Internal authority drives WOM

Who would you rather trust - the BBC or a blogger? asked Nick Cohen in yesterday’s Observer, concerned at how the broadcaster is cutting journalists and pouring resources into its presences online. Of course, newspapers must adapt to the space when mobile and citizen journalism is becoming so powerful, but as Clay Shirky has noted, objective and authoritative journalism is also more valuable than ever before. Cohen summarises the Beeb’s problem:

“The paradox of the BBC’s strategy is that the more it spends on expanding into cyberspace the less it has to say.”

So how does this relate to brand word of mouth? It’s a timely reminder that companies looking to develop real relationships in the space must invest in two streams of activity. The first is certainly the ‘empowerment of the consumer’ by encouraging peer to peer creation and conversation around the brand with a collaborative and open source approach - see the Guardian’s successful and The NY Times’ less successful strategies to encourage embedding, manipulation and discussion of their content. However, a second stream is equally important: continuing to improve the quality of the product and the core beliefs of the brand.

As my post about brand blah hinted, although we now require transparency and two-way communication, we’re also still attracted to the brands that maintain the intrinsic quality and consistency of their products and principles. For a brand to  open itself up to a conversation, it needs to have an opinion - and a belief in its expertise. Building evangelists is not about sycophantic people-pleasing, which is as irritating in a brand as it is in a person; yes, brands must use peer to peer WOM to help direct their progress, but they should also nurture their own sense of identity and integrity.

Internal authority lends brands the confidence to be flexible and collaborative - and makes them interesting to us consumers, too. ‘Engaging’ is not just about diffusing and reaching out, but strengthening within.

Brought into the world on Monday, March 30th, 2009 and filed under Uncategorized.