Insight from our experts

The new PR: Leveraging digital influence to drive sales and reputation in a downturn.

Ash Coleman–Smith
Quick Facts Name: Ash Coleman–Smith
Company: Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Position: Managing Director
Ogilvy

Ash Coleman–Smith, Managing Director of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide explores online influencers and social media and how they can drive sales and reputation in a downturn.

One of the most important challenges in a recession is to ensure you successfully identify and engage with those who have the real power to amplify or change perceptions of your company. Whilst targeting influencers may have been an important part of the marketing mix for some companies, the landscape has changed so dramatically that businesses that don't explore digital platforms risk not only losing a share of voice but also seriously losing control of their brand exposure.

Whereas previously influencers were those that others sought out for advice, there is now a growing group of influencers who actively dispense advice via new digital social media platforms and tools– often unsolicited.

In the last few years, these wholly new, social media and networking platforms and tools have arisen and given a voice enabling anybody now to be a publisher;

  • blogging and micro–blogging on Wordpress and Twitter
  • video on YouTube
  • photo sharing on Flickr and
  • webpage bookmark sharing del.icio.us

The research company Forrester recommends re–aligning the traditional marketing funnel with these two groups of influencers in mind, with the new influencers aiding awareness and brand affinity efforts, while the classic influencers help close the sale. The most important starting point for marketers is to begin listening to these conversations to identify these influencers, classic or new.

The proliferation of social media – there are now over 133 million blogs according to Blog search engine Technorati – has meant that traditional word–of–mouth influence has undergone a huge amplification via the network effect. Today there is an abundance of new ways of finding and communicating and connecting with others to the extent that nearly all media is now "social" or certainly will be in a few years time.

With thousands of new ways to connect with people online through new social platforms, it is more important than ever to identify the influencers who shape purchase decisions and who will ultimately affect your bottom line and sales figures.

DIGITAL INFLUENCE AND DOWNTURNS

Given how new much of the realm of social media is, there is no history to study that might reveal consumer behaviour in a downturn. However, as people become more cash strapped, many purchases will be more thoroughly researched to ensure that they receive the biggest bang for their buck. As a consequence word of mouth marketing has become increasingly important as people tend to turn to those they know and trust when looking for recommendations on products and services. As people become increasingly familiar with others online too, then social media will not only weather the storm, it will serve as the shelter and gathering point for opinions, reviews, recommendations and endorsements.

For example, since August last year, the professional online social network LinkedIn has seen a doubling in its growth rate of new sign–ups.

Economic downturns also frighten and unnerve employees. They are turning to social media for information, solace, and sometimes to vent their professional frustrations. Therefore it stands to reason that monitoring social media will put many corporations in closer touch with how their own employees are feeling, to say nothing of the external view of the corporate brand.

Beyond monitoring blog postings, companies should also consider working with search engine marketing – not just for sales leads – but for corporate reputation. Search has become a form of PR as well and when a company is under attack, the top results on a search engine query may bury the brand in negative results.

Going beyond the passive monitoring or even reactive responses to reputational issues, companies have a wealth of new, very cost–effective, and often measurable ways to engage consumers in digital PR marketing efforts especially when budgets are tight.

Here are some great links to see successful digital influencing in action – a case study presentation from US shoe retailer Zappos and useful research from emarketer breaking down different sized businesses that are using Social Media.

Zappos: A small company with a big voice:
http://www.slideshare.net/Thor/zappos-lessons-building-a-customerfocused-culture

Businesses using Social Media research from Emarketer:
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007121

Ash Coleman–Smith
Managing Director
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide