Hierarchy of Needs (click on image to enlarge)
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 6:06 am
Last week it was time. The congress for online communication opened its doors. CommOnline, initiated by Sabel Online, once again had an impressive line-up. Trending: how do you really connect with your customers using online media? And then: what demands does that place on the task of communication professionals? The massive embrace of social media by companies is taking on bubble-like forms. And you know what can happen to a bubble…
CommOnline 2011Even before the opening, I speak to a few conference attendees about the how and why of online communication. It is striking that when we talk about online communication, hardly any other channels than social media are discussed. The casual remark of a conference attendee 'all companies do it these days, that's why we are going to…' sinks in for a moment. Off we go to the keynotes.
Huib Koeleman kicks off
Huib Koeleman
Huib Koeleman
Huib Koeleman – author of, among other things, 'Twittering at work' (2009) and 'Internal communication as a management instrument' (2008) – is the first to speak. He provides a neat overview, supported by figures, of what has changed in the field of online communication in recent years.
Koeleman shows us that a significant portion of Dutch businesses now take online communication seriously. For example, 28% of them have now developed an online strategy. It is striking that 4% leave it at that and do not apply the strategy. With this confession, the frequently used term 'the medium is the message' takes on a completely different meaning. It seems that some companies want to buy off their participation in online communication by drawing up a strategy. Later in his argument, he explains that an online strategy should not be a goal in itself. But it is wise to ask yourself as an organization where you want to be and why.
Chief friendship officer
After Huib's entertaining session, we see and hear online 'heavyweight' Menno Lanting at work. In an entertaining presentation, he talks passionately about how important it is for companies to listen to their customers. As an example, Lanting gives a kind of social sightseeing of a recent trip he made through New York. Through the on-site assessment of public toilets by users, Twitter help in finding a place to sleep and custom-made hamburgers via iPads (including trending burgers) at a trendy fast food restaurant, Menno makes it clear to us that organizations should look for warm relationships and friendship with customers. That is where a company can really distinguish itself.
Menno Lanting
Menno Lanting
People are taking traditional marketing messages less and less seriously. The difference between a marketing message and an opinion about a product by 'real' people is recognized by users. For example, the digital word-of-mouth variant appears oman phone number list to give 90% of people the trust that is so necessary for making purchases. The 24% who trust text ads on mobile phones is in stark contrast.
Traditional institutions such as the government, the judiciary and parliament, but also large companies are dealing with crumbling trust from their 'customers'. On average, around 30% of respondents to a study by the Central Planning Bureau do not trust these parties sufficiently.
One of the most illuminating slides during his speech I think is the one with the 'Hierarchy of needs' infographic. It makes clear how people's social needs relate to their basic needs. It becomes clear how personal social needs are becoming increasingly important in the current 'people economy'. A development in which thinking along and friendship with customers are partly decisive for success. Translated into modern communication tools: use social media in the right way.
Lanting concludes with 6 points of attention that can help the 'Chief friendship officer' to conduct successful online communication with his target group.
CommOnline 2011Even before the opening, I speak to a few conference attendees about the how and why of online communication. It is striking that when we talk about online communication, hardly any other channels than social media are discussed. The casual remark of a conference attendee 'all companies do it these days, that's why we are going to…' sinks in for a moment. Off we go to the keynotes.
Huib Koeleman kicks off
Huib Koeleman
Huib Koeleman
Huib Koeleman – author of, among other things, 'Twittering at work' (2009) and 'Internal communication as a management instrument' (2008) – is the first to speak. He provides a neat overview, supported by figures, of what has changed in the field of online communication in recent years.
Koeleman shows us that a significant portion of Dutch businesses now take online communication seriously. For example, 28% of them have now developed an online strategy. It is striking that 4% leave it at that and do not apply the strategy. With this confession, the frequently used term 'the medium is the message' takes on a completely different meaning. It seems that some companies want to buy off their participation in online communication by drawing up a strategy. Later in his argument, he explains that an online strategy should not be a goal in itself. But it is wise to ask yourself as an organization where you want to be and why.
Chief friendship officer
After Huib's entertaining session, we see and hear online 'heavyweight' Menno Lanting at work. In an entertaining presentation, he talks passionately about how important it is for companies to listen to their customers. As an example, Lanting gives a kind of social sightseeing of a recent trip he made through New York. Through the on-site assessment of public toilets by users, Twitter help in finding a place to sleep and custom-made hamburgers via iPads (including trending burgers) at a trendy fast food restaurant, Menno makes it clear to us that organizations should look for warm relationships and friendship with customers. That is where a company can really distinguish itself.
Menno Lanting
Menno Lanting
People are taking traditional marketing messages less and less seriously. The difference between a marketing message and an opinion about a product by 'real' people is recognized by users. For example, the digital word-of-mouth variant appears oman phone number list to give 90% of people the trust that is so necessary for making purchases. The 24% who trust text ads on mobile phones is in stark contrast.
Traditional institutions such as the government, the judiciary and parliament, but also large companies are dealing with crumbling trust from their 'customers'. On average, around 30% of respondents to a study by the Central Planning Bureau do not trust these parties sufficiently.
One of the most illuminating slides during his speech I think is the one with the 'Hierarchy of needs' infographic. It makes clear how people's social needs relate to their basic needs. It becomes clear how personal social needs are becoming increasingly important in the current 'people economy'. A development in which thinking along and friendship with customers are partly decisive for success. Translated into modern communication tools: use social media in the right way.
Lanting concludes with 6 points of attention that can help the 'Chief friendship officer' to conduct successful online communication with his target group.