Local empowerment through word of mouth

We’re a global company, and our campaigns for international clients  such as Nokia, STA Travel and Tourism New South Wales often use social media to connect passionate people from around the world through brands. But we’re also strong believers in the power of local communities, and we believe that companies absolutely need to be forging mutually beneficial relationships with regional groups.

I’ve written a few times about the role of word of mouth in equalising the power imbalance between consumers and brands. Thanks to social media, consumers now have something other than money which is visibly of value to brands - their voices, their passions and their independent authority and influence in their communities. So brands now have to engage consumers as equals, without trying to manipulate or compromise those things. Instead, they must offer the information, the experiences and the inspiration which will build lasting relationships not based on paid opinions or advertising.

That’s why I followed Saturday’s Talk About Local ‘unconference’ online (sadly I couldn’t make it to Stoke on Trent), where the best hyperlocal web people discussed their projects, challenges and ideas . Kevin Harris’s report on the event particularly resonated with me; he has been devising social uses for technology since 1986 and believes that the future has finally landed for local communities:

Believe it or not, some of us felt that the global would not invalidate the local. We felt that there is a complementarity, not a disconnection, of offline and online; and wherever you live is a good place to start appreciating that. It turns out we were right…Back in the 80s and 90s, we didn’t know what it would look like, but this is it. It may need some new language, but the values are all there – inclusion, empowerment, local people taking responsibility for their own communication environment. And those values are not worn self-consciously like badges, they’re simply ‘what we do’.

It’s a vision we love. 1000heads originated from the social revolution being led by peer to peer word of mouth. Companies always have a role to play in local communities; but they must understand that those communities are the ones taking ownership of word of mouth and the social space. They need to collaborate with them – not dictate to them – to ensure that what they are offering is truly welcome and of value.

And while we’re flag-waving for the democratisation of commerce, here’s an old but very-good video from Howard Rheingold about shifts in technology and power (via P2P Foundation):

Brought into the world on Monday, October 5th, 2009 and filed under Uncategorized.