Research clearly indicates that organisations have accepted 2 facts-
1.Cultivating a respectable level of customer engagement is a strategic challenge.
2.The volumes and degree of consumer engagemnent will have long term implications for a firm.
Let’s take a look at social media’s role in this entire talk about consumer engagement.
Mario Sundar at the Linkedin Corporate Blog lists the top fifteen corporate blogs on the basis of their technorati authority.
Technorati authority is a measure of the number of blogs linking into the blog under discussion. In other words, technorati authority is indicative of-
- Popularity of a blog as in terms of volume of readers.
- Volume of user generated content about a blog, with those many other users having generated content regarding that particular organisation, brand or product.
For the purpose of this discussion on corporate blogs, let us assume that a significant number of visitors to the blogs in question are customers-prospective and current.
Further, as per Ghuneim’s typology of engagement, a customer who comments on an online organisational initiative measures ‘medium’ on the degree of engagement continuum while a customer who creates content, as in blog about an organisation, brand, product, or service rates as ‘highly engaged’.
Hence, the technorati authority(measure of no. of consumers generating content about an organisational product or brand on their sites) can be assumed to be indicative of the volume of significantly ENGAGED consumers to some extent.The study of Consumer relationships could significantly benefit by taking into account the technorati authority of the blogs, to track the volumes of consumer engagement.
Some observations-
- There is a positive correlation between the reach(percentage of global internet users who visit the site) of a blog(source:Alexa.com) and the Technorati authority of the corporate blog.
- There is a positive correlation between the Technorati authority of a corporate blog and the volume of Consumer Generated Media(source : Blogpulse).
Engagement refers to the creation of experiences that allow companies to build deeper, more meaningful and sustainable interactions between the company and its customers and appears to be the first step for any corporate towards building consumer loyalty, satisfaction, involvement and evangelism. Social media sure seems to provide a way.
Jun. 06, 2008
Consumer Engagement and Technorati Authority: The Realm of Social Media
By Vandana Ahuja, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology University, India
Vandana.
1.Cultivating a respectable level of customer engagement is a strategic challenge.
2.The volumes and degree of consumer engagements will have long-term implications for a firm.
I read these two active ingredients (constituents, depending if these are the pharmaceuticals firms) for the IT and the customers think thank. The reason I rephrase this is to me the blogs are a think tank exactly the way I am writing this, you read this, some follow it and some live with these. However, we have the CRM that is the customers, employees, other guests (the ones who come to visit the IT dept to see if they can benefit from your IT dept. and the outsiders who read these.
What you state is partial correct as you are looking at the customers. That exactly is the problem with the blogs when the employees want to be heard. They will start using the PC to blog. This is exactly what happens in the email, www, and the breaking news. The days are so difficult that everyone wants to know where he or she stands.
I write to one magazine. There are comments and who recommended. I see many time blog that is totally out of tune and many recommendations. What I do I do? There is only one blog for one PC. I tell my friend to recommend my blogs. I get 17 more then other. Did I cheat? Of course.
Now how does that help one company? I have no idea. All I am interested is me, me ,me and that at the end of day helps little. Is this more efficient hit? Can I can count on these hits? I have no idea however, I am not going to bet any shares and buy in the corporations based on the hits. These are purely artificially created. Let me elaborate. A car has many hits. Do I buy that car? No. I will definitely want to see someone drive, or take me for the drive or test drive this myself. It is the case with the hits and counting. It is very absurd ides to go for the vendors who get the hits and persuade me. I am hardcore person.
Whether you talk of clubs or services all want to sell. They will no matter how you try to gauge, will ever go straight.
The best example I can give you is this. The doctors at times in the times of flu have their hands the moment you enter their dispensary, are in the tins of tablets. Panadol or antibiotics.
They have the listen afterwards but they know the season is fever. You are one to come for the same. Is that the right guess?
Where is the service, social approach or the moral benefits?
I thank you
Firozali A. Mulla MBA PhD
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
Tanzania
East Africa