‘Friendtelligence’ – Engagement is the New Awareness

Posted by John Webb on January 25, 2011 · 7 Comments 

The Internet has changed Marketing – from consumers feeling that they needed to have heard of a brand to even consider it, to consideration being driven by recommendation and endorsement. Mass awareness has been replaced by positive word of mouth and viral sharing. Knowing what drives a market, what consumers really want and expect, and what creates evangelism, provides the foundation for building and maintaining a ‘friendtelligence’ profile.

Today’s consumers inform and make their purchase decisions through engagement. The concept that many Marketers’ struggle to get their heads around is that (potential) consumers are engaging with each other before engaging with the brand. If consumers trust their friendtelligence network, they will extend trust to the brand. Not just word-of-mouth, but the right word-of-mouth is what matters.

Exchange of information and assets outside of the brand-controlled space will increase through the continued explosion of social networking. As consumers become more aware and assured in their ability to get the true perspective on brands from friends, network contacts and even total strangers, brands will need to focus on delivering positive engagement experiences and, in so doing, driving positive feedback. This necessitates a deeper understanding of their categories, proactive management of their communities, and more robust monitoring of brand engagement.

Traditional models and methods for quantifying and qualifying brand engagement need to change. We need improved measures of sentiment, endorsement and proliferation; and here’s the challenge…not just on a global basis, but to provide insight, meaning and, fundamentally, activation to brand owners, crucially at a local level. What’s the value of a consumer who actively engages and participates in communities around a brand? If Marketers are to justify and align future investments, we need to be able to measure these engagements in terms of value to the brand.

It is important to clarify here that I am not advocating that ‘engagement’ is a merely proxy for ‘awareness’. Many Marketers view brand amplification through social media as a means of ‘cheaply’ buying eyeballs, i.e. generating extended awareness. Engagement goes much beyond this to define the nature of these interactions: the depth of involvement, emotional response, and level of future commitment.

With the Internet Revolution, and more specifically the onset of social networking, awareness has been surpassed by engagement as the key objective for brand owners. Delivering a positive engagement experience, both within and crucially beyond the brand-controlled space, is the key driver of endorsement, word-of-mouth proliferation and evangelism through consumers’ friendtelligence networks.

Filed under Branding, Intelligence, Online, Social Media · Tagged with awareness, banding, brand, brand engagement, branding, brands, engagement, friendtelligence, market research, marketing, online, online marketing, social marketing, social media, social networking, social networks