WV Executive

Web 2.0 holds vast opportunities for businesses today...but you have to understand interactive culture first.
SOCIETY IS UNDERGOING a radical transformation in the way it disseminates and processes information. Ours is an interactive culture, fueled by the hyperconnectivity of today's Internet. It's a culture in which the normal modes of communication have been turned upside down-the way we view the world around us is irrevocably changed.

Ultimately, it will be years before we can quantify what all of this means. We're still firmly planted in the vortex right now. The choice we face isn't one of determining what the ultimate outcome of this paradigm shift will be, even though it's incumbent upon us to try and make sense of things where we can. No, our immediate concern is how we can make the best use of what tools technology has made available to us. It's no different from the Industrial Revolution or the Renaissance from eras past. Those societies had to either struggle against the winds or allow them to guide an exciting-if uncertain-future.

Web 2.0

Make no mistake about it. We live in exciting times. And for all times, there is a beginning.

Ours started with the advent of the Internet in the mid-20th century. A connected series of computers transferring data, however, didn't truly realize its large-scale potential until the creation of the World Wide Web in 1989. Suddenly, the Information Age was upon us.

When the Web really took off in the 1990s, it was all about static knowledge. It was voluminous, sure, but not particularly engaging. Not on any personal level, anyway.

Fast forward to the 21st century and we are witnessing a revolution in how we, as a culture, engage information. In large part, the information that's out there is still the same as it was in, say, 1995. The difference is that the Internet has developed into more than a clearinghouse of knowledge. It's now an open forum-think 1st century Athens melded with 21st century technology. That's the Internet today. That's Web 2.0. That's social media.

Oh, we're still in the Information Age. But it's been turned on its head.

Martin Bowling is the chief technical officer for West Virginia based Vec3, one of the country's only full-service Internet marketing fi rms. He's something of a social media evangelist, preaching the message that today's interactive culture is more than just a bunch of kids thumbing their smart phones or posting pictures on MySpace. Bowling's reach on just one social media platform, Twitter, is in excess of 1.3 million people. He's been invited to speak at national conferences on the fledgling-but burgeoning-Internet marketing industry and he's the senior editor for social media for the Search Engine Marketing Journal.

Bowling's message? Social media-an umbrella term that encompasses Web-based multi-media platforms like Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and hundreds of others you've never heard of-is a new frontier today's businesses aren't fully exploring.

"What this means for business is that you can go out and get people who are involved in what you are doing and it adds another layer of customer support," Bowling says. "You can be there and show your customers that you are real, that you want to interact with them and that you care about their wants and needs as consumers. It shows that you care, not 'Oh, here's an 800 number. Now, go call and wait in line.' By providing an interactive social media platform where you can be transparent about what you are doing, what you have to offer and that you are willing to not only accept comments, criticisms and questions but answer them honestly, that builds trust. Trust is the number one thing."

Customer support is one thing. Bowling says social media's role in business extends far beyond that. It provides feedback in real time. It's about spreading your brand's reach. It's about giving a boost to your current business model-a boost into a 21st century that's rapidly changing. And that means now, more than ever, businesses have to stay ahead of the curve. Tapping into social media does that, Bowling contends.

"Social media is the new word of mouth. It's the new water cooler talk," Bowling says. "But this water cooler is infinite in size. Say you want to do some A/B product testing. Put it out there on social media. You don't have to go to a research company and spend all sorts of money. You can get instant feedback on what your customers like and what they don't like."

Social media is also highly targeted, Bowling says, to match specific niches of consumers who have already expressed an interest in the goods and services of a particular sector of the economy. "You can reach those millions of people without having to spend thousands on a television commercial or in the newspaper," traditional media forms that are more about blanketing consumers with a message as opposed to targeting them, Bowling says. "You are spreading the message yourself through the power of social media. It can also empower your brand by making your customers advocates for your product. Studies show that people are three times more likely to trust a recommendation from a peer than from one in an ad. You have walking, talking advertisements out there working for you."

Stats and Results

Consumers are beginning to take notice. Cone, a national communications agency, released a survey in September. It revealed that more than 90 percent of consumers expect companies to have a social media presence. Likewise, the study found that 56 percent of consumers responded that they "feel a stronger connection with a brand" if there's a social media connection, and 57 percent said they "feel better served" by a company in social media.

COMCAST is a case study in how this all comes together. The cable giant was an early adopter of the social media network Twitter, which is a live micro-blogging service where people "follow" each other online and engage in real-time conversations about the things that are important to them. COMCAST maintains a presence there, reviewing all mentions of their brand via their COMCASTCares username. When someone mentions the company, they immediately respond and ask if there's some way they can assist in solving a problem.

The result? COMCASTCares has 4,402 "followers," which offers direct help through a real-time conversation as well as a direct email address for one of its high-level public relations officials.

"No one has to wait in line to gain the credibility or platform for infl uencing anymore," says Brad Lomerick, a prominent blogger and director of Catalyst, a national young leadership organization. "Ideas win, not who has the most to say or who has the oldest or the most respected member of the team. With the rise of blogging, YouTube, Facebook and other social mediums, we're all able to infl uence and have our voices heard now."

That's the key, Bowling says.

"Social media is the fi rst time when people have a true voice, not only in shaping what our media reports but also shaping the conversation and commentary that happens afterwards," he says.

"The way to succeed in social media is by engaging with your users," Bowling reiterates. "Interacting with them in a give-andtake fashion is so important. The businesses who fail are the ones who only push their content and fail to appreciate the conversations happening around them."