TamTamy Blog

Corporate blogs are one of the possible meeting points between companies and their customers. We have seen some cases in which such a tool has certainly had very positive effects and has strengthened the relationship between the enterprise and its readers or the brand fans.

But despite this, a recent analysis has shown that most consumers trust the suggestions from corporate blogs only to a very limited degree, which reaches only 16%.
How come?

We have already given an explanation to this in previous posts, but it is important to underline it once more.
Putting yourselves in your customers’ shoes, whom would you trust more, between the unbiased advice of a friend and the suggestions (possibly partial) of a company which is trying to sell its brand in the best way?

The answer is obvious, and the data obtained from the answers of the analyzed sample show that 77% place their trust in the advice they get via email from someone known, followed by online consumers’ ratings (60%), results of search engines (50%), Yellow Pages (48%), print newspapers (46%), friends’ pages in Social Networks, and company blogs in last position.

How can a company win its customers’ trust then, and see that they are not hostile? The keywords are always the same: transparency and practicality.

If the company decides to offer a useful service to its readers through the blog, rather than using it only as a means of advertising to publicize its products, this purpose will surely be perceived and the dialogue will begin. As we have already mentioned, this dialogue requires some effort from both sides, but particularly from the company, which will be available to the citizens to answer their questions and help them overcome possible problems and doubts concerning the brand.

The blog, besides being a way to convey information to the audience, must be first of all a valid support to the customer, without forgetting that every comment expressed by a consumer is an occasion to improve your service and widen the group of your devoted.

As in any healthy relationship, both sides can benefit from a sincere communication.

This presentation shows very simply and clearly the fundamental aspects that characterize the new companies and how they are different from the previous model. In few words, what enterprise 2.0 is.

As we have already seen, the elimination of geographical barriers, seen as a complete freedom to collaborate together on a project also from different continents, is one of the aspects that have revolutionized the way people work in 2.0 companies.
Similarly, also wikis and the correct use of tags, of RSS feeds and of bookmarks are reproposed in these slides, and their importance is underlined once more adding an elements which we have not talked about yet, but which we are soon going to discuss: the use of podcasts.

Finally, among the other aspects highlighted, a very significant one is the value added that every single employee can use to his or her advantage working in a company based on enterprise 2.0. A good knowledge in information technology and the “social” opening towards the outside world through 2.0 channels such as social media and communities become part of the know-how of everybody, who will at the same time enrich himself and the company he works for.

Definitely radical, but surely with an impact and to be taken into account, is the move recently made by Skittles.com, the site of the coloured, fruit-flavoured candies.

Instead of using the social media on the market in a marginal way, or mildly integrating them into its pages, it has literally replaced its homepage with the interface of some social networks.

In the past days we discovered with surprise that, when you accessed the site, you found the stream of the messages on Twitter.

Now the skin has changed again, getting more similar to Facebook’s style and – just as it is on the most successful social network now – it is possible for all subscribers to become a fan, add Skittles to your favourites or suggest it to your contacts, sharing the information.

But this is not over. Through a control tool which appears in the front, it is possible to pass to the Twitter mode clicking on “chatter“; selecting “media” you can choose if you want to watch the photos on Flickr or the videos on YouTube; the “product” section refers to the pages on Wikipedia regarding the five types of candies on the market; finally, clicking on “friends“, you go back to the Facebook-like visualization.

Not bad, really, as a step forward in the path of the evolution of enterprise 2.0, which looks more and more to the final user and its potential customers.

It is a further confirmation that the integration between “social web” and “enterprise” is getting subtler day after day. What was reserved before only to consumers, now is contaminated by the presence of the companies, which merge and mix with the rest of the community, becoming part of its world and, in their turn, involving people, consumers and partners in a universe that used to be a long way off.

In few words: if you fall behind, you are lost.

Andrew McAfee, associate professor at Harvard Business School and expert in the field, interviewed by Tiburton TV at the conference “Talk the Future” of Krems in Austria, once more explains what enterprise 2.0 is and how it can help companies make their business easier, acquiring information and redistributing it in a quicker way.
McAfee looks to the future and describes what is important to go on developing a web 2.0 technology that can penetrate more and more into companies, considering that it is already very powerful in its present state. As there are no longer any geographical or temporal limitations, that had in part already decreased with the first-generation web and that now web 2.0 has cut even more, becoming part of a global world is extremely easy for any company which is present on the net. Information moves quickly from one side of the continent to the other, from company to consumer and vice versa, generating a continuous exchange between companies and the surrounding world.

These external incentives, the information cycle available online and everything which surrounds us are the elements that lead companies towards the creation of a winning competitive strategy, as the video above explains more in detail, together with other interesting themes.

Before concluding, I would like to underline once more how tools that are often wrongly considered only for an audience of consumers are on the contrary useful also in enterprises. Answering the final question on which social network he uses more frequently, McAfee says without any hesitation: “Twitter, thanks to which, when I have a question about almost anything, I just put up a ‘tweet’ about it and within half an hour I get back five or six answers.”

Going back to what we said in the previous post, here is the second part of “Do’s” about the netiquette that companies will have to follow regarding social media:

• Have a well-defined role and image

We underline again the importance of the role of the expert and of how to influence people, about which we have already spoken. Besides working hard to extend your acquaintances and connections, in order to reach these two objectives you must create a solid image of yourself. Being an expert means being specialized in only one subject, and not improvising as a know-it-all or opinion-maker with scarce bases on a range of themes whose root you do not know in detail. It is in this way that users or potential customers will recognize in you some know-how and will trust what you say, adding you to their network and following your updates. Be careful thus not to change your personality in other social networks where there could be an overlapping of users who, seeing you act a different role, would immediately lose their good opinion about you, which would end up in a fall of your credibility.

• Create real connections

Most people who use social media are there to make connections with people that they find really interesting, enjoyable, entertaining, … Thus, avoid going too quick and adding to your contacts only influencers with a plethora of followers. Remember to start from the bottom, create your own identity first, distinguish yourselves. It is likely that, at this point, these central characters you aim at being in contact with will be the ones who look for you. But should this not happen, come forward only when you are ready, or at least use well a part of the key contacts with the consumers who will not be significant to give you visibility as individuals, but on the whole, when they recognize in you a leader and also a sincere friend, will reward you with a single, sonorous unanimous voice.

• Be active

Being active on social media doesn’t mean simply bombarding the net with posts, tweets or status changes. Exactly as you do in real life when you cultivate a friendship, the same thing will have to happen here. Be reactive to the answers that are addressed to you, to the messages you are sent, to those who add you in their RSSs, to the people who join your group on Facebook, etc. Use one of the many tools offered by web 2.0 to keep track of all these precious elements and try not to miss anything.
If you decide to plunge into this experience, you must do it 100%, otherwise it will only be a waste of time.

We can conclude saying that using social media for business is a great opportunity for companies to deeply get into the habits and thoughts of their consumers but, as in any other relationship, you can not only take without giving anything. Establishing a contact means sharing, creating empathy, being always there. Summing up, for the first time after a year-long tradition, you will have the possibility to make your brand human. Take the opportunity.