(Annette Moser-Wellman) A college student recently told me something shocking. "My friends aren't using Facebook anymore. We don't want information about our lives open to anyone – especially marketers. Feels like Big Brother." Well, you can't mark a trend from one data point, but you may have noticed Microsoft's recent version of Internet Explorer has a feature called "InPrivate Browsing". It automatically deletes cookies so advertisers and the like can't have access to your Internet activity. Could it be that just when the dream of highly targeted advertising seemed near, it's disappearing in a puff of smoke?

There is a new mandate evolving for the Internet advertiser: develop a deeper relationship with your audiences.

"I think what's really going to happen is that marketers will have to effectively woo people into signing into services and let them know what's in it for them, rather than surreptitiously taking the information from behind the scenes," says Doug Winfield, Vice President, Digital Strategies at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.

He adds, "That gets to the idea of the social aspect of the Web. When you know you are entering into a relationship with a marketer, you expect to give up some degree of your personal information, but you also expect to get something in return." Winfield says we can expect this "return" to be anything from pay-for-view advertising to augmented customer service. But, one thing is for sure, advertising will be highly integrated with consumer relationships management.



How can news organizations develop this deeper relationship with consumers? By moving from a "sell advertising" mindset to a "create dialogue" mindset. As an example, Winfield describes how Dell uses social networks to keep in touch and keep a pulse on their consumers. It actively mines data from sites like Twitter to learn more about Dell users. Dell staffers also monitor Twitter for comments or anecdotes on the company's reputation, for responding to customers about service or product issues. A second-party site like Twitter can also help the company learn about and solve customer service issues.

Winfield tells the story. "I recently bought a new computer from Dell. It's a nice computer, but it came with the wrong power supply, so I decided to do an experiment. I sent a message out to the e-mail support group at Dell to see if they could solve the problem for me. I got various e-mails from Dell's tech support, but it wasn't going anywhere. Then I went to Twitter and wrote a post saying, 'Hey, I just bought this snazzy new Dell laptop. Great, except wrong power supply.' The following day, I got a response from somebody at Dell asking what the problem was, what my order number was, and then a couple of days later, I received a new power supply." By scanning Web sites where their users congregate, Dell stays close to its customers needs and wants. It becomes a relationship expert.

Check out HowardForums. This is an online forum for consumer discussion about cell phones. People post problems they are having with their phones and talk about new cell phone features and functionalities. These sites are actively scanned by cell phone companies. They use them to get a better understanding of users' attitudes and behaviors and, importantly, as a place to solve customer service problems. Winfield says services such as telephone and cable providers are doing the same thing. Rather than create their own forums, they use existing communities to gather feedback and engage in the dialogue.

While it's popular for news organizations to include 'talk back' features on their sites, how frequently are these forums reviewed for consumer perspective? Could new content be developed based on the dialogue? Where else might your audience be online where you could meet up and build relationships with them? How can you provide them information that would be relevant and start a conversation rather than shout a message? The ability to build relationships with consumers is one of the competencies news organizations will need to compete for advertising dollars.

Winfield explains: "Online advertising has been a big, booming area, but people may have more control in the near future over the types of advertising that they'll see. Companies have to think about how to make it more likely that they can engage people to buy their products or services. Part of success is certainly going out and doing discovery and understanding where those people are likely to be. Certainly a part of it is understanding those communities and saying the things that people want to hear, and some of it requires building relationships, because if you don't have a relationship that's built on trust, you're just a flak."

So to make the dream of effective advertising come true, companies will need to build a two-way dialogue – a relationship of trust. This should be good news for those in the business of selling news and information. Because who has a history of building those relationships of trust better than the news organization?

What do you think? Please share your thoughts, experiences and reactions by clicking on the comment button below.

Annette Moser-Wellman is President of Firemark, Inc., an innovation consultancy, and author of Running While The Earth Shakes: Creating An Innovation Strategy To Win In The Digital Age, published by the Media Management Center. She teaches in MMC's Advanced Executive Program and Digital Strategies for Media Executives seminar.

This TechScout article is part of a new series of Moser-Wellman interviews commissioned by the Media Management Center to explore opportunities and insights at the intersection of technology and the news media. A book, "Six Competencies of the Next Generation News Organization," and workshops – both based on the TechScout research – will debut this fall.

Click here to view other articles in the TechScout series.