Vision - March 2009 - (Page 14) have the ability to find virtually any audience they want to target, and create for these viewers, advertising and content that engages them to interact with their brand in a way that is consistent with what they’re doing on the site.” Examples include everything from hosting contests to promoting content against a search and creating viral campaigns. “Marketers come to YouTube to start a dialog with their customers,” he says. Airliner Jet Blue, for example, created a corporate communications page on YouTube that showcases new television commercials and links to videos recorded about Jet Blue. Users can also message the company and share links on blogs and other websites. The company recently began posting video messages from the CEO about safety, service and other timely topics. Jet Blue’s definitely not alone. Zamost says 13 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day. “YouTube makes it easy for anyone to use video. If a company has a video, whether it be for marketing or even educational pur- poses, they should put it on YouTube,” says Zamost. Not only do these posts generate traffic, but companies can also use the platform to share lectures, connect conferencing and troubleshoot problems related to products and services. According to Quantcast, an Internet ratings site, social media sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are experiencing serious booms with an increase in traffic since last year. In a report “The Facebook Effect,” Quantcast found that companies releasing applications and products on social sites are experiencing profound hikes in traffic to their own websites. Be Legitimate Despite the benefits, social networking also comes with its challenges. As more corporate entities join these sites, they risk turning off users with too-blatant marketing messages. NetSquared’s Bicket already sees this happening: “Increasingly, the market and communities will filter and police irrelevant information.” And Consumerist.org is a website that broadcasts corporate misbehavior online. “I expect to see this trend growing as companies seek shortcuts and people get better organized,” says Bicket. “Forrester Research recently reported that corporate blogs are the least trusted blogs on the Web today. The challenge from a business perspective is one of appropriate context. Businesses must ensure their participation in these networks align with their business interests.” There are two major strategies at play with social media sites today. There’s the advertising model, where advertisers subsidize the user-experience (Blogger, Facebook and MySpace). Then there’s the software-as-service model, where companies charge users for premium services (Flickr and LinkedIn). All of these popular networking sites are adding new members each day. Facebook, says Bicket, adds 500,000 new users each day, while YouTube is literally changing the way we use the Web. He predicts a surge in the next few years of social media tools developed specifically for small business and enterprise in mind. Word of Mouth Harnessing the power of customer product reviews ver since Amazon.com launched its consumer ratings, online product reviews have become popular, reliable research tools for consumers and retailers alike. More than 77 percent of online shoppers seek customer reviews before making a purchase, according to JupiterResearch, a market research firm in New York City. Recently, Bazaarvoice, an e-commerce provider in Austin, TX, launched BrandVoice, an application that now allows manufacturers to display ratings and reviews on their own branded sites, as well as retail sites where products are sold. “Study after study has shown that consumers are heavily influenced by user-generated product reviews,” says Brett Hurt, Bazaarvoice founder and CEO. “Reviews are so important and so preva- E lent that a manufacturer who doesn’t have reviews on a product at a retail site is turning away business.” By using BrandVoice, manufacturers can integrate ratings and reviews into websites that can be searched through blogs, affiliates and other online engines. Unlike paid searches, the application filters unbiased content through sales channels to, says Hurt, increase conversion rates, lower return rates and improve overall brand loyalty. “By placing as many reviews in as many shopping areas as possible,” says Hurt, “manufacturers can increase the voice share that leads to online sales and in the store.” Recently Kingston, an electronics manufacturer in Fountain Valley, Calif., with products sold at Office Depot, adopted BrandVoice to stream reviews of memory cards and media readers to the retail chain’s e-commerce site. Kingston reportedly increased the average number of reviews per product on the site from one to 10. “By simplifying reviews, we’re able to amplify the voices of our brand advocates and provide shoppers with the information they need to make the right purchase decision,” explains Mark Leatham, Kingston’s director of flash business development. “More user-created content about product equals more sales in the channel,” says Sam Decker, Bazaarvoice CMO. “Manufacturers win because they create new engagement opportunities with customers; customers win because they find credible information to help make purchase decisions; and retailers win because they are able to sell more products in a tough economic climate.” 14 March/April 2009 www.ce.org http://www.Consumerist.org http://www.Consumerist.org http://www.Amazon.com http://www.ce.org
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