The way people communicate might change, but people have always gossiped – whether it’s through two tin cans connected by twine or text messages and Facebook postings.
But now companies can listen to the chatter, and there might be valuable information in it, according to Dean Browell, co-founder of Feedback. The new firm specializes in social media campaigns and research work outsourced from PR and ad agencies. In June BizSense ran a series on how local companies are (or are not) using social media.
Browell and co-founder Jeff Thompson started up last week and are doing work for several national and regional clients through Neathawk, Dubuque and Packett, the same ad agency where two most recently worked together. They are also doing work for a few other firms as well.
Below is an edited transcript.
Richmond BizSense: What were you doing immediately prior to launching Feedback, and why did you leave?
Dean Browell: I was director of new media at Neathawk, Dubuque and Packett, an ad agency downtown. There is an interesting spot open right now in the ad world, which is social media tends to be something to have in-house a little bit but may not a full department dedicated to it. A lot of ad agencies are treating it the same way they would a photographer. If they need a photographer, they get the best one for the job.
RBS: How are things starting out? Do you have any clients yet?
DB: We have a number of them, some of them are contracted through NP&D. For a new business, I’m astonished [that] on Day One we had a full board. It turns out there may be more demand than we thought.
RBS: The social media craze appears to be in full swing. What makes you think things like Facebook and Twitter aren’t a fad? Is it really the future?
DB: I think some of it is as long as you open up the scope of social media, and not just Facebook and Twitter, but anywhere you are able to listen to your audience — that is here to stay always. The research angle is really important. People are always going to discuss things. Part of this is to be able to track and see what is happening with your brand or product.
People have been on IRC message rooms and chat boards for niche causes and hobbies for 20 years. I do believe there will be trends that come and go.
RBS: A lot people are using social media to connect and stay in touch with friends, not to shop or be marketed to. How does a client market to a niche group without being seen as invasive?
DB: It may not be about advertising directly or getting in there trying to be a vendor. People make some of these groups private for a reason. The listening angle is so important. It may be about living among them. Get into a community and listen, not get in there and market to them right away.
RBS: In most cases, social media is free and easy to use. What can an end client get from a professional that they can’t do on their own?
DB: It varies based on the business. For a small business, there is probably a lot they can do on their own. We can really help them on the front end to get a lot of education on what to do right and what not to step in the middle of. A new business may step into it and start a press release machine-type thing, or misunderstand where there audience is and where they are going when they get on a computer.
From a large institution standpoint, any brand strategy has got to have at least a social media angle in there. Social media at its base is just the reality online.
RBS: What are some common mistakes business make when jumping into the social media world?
DB: I think understanding the time commitment going in. It’s a lot like a website: You don’t want to make a big splash and not keep it up. If you visit a website and see it hasn’t been updated in two years, that is a death knell on social media. Take Twitter — those posts are gone in three months. If you only post every three months, what you posted today is not going to help you.
I think the other part of it is to be real. I can’t tell you how many quotes on “social media seminars” touch on authenticity. There is still an air of making a sale behind it. Everyone has their cards on the table; that is the way people are expected to interact. People online are very open, so if a company is trying to give them a line and not be totally transparent and try to be guarded, it won’t work.
RBS: So what is the value of this work? How do figure out your pricing?
DB: The pricing is all over the map. It’s interesting working with an ad and a PR firm — the two of them are priced very differently. PR firms are much more retainer based; ad space is more about billable hours or the value of the project. We’re trying to end up with what is best, early on establishing how much we will put into research and see what projects come out of that. Maybe the client will decide to continue to listen. There is some feeling it out as we go along. It’s very rare to find someone treating social media as a production work thing, so we don’t have a big dog to get behind and compare to.
Al Harris is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.
