Digital Impact Recap: From community to kinship with Microsoft

April 3, 2012

“More than 80 percent of Americans watch TV with a mobile device in their hand,” said Katrina Klier, senior director of digital marketing for Microsoft (@katrinaklier). “Half of people engage brands actively online. Users accessing the Internet via mobile devices is projected to pass those who use desktops by 2014.”

Yesterday, during her talk, “From Community to Kinship: How to Leverage Digital Media Like Microsoft,” at The PRSA 2012 Digital Impact Conference at New York’s Sentry Center, she spoke about the growth of mobile devices, mobile marketing and global advertising as well as the “fun but also changing” world of technology.

“The digital media age is the ultimate democratization of a brand,” she said. “We need to learn how to move beyond a community and gain kinship using digital media. Find commonalities and engage.”

Connect with communities where they are and via they media they prefer, she said, and remember these three facets for embracing kinship:

1. Having choice — You have to give information and receive information.
2. Being interactive — It’s beyond a transaction; it’s a dialogue over time.
3. Staying authentic — Make positive connections and brand advocates.

Display advertising is a way to build the brand and experience is a great teacher, she said referring to SEO and keywords. “Interactive marketing should extend past the transaction to embrace ongoing dialogue.”

Klier also said to factor in the following trends when moving toward kinship:

• Conversations need to span multiple media to be effective.
• It’s about more than owned property and paid impressions.
• The “press” is broader than the press.
• If we don’t show up online, then we don’t exist.

“Continue to learn and evolve over time,” Klier said. “You’re never really done because the digital space keeps moving.”
 

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