Reputation Strategy and Analytics in a Hyper-Connected World

Chapter Three The Digital Media Revolution Creates Completely New Business Models

Executive Summary: Digital media has brought communications and Reputation Strategy to a new level and shifted influence from the brand to the audience. Marketers and communications professionals need to learn the new rules of the road, and be mindful of which rules have changed and which rules remain the same.

Erin Byrne is managing partner, chief engagement officer at Grey Healthcare Group, one of the world’s most respected health-care communications agencies. I’ve known Erin for nearly 20 years.

From my perspective, she epitomizes the modern digital communications strategist. Erin is a leader and an innovator in social media, digital technology, corporate communications, and integrated marketing.

We sat down recently with Erin and asked her to describe the major differences between predigital and digital communications strategies.

“One of the biggest differences—and one of the most significant challenges—is the need to influence at a much different level. In the predigital era, your sphere of influence was smaller, but your ability as a brand to influence people directly was much greater,” says Erin. “In many ways, the definition of influence has changed. It’s become much more challenging for brands to identify the key influencers. Brands no longer have the control or the influence they had in the past.”

I totally agree with Erin’s take on this sea change. In the 1990s, it was really about ...