Brands beholden to Wikipedia

Brand managers, ad agencies and more than a few corporate Internet designers -- anyone who wants control over the messages consumers see about a brand -- might flinch to read what Steve Rubel found.

Rubel hopped on Google and found, when you search for a major brand name, there's an excellent chance the Wikipedia entry for that name will appear high in the results.

"The obvious conclusion here is that most search results are full of related entries from Wikipedia (not to mention blogs and other peer media). Taking this a step further, this means that millions of individuals who hear about products through these billions of dollars advertising and then turn to Google to research them are likely influenced by what Wikipedia says. Further, many searchers probably do not even know that the encyclopedia is not run by a single body but by a collective of individuals, even people they may know."

How big a concern is this to marketers? It depends on your opinion of Wikipedia, of course, and your general tolerance for open dialogue about your brands and products. Wikipedia entries are by nature just another form of moderated interactivity. The collaborative encyclopedia incorporates substantial human and machine measures against bad behavior, but its proprietors cannot possibly prevent all inaccuracies or misrepresentations from appearing in its entries.

But that's the same risk a company runs when it permits feedback on its brand marketing sites or in support forums. Anytime a company permits and encourages a community of brand customers to interact, it accepts this risk.

At a minimum, this is one more reason to know what's being said about your brand, your company, your products and your people online. A little Google or Yahoo! search time may uncover a lot of things you need to know to run your business.