Jumpstart Automotive Media's CEO shows how to embrace what you cannot control in the consumer generated media space.
A few years ago "consumer generated media" conjured up the commercially unviable writer paying a vanity publisher to produce 25 copies of a hardcover book that the author could give to friends and boast, "It's my new book." My, how times have changed. It used to be that everybody was a critic, now everybody is a writer.
Consumer generated media (CGM) has exploded across the internet, thanks to new tools and technologies that enable anyone to post an opinion, idea, rant or simply a diary of their day. The personal postings are online everywhere, from social network sites like teen-oriented MySpace and Facebook to blogs, discussion groups on enthusiast websites or simple emails from consumers hoping to connect with OEMs or dealers.
While a good deal of CGM is irrelevant to your business, you would be stunned to discover how much of it is very much ABOUT YOU. For example, blogs have been launched by journalists or former workers with intimate knowledge of the auto industry, and they are revealing a good deal of what you thought was proprietary information five years ago.
Using blog search engines like Feedster and Technorati, you can keyword search recent posts on tens of millions of blogs and websites to discover, for example, there is a groundswell of consumers agreeing that your newest model is considered a lemon, or that local mechanics are undercutting your authorized dealer's repair and service prices by 40 percent.
A study conducted earlier this fall by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 13 million U.S. adults had created blogs, and that 39 million American adults classify themselves as blog readers -- up 22 percent from the 32 million people who did so back in January 2005.
The bottom line is twofold: you cannot control CGM, and you cannot afford to ignore it. You must become part of the process.
Gaining the upper hand
Some companies are starting their own CGM: A Social Media Adoption Survey of corporate marketing communications professionals released at a recent BlogOn conference revealed that 61 percent of responding companies use external blogs for public relations, marketing and "demonstration of thought leadership." More than 40 percent of respondents had a blogging CEO. The expected benefits of external blogs include improved brand recognition and external communications, as well as a vehicle for customer feedback.
The critical element here is credibility. If everything you put on your corporate blog is cheery-good promotional news, then consumers will turn to others who they think will give them the straight scoop. If the consumer thinks you have a problem, then you have to address it, not ignore it and hope it goes away. This requires a new, unfamiliar at times, potentially nerve-wracking communications culture, but it is vital to your success in this space.
Corporate blogs are a good first start, and as blog and RSS applications become more user friendly, these will become increasingly key to capturing users who are looking for answers to their product and service questions. Unfortunately, there are already hundreds, if not thousands, of existing blogs that are outside your control. How do your interact with them? One, Iisten to the ongoing conversation; two, join the conversation by participating in these new media and three, do not attempt to control the conversation with bullhorn marketing communications methods of old. And how do you identify which applications to target with your communication efforts? One way is to track what is being said through search engines such as Feedster orTechnorati. You can also contract for a service like Biz360 to provide tools that not only collect, but assess "threats" and opportunities.
Consumer-generated creativity
Some companies have taken things one step further and have incorporated CGM into their ad campaigns, like Audi's "Art of the Heist," where users posted comments and even websites that followed their virtual reality game. Some automotive marketers see CGM as the avant garde of the internet, the influentials that all marketers seek and the buzz that will start the ever elusive word of mouth campaign.
How else can you use CGM in your marketing plan? You might consider advertising on blog or RSS feeds. Your messaging should reflect the environment, and probably should not be brand based but, rather, more conversational. Users will click a) if they think you have something cool to offer; b) because you support their favorite CGM author or c) if they are intrigued to do so.
This strategy requires non-traditional creative messages. As a marketer, you don't want to send the same creative to Forbes as you would to coolfer.com (if you must do so, at least test it so you have some learning).
Don't just insert traditional "brought to you by" in a webcast or podcast -- ask users to create their own and feature one in your commercials.
The "consumer" of consumer generated media feeds off information. They like to be among the up-and-coming group of pop culture and trends -- they may not always set them, but they can always propagate or kill them. They are the X factor in your ROI because you don't know how many will pick it up and multiply your message to the viral pop iconi-culture of your dreams.
In conclusion, don't be scared to embrace the broadcast self expression that is unique to the web. Don't worry so much about "controlled" content. If the user is posting, reading or watching it is because they sought it out. So, if your message is next to something you might consider a little risqué, they probably consider it every day life and think you a little cooler for being there.
As Oren Michels, VP of business development for internet search engine and advertising network Feedster, has said, "Marketers should look at social media as a resource where they can learn a great deal about their markets by observing what consumers write and what they read, such as what RSS feeds they subscribe to. CGM is not to be feared but embraced for what we can learn from it."
Mitch Lowe is the CEO of Jumpstart Automotive Media in San Francisco, California.