Bots(robots), affiliate marketing sites, discount sites and link farms are all making the conversation very crowded for brands trying to get their message heard online. All the entities have one purpose and that is to sell product. Some of it is discounted. Some of it isn’t. Some are names of sites you have never heard of, and some are names like Amazon.

Recently, we were asked by a leading brand in the outdoor and ski markets to search for it and see what we find. Well, it wasn’t pretty. Channel Signal search engines, which have blacklisted over 10,000 authors and sites, still came up with a ton of junk surrounding this brand.

Why? Because the company had not delivered good online content and sales pitches (selling primarily discounted product) had taken  over the brand’s identity.

We searched Twitter…could barely find any content about the actual brand.
Blogs…junk everywhere.
YouTube…better content here.
Online traditional media…not much.

To be clear, all of this sales noise is not all bad. A retailer, Amazon, posted 1,900 customer review ratings in the past year on a product produced by the brand with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Now, if you figure 20 percent of the customers who bought from Amazon wrote a review, that means about 10,000 sales in one year. Not bad from the online retailer.

However, the brand is being drowned out by the sales pitches. Can’t really call it noise because it does move product.

What to do?

First a brand must sharpen its identity online. Advertise to your target market about where to go…on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, your blogs, etc. In short, drive consumers to where you want them to go for your content. Then…

Fill these places with good content. Not content that sells stuff, but content that educates consumers. How to layer? Why a hat is important. Goggles and what they can do for you. Breathable socks. And make this information directly applicable to your product lines.

And then, build online relationships with your retailer partners.

1. Support online retailers with content they can push out and reprint on their own sites.

2. Train retailers to understand how to do things like embed a YouTube video, update their blog and utilize basic search engine optimization techniques.

3. License content correctly for reprinting/republishing through retailers with photographers, writers, video producers.

By building a grassroots content strategy through retail partners, brands can deliver better content online, serve their customers and drive sales with key accounts.

So, break out of the noise by building your content and building your partnerships with retailers.

Many companies in the outdoor space are considering new media. Makes sense.

Our business is filled with, shall we say, dedicated users. Or as Yossarian in a TGR Forum writes, “hard-chargin’, story-writin’, zappa recitin’, flame-throwin’, 24-7-365 thinkin’ (about skin’ and boardin’, anyway), gear-debatin’, pow-ridin’ people in the world!”  There are many of them, and a growing list is publishing in new media: blogs, forums, facebook, twitter, etc.  And many other consumers are reading, commenting, and round and round it goes. 

In the old days we just talked to ourselves. Decided what was cool and what technology would be best, and then pushed that messaging into the marketplace. With new media, manufacturers push product into the marketplace, and the response comes roaring back within days. 

So, how does a company begin the new media journey? Let’s start with what you don’t do:

1. Think you will start small and see where this goes. (Might as well drink from a fire hose.)
2. Assign a mid-level employee to the task of monitoring and responding to new media.
3. Believe that the old push strategy of messaging will work when you respond to a post.
4. Assume that one department can handle new media. 
5. Take your time
6. Just talk

 Let’s take these one at a time:

1. The new media communication initiative needs dedicated support from top management. Without support and guidelines it will whip a company around like a rag doll.
2. A company’s new media person is the “point” for a potential tsunami of information. As blogger Tom Vanlerberghe (www.tomvanlerberghe.com) writes, “being able to speak for your company is a great responsibility, a responsibility not everyone can or will handle.”  
3. This market wants authentic conversation, so stay away from marketing drivel. Tell the truth. 
4. New media will affect most of your departments, particularly customer service, sales, marketing and product development. Why? Because there will be comments and questions about pricing, slow product replacement, brand issues like environmental support, and product feature and benefit criticisms and praise. 
5. Take your time and you allow a negative post to work through the viral world unchecked. The perception, and the reality, grows. 
6. Just talk and you will watch dollars, lots of them, fly right out the door.  Have a communication strategy for new media. 

Next Up: Strategy? How do you attach a strategy to a conversation coming from everywhere?