Larry Weber Talks Social Web at Syndicate

I was impressed by Larry Weber's talk last week at Syndicate.  Like Richard Edelman, his roots are in traditional PR where--like Edelman--he achieved guru status. Like Edelman, he understands the fundamental disruption being caused by the emergence of social media. But unlike Edelman, he has not yet started his own blog, and both Weber and the blogosphere are the worst for that, because Weber has a lot to say and its good stuff.

In his post-lunch keynote, Weber described the emergence of a "social web," where the stronger the dialog is, the stronger the brand becomes. But before professionals understand and achieve the changes fomented by the Social Web, "marketing will get harder before it gets easier." Right now he said, "it's pandemonium." While in the old days of last decade, the enterprise generated press releases, which went to the press, who wrote about companies it is all changing.  We are now, he said "in a new Era of enterprise-generated media," where content is developed and delivered via the Internet t audiences who can now talk back." In evolution, it has all just begun. "We are only up to those slimy creatures, just coming out of the ocean," he quipped.

What are the differences? Quite a few.  In the social web, you don't need press releases, collateral marketing or media tours.  Just throw a party, but make certain it's a really good party that people will talk and blog about. He said that in the new Social Web era, "Opinions shape marketing.  Marketing does not shape opinions."

He also argued that the marketing's obsessive need for quantifiable demographic information had become obsolete. "We are so used to controlling everything and it will be difficult to make the change.  Retailers know that the longer you are in the store the better off they are." He's tired of CEOs saying the need measurement.  "You can’t just throw something out and measure it.  We are in a period of adjustment." Later, he added, "Companies don't need to know everything about you.  They just need to know what we want from them."

Dialog drives the brand," he argued. "You've got to be transparent. You've just got to be."

He advised the audience made up mostly of traditional corporate and agency marketing executives, " to tap the power of citizen journalism as wacky as it can be." He said, " instead of GM telling me how great the car is I want to hear from customers who bought the car."

He also talked about the need for traditional media to understand that the future of publishing is blogging. He argued that they need to understand that the need to move everything from paper to digital. The loyalty of customers is not to the paper, but to the content he contended and digital is more efficient in ever way.

I go to a lot of conferences and cover an awful lo of speakers. I also spend a good deal of time struggling to convey some of the same thoughts that Larry Weber articulated so well.  For me his was among the most memorable presentations I've heard in recent memory.

technorati tags: http://technorati/tag/syndicatesf http://technorati/tag/larryweber