My colleague Steve Rubel and I wear many hats at Edelman. One of those hats is keeping an eye on the trends unfolding in real time and deriving meaning from them as they pertain to organizations and brands. Attached to this post is a slideshow where we identify what these trends are and at a high level how your organization needs to plan accordingly for them. They are:

1. Marketing in the age of streams

Your customers, consumers and employees are no longer only visiting static Web pages but participating in conversations which increasingly occur off domain in “streams” flowing from Facebook, Twitter and even apps. In order to catch them, you must be highly relevant in their streams.

2. The Googleization of media

Quality Content and potent social connections in addition to traditional keywords are influencing how visible you are to the search engines. Everyone is media.

3. The data decade

Data is increasingly becoming available to anyone and everyone. From it we can derive insights into behaviors. We must become “data junkies” to fully harness this trend.

4. Business becomes social

Moving from designated spokesperson to employee engagement at scale—business itself is beginning to look more social as organizations start to engage all stakeholders in open and mutually beneficial ways.

5. Location, location, location

Where you are is becoming the new what are you doing as multiple platforms begin to adopt the new geolocation status update generating new kinds of data.

6. Private becomes public

Despite privacy concerns, applications and behaviors which support social sharing are still going strong as what is considered private becomes re-defined as we continue engaging in networks.

We believe these trends are not future gazing but what’s happening at this very moment and that they will cause organizations to adapt to change, adopt new practices and innovate accordingly. For more industry insights, ideas and perspectives you can visit our newly created “branded channel” on Slideshare.

There are many examples today where brands are listening to their customer’s feedback and making decisions. eBay (client), for example, recently launched PayPal Student Accounts which stemmed from continued frustrations among their customers who wanted family accounts. Intel simply gave away t-shirts to a community that was begging for them. Starbucks (client) not only solved a serious business problem of coffee spillage, but they also changed the customer experience for millions by creating the Starbucks Splash Stick; which was an idea posted by a customer on My Starbucks Idea.

These three brands share more in common than just the fact that they are listening to their customers. They were also cited in recent study by Charlene Li and Wetpaint titled “Deep brand engagement correlates with financial performance”. The report examined the top 50 brands and measured their depth of engagement with consumers on the web; and then looked at their financial performance for the last 12 months. The analysis showed that – on average – the brands that were more engaged on a variety of channels grew 18% in revenue during the reporting period versus the companies who were least engaged suffered an average of 6% decline in revenue. Here is the actual report (PDF) for reference. Starbucks, eBay, and Intel were all listed in the top 10 brands. Not an exact science but food for thought for brands who are considering to engage online.

In these examples, the noted brands were listening to the conversation and then making actionable decisions. The feedback has proven to make the case that those decisions were the right ones. Here are four key takeaways brands must consider when engaging with consumers online.

1. Consumers demand to be heard; and they expect brands to engage.
   

   Social media is not a fad; and with hi-speed Internet now at critical mass globally, more consumers are embracing social technologies. The numbers aren’t only growing but data now suggests that consumers expect brands to engage with them online. According to a more recent study, Almost 80 percent of social media users interact with companies or brands online, an increase of 32 percent from 2008. What’s even more interesting is that 72 percent of consumers that have ongoing dialogue with a brand online feel a stronger emotional connection. This alone should have marketers salivating but at the same time, be ready to act.

2. Authenticity means that employees should also participate.

   Advertising and PR firms can always help with strategic counsel and guidance but it’s more effective if real employees are engaging with consumers. This humanizes the brand and is imperative in fostering that “emotional connection”. The challenge is organizational structure and not having the right people engaging. If there isn’t incremental budget for additional headcount, marketers must enlist the help of others throughout the organization. In the example of Starbucks and Intel, they have real employees interacting with the community; and it’s usually on a first name basis. This act alone fosters a more authentic and nurturing environment where consumers will feel like they are being heard and more open to sharing feedback and suggestions.

3. Scalable listening software is key.

   There are a variety of free tools available to marketers to begin listening to online conversations such as Social Mention, Twitter Search and Google Alerts; but the growth in usage of social media requires a more robust and sustainable solution. Many of today’s enterprise social listening software platforms can not only listen to online chatter globally in various blogs, forums, Twitter; but they can also help marketers create workflows that filter feedback to the appropriate person as well as assign organizational tasks. A few that come to mind are Radian6, Visible Technologies and Sysomos.

4. Management buy in is critical.

   Management support is important from many different angles. Budget investments will be needed to create the infrastructure where the two-way conversations can be facilitated and feedback captured. Many tools like Lithium and Jive are excellent platforms for conversations and community building but do not come cheap. If these conversations can’t happen on domain or it doesn’t align with business objectives to create a branded online community, there is a significant investment of time in engaging in third party web sites and communities. Hiring community managers and/or relying on volunteers also contributes to some level of financial investment.

The conclusion here is rather simple. Consumers now have a voice and they are sharing their points of view online. Some are talking directly with brands and others are sharing their opinions within their circle of influence. In either case, brands now have the opportunity to listen in to what is being said about their products/services. The smart ones, however, are taking the collective feedback from the community and making things happen. The end result is better products and a community of advocates that truly care about the brand.

In the world of digital specialists, pundits and journalists, one person always stuck out to me. Before joining Edelman, I was an avid reader of this person’s commentary and analysis of the online developments around us. I enjoyed his writing style and bird’s eye view into the new firms that were helping to shape the way consumers interacted with each other online.

It’s my pleasure to present my interview with Edelman’s very own, Steve Rubel. Serving as SVP/Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, Steve ensures that we all stay on top of the latest and greatest when it comes to the world of PR, social media and digital communications. I try my darndest to keep up with him and his quick mind, but there is only one Steve Rubel.

Blagica Bottigliero: Let’s start with the basics. Your last name. Is it pronounced like the Russian currency? I’ve heard multiple versions, so help us set the record straight.

Steve Rubel: Actually it isn’t – it’s pronounced Roo-Bell, rhyming with “blue bell.”

BB: As a lifestreamer, you spend quite a bit of time online digesting content. How much time per day do you spend doing this? How do you break up your day to consumer such a large amount of data?

SR:I would say that on average I spend two-three hours a day “studying.” How and where I fit this in really depends on my schedule in a given week. If it’s a particularly heavy week and I am traveling or in lots of meetings, it’s whenever I can steal a few minutes during the day. If it’s a “normal” day then it’s often over breakfast, lunch or at night when I get home. But I make it a commitment to keep current since our teams and clients look to me to help them do the same.

My workflow here, however, has changed a lot over the last few years. Until fairly recently I was a heavy user of Google Reader. Now, however, I find myself relying more on Facebook, Twitter and reading email newsletters from my favorite blogs. Also, I am increasingly using my mobile device to consume much of it as well.

BB: In the last few weeks, you’ve put a stronger emphasis on utilizing Facebook as your epicenter for news and communication. With Facebook’s history of sharing its TOS, along with concerns around privacy, do you think more users will shift their attention to Facebook? The addition of Facebook’s new settings come in handy, but do you feel that users don’t feel like adding privacy settings to every single action?

SR: Facebook is at a pivotal moment in its history. All of the data points are trending up – time spent (a staggering seven hours/month in the US), total users (400M worldwide), mobile use (100M users), traffic patterns (one of the top drivers of views to news/broadcast sites), etc. This makes it impossible to ignore.

What’s more, I believe we have passed a key tipping point where a network effect takes over. Randall Stross summarizes this nicely in his New York Times column, comparing it to similar situations like Microsoft Windows. So I don’t see the train slowing down here in any way.

Still, there’s no doubt many have privacy concerns. Facebook needs to make this easier to manage so that an individual can really more easily separate personal and professional circles – if he/she chooses. The settings they have now help. But they have a long way to go.

The other trend to note is how businesses are starting to use Facebook as a hub. There are more than 1.4M Facebook Pages. Some 700,000 are small businesses. This also creates a network effect the way that Google did with Adwords. Also, I have noticed that more brands and movies are prioritizing their Facebook page in ads over their own web site. This is controversial, but in many ways it makes sense.

BB: You just created a fan page on Facebook. How will you decipher information that appears in this stream versus your blog?

SR:I have been on Facebook since 2007 when they opened it up to all users. At first, I was skeptical of their prospects for success. I saw a scenario similar to what AOL did back in the 1990s – e.g. a walled garden. So while I have been on Facebook for years and I was engaged there, I didn’t see a real opportunity, at least for me, to use it to connect professionally with our customers.

However, the statistics I mentioned earlier and my own use recently have evolved my thinking. I began to see that, professionally, there is a real opportunity there for any business to deeply engage their customers in a way that perhaps is not as easy to do elsewhere – and to build thought leadership. One key reason is that clearly people I care most about like our clients are spending time there. It’s easier to go where the people are than to get them to come to you. What’s more, it’s a broader audience than the people who subscribe to my blog or follow me on Twitter.

So as of right now I am largely creating exclusive content there. I am finding Twitter is better for link sharing but that Facebook is more ideal for short bits of insights that spark a larger conversation. My blog will probably evolve into just a place for essays. But I am syndicating the posts into Facebook as well. It’s all evolving right now.

In short, I believe that Facebook will become my primary content platform in the next few months. But I will continue to do it all. As should businesses that have stakeholders scattered on other networks like Twitter.

BB: Your opinions on Google Buzz are pretty strong. What do you think they could have done differently at launch? Do you think it was wise they launched the tool in Gmail?

SR: Google Buzz suffers from complexity because they only tested it within Google, which has a very tech-savvy engineering driven culture. Facebook and Twitter are simple. You get it right away. Buzz feels like something Google is forcing on millions of users to catch up in an area it’s not strong in – social. It would have been better if they launched in in beta or Labs.

Still, I see Buzz remaining an important niche player for the time being. But I would never count Google out. They can get it right.

BB: It seems that there are new tools popping up every second. Whether it’s checking in at a local bistro with Foursquare or taking a picture of a sunset and sending it to a larger network via Yfrog, there is a hefty amount of information to keep track of. Will there come a time where a mini social ‘revolt’ will occur?

SR: I feel there’s way too much focus in marketing on the venues and the technologies – even in the recessionary climate. Businesses must focus first on their stakeholders and the trends and then figure out how to leverage the technologies. Many still go about it in reverse.

In terms of the consumer, I believe we’re already seeing a winnowing down. Facebook is tops for the broadest group. Twitter is loved by a smaller, yet arguably more influential crowd. And YouTube meanwhile sits in the middle. The others, even FourSquare, are more niche.

In the end there’s only so much time in a day and everyone will need to make choices on where to invest. I see Facebook being the big winner and Twitter sitting in neutral for now. The others may eventually just become features of the big sites rather than stand alone entities.

BB: In the 90s, consumers may have sent a complaint via written letter or email to one of their favorite brands. Today, it may be a Facebook status message, YouTube video or tweet. What do you think this says about consumers’ expectations when it comes to corporate two-way dialogue?

SR: I don’t see it being an expectation around dialogue as much as it is power. People now know they have it and that some businesses will bend over backwards to meet the legitimate gripes in real-time. This creates a virtuous or some would argue a vicious cycle that just exacerbates the situation further.

This means that every business needs to understand what they will address and when – with the expectation that it will scale.

BB: With web sites incorporating tools like Facebook connect, video and real-time tweets, do you see social media being more ingrained in a digital strategy, instead of being an after-thought?

SR: Yes, I believe that we’ve passed an inflection. Everyone is looking at the data and the hype in the media and they realize that this is where our time and attention are flowing so they need to front-load social networking into their budgets. This is not just limited to consumer marketing but b2b as well.

BB: You are a big gadget fan and need to be connected a good portion of your day. How do you plug in? What is your go-to gadget that you can’t leave home without?

SR: Without a doubt my mobile phones. I switch back and forth between the Blackberry (a client) and the iPhone depending on what I plan to do in a given day. There are days or even weeks when all I use is a mobile device. I often travel without a computer – sometimes for 10 days at a time and internationally as well. It’s amazing what you can do with these devices. And both fit the bill nicely.

BB: You are a man on the move, visiting many up and coming tech start-ups. ExacTarget recently purchased CoTweet. Do you see more consolidation happening?

SR: Absolutely, I believe that integration between various systems will be key – especially for those providers who serve enterprise customers. It’s no different than how we saw similar consolidation in the desktop/enterprise software markets and for web-based platforms in the early 2000s.

BB: I know you are a big Yankees fan. If you could be a Bat Boy for a day, would you do it?

SR: Wow, I definitely would. I would love to travel with the team and and ask Derek Jeter all kinds of questions about his work ethic and efforts to be a better ballplayer every day. That’s what I hope to do too in my field. Jeter is a rare yardstick of professionalism and quality in a sports word that increasingly lacks such role models. And I find lots of metaphors in sports to inspire me in business.

BB: What is your newest tech obsession?

SR: I would have to say any tools that I an use for free that give me data. My favorites are Google Insights and Ad Planner, Facebook Insights and YouTube Audience Insights.

Image credit: Laughing Squid