In a recent conversation with Brad Werntz of Pemba Serves we were discussing the new business models that would develop due to new media.
For some reason my mind came up with a funnel and I started talking about it. By the time I was finished it made a lot of sense, which wasn’t surprising to Brad but a shock to me.
So the communication funnel has been upside down for a long time. Why?
Until recently all messaging by brands went into strict portals like magazines, radio, television, newspapers. Went into the top of the upside-down funnel. Media would receive the messaging, charge for it, place it in their formats, and then distribute. Advertisers and the media told the brands that they could reach more people more cost-effectively then any other method.
And they were right.
So, all of this messaging went into the top of the funnel, got processed, and then was delivered to the target markets, and hopefully to a lot of people.
With new media this has all changed.
The funnel is now right-side up. Meaning that anyone can publish and can do it at no charge. The top of the funnel is open to the public. Opinions, product reviews, customer complaints, brand messaging, sales pitches, you name it…is flowing into the distribution systems.
Now, all of this information gets seen, and if good, it gets passed around. And if really good, it gains momentum and readership as it moves down the funnel. It also gets directed meaning that many people are involved and directing this information virally to the target markets that would be most interested. People like them.
So, with new media everyone can publish, everyone can express an opinion, everyone re-channels, and in the end the good information gains momentum and hits its proper target market.
So, why do brands still believe they control the message?
Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal
So true! I have a new website – so I am part of the ‘anyone can’. I am also a technology teacher at the high school level. Teaching this new ‘means’ of communicating is a challenge. Not because of the students, but the convincing of the administration – this is what students need to know before they graduate. I would love to have Paul be a guest speaker… Oh – maybe via Skype?
I like the analogy, Paul. Let me take it one step further by teasing out what brands CAN do in the new communication environment. For they certainly must to something. To cede all brand definition and communication to your consumers is not an option.
Brands will have to learn to seed conversations and steer debates much like politicians try to frame controversial issues in the way that’s most likely to further their agenda.
Brands can learn a lot from the way politicians and their media managers are evolving their messaging to take advantage of bloggers, social media and other grassroots communicators. The increasing decentralization of information sources is forcing them to:
1. Be more disciplined in their message. Since anything they seed can quickly take on a life of its own, slopping messaging can lead to disaster.
2. Cultivate a core group of amateur content creators and disseminators who are predisposed to their ideology.
3. Take smaller bites. Rather than trying to define policy in one go, smart campaigners are fracturing their overall message into smaller ideas that they believe can spark conversations and spin the overall perception of the issue in their favor.
We should all watch what happens over the next few weeks as both sides try to steer public opinion on health care reform in their favor.
Chris, Incisive comments. Agree on the Brand side that they must continue with messaging, but they also must concentrate on quality content to spark conversation, engage, and then attract Influencers. Love your thoughts on brand messengers taking cues from politicians. Never thought of that angle, but seems right. Paul
Leesa,
Students are learning the hard way, and school administrators aren’t learning at all, it seems. Students are learning that stupid pictures of themselves on Facebook have a distribution power they never imagined. And administrators need their own Facebook pages and Twitter accounts so they understand.
Publish means just that. And it has consequences. Love to speak to your school or class. Where are you? I travel and am many different places at certain times. Paul