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How do you tell your story in an environment where people don't have to listen to you, and can interrupt and even spread misinformation about you?
In the webinar "A Narrative Approach to Story Listening and Measurement in Social Media,", Simon Kelly, chief operating officer, Keith Blanchard, North American executive creative director, and Michael Perry, senior vice president, all of global content marketing agency Story Worldwide, went through steps for getting the most from listening and engaging on social-media sites.
Communication has gone from serving rulers to serving everyone, from being one-way only to "every which way,” and from being in the hands of professionals to being controlled by amateurs. The explosion of the Internet has resulted in the mass amateurization of publishing, where individuals now have as much publishing power as big corporations and organizations, making your organization now just one voice among millions. In this environment, you can be sure that there are conversations about your brand going on. The question is, are you a part of them? And if so, how?
The audience is changing from a crowd that listened politely and patiently to one that is informed, opinionated and communicating — and has influence. Your brand perception is now in the hands of an army of strangers. The only way to reach audiences today "is to create media that is entertaining, informing and engaging," Kelly said. The creative you use must matter to the end users, and the stories you tell have to engage the audience and speak to experiences that touch them.
Today’s audiences require is honesty, unguardedness, apologies and freebies. That opens you up to unpredictable risks, but it also can be beneficial in many ways, offering organizations opportunities to:
- Find out how people really feel about their brands and organizations; see whose opinions matter most to their customers; and find out what motivates them, inspires them and frustrates them.
- Directly engage any person or group, rather than just a "polling sample" of constituents. Reach them at home or work, in their car, etc., and join in as much — or as little — as you want.
- Influence the conversation. Accentuate the positive and handle the negative; correct misinformation before it spreads; and tell your story to "make it the definitive version," Kelly said.
Step 1: Listen carefully
Distill your own specific conversation from the sea of irrelevant chatter.
"Each platform has a soul," Blanchard said, "it's own ways of doing business, it's own hierarchy, individual power — so you need to investigate that type of thing."
For example, Twitter — 55 percent of whose users are female, 68 percent ages 35 to 64 — is perfect for broad, quick distribution of simple ideas, but bad for reaching kids and forming deep relationships, Blanchard said.
Some ways to distill your conversation from the rest are:
- Listening in all the right places. Social-media platforms can be segregated by topic type, media delivery, demographic served, etc. Choose a platform relevant to your needs and budget, and time your listening with offline events.
- Choosing your words carefully. This includes search terms for your organization, cause, etc.
- Gathering a statistically significant sample. Test during different times of the day or week or different seasons.
Step 2: Analyze what you heard
Figure out who's doing the talking, infer opinions from comments you've gathered and corral them into separate, defined groups that you can address with specific engagement strategies.
Blanchard stressed that the people behind the comments are more important than the comments themselves. Divide your audience into addressable segments based on, say, how favorably they feel about your organization, e.g., fanatics (big-time supporters who love you), friends, acquaintances (people who are familiar with you), foes and fiends (people who are actively trying to do your brand harm).
Keep in mind that the more powerful a speaker is, the farther his or her voice will carry on the Web. A person's influence can be inferred from details like how many friends/followers he or she has and how passive/active the followers are.
Step 3: Join in and speak up
Now you should be prepared to engage your audience. But before you engage, make sure you know what direction you're going in to anchor your creative and efforts. Know your brand story. What do your constituents think you're about, and what do you want them to think you're about? Express your brand in a "simple encapsulating phrase," Blanchard said, which will be the "perception goal" your efforts will aim toward.
It's important to remember these three things when it comes to your presence in social media:
- You aren't in charge. But you can have a central position, offering insider input.
- You can't suppress dissent. But you can engage dissenters directly and one on one, and become part of the conversation. Give dissenters reasons to change their minds.
- You can't make people like you. But you can be honest, forthcoming and interesting. Lose the corporatespeak and talk like a regular human being.
Blanchard described the characteristics of and different engagement strategies for individuals in each of your defined groups, and shared tips for how organizations can engage them. Set realistic goals for moving people in each group toward the next, more engaged group. For example, it's a waste of time trying to turn foes and fiends into fans. While not everyone will convert, engagement can lead to measurable progress.
Group 1: Fanatics. They tell your story for you. Fanatics are like employees you don't have to pay," Blanchard said. "They actively advocate for your brand, and spread your news." While few in number, individuals in this group tend to be very vocal. Fanatics don't just vote for a candidate; they volunteer to work on the campaign.
Strategy: Empower them. Welcome them individually. Your contact with them validates their interest and secures their loyalty. Offer them exclusive things like original content and executive interviews.
Group 2: Friends. They exhibit a generally positive attitude toward your brand. Not as vocal as fanatics, but there are more of them. These are the voters.
Strategy: Reward them. Retweet (on Twitter) or repost positive things they say, acknowledge and thank them. And most of all, show them you appreciate them.
Group 3: Acquaintances. They exhibit an awareness of your brand but are more or less neutral about you. Perhaps they're trying to figure you out.
Strategy: Befriend them. Share what you know and like, give them positive tidbits to help move them closer to your organization. Dispel misinformation quickly when you encounter it.
Group 4: Foes. They aren't out to get you but just voice a generally negative impression of your brand. Perhaps they heard something and are just passing it along, or had a bad experience and want to share it.
"Sometimes, it's a negative comment that has nothing to do with your brand, but mentions it," Blanchard said. "And you're just along for the bumpy ride."
Strategy: Combat the efforts of foes by sharing your more positive experience with your organization. You're not telling them they're wrong, you're just sharing an alternate experience. This will help to neutralize negativity.
"Make negativity feel like the exception," Blanchard said.
Group 5: Fiends. They actively want to spread a negative vibe about your organization, and they can inflict a lot of damage. They might hate what you stand for or what they think you stand for, might feel wronged and see this as a path to revenge, might be misguided, or might have a legitimate beef. While they are few, they can be powerful.
"Left unchecked, they can intimidate and silence your fanatics. They can coax passive foes into becoming active fiends. They can convert the undecided over to the dark side," Blanchard said.
Strategy: The fiend antivenom is engagement. Put out fires where you can. Disarm them with apologies, when possible. Be the voice of reason. But most of all, don't be afraid of them.
At this stage of the game, you should have an active role in your community and a voice in the most important conversations going on about your organization, and you should be ready for the fourth and final step.
Step 4: Measure and maintain.
Be scientific. Compare pre- and post-intervention conversations, and evaluate your impact. Then adjust conversations accordingly.
After your organization has taken these steps, Perry recommended you continue to monitor your global conversation, even if you don't engage your constituency so at least you know what's being said; build your status within your community by sharing information, dispelling rumors and promoting new programs; and intervene when necessary.
If you do all of these things, you should have a deep, current understanding of the perception of your brand and organization, an intimacy with constituents retelling your story, and an active and growing role in guiding the perception of your brand.
Don't get overwhelmed, Kelly stressed. Just begin, and you'll figure it out and adjust as you go. Start small, and begin with listening. Have an intern or volunteer follow relevant Twitterers and build a following for your organization.
"Every brand tells a story," Kelly said. "And social media is the world evaluating, modifying and propagating that story. It's the audience whispering to each other during your play (or, sometimes, taking over the stage). Now that it's possible for you — and your competitors — to immerse yourself in those real-time conversations … you can't afford not to."
Click here to download the free e-book "Storylistening Through Social Media: Using Narrative Techniques to Create, Measure and Optimize Social Media Programs That Ignite Meaningful Consumer Conversations"
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