What “they” say

July 23rd, 2008 at 10:35am Katharyn Havens

So you have decided to go shopping this weekend, and if there is one thing in particular you are looking for you will probably look up something about said item online first.  Doesn’t it seem better if you get a few opinions from web sites, no matter if they come from “trusted experts” or just community blogs?  It’s no news that people trust other people like them, so it makes sense that marketers should embrace the online social communities. Whoever “they” are, it is important what “they” say, more so online than other mediums.  A study recently completed by PR firm Fleishman-Hillard in France, Germany and the UK shows evidence that the internet is twice as influential as television and eight times as influential as print media.  “The best thing a company can do is to create an environment where people can post reviews and opinions,” says Matt Rhodes of FreshNetworks, who is an author of social media good-practice articles and regular speaker at Web 2.0 conferences. Granted, factors on influence are different in Rockford, IL than in Germany but the overall trend toward changing your marketing mix to skew to internet and social media sites is a basic principle of branding today.

Entry Filed under: Messaging, Internet communications