Success in The New Media & Web 2.0
Meet the new bossSame as the old boss
from “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who
Pete Townshend had it right in the song. His point may initially be slightly different to mine but the reasons why are the same.
We get told a lot about The New Media and Web 2.0 and how they are radically different to everything that has gone before. Too many marketers are struggling and failing with alarming regularity because they can’t come to terms with the new ways.
There is a great article on The Economist web site that gives a really good look at the new media revolution. The article likens The New Media to the invention of the movable type printing process in 1455. That may seem irrelevant now but oddly human nature has not changed that greatly so much of what occurred in society and business then is happening now (only this time we have Paris Hilton). Unfortunately Andreas Kluth can’t really get his head around what is coming this time around.
Matthew Allen’s article at Online Opinion is a lot denser but still carries the bitter tang of confusion over what this New Media really is. There are individuals and businesses that have really mastered the opportunities that the Web has to offer but sadly many businesses are still struggling to understand what the web really offers. Why?
I think that this is because The New Media offers only a subtle shift; a something that people have always wanted, something that if we saw it being persecuted in a film we would cheer for the downtrodden champion/hero trying to rise to dignity {cue Braveheart soundbite}.
The shift is towards a directness, an interactivity previously missing in politics, media and the general way that the world runs. The web levels the playing field and allows anyone to put forward their views in almost complete freedom. Start up costs are almost zero and distribution is automatic. Things that TV or press could have only dreamed of. So why the problem?
The Old Boss
We have an established way of doing, and therefore thinking, about things. The old way is very top down, feudal even. If it is on TV it is real. If it is in the newspaper then it is correct. It is real or correct because a greater person than us decides that it is so. The Web says that we can all put forward our ideas, opinions and evidence on any subject including the taboos of sex and religion. My website is equal to that of Yahoo, News.com or Microsoft simply because we all share the same acessability platform. Each of these sites is equally easy to access. Anyone has the ability and therefore the right of reply either on the same site or by creating their own pages and linking. The shift is only in the degree of freedom.
Expectation is the only real difference between the old boss and the new one. The laws of human nature are still exactly the same. People still have needs they want to fill. They just get to fill them slightly differently so their behavior is shifting to suit the new availability of information. The new media is the same as the old simply because the boss is the same. Human nature is the common thread but it has been given a greater ability to express on a personal level.
Where companies, especially the really large ones, struggle and fail on the web I can’t help but think that they are failing only because they have got fooled into thinking that things are different. I believe that these companies are missing the key to success which is simply to appeal to real people in real ways. In the past the media was very engineered, now it is for more egalitarian. The ability to sell a product is not diminished. If anything it may be enhanced.
To find success on the web I believe, and evidence seems to support this rather strongly, you simply need to appeal to the real needs of a person. Just because something is doable should never mean that it is a good idea. Anyone can send 10,000 emails at once to a list of people they don’t know. Doable. Is it a good idea? Almost always not. The old methods love the idea of sending so many adverts right into the heart of people’s lives for virtually no cost but people don’t like it. The old guard do it and then wonder why they fail. They say the new methods don’t work and the whole thing is bunk moments before putting their heads in the sand.
Another fellow comes along and swaps a paper clip for a house and the old guard see it is possible and try to engineer a similar thing. It can’t be engineered simply because the original was genuinely real and so moved people. The copy is not real and people know it. The copy fails. The media doesn’t fail but the product does simply because the approach is wrong.
We don’t get fooled
Just because the girl at the McDonalds counter smiles and says “Would you like fries with that?” doesn’t mean she likes you. You know when she does like you. You just know.
A good marketing campaign or sales process should be genuine. Tell people how your product will make their lives better and as soon as they can afford it they will purchase. Simple. Make web sites that do this. Don’t play games with people. Don’t try to get clever. Simply stick to what is genuine in yourself and your product and it will find an audience in The New Media.
Web 2.0 is simply an expression of this directness. Where older web sites were designed rather flat and overcooked, with graphics and animations splattered everywhere; what audiences now respond to best are simple and direct statements that drill down to more information for those who want it. Those who don’t want more information can either purchase, or call, - whatever the next step is; or they can move on to something that does connect with their lifestyle. This process can and should be fast simply because we think fast.
If you want me to work with your business then please visit BRM Web Consulting
