2010- The Year Brands will Seduce Consumers via the Social Web

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As 2009 draws to a close, it is a good time to reflect the speed and vigour with which many consumer brands adopted the social web as part of their customer engagement strategy throughout the year. Some really understood it and did a fantastic job; some got it so badly wrong they may take years to repair the damage caused; however, the majority were somewhere in the middle. Expectations were high - "We're on Twitter, we'll get thousands of followers!" - in most cases this just didn't happen. Those brands that did dip their toe in the water will have learned many things and be better positioned to see some real success in 2010.
2010, will see a change from the usual "discount tweets" and "become a fan" (Why?!) and we'll start to see the emergence of an "art of seduction" across the social web. How many of you have already received a comment on a blog or a retweet or an @mention which was phrased something like "Great post" or "Totally agree"? Most probably they come from friends and colleagues, but expect to see more of these from brand representatives. If it is done well and genuinely meant, then this is great, but it is a thin line to tread if it isn't.

There is a tried and tested "chat-up" formula used by many successful seducers (allegedly) which is an acronym of CIQ. This stands for Compliment, Introduction and Question. Here's an example: A man walks up to an attractive lady in a bar and says "Wow! You look fantastic." Lady responds by being very flattered and says something positive in return. "My names, Paul, by the way." "Hello Paul, I'm Tracy." (Don't ask me where those names came from, I have no idea!) Paul then asks "May I buy you a drink?". Apparently, the answer is usually a positive one, as long as you've brushed your teeth.

Now apply this same formula to the social web and brand consumer dialogue, Clearly define profiles and id's will negate the introduction if the brand is well known. Here's what might happen:
  • Consumer Tweet: "Just been for a great run around the park. Had The Who blasting out of my iPod"
  • Brand Tweet: "@consumer It's good to run, great choice of music. The Who are always on my playlist."
  • Consumer Tweet: "@brand Thanks. They seem to make me run a little faster."
  • Brand Tweet: "@consumer Definitely, I (that's me from Brand X) also like a little bit of Motorhead, not everyone's cup of tea."
  • Consumer Tweet: "@brand You're right. Ace of Spades is the only one I know."
  • Brand Tweet: "@consumer There are many more. By the way, what's the park like to run on?"
  • Consumer Tweet: "@brand A bit bumpy and slippy in places. Why?"
  • Brand Tweet: "@consumer Sounds like the park I run round. But I tried a pair of these bit.ly*** and they knocked 3 mins of my time."
  • Consumer Tweet: "@brand Thanks I'll take a look"
Sound elaborate? Don't believe it. Brand X is a running shoe reseller and had set up searches looking at terms such as "run" "running" "terrain" "personal best" etc. and could see the associated tweets.

This is how it is going to be. Your tweets, updates, comments will be heard across the globe by those who want to. Such brands, with the right tools, can then make a judgement whether to engage you; if you're "attractive" be prepared to be seduced. It'll get personal and could be a real benefit to you if brands get it right. It could also be a real pain. There will be many a time in 2010 when you'll be engaged via the social web by a brand. "Get your coat, you've pulled."

Punk's Not Dead! Very much alive due to the Social Web. #RATM

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People were fed up of having the heavily manufactured and overly publicised X Factor/Psycho TV "music" rammed down their throats. So they used the social web to speak out and rebel. In fact, one guy Jon Morter stared the whole thing by setting up a Facebook group and using other social web channels (namely Twitter) to spread the word and gain coverage on national radio, press and TV. He chose a very relevant track and band (Rage Against the Machine & Killing in the Name), which was only available by download (Have you seen the "Share on Twitter" (and Facebook) function on iTunes?)...a track released in 1992 (17 years ago). Whereas, the X Factor, Joe McElderry track was download, CD and probably the most advertised single ever...with millions pumped into it. All this, and yet it was beaten to the number 1 slot. Why?

Well obviously, a lot of people downloaded it, because of their "anti" feeling...not necessarily because they liked the track. It's a statement being made, which has resulted in a clear manifestation. If there is a strong enough feeling amongst the general public about something, they now have the ability to enforce an outcome in their favour. This has truly demonstrated the power of the social web; without it, it would not have happened. How else could a massive crowd of like minded people be brought together in such a short time frame?

Also, another key factor, is the availability to download any genre of music from any era. If downloads were not available, again this could not have happened. In my day (Karl Havard writing this), it was availability of vinyl and cassette tape. Time passing, would mean the ability to get your hands on any form of track would become more and more difficult. Various movements would come and go with the years - Mods, Rockers, Punks, New Romantics etc. as would fashion. However, today every type of music is available and it is clear to see a healthy revival and variance of all these movements again. Two days ago I saw a young girl of around 19 years, in a coffee shop with Buddy Holly tattooed on her arm.

The social web has acted as a catalyst to all of this, and who knows what may happen in the very near future. Will we see various groundswells of people having their say about politics, law, brands, customer service and forcing several outcomes in their favour? Has anarchy been provided with a new and significant weapon for its armoury? 2010 may become a really interesting year.