Kim Peacock, general manager for Edelman Canada West, whose clients include global giants such as Starbucks and Microsoft and local organizations such as the City of Vancouver and YVR, says Twitter conversations like these reveal a major shift in how companies are operating. "The way brands once used media or advertising, it was com- mand and control, a one-way channel," says Peacock. "You controlled your mes- sage and got it out there through press releases and advertising. Now it has to be a dialogue and a conversation." While the previous model looked more like a triangle—the top-down infl uence of the CEO on a wide audience—Peacock refers to the new model as a "diamond of infl uence": two triangles of power that represent a combination of top-down messaging from the company and its CEO and bottom- up infl uence from social activists (fans of the brand—or even not-so- much fans). "If you're not part of the conversation, the conversation is still happening," she says. "You have a choice to be a part of it or not, and if you're not there—every- body else will be controlling it." It's an idea that resonates not just for the Teluses of the world, but also the small businesses that don't have social media depart- ments or an ad budget—those that couldn't reach their audience with a single top-down message even if they wanted to. A customer's �irst interaction with a brand—before they get to complaining about service or lauding a brand-new prod- uct—is the purchasing decision. For the customer who wants to fi nd a moving company in Vancouver, he or she starts with a quick Facebook post to friends, reads a few Yelp reviews, Googles for any relevant blog posts or BBB complaints—but all this before con- tacting the company itself. "Seventy per cent of a buyer's jour- ney is now complete before they ever reach out to the organization directly," says Ashley Jane Brookes, senior brand and content manager for HootSuite, the Vancouver-based social media relation- ship platform used by over eight million people worldwide. "This leaves a huge gap where potential customers have the opportunity, through word of mouth, online research including blogs or web- site material and social banter, to make decisions without any infl uence from the company itself. Companies need to fi nd ways to be present during that 70 per cent of a buyer's research." So how does a company connect with both its potential and current customer base? "Becoming available is the fi rst step," says Peter Chow-White, associate professor at the school of com- munication at Simon Fraser University. "Increasingly, people are expecting to fi nd not just a website, but a channel where it's not just one-way communica- tion—to have a conversation. They can be reached, but they can also have some feedback at the same time." Online tools such as HootSuite or Radian6—a paid service from the social marketing company Salesforce that monitors and measures buzz around a company's brand and fi nds both brand advocates and critics on social media— can help a company stay on top of the online conversation before it spirals in the wrong direction (or add momentum to one that's heading in the right one). "You want to start by listening," says HootSuite's Brookes. "You need to understand what your audience is talking about before you can expect to engage with them. Look for questions, complaints or general dialogue about topics related to your brand. Then you have a basis for the content that your audience will care about, and you can respond more eff ectively. If people men- tion your brand in a positive way, thank them. Off er additional insight through links to resources if they're talking (fans of the brand—or even not-so- much fans). "If you're not part of customer base? "Becoming available is "You want to start by listening. You need to under- stand what your audience is talking about before you can expect to engage with them. Look for ques- tions, complaints or general dialogue about topics related to your brand. Then you have a basis for the content that your audience will care about" –Ashley Jane Brookes, HootSuite PLAY BALL For small-business owner Craig Boyd, reputation is everything. p062-069-OnlineReps_july.indd 65 2014-05-29 3:26 PM