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Influence 2.0, The New Dynamic of Market Influence

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Influence 1.0 was the old mass media world in which people received the information that was fed to them.  Corporate marketers relied on traditional media outlets (TV & radio networks, newspapers, etc.), which dominated consumers’ information/entertainment sources.  

As people embraced the Internet, they learned they didn’t have to wait for content – they could find whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it.  At the same time, people began to create their own content, via personal Web pages, discussion boards, blogs, photos, and increasingly in podcasts and video. 

As consumers became more adept at expressing themselves via the Web, the Web itself evolved to become an even more open, flexible, and interconnected platform – Web 2.0. The increased participation empowered by Web 2.0 technologies allowed consumers to turn every news item or announcement into what Wikipedia refers to as “market conversations.” 

“Influence 2.0” identifies a shift in influence – the intersection of social and mainstream media – where consumers have increased control of content, breaking current models and forcing marketers to listen and respond to vast consumer audiences, not just talk to a limited set of mainstream media influencers.

The implications of this for Marketers, PR professionals, and other customer-facing functions are beginning to be felt in the waning effectiveness of decades-old practices.  To respond successfully, companies must embrace the principles of Influence 2.0, not just adopt each individual new technology on an ad hoc basis.

We know that the Influence 2.0 concept is bigger and more complex than TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony alone can fully explore. But TNS MI/Cymfony plans to play a central role in helping business understand the new strategies, tactics and practices needed to harness the new dynamic of market influence.

So we’re posting the entire eBook to a wiki and inviting all interested parties to read, contribute, expand, or revise. We hope to kick-off an industry-wide dialog around this idea to expand it clarify it, and capture the best thinking about how to respond. Please feel free to visit, read, blog about and add your own knowledge to the Influence 2.0 Wiki.