This week’s
QOTW comes from a brief (~4 mins) PodTech
interview with Charlene Li
(Principal Analyst, Forrester Research) at the recent
2006 Always On Stanford
Summit. The interview follows up on the topic of “Has Blogging and Social Networking Changed the Marketing
Game?” which was a panel discussion that—besides Charlene—included
the likes of Steve Rubel (Edelman) and Jay Stockwell (Nielsen/BuzzMetrics).

Firstly, here
are Charlene’s comments on “the need for
generosity in blogging for marketing”:

One of the
hardest things for companies to figure out is that “voice” that they want…Especially
when they come in and their nature is to say “I have a marketing message that I
have to get out there.” Well, that’s not a very generous approach to it, because
that’s really about you selling something or telling people versus saying “What
does somebody need out there?” And being generous is a learned trait—it’s not
something that comes naturally to companies. So, I thought it was a really
interesting metaphor that, if you want to learn how to develop that voice, you
have to learn how to be generous…What would you want to give to your audience?  What would you want to help them with? If you
take that kind of approach versus a marketing message approach, that helps you
re-think about the different kind of mindset that you have to have when you’re
approaching blogging…If you approach it as a marketing channel and a medium,
it’s not going to play very well.

Then,
Charlene was asked to comment on where the future of corporate blogging and
podcasting is going, and how the independent blogger compares with the blogger/marketer,
particularly in terms of consumer trust and controlling the message:

Look at
what Robert Scobel did. He was unapologetic about how enthusiastic he was about
Microsoft, but at the same time, he called it as he saw it, too. So you knew that
you trusted him. And he really is one of the most generous bloggers, as Steve
Rubel says…And I think that’s really what people are looking for—it’s that authentic
relationship that somebody has, so they’re not trying to pull the wool over
your eyes. Often times marketers are doing so much in terms of saying “Well I
think I know what you need” rather than listening, saying “I think I hear what
you need. Is this what you want? In fact, I’m trying to meet your needs. I’m
trying to be generous again. I’m trying to address what it is that you want.” Instead
of thinking “This is a blog. Here’s an opportunity to push that message again,”
it’s really much more about “I have an audience. What do they want to hear?”
And if you can understand what they [want to] hear and meet them, then I think
that’s really the success; in the end, not just of blogging, but marketing in
general.

I believe
that much of what Charlene said is very much true for all social media these
days and how to use them effectively to reach your target audience. The change
in mindset is a key component to success as people are no longer satisfied to
be “passive consumers” and are now proactive about their consuming habits. For
example, how many of you just go out and buy a new electronic device on a whim
or after seeing an ad for it on TV? Don’t you try to research it online first;
look for user reviews, price comparisons, merchant ratings, etc? Times are
changing and marketing—the traditional way—may no longer fit these new forms of
media.

For more on
corporate blogging, check out Charlene’s
blog. And on the topic of “generosity
in blogging,” check out Charlene’s post on the “Generosity
and Dell’s New Blog” and Kami Huyse’s blog on “The
Culture of Generosity in Social Media“.