[nlab social networks conference - steve clayton]
Today is the day for the Social Networking conference hosted by NLab.First speaker of the day is Steve Clayton: "Social Networking for Small Businesses - Lessons from Microsoft?"
How to establish trust between big business and local consumers?
How do consumers find info? Show of hands - who uses the yellow pages? no one. People use google (and microsoft live search) and blogs. There's a really big difference between a blog and a website for businesses.
Microsoft put a video out for a game Gears of War and instantly it turned into a hugely viral marketing tool. The audience mashed it up and turned the video into a social device, a tool for communication (see here and video mashups here)
Hilarious microsoft ipod video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4313772690011721857
The best bit about the web, finding something unique to say and start conversations with people on the long tail.
To get high on google: either pay to appear high on the right hand side or have lots of people linking to you to appear high on the left-hand side.
Stats:
*70% of small businesses have a website
*2 out of 10 small businesse websites do not have company contact details or product/service info
*info isn't updated
Think of small businesses that blog and then do well - English Cut, Savile Row - 4 years ago there wasn't much demand for a £3000 suit but bumped into Hugh MaCloud who suggested he set up a blog. Rather than try to sell suits the plan was to talk about tailoring, how to buy cloth, how to cut cloth etc... now sells suits to royalty and has more business than he can manage...all because of a blog which engages conversation.
Microsoft now has 4500 bloggers.
Through constant engagement, linking to others, facilitating conversation Steve moved up in the google listing.
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
Small is the New Big by Seth Godin - means you have something unique, you can be agile. The web and blogs in particular give you the platform to do that in an incredibly powerful way.
Twitter - the new pub, a place where all your friends are.
Need to build up the trust quotient.
If the buzzword bingo is a bit tricky, a jungle of new-fangled terms and ideas, Steve suggests common craft for ideas explained in "plain English."
Labels: collaboration, communication, microsoft, narrative, social media, social networks, steve clayton, twitter
posted by Jess @ 10:19
4 comments
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jess @ jesslaccetti.co.uk
4 Comments:
I use the print Yellow Pages. It's quicker than online. In many ways more complete. Easier to navigate. Fully portable. Uses no energy while on the shelf. Doesn't require any special connections. A new one comes to me free each year.
glad someone does - keep them in business :) Seriously, I'm not saying the Yellow Pages isn't great it's just that many people now use the web to find products and services. in addition, the yellow pages is a one way medium. there is not trust in there - apart from the book itself and their reputation - how do I know one garage in there is better than the next?
Charles Green, the co-author of "The Trusted Advisor" has an explanation of the trust equation and trust quotient that might be useful. One of the interesting things is that the most important thing for being trusted is low self-orientation. It can't be about what's in it for you.
I find using the yellow pages much slower. I can google most things much quicker and i also like google maps which gives you local info though, as Steve says, there isn't quite the element of trust there.
Steve - what's your preferred way of getting trusted info...and does it depend on the info you're searching for?
Re: anon- thanks for the link to the trust quotient. Interesting variables:
C = Credibility
R = Reliability
I = Intimacy
S = Self-orientation
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