What Is Convertising?

From the early 1920′s mass media has emerged as the dominate method for brands and merchandisers to “reach” their audience.

Mass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines.  Since their was no way for an audience to engage in dialog over this method there has been no feedback or interaction until now.

Now with the emergence of social media the audience is expressing it’s dislike of mass media and a preference for “social media”.

Any Evidence That Advertising Doesn’t Work?

Well consider the data:

1. 1-3% Return from traditional mass media methods
2. 96% of online ads never get “clicked”
3. 98% of actual sales come from referrals

Josh Berhoff from Forrester says: “Marketers don’t understand channels where you have to talk and listen at the same time. The marketing industry’s idea of two way communications is to put an 800 number or a web site address in an ad and take orders.”

OK, we’ve already seen this, we already know this so what is the point?  The point is if you already know this why haven’t you changed your methods to “convertising?  You say what is it?

Convertising is simply tapping into the marketplace of conversations and engaging in those conversations with the aim of creating an affinity to what interest people. What interest people? There are a ton of topics that have an affinity to any product or service and there are millions of people discussing those topics. The transformation for marketers and advertisers is that while your product or service may not be the topic the topic may in fact have relevance to your product or service performance.  Still don’t believe so?

Zappo’s conversations were not about shoes rather about service and how they stand behind that which they sell, no questions asked.  Zappo’s sold more shoes just by engaging in dialog around service which just happens to be relevant and relative to people buying shoes.

Convertising is engaging with people where they are, what they are discussing and when they are discussing it. The relevancy of any product or service is people’s experience, people’s interest and if you can engage at those levels you are convertizing.  The difference is you are not selling rather you are conversing with value that relates to peoples need rather than your need to sell.

The opportunity for the Advertising Industry is to create a new image, a new method and capture the value which can be pulled from convertising. The value of conversational currency is a lot more than the value of advertising. Get it? No? Well then continue doing what you’ve always done and get less than you’ve always got. Get that?

What say you?

See slide show below

Tagged as: blog marketing, brand marketing, business change, business disruption, business transformation, Conversational Currency, conversational marketing, Convertising, innovation economy, jay deragon, social capital, social commerce, Social Media, social media roi