DHV and Social Media

ForewordSocial media is more than a buzzword. It is more than chatting about your private activities. It offers opportunities and results that can be very beneficial to our company and it crosses national boundaries.

With social media we can have one to one communication with clients and alliances, and get feedback on our projects. We can share content, which in return extends the voice of our brands. It creates word-of-mouth buzz about our company, providing potential opportunities for business. Social media can make our company more interesting for potential colleagues. And it generates additional traffic to our websites.

Together we can use social media as an effective marketing tool, while having fun in sharing and exchanging interesting information with others. Let’s socialize!

Mirjam Soeterbroek

Manager Communications

What will be in the

newspapers tomorrow,

is on Twitter today...

Social media

is for kids

Social media

is not for

business

It’s only

populair in

the USA

• 28% of LinkedIn users are executives with an average income of $ 104,000. • 60% have incomes of $ 93,000 or more.• The average age of Hyves users is 30.• 80% percent of Twitter users are over 25.• The fastest growing demographic on Facebook is 35 years old and older.

• 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a tool to find employees.• 25% of search machine results for the 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content.• 70% of bloggers are talking about brands on their blog.• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations.

• There are now 11 million LinkedIn users across Europe. • About 70% of the 350 million active Facebook users are outside the US.• China’s QZone is even larger than Facebook.• India is the fastest-growing country to use LinkedIn.• Hyves has 8.400.000 members.• The second largest search engine in the world is YouTube.

Myths and facts

‘Tweeting is the fastest

way to communicate with

our global audience...’

Social media and DHV

Social media can be extremely advantageous to companies of all sizes, including DHV. We are already experimenting with social media and exploring its possibilities. Do you feel like joining in? To help you get going, we have listed some of the plusses of social media.

Social media provides us with the opportunity to:

• See what others are saying about DHV online• Have one on one communication with clients • Receive feedback on projects and products • Personalize our company/brand • Feed exclusive content• Share exclusive information with followers • Extend our public relations strategies • Create brand communities around our projects, products

and company • Generate extra exposure • Create word-of-mouth buzz around our company/brand. • Generate extra traffic to the DHV website.

Links to DHV

twitter.com/dhvgrouptwitter.com/dhvgroeptwitter.com/dhvbvwww.youtube.com/user/DHVGroupwww.yammer.com/dhv.comwww.facebook.com/pages/DHV/141262719236866

www.slideshare.net/dhvgroupdhvbv.hyves.nldhv-amersfoort.hyves.nlwww.linkedin.com/groups?gid=36517issuu.com/dhvgroup

‘Tweeting is the fastest

way to communicate with

our global audience...’

LinkedInBusiness-oriented social networking website65 million users worldwideMainly used for professional networking.Active users in more than 200 countries.A new member approximately every second.Contact details of people you know and trust in business.

MySpaceSocial networking website106 million users worldwide First and most well-known social network.Particularly used for music.Almost every band has it’s own web page on MySpace.

NetlogSocial networking website63 million users in EuropeFormerly known as Facebox and Bingbox.Users across 25 languages.Targeted at the European youth demographic.

FacebookSocial networking website400 million users worldwideFor anyone older than 13 with a valid e-mail address.More than 120 million users log on at least once a day.More than two-thirds of users are outside of college.Networks are organized by workplace, school, or college.

HyvesSocial networking website8,5 million users in the NetherlandsKeep in touch with friends and make new friends.Create personalized pages.Photos, videos, flash content and custom layouts.

TwitterSocial information network75 million users worldwideText-based posts of up to 140 characters.Author’s sending tweets to followers.More women (53%) than men (47%).

The social media landscape

YouTubeSocial video-sharing websiteOver 100 million videosUpload, share and view videos.Movie clips, TV clips, music videos, video blogging.Individuals and companies.

YammerEnterprise social softwareUsed by some 70,000 organizations worldwidePrivate communication within organizations.Pre-designated groups.Specific e-mail address needed to join network.

SlideshareSlide hosting service websiteMore than 1 million users worldwideUpload, view, comment, and share slideshows.Popular in fields such as eLearning and web-conferencing.Possibility to join groups by interests.

IssuuWebsite for viewing print mediaOne of TIME’s 50 best websitesViewing portfolios, books, magazine issues, newspapers et cetera.Comparable to what Flickr does for photo-sharing.With animated page flip options.

FlickrSocial photo-sharing websiteMore than 4 billion imagesA content-driven network.Image and video hosting site and online community.Widely used by bloggers.

MindzPlatform for communities70.000 users in the NetherlandsSelf-employed professionals, entrepreneurs, manufacturers.Focusing on sustainability.

10 social media tips01

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Know what you are talking aboutIf you are going to work with social media, be involved in social media. Start your own Twitter account, Facebook page, read blogs and get engaged. That is the best way to understand the culture, tone, best practices, and protocol.

Always be transparentWhen you are communicating in social media, say who you are and who you work for. Do not try to be sneaky and plant comments, do not hire people to go out and say nice things about you and stay away from ghost writing. Be genuine and be real!

Be yourselfReaders can see through marketing talk. Be passionate about what you do and let that show through your personality. Let people see you as a person, not a mouthpiece.

Post frequentlyIt is a lot of work, but do not post to your blog and then leave it for two weeks. Readers will not have a reason to follow you on Twitter or check your blog if they can not expect new content regularly.

Add valueShare tips, tricks, and insights. People’s time is precious and they need to get something out of the time they spend with you. Make listening to you worth their time.

Ok Marlon,This Twitter thing

has gone far enough!

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RespondAnswer questions and thank people, even if it’s just a few words. Make it a two way conversation.

Listen to what others have to sayAppreciate suggestions and feedback. It will make what you do even better.

Learn from your mistakesDo not be afraid to say you were wrong and be quick to make changes when you are.

Be externalYou do not have to be 100% internally focused. Link to other blogs, videos, and news articles. Share what others have to say.

Have funIf you do not like what you are doing, others will notice it and will not enjoy interacting with you.

06

‘YouTube offers a great exposure

for our products and services...‘

‘If you take your business seriously,

create a LinkedIn account today...‘‘YouTube offers a great exposure

for our products and services...‘

Social media are well suited for marketing purposes. Of course they can be used for paid advertisements; however, the free options are infinite. LinkedIn is particularly very suitable as a marketing tool. This business medium is very effective if you have created a large network. A useful tip is the ‘LinkedIn Outlook plug in’ that you can use to quickly and easily invite people to ‘link’ with you from your e-mail.

Once you have built a good business network on LinkedIn, you can, for example, announce commercially interesting messages through your ‘status’: “Today we found out that we were awarded the X assignment.” Another possibility to inform your network is to add client events. Additionally, on LinkedIn you can follow the wheeling and dealing of your contacts (change of job, promotions etc.).

Group function On LinkedIn there is an active group for almost any subject. Do you have a great idea for a group yourself? Quickly create it! Even if a group for a certain subject already exists, consider starting a new group yourself. If you are the manager of a

popular group, you yourself can post news announcements, promote events, delete commercial announcements from competitors, send e-mails to members, etc. Of course you can also distribute events and news items through relevant groups managed by others. First you have to become a member of the group concerned, and you are dependent on the approval of the group’s manager.

An active website, linked to the group, often determines the success of a group. This can also be a ‘community site’. You can start a community dedicated to a specific subject at no cost or at a limited cost through platforms such as www.mindz.com and www.ning.com.

Twitter Twitter can be an interesting marketing tool, but only through a commercially linked account, such as a website. By using ‘tweets’ you then can (automatically) spread news items about the site or any other announcements. Here it is also important to have sufficient followers; otherwise it is not very useful. Therefore it makes sense to promote your Twitter account on the related website.

Effective marketing tools

DHV has its own Twitter account which is managed by Claudia Mulder of SSCC: twitter.com/dhvgroup

Marketing information With RSS you can follow all the news items about a specific topic. Almost all news sites have an RSS feed, but many of your competitors’ and clients’ sites offer this resource too. You can set one up yourself in Google News. Subscribe to relevant RSS feeds and open them with, for example, the Google Reader. Create your own start page with I-Google in your browser and add the Google Reader, to stay constantly informed about the most recent news.

What happens in Vegas stays

on Youtube, Twitter....

Marketing tips“Brands should develop a credible voice along the parameters of engagement, humility, and authenticity.

Brands must socialize with their customers because ‘top-down’ advertising is not going to work by itself.

Brands need to make their social relationships more symmetrical, with value for both the brand and the customer.”

Source: the Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report

10 Twitter tipsBecome familiar with Twitter by reviewing, or following, the activities of successful brands.

Listen to what is already being said on Twitter about your expertise, projects etc.

Identify initial objectives for using Twitter, including what would qualify as a Twitter success story for your expertise or projects.

Look into competitive activities, especially if there is already a Twitter account about your expertise, service or product.

Use the findings to decide on the appropriate opportunity such as offers or community building, tone of voice and method of engagement that may be right for your brand.

Since Twitter is an ongoing activity, even if your company is only listening in, dedicate a resource to monitor the conversations and competitors.

Map out a plan for the content you will share, including valuable initial content to pique user interest.

Integrate your Twitter account throughout your marketing experience, by embedding it as a feed on the company Web site, including its URL in communications and so forth.

Maintain momentum by following everyone who follows you, responding to queries and joining in conversations without being too commercially oriented.

Provide ongoing direct value through your tweets by continuing to listen, learn and fine-tune your Twitter activities.

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‘Meet me at Facebook:

become a member of the DHV

community on Facebook too!‘

Before you jump in to social media, think about this:Why do I want to participate in social media? How can social media improve our business? How will social media be incorporated into our overall customer experience? Answers to these questions will help inform your engagement.

Set up profiles on various social networksIt is best to use your name instead of an obscure nickname that people may construe as spam. Keep it as short as possible (e.g. John Doe instead of Jonathan Michael Doe). Be sure to add a profile picture when you set up your accounts. If you add ‘DHV’ to your profile, remember that people will read your messages as coming from DHV.

Start listeningYou can follow conversations on topics you care about first; your hobbies, your peers or professional interests. If you see people’s ‘tweets’ you find of interest, click on their profiles and see what other tweets they are making. If you find them engaging, ‘follow’ them. This way you will start to build your network.

Get a feel for the conversationsYou will see that people who come on too strong with marketing messages or who misrepresent themselves, are not treated too well by the community. Think of the conversations you have in your daily life. What is interesting? Boring? Important? Genuine? It is called social media after all.

Jump InNow that you have listened, you can be more effective in your participation.

Add valuePeople will want to know about your opinion, expertise, projects and interests. You do not have to hit them over the head to make them aware of them though. Give back to the conversation. Share your observations on the industry, trends et cetera. Make sure you do not talk about your DHV clients or projects in a negative way. They follow you too!

Getting Started

All kinds of social media or social networking tools are available to anyone who wants to share insights, express opinions and communicate in a globally distributed conversation. While DHV recognizes the value of posting personal online content (on websites, blogs, podcasts, photos, chat rooms, forums, wikis, social network sites and social business tools), it is important that employees who choose to tell their DHV story online understand what is recommended, expected and required.

Please follow the DHV-guidelines for online communications if you are using these media for business purposes. Also consider these if you choose to identify yourself as a DHV employee or discuss matters related to DHV or your assignments for DHV clients on a personal website or blog; many readers will assume you are speaking on behalf of DHV. DHV must always uphold the trust of our clients, so it is critical that we act and communicate responsibly and professionally. In light of this possibility, your communications should be transparent, ethical and accurate. DHV expects employees to respect DHV’s Business Principles.

Be a good bloggerWe’re lucky; we are part of a global working company that provides services for the sustainable development of our living environment, in a close relationship with clients, employees and partners. This means we are likely to have something interesting to add online.

Since being interesting is one of the cornerstones of ‘successful’ blogging, we’re off to a good start. That said, writing captivating online content is hard work and a commitment. We suggest if you decide to jump into the blogosphere, do so with a commitment to post regularly and well; link to others and show your unique personality.

Be generousThe Internet is all about connecting with links, so if you see something interesting, valuable or relevant, link to it! The more you link to relevant material, the more contacts you will make and the more popular your own blog/hyve will become.

DHV’s Social Media Guidelines

Be considerateRemember that anyone, including your colleagues and our DHV customers, may be actively reading what you publish online. In choosing your words and your content, it’s a good practice to imagine that your manager and your business relations are reading everything you post. It’s all about judgment: using your weblog to bash or embarrass DHV, our clients, our partners, your co-workers isn’t smart nor professional. If you have suggestions for improvements at DHV, please state them constructively or better yet, go through the proper internal channels to air your concerns and share your suggestions.

If you witness illegal, unsafe or unethical conduct by a DHV employee, we would prefer that you not discuss this in your blog. Instead, for example, you can call the Speak Up Line (link will follow shortly), which is the 24-hour, confidential and anonymous toll-free line that provides DHV employees to report issues like theft, fraud or any actions that violate DHV’s Business Principles. Reporting these issues in a blog may do more harm than good; worse yet, problems may not get to the attention of the people who can correct them.

Respect copyright lawsShow proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use of copyrighted material owned by others, including DHV’s own copyright and trademarks.

Uphold DHV’s Business PrinciplesAs a DHV employee, you have already made a commitment to abide by DHV’s Business Principles. Please follow these principles in your online communications. If you choose to share your political or religious stances online, be certain you are representing yourself and not the organization as a whole.

When i die, spread my

ashes over my blog...

‘We found the Nature Driven Design

picture on Flickr for €200,-’Last but not least:

make it interesting

and have fun!

Don’t reveal confidential informationIf you do blog about DHV, by all means talk about your good work and make meaningful connections with your readers, but you must accomplish this while respecting the privacy and confidentiality of clients and communities. When making decisions about your online content, please refer to the following documents you agreed to when you became an employee:

• E-mail etiquette• DHV’s Business Principles• Non disclosure agreement in your employment contract and in our agreements with clients. Please bear in mind:Clients and stakeholders should not be cited or obviously referenced without their approval. Never identify a client or partner by name without permission, and never discuss the confidential details of a client. It is acceptable to discuss general details and to use non-identifying pseudonyms so long as the information provided does not violate any non-disclosure agreements that may be in place with the client or make it easy for someone to identify the client.

Be sensitive to matters of social responsibility and politics when discussing specific projects, localities and policies. You should be careful to protect the dignity of clients by refraining from discussions that reflect negatively on them, even if they are not named. Remember that the client or your business relation may be in your audience.

‘We found the Nature Driven Design

picture on Flickr for €200,-’

Someone left a negative comment on our blog/Facebook page/Twitter/YouTube video!Do not panic! Assess the comment to understand if it has merit or not. If the commenter has a legitimate complaint, use it as an opportunity to thank them for their feedback and take it into consideration to improve your business.There will be people that leave comments who are beyond appeasing and will not be reasonable. That’s okay and you can move on. Other commenters may come to your defense.

No one is following our blog/Twitter!It won’t happen overnight - unless you are a famous celebrity. Start grassroots. Tell your friends, family, employees and affiliates to check out your sites, follow you, and spread the word. Participate on other sites and they will start to reciprocate.

I don’t have time to do all of this!Don’t try to do it all yourself. Find experts and passionate colleagues within DHV to contribute to blog posts and Twitter feeds. Not only does it provide you with more content, but it socializes DHV as a whole to the community.

Issues

Colophon

Towards the end of 2009, the average number of

tweets per day was over 27.3 million...

Text Claudia MulderMirjam Soeterbroek Ralph van HulzenFolkert van der Molen

Design/layout Claudia MulderErik van der Horst

More information and downloads https://iportal.dhv.com/DHVandSocialMedia

‘Holy Blogosphere! The Penguin, Joker and Riddler all want to be my Facebook friends?’

‘Just hit, IGNORE ALL!’