Why Social Media Matters in an Economic Downturn

• 1. Introduction June 6, 2009

2.

• Winning Back the Customer

• Why Social Media Matters in a Down Economy

• Eric Anderson

• VP of Emerging Media

• Recorded Webinar available here;https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/141856925

3.

• What actually happens to consumer loyalty in a recession?

• Contrary to popular belief, it doesnt look like this:

VS . 4.

• What actually happens to consumer loyalty in a recession?

• It looks more like this:

Consumers are weighing purchases across categories in ways they haven't done since the mid 70's. Your brand might be competing against a completely unrelated product or service.Eric Lahr, Advertising Age VS . 5.

• What actually happens to consumer loyalty in a recession?

• It looks more like this:

VS .

• This behavioral shift means you need a deeper level of engagement with consumers about where your brand fits in their lives.

• Advertising wont give you that. Social media might

6.

• What we talk about when we talk about social media:

Proportionality of text cloud based on use of social media by marketers, Forrester Research,Metrics for Social Applications in a Downturn , 2008 7.

• First lets hear from the bears.

In a bear market, budgetsshouldshift toward online marketing, because its measurable and efficient. But social media doesnt meet that standard its too much of an unknown. 8.

• White Horse, on the other hand, is bullish on social media.

• 5 good reasons to invest in social media in 2009:

• You can't afford to sit this out.

• True loyalty is recession-proof.

• You can put your customers to work.

• Your advertising is flabby.

• Free is good.

In fact were Raging-Bullish. 9.

• 1. You cant afford to sit this out.

• The Oklahoma Land Rush on social media property wont slow down for a recession.

• Minimally, youmustprotect your brand in all of the social media outlets that will eventually become as important as your Web site.

Im gonna git me a Twitter page! 10.

• 1. You cant afford to sit this out.

• What are the risks? Check out the MySpace domains for these top global brands.

• Theres also the risk of disgruntled customers or competitors using social media properties for anti-brand sites (not that any of you have disgruntled customers).

www.myspace.com/google www.myspace.com/pepsi www.myspace.com/mcdonalds 11.

• 1. You cant afford to sit this out.

• Unlike the last Web boom, this one isnt fueled by ad dollars and VC funding.

• The sheer rate oforganicgrowth and the rise of influential Gen Y consumers means lost time is lost opportunity.

Facebook 2008 growth rate 12.

• 1. You cant afford to sit this out.

• Unlike the last Web boom, this one isnt fueled by ad dollars and VC funding

• The sheer rate oforganicgrowth and the rise of influential Gen Y consumers means lost time is lost opportunity

13.

• 2. True loyalty is recession-proof.

• You cant separate the emerging role of social media in building loyalty from the diminished impact of traditional media.

• The average person is exposed to 3,000 ad messages a day. Thats why:

• • 90% of people who can skip TV ads do.

• • Web users have banner blindness about 80% of the time.

• • Just 20% of mothers say advertisers connect with them.

14. $148 billionspenton advertising 14% of consumerstrustadvertising Half a billionspenton social media78% of consumerstrustsocial media (input from other consumers) 2. True loyalty is recession-proof. The impact of social media isnt just a matter of raw impressions. Its also a matter of trust. 15. Simply put, social media builds brand trust because it allows people to learn about brands fromother people .2. True loyalty is recession-proof. 16. Trust in a person like me hastripledfrom 20% to 68% in the last three years. 2. True loyalty is recession-proof. 17. 36% of consumers say they think more positively about a companyjust for having a blog.2. True loyalty is recession-proof. 18.

• 2. True loyalty is recession-proof.

• How to invest in loyalty right now:

• Reach out your current customers to find your brand evangelists, then enlist them in your loyalty strategy.

• Listen in on the conversations currently taking place around your brand.

• Set your customers to work on content creation.

• Dip your toe in.

19. 3. You can put your customers to work (crowdsourcing). Crowdsourcing is a classic two-for-one: you get the positive brand impact from engaging your customers, and if you do it right, you get results you can use.

• Good uses of crowdsourcing:

• Product reviews

• Blog content

• Product development

• Focus groups

• Trend analysis

• Branding/advertising

20. 3. You can put your customers to work (crowdsourcing). With Mountain Hardwear, we crowd-sourced the development of a print ad and even required that it conform to the campaigns visual standards. 21. The winning entry Agency-produced print ad 3. You can put your customers to work (crowdsourcing). The crowd came through inbig way. 22. 4. Your ads are flabby.In a recession, your paid advertising needs to work harder and go further. Integrating paid and social media can pack a powerful punch.Social seeding, blogs, reviews, forums, and social network sites all greatly improve your SEO, which in turn enhances the performance of paid search.Source:iCrossing Search Syngery,2007 23. 4. Your ads are flabby.Paid advertising on a social network site can direct to a brand page on the same site, where users can friend the brand and pass along content.Source: Fox Interactive Media , Never-Ending Friending,2007 24. 4. Your ads are flabby.Every ad campaign should be deeply networked: on video sites, into social networks, and into the site experience. Screen clipping taken: 10/27/2008, 12:41 AM 25. 5. Free is good

• Our favorite social media freebies:

• Friending

• Social network seeding

• SEO lift

• Listening

(most of the time) 26. 5. Free is good. Example: we tested promotion performance using paid media vs. one relying entirely on social seeding. In this case, free was good indeed.20 million ad impressions No social seeding 18,000 visits/mo No ad impressions Seeding on fishing and sweeps forums 15,000 visits/mo 27.

• Your most important social media move: hire the right agency.

Thank you! Eric Anderson, VP of Emerging Media [email_address] www.whitehorse.com Recorded Webinar available here:https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/141856925 28. Introduction June 6, 2009