MediaJoltz

The other day I was talking to someone about new media telling him how cool it is. How you can now reach your clients and clients can reach you directly. He kept asking what the ROI of new media is. I started to explain to him how you can connect to clients, talk to them directly, they can talk to you directly. You can increase your brand image and make connections around the world who can become very excellent resources.

I actually understood that he was talking money, but I wanted to see what his reaction was. It was exactly what I thought it would be because his next statement was “That’s all great, but how much more money can I make from new media?”

I knew from this question that he really didn’t catch the vision of new media. He was only interested in the bottom line, about “what’s in it for me?” This is NOT what new media is about.

New media is about taking a new way of communicating and using it to reach others and start conversations. Blogging, podcasting and the social network sites are out there to be able to have direct conversations with those who are interested, allowing them to talk back AND facilitating a way for them to more easily talk to each other.

When you are able to talk directly with your customer and client, you are letting them see a more intimate part of the company. Now this company has a personality, it has life. People feel they get to know you better, and people do business with those they know, like and trust.

When you allow your customers and clients to talk to you, you are now more than just a shoe store, a financial planning company, a bank, etc, you are someone who cares what people want. You are listening and want to hear about what you are doing right, and what can be improved and people like that.

If you step back allow those who have interacted with you to talk to each other-you gain valuable market research, and learn far more about your company than you could ever imagine. You are able to hear the conversations people are having with each other and learn the real reasons they do business with you-or don’t do business with you and then you can create better campaigns based upon that knowledge.

Here are two companies that are using blogging as a way to communicate with their audience. One of them gets it, the other doesn’t.

First up is Marriott. The owner, Bill Marriott has started a blog to communicate with his audience. He posts regularly about where he is, what is going on in the area of different hotels and often about his family. He even posts about issues affecting the hotel industry like passport regulation changes. The blog does talk about Marriott Hotel-because that is the company, but doesn’t feel intrusive like an advertisement. He comments on something about the company and those reading give their feedback. On his first post, he had 136 people comment!

This is a man, a company that understands communication is a two way process and not always just about the bottom line.

The second company I want to use as an example is Yahoo. Yahoo doesn’t get it at all. Here is a company TRYING to implement a new media strategy without fully understanding the meaning behind it. Yes, they have started a blog called Yahoo Mail. It is in beta right now and I hope that someone at Yahoo hears this and changes their way of thinking. If you look at the blog-even the subtitle completely misses the point

So basically they’ve created a blog about all their latest and greatest improvements-yuck, who wants to subscribe to a blog that only blows its own horn where post after post is an advertisement-give us meat, and give your company a better personality.
Second, if you scroll to the end of each post, there is no way for me to communicate back to them how I feel about a product they’ve just written about. In one of their posts called “As You Wish” the first line says: A fresh new version of Yahoo! Mail Beta is here, and your ideas and feedback are at the core of what makes it stronger and more useful.
Well if that is the core of what makes it stronger, why can’t I comment on something you write, where the heck do I go to give you the ideas and feedback I have?
So after posting day after day about the new releases of product, they don’t even let me tell them what I think about it, good or bad. It is a one way conversation that isn’t going to work.

Now, I do have tons of examples of people who are seeing their marketing ROI increase with new media. I think this is call for the next post to be about Blendtec….
But you see, the key to this exciting technology is the ability to communicate-and with more than just the local market, but around the WORLD. If you do it right, great things will happen, I promise.

Tip of the Day: Use New Media to get in touch with people who otherwise you wouldn’t be able to reach!