Line of-sight white paper - integrating dialogue in communication - how you have to adapt online and offline - 18.04.2010

Integrating Dialogue in
Communication:
How You Have to Adapt
Online and Offline

Do you know if you should participate – and how?
Picture credit: Marc_Smith via Flickr.

© Line-of-Sight 2010 Page 2 of 10

Having Conversations in a Flat World
What is happening in the world is nothing but a talent a publisher and creates a closer connection
revolution. The world is getting more human, between our personal and professional lives. By
more interconnected and – when thinking of this Web 2.0 leverages and enhances the focus on
organisational structures – more flat. The world is conversations and purpose.
getting more social. This has a lot to do with online
communications, social media and with other Web It is perfectly true that most companies and
2.0 developments, but there is much more to it. organisations have not yet arrived in today’s open
The development online only enhances a and value driven world with conversations at the
development that is already happening. center of it, and they have not adapted their
management style and communication to it. Of
Since the end of World War II the development in course there will always be knowledge that you
an anti-authoritarian direction has accelerated in should never communicate openly about.
the Western World. Today being a leader in a Confusing transparency with integrity and honesty
company or elsewhere increasingly imply being is a recipe for disaster. But in the coming years
questioned when the leader asks subordinates or many more of us will adapt our communication to
co-workers to do something. Modern leaders have the new reality as much as we can in order to
lost power and aim at leading by example and sustain the competitive power and market share of
values and not by orders. The focus is on building our companies. It is about having dedicated and
personal relations and having a meaningful and engaged employees and a strong brand.
open dialogue, which is about purpose and
answering questions starting with why. Everyone From where we are today in 2010 it could take
expects honest answers. We all demand that there Facebook a few years to climb to be the world’s
is some sort of higher purpose behind what we are most visited website ahead of Google and the rest
doing in our working hours from 9-5 as well as in of the world’s huge online communication.
our spare time. It is not enough for a company to Facebook has already topped Google in the U.S. If
earn money just for the sake of it. Profits should be the 2000’s was the Google decade, then the 2010’s
the score, not the game. will be the Facebook decade. This makes questions
like these important to answer:

 What have you done in response to this
development in your company or
organisation?
 How do you handle your company’s offline
and online communication with conversations
at the center of it?
 How do you ensure that privacy is respected?
 What do you as an individual do?
 How do you coordinate or separate your
communication to different audiences in the
different roles of your professional and
private life?
Bosses need to adapt their management style.
Picture credit: HikingArtist via Flickr. If you know how to answer questions like these,
you are ahead of most of us. In the
In this humane world, where personal freedom communications consulting industry consultants
and a sense of purpose mean a lot to all of us, we struggle with finding out exactly how to respond in
have got the Internet and company intranets, a balanced manner tailored to the specific needs of
which make access to knowledge easy for each individual company or organisation. Some in
everybody. And now online communication has this industry of professional consultants see that
developed into Web 2.0, which enables large scale there is a need for a response because they focus
conversations and makes everyone with the right on external communications. Others focus on


internal communications or HR and want to It still is most likely today that different initiatives
facilitate, that the employees of a company get from a company experimenting with listening and
more engaged. Some focus on a specific channel, finding its voice in a social approach to
be it online, personal communication or some sort communications will be positively received by its
of printed communication. Some focus on specific important stakeholders, such as its customers,
stakeholders or audiences. In fact all individuals in business associates, investors and employees. The
companies, regardless of what we do, are longer a company will wait to adapt to the new
struggling with the same challenges with adapting reality, the higher the expectations will be, and the
our communication to the new reality of dialogue- more aggressively the expectations will be voiced.
driven communication. The expectations to a shift in a company’s
communications and attitude towards individuals
In the end there is only one approach to giving inside and outside the company will continue to
good answers to the fundamental questions arising rise, until the company delivers on these
from the development to flat and social societies. expectations.
There need to be an integrated approach across
channels and audiences. In order to come up with The shift in expectations does not mean that there
a sustainable response companies and is a need for an online Web 2.0 response from
organisations need to break down silos internally every company to the rising demand for more
and open op for dialogue with different external dialogue-driven and value-based communication.
audiences and the general public. Employees need In many companies other channels are more
to be set free to participate in whatever situation effective than the new Web 2.0 channels online.
they are in and whatever field they work in, of So don’t be misled by the development.
course with certain important limitations to it.
Everybody should know the answers to the
fundamental questions about how to communicate
in today’s flat and value driven world. Everybody
should know the position of their company on
important issues and how to be updated on them,
and everybody should feel responsible for sharing
and discussion these positions wherever relevant.
And everything, as always when it is about
communications, should start with the brand
mission and purpose.

This is how a vision for the perfect communication
in today’s transparent world should be. With this
in mind, we can start to improve and modernise
our communication. Many companies are in no Good. And how did you respond online?
way close to this goal. We all need to start where Photo credit: David_Carroll via Flickr.
we are and from here develop the communication
of our company or organisation, so that it, if Every company must analyze and decide how it
necessary, gradually will develop into a fully Web can best apply its communication to the demand
2.0 leveraged multi channel dialogue-driven, for more dialogue, more openness and more
coordinated, open and emphatic communication value-based communication. It is important for
effort. every company to build and maintain relations to
influential stakeholders and audiences in areas of
A real world approach to comms 2.0 interest. But the choice of channels depends on the
situation in each company and can differ a lot.
In many cases a company or an organisation today Social media and other Web 2.0 channels are
still can get along with ignoring the demand for an nothing but new channels. Don’t forget about good
open and honest dialogue that has arisen with the old channels and good old habits. They could still
development of modern Western anti- be the best response to your need for
authoritarian societies, and which is enhanced by communication channels.
Web 2.0 and made much more visible.


Whether or not you engage in communication companies will do, and this is why there is a price
online with blogs, social media, wikis and more, of participating even though many channels can be
your communication will gradually be influenced used free of charge. In the near future some
by the expectation that it should be able to companies will transform themselves to being
respond to inquiries or developments in a matter media and create new roles inside their
of few hours. To most companies it will be a organisations to serve as editor or publisher to all
necessity to be able to respond online, because channels with the primary objective of ensuring
everyone searches the Internet. But not all that timely, relevant and engaging content is
companies need to participate in social media or produced, distributed and connected to different
other Web 2.0 channels. audiences of importance to the company.

Each company with no exception needs to analyze When a company engages in social media and the
which channels it should use for communications like it enters into conversations which it can’t
and relationship building to stakeholders of control. This will gradually bring the company in a
importance. In many cases the analysis will show situation, where issues that it used not to
that Web 2.0 channels should be part of the communicate about will emerge as important
communication mix. issues and hence influence it’s brand and
reputation, whereas other issues that the company
used to communicate about will show only to be of
The term “Web 2.0” covers Internet design limited interest to the stakeholders that are
and applications that facilitate interactive important to its business.
information sharing and collaboration on the
World Wide Web. Generally speaking it covers You must get used to the fact that you can’t any
the development since 2004, which has given longer control your company’s brand and
us social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, reputation. You can influence it and have success
wikis, blogs and more, all media that in framing important conversations surrounding
frequently also are labeled “new media”. your brand. And you can with success introduce
new conversations and thoughts to the benefit of
But the sharing of online conversations, which your company. But you have lost control of
is the engine of Web 2.0, has been around communication in this new world of purpose-
much earlier than 2004. The development driven individuals constantly asking you why-
started in the late 1970’s with bulletin boards, questions and raising discussions of importance to
and when Usenet was established in the early your company, that you are not always able to
1980’s newsgroups came along, where users predict.
posted and read public messages.
The more proactive and honest you are, the more
Companies that need to engage with different likely it is that you will be able to influence
audiences online in blogs, social media, wikis and important conversations and frame them in ways
the like in many cases enter into a perception that will be to the benefit of your business. Your
game, where they will never be able to have company will be able to discover and participate in
conversations with everybody who wants to, conversations that you previously would not have
because it is also a numbers game. Hence the known of. Many conversations will result in
game is about seeking out influential individuals valuable feedback from stakeholders, which your
amongst the company’s different stakeholders and company must decide if it will act on – and
respond to them in a way that gives them and sometimes it must. So the dialogue-style of
other participants the perception that you are communication will influence your company, and
willing to engage in a conversation with it can do so in very positive ways. It is not possible
everybody. to have real conversations without letting the
dialogue trigger concrete actions. This is true
Listening and responding online in Web 2.0 today, as it have always been true to companies
channels is not enough. As in all other fields of with a deep understanding of public relations.
communications a company will want to take the
lead. Social media represents a new opportunity to There is another side to social media and other
participate proactively; to introduce new thoughts, Web 2.0 channels. They can develop into a
ideas and solutions. This is what more and more “people’s court” that is completely based on


emotions and wrong interpretation of facts. Any Being a pharmaceutical company Lundbeck
one individual who has the passion and the operates in one of the most regulated industries.
emotional resources to spread their word about a There are strict limitations to Lundbeck’s
company, a product or a service can do so quickly communication. Many pharmaceutical companies
throughout a large number of web sites. You must with Facebook pages simply disable their
be able to handle such a situation, amongst other Facebook walls because they are afraid, that they
things by building relations before you need them. will be held responsible for postings made by
users.
New media speeds up communication, and in
many companies their emergence requires the But Lundbeck has developed a concept that makes
setting up of a system that constant monitor it possible to have online conversations with end
discussions of importance and lets the company customers. The sites are run by a foundation, and
respond in the right channels to important and there are Chinese Walls between the commercial
complicated issues in a matter of hours. activities in Lundbeck and what is published at the
DepNet and DementiaNet websites, of which there
In all circumstances communication in social are more than 20 worldwide.
media need a lot of filtering to sort out the relevant
stuff. 95 percent or more of the communication on
Facebook, Twitter and other social media is
pointless communication of no value to others
than a very few individuals.

Web 2.0 tools like social media didn’t invent
conversations, but they amplified and connected
them to large audiences. Web 2.0 distributes and
concentrates power in new arenas and amongst
new individuals. Everyone with the right talent can
be an influencer, and everyone with sufficient
talent can leverage his or hers influence and
become a real power with direct influence on the Together with Web 2.0 friends.
business of your company. Picture credit: HikingArtist via Flickr.

The key to having success with Web 2.0 and as a Lundbeck pays independent doctors to answer
business build your brand positively is to start or questions from users at the sites, and by this
participate in conversations, where you as a Lundbeck is able to create communities and
company use your key competences to contribute facilitate conversations amongst patients online
real value to society and potential customers. This, which are perceived as valuable by its end
the next two cases will show. customers. Doctors mention products in their
postings, and in many cases it is products made by
Pharma launch online communities Lundbeck’s competitors. The Doctors at the
Danish site mention Lundbeck’s products less
In Europe, where the Scandinavian countries frequent than the seize of Lundbeck’s market
today are some of the world’s most broadband share could justify.
penetrated countries, the Danish pharmaceutical
company Lundbeck via the foundation Lundbeck When Lundbeck recently was attacked in the
Institute has developed two online communities Danish press and accused of being unethical in
for their end customers, which are patients, marketing its medicine by the means of DepNet
relatives and physicians. and DementiaNet user after user responded online
and stated how much they valued the
The first of the Lundbeck communities, DepNet, conversations and content at the sites and
was launched in 2001. Only the second, defended Lundbeck against criticism.
DementiaNet, was launched after 2004, which is
today considered to be the year when Web 2.0 Lundbeck has an integrated communications
took off. DementiaNet was launched in 2005. approach. In Denmark Lundbeck arranges
meetings that let participants from their online


communities meet in the brick and mortar world, its new media strategy. The daily amount of
and by this Lundbeck makes an important content being produced distributed and discussed
connection between conversations in different already has transformed Harvard Business School
channels. into a small media, and this is only a beginning.
The school will continue to produce, distribute and
Business school transforms to being media discuss content as long as it strengthens and
markets the Harvard Business School brand and
Harvard Business School in Massachusetts, USA, attract potential students.
has been into publishing for many years. It has
published its general management magazine The revolution also happens internally
Harvard Business Review since 1922, and today its
publishing activities span from books and articles It can’t be recommended, but some companies use
to videos, podcasts and blogs. Facebook as their intranet. Privacy-settings make
it possible to prevent that outsiders participate in
Schools and universities are amongst the first a company’s internal discussions. And a company
companies you should expect to develop into being can get started right away with having
media in the world of Web 2.0 publishing and conversations and knowledge-sharing internally,
dialogue. Generally speaking many schools and which in many cases their intranet is not capable
universities have strong brands and are perceived of facilitating.
as being trustworthy and on the forefront of
things. They are the ones journalists for
generations have turned to in order to find reliable
sources to help them get a perspective on whatever
they need. Schools and universities have a lot of
content, which could be interesting to publish and
discuss.

In a few years many schools and universities will
not need traditional media as much as traditional
media will need them, because the schools have
become media themselves. Many schools and
universities will soon be amongst the trusted
brands that we turn to, when we need a
perspective on recent developments. This we can
often best do online, and if we are also allowed to
participate in conversations with them, we will It is a trend that employees create groups on
create strong connections with brands that share Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning or on other social media
and discuss knowledge of importance to our sites, and in some cases those groups develop into
individual interests. an alternative channel for internal communication
without even having management participating.
Harvard Business School is on the forefront of this Well, you might realize that you are about losing
development, and in getting here Harvard has control with your external communication, but
given up control of its own valued brand and what do you think will happen internally?
handed it over to individuals who participate in
conversations online and elsewhere. A large group In many cases, whether it is internal
of the school’s professors and other management communication or external communication, you
experts are blogging and tweeting, and their do not have any other choice than to adapt and
knowledge and teaching are distributed in participate. If you don’t, you will be in the dark.
YouTube videos. By all this the professors are
having conversations with audiences around the In some companies social media and blogs can be
world. By doing so they add new flavor and feel to used in internal communication to streamline
the old brand, which one candidate not so long ago internal processes, for team building purposes and
said reminded him of “mahogany and taxidermy”. to encourage and facilitate collaboration. Social
And this image of something old-fashioned is what media and blogs can help leaders in gaining
Harvard Business School wants to modernize with visibility and to be able to listen to more


employees and having conversations with more  Facebook – can be used for engaging
employees, but of course social media can never be audiences in causes and all kind of personal
a substitute for face-to-face communication. interests. Respect required for users need for
privacy.
Before you start with Web 2.0 comms  Twitter – good for multiple purposes. No 1
social media for professional communities
How do you in your company get started with exchanging thoughts and ideas.
social media, blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 tools?  YouTube – good for multiple communications
It is most likely that employees in your company and branding activities.
already engage in external social media and blogs.  Flickr – good hub for sharing of pictures if
The majority probably already has a Facebook linked to other online channels and pictures
profile and would welcome guidelines. The real are not copyrighted.
challenge with Web 2.0 is that it enhances the  LinkedIn – network for professionals and
need for an integrated and highly skilled good for employer branding and professional
communications function in every company. Here communities.
is what you should do:
 Wikipedia – your brand as perceived by the
community. Strongly influences search engine
 Experiment with social media, blogs and results. Be sure to know what is and what is
other Web 2.0 tools. Don’t hesitate. Make not acceptable to edit.
your own observations and experiences. Share
 Ning and Groupsite – good for both private
and discuss them internally.
and open communities separated from user’s
 Create a company policy for social media, private lives.
blogs and other Web 2.0 tools. Be specific on
 Yammer – effective for internal Twitter-style
what can be shared with audiences inside and
communication.
outside the company, and what can’t. Explain
 SlideShare and Scribd – sharing of documents
why that is.
(PowerPoint, PDF and Word) and good for
 If you haven’t already, then decide on
many branding activities.
everybody’s role in communication (top
 Delicious – a social bookmarking site and
management, middle management,
good for driving traffic to your hubs.
employees).
 Digg – a social news site good for sharing of
 Create a center of excellence, which
unique news and driving traffic to your hubs.
employees and leaders can turn to and get
help fast.
How to choose Web 2.0 channels
 Review your communications to ensure that
you have an integrated approach.
 Survey your company and the outside world
to gain knowledge of which channels your key
stakeholders best can be reached in for each
important issue.
 Decide if and how your company should
engage online in Web 2.0 conversations as a
part of your communication strategy.
 Allocate the required resources to execute
your strategy.
 Set targets, get going, measure and follow up. How do your audiences want to engage with you?
Picture credit: jwynia via Flickr.
Web 2.0 channels
There is no difference in choosing Web 2.0
The following is a selection of Web 2.0 channels channels from choosing other channels. The key is
with emphasis on presenting different to know your different audience’s specific
possibilities: preferences and level of trust concerning each
 Blogs and other web 2.0 tools at your issue that you want to engage in and communicate
company website – good for dialogue with about. Are your stakeholders interested in the
customers and other stakeholders. subjects that are important to you? Who are their


trusted sources? Which channels do they normally on this in the next bullet. Much of what
use? Which channels can they be reached in? How applies to branding on Facebook also applies
do they want to be treated? How can you respect to branding on other social media platforms.
their values and need for privacy? Use other platforms than Facebook if there is
a need to separate activities from people’s
What to do with web 2.0 channels private lives.
 Promotions – have quizzes, product related
Social media will most likely fit in your polls and competitions on your website or on
communication and branding strategy and be a social media platform like Facebook,
useful in several ways. Here are some examples of YouTube or Twitter with the objective of
what they can be used for: generating leads and/or raising awareness. In
many cases special discounts for fans or
 Customer feedback – invite customers to friends can be used to drive traffic to a
submit ideas and suggestions about your corporate Facebook page or to other sites.
products and services on your website or in  Internal communications – if you are a
social media – e.g. an open Ning-community. company relying on intranet communication
Discuss their input with them and find out as an important channel, it is likely that you
what is important. Implement the best ideas. need to build Web 2.0 capabilities into your
If you are in business-to-business, use private company intranet, if you haven’t already
communities where customers participate by done. If you can’t, then for some not so heavy
invitation. The objective should be to improve regulated companies the solution can be to
your relations to customers and gain market build a closed companywide social network on
insight. Groupsite or to use Yammer internal for fast
 Customer service and support – help Twitter-like exchange of ideas and links – or
customers on a social media platform like use both – to give your employees the
Twitter or Groupsite. Embed the service on possibility of having online conversations and
your website to improve visibility and reach. sharing information.
Consider to supplement with a wiki with tips
and tricks about your products and the With very few exceptions there is no single web
environment surrounding them. The objective 2.0 channel that can be used for all your online
should be to raise awareness of your products communication needs. Most companies and
and to show that you are concerned with organisations need to create different online
solving customer’s individual problems. presences that are linked together and drives
 Branding on Facebook – create an traffic to their main hubs. This cannot be achieved
opportunity for potential customers to show without investing the resources needed. Hence in
their individual interests or promote the coming years many companies will experience
themselves by engaging with pages or groups that their web 2.0 communications will account
on Facebook in areas, which are surrounding for an ever raising share of their total
your products. The objective should be one or communication and marketing budget.
more of the following: Earn trust, create
relations, raise awareness, show the For most companies the corporate website should
competences of your company, engage in or be the main hub online. In many cases it will build
create a cause that products from your trust and strengthen the brand, if a company
company can contribute to, or add value to aggregates conversations from all web 2.0
communities were customers use your channels on its homepage.
products – this could be an element in your
CSR strategy. We all know of companies with Remember that social media and other Web 2.0
corporate pages on Facebook, and a corporate tools enhance the need that already existed for an
page can be a valuable element in some open and value based approach in
branding strategies, but the truth is that communications. Therefore you’ll be better off if
people relatively seldom wants to be fan of a you can create an emotional case for achieving
brand. If a corporate page is important to your communication goals, not just an analytical
your strategy, you need to give people a case.
reason to join the conversation at your site
and connect it with their personal lives. More


Version 1.1. Published on 18 April 2010. Your comments, suggestions and feedback on this white paper will be appreciated.

Contact
Line-of-Sight
Jens Juels Gade 51
DK-2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
+45 40 41 35 10
info@lineofsight.dk
www.lineofsight.dk/en
www.twitter.com/kimschaumann

About Line-of-Sight

Line-of-Sight is a communications agency. We develop communication strategies, plans and concepts. We work out creative ideas and
proposals. We help our clients with press and stakeholder relations, internal communication and Internet and intranet communication.
By this, we are helping companies and organisations to ensure value in the huge resources spent every day on communications. We
strengthen our competencies in these fields through our network of ten highly specialised communications companies.

Our strength is broadly based consultancy services cutting across channels and disciplines. We string all elements together and help
prioritizing, timing and channelling what is to be communicated. The end-goal is to create a link – a line-of-sight – between the
objectives of a business or organisation and those of relevant internal or external stakeholders. We deliver concrete communications
solutions, which, for example, can be videos, texts, homepages or design. We consult, measure and teach.

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Line of-sight white paper - integrating dialogue in communication - how you have to adapt online and offline - 18.04.2010

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