I was lucky enough to go to a very interesting seminar on Wednesday, hosted by Bill Daring from KMP Digital. Joining Bill was Mike Antliff from Huzu, a social media platform, and Dominic Sparkes from Tempero who manage online communities for their clients through moderation.
It was a fascinating insight first of all from Bill into the shape of present and future digital marketing. The many ways of communicating available to the everyday person, such as blogs, social networks, forums, wikis etc now empower the man on the street in ways previously never possible. Equally they provide exciting opportunities to individuals and companies alike. Bill illustrated how we can tap into conversations about ourselves / companies that are happening on the net, and how we can embrace and also challenge them, managing our reputations.
Mike Antliff went on to explain that as this phenomenon continues to grow, companies will increasingly need to harness the most relevant technologies and organise them in a manner that enables structured and accessible control. His company provides a platform that incorporates all the elements you may need for your company to function in and capitalise on this new world.
Dominic Sparkes’ main points centred around the need to then manage your exposure and interaction in the social media world by moderating as much of the conversations as possible. Negative conversations are opportunities to engage and respond positively in the public eye which can in turn improve public perception. As such conversations need to be tended to regularly and responded to quickly, where abusive posts must be blocked or removed accordingly.
This is without doubt a significant shift in the way that businesses are having to address customer service issues, indeed this digital movement is capable of making or braking businesses at unthinkable speeds. Consequently we need to alter our perceptions and get with the programme. An involved and time-consuming task, possibly. An essential undertaking, without doubt.
Many thanks to the Bill, Mike and Dominic and the ones behind the scenes.
Andy Chesters