Social Media and B2B:

“Why Should Consumers Have All the Fun?”

April 15, 2011

What are we hoping to accomplish today?

1. A better understanding of how social media can impact B2B companies

1. How B2B companies can use social media

1. Best practices for using social media in B2B

2. What’s next?

Is Social Media Right for B2B?

86 percent of business-to-business companies now use some form of social media in their

marketing mix…compared to 57 percent in 2009 and

15 percent in 2007.

Source: BtoBonline and the Association of National Advertisers, RealTime Report, White Horse

But…

Only 32% have a daily presence

Source: RealTime Report, White Horse

Our competitors will seeOur competitors will see

“My customers don’t use / have access to social media”

Where new customers come from:45% LinkedIn

43% blogs38% twitter

32% facebook

“My customers don’t use / have access to social media”

Where new customers come from:45% LinkedIn

43% blogs38% twitter

32% facebook

“We can’t control what people say”

“We can’t control what people say”

I don’t trust our employeesI don’t trust our employees We don’t have anything to sayWe don’t have anything to say

“We don’t have enough time”60% of B2B companies have no staff

dedicated to social media

“We don’t have enough time”60% of B2B companies have no staff

dedicated to social media

“My boss will never go for it”36% of B2B companies say there is low

executive interest

“My boss will never go for it”36% of B2B companies say there is low

executive interest

Source: AKHIA, Alexander Hotz/Mashable, HubSpot

B2B spending on social media will increase from $11 million in 2009 to

$54 million in 2014.Source: RealTime Report, White Horse

How Will It Be Spent?

Google ‘social media trends in B2B’…

you will receive 3,810,000 results

Five Things to Consider Before Starting a Social Media Program

1. Know thyself. Understand your brand and what your true point of differentiation is.

1. Plan accordingly. Social media success isn’t achieved on day one – it’s always in motion, always in flux. Plan on having a consistent presence.

1. Time management. Maybe the most important – you can have the content and you can have a plan, but if you don’t leave yourself time to execute you’re all dressed up with nowhere to go.

• Don’t be shy. You’ve done the work to create and implement your voice – don’t be afraid to use it. Respond to people’s questions. Comment on their opinions.

• Integrate. Don’t ignore the other components of your marketing program.

Source: AKHIA

Social Media Usage in Fortune Global 100 Companies

• 65% have a twitter account

• 54% have a facebook fan page

• 50% have a YouTube page

• 33% use a corporate blog

Source: iStrategy2010

Social Medi

Graphic: Candis Hecking/AKHIA

Twitter, YouTube Blogs facebook LinkedInBuild interest Thought leadership Connect Personal connectionShare knowledge Credible voice Join the community Conduct businessContact/engagement Resource Genuine interest in the co. TrustOngoing interaction Advocate Partnership

Creative to design a graphic

Love at First Sight – Building a Social Media Relationship

Source: AKHIAGraphic: Candis Hecking/AKHIA

The social media toolbox

• Awareness of twitter has jumped from 5% in 2008 to 87% in 2010

• 200 million registered users

• 300,000 new users per day

• 180 million unique visitors per day

• 7% of Americans actively use twitter (17 million)

• 55 million tweets a day

• 37% tweet from their mobile

• 51% of users follow brandsSource: twitter

How Can B2B Companies Use twitter?

• Brand awareness / building• Information exchange• Media relations• Build subject matter experts• Drive web traffic, specifically to thought leadership entries• Listen and monitor relevant market conversation• Exclusive offers / promotions

Source: AKHIA

Using twitter – a closer look: Cisco

Customer engagement

Customer feedback and real-time data

CEO face time

Corporate news / week ahead

Industry resource

Customer engagement

Customer feedback and real-time data

CEO face time

Corporate news / week ahead

Industry resource

Source: Social Media Examiner / Cisco

Using twitter – a closer look: IBM

Promoting partners

Build credibility

Engagement / build relationships

Industry resource

“Listening for leads”

Promoting partners

Build credibility

Engagement / build relationships

Industry resource

“Listening for leads”

Source: TNW (The Next Web)

Using twitter – a closer look: IBM

Source: eMarketer

Using twitter – a closer look: IBM

Source: eMarketer

Tweeting: Best Practices

• Most Retweetable (RT) time is late in the day (between 2 – 5 p.m.)• Click-through (CT) rates stay stable throughout the day/night• Don’t be afraid to tweet links on the weekend, the CT rate is actually higher• Posting one link/hour will drive the highest CT rate• You can take a bit.ly link and add a “+” to the end to be taken to a page to see

the number of clicks the link has received• If you’re promoting content on your website (through a URL), don’t crowd your

content by tweeting too many times…• …but if you’re tweeting for more general informative URLs, post often because

people look to you for this type of information

Bottom line: Tweet often for more variations and options. People with 22+tweets per day end up with the most followers.

Source: HubSpot ‘Science of Timing’ Webinar

twitter: MetricsMore than any other channel it is important to determine ‘what’ you’re hoping to accomplish with twitter – so you can accurately measure:

•Benchmark – capture the state of your site and relevant outlets (YouTube, facebook, LinkedIn) pre-twitter program•Impressions – how many times is your brand mentioned (@, #)•Influence – how often you are RT’d; how many CT’s•Traffic – how much site traffic is coming from twitter•Set goals – do you want to reach a certain number of downloads or redeemed offers•Supporting goals – what intangibles did twitter open up for your company, specifically larger audiences through speaking opportunities or guest appearances on blogs

Source: AKHIA

• 600 million users

• Average user has 120 friends

• 2.6B minutes spent daily by combined total users

• 170 countries

How can B2B Companies Use facebook?

• Promote corporate news and events• Brand building• Share tips / best practices• Real-world research / customer feedback• Stay connected with customers and prospects• Exclusive content / offers• Recruiting/HR

Source: AKHIA

facebook: Best PracticesWhen should you post updates?

• Three peaks:• Early morning – 7 a.m.• After work – 5 p.m.• Late night – 11 p.m.

• Brands that posted outside of business hours report 20% higher engagement rates

• Why? 51% of companies block facebook.

Source: BuddyMedia (via Mashable)

facebook: Best PracticesWhen should you post?

• Companies posting Thursday and Friday have 18% more engagement (counting down to the weekend!)

• Sit back and enjoy Sunday: high fan engagement BUT…

• …brand posts account for only 5% of total posts

Source: BuddyMedia (via Mashable)

facebook: Best PracticesScience of posting

• Posts with less than 80 characters have 27% more engagement

• A full-length URL is 3x more likely to be read than a shortened one

• Ask for engagement – posts with ‘where’, ‘when’ or ‘why’ at the end of the post receive 15% more engagement

Source: BuddyMedia (via Mashable)

facebook: Best PracticesBuilding your fan base

• Celebrate: birthdays, anniversaries, official ‘days’, official ‘months’

• Appreciate: thank fans with a fan appreciation program

• Converse: ask fans what they want to see

• Inspire: share ways your brand / product can be used / leveraged

• Interact: Respond!

Source: Jason Keath/Social Fresh

facebook: Best PracticesBuilding your fan base – Example: bluefuego

http://bluefuego.com/

Using facebook – a closer look: Oasis Floral Products

• Post Daily Design

• Encourage interaction by asking open-ended questions

• Announce product info

• Develop “tabs” for relevant seasons (ex: Mother’s Day)

• Link to product pages, YouTube Channel, etc.

• Post Daily Design

• Encourage interaction by asking open-ended questions

• Announce product info

• Develop “tabs” for relevant seasons (ex: Mother’s Day)

• Link to product pages, YouTube Channel, etc.

Source: AKHIA

facebook - Metrics

• Influence: How often do people comment on your posts – and how quickly do they do it? More comments, immediately after you post shows that your fans anticipate your content

• Reach: How many ‘Likes’ are you getting – a high ‘Likes’ to post ratio shows consistent reach

• Quality: At what rate is your page gaining fans? There is a link to growth and quality of content (posts)

• Engagement: How are you interacting with your fans and how quickly? Are you operating as a consultant, offering your services/skills to add value to their company or your relationship?

Source: Daily Blogger

White Trash Repairshttp://whitetrashrepairs.com/ Mr. Breakfast Blog: all breakfast all the timehttp://www.mrbreakfast.com/index.asp Ninja Pizza | A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) News Blog http://ninja-pizza.blogspot.com/ Worst Pizza.com: Never Eat a Bad Slice Again!http://www.worstpizza.com/ Better Gnomes and Garden: a blog dedicated to gnomeshttp://www.bettergnomesandgarden.com/

Sources: Nicole Batchelor/AKHIA

• 156M blogs today

• 14% are updated daily

• 15% are corporate blogs

• 89% of journalists reference blogs when conducting research

• Fortune 100 companies blog 7x a month, on average

• 90% of bloggers use other social media channels to promote their blog

Sources: Earnest; Cision; B2B Social Media Guide

How B2B Companies Can Use Blogging

• Information exchange• Brand building / Humanizing the brand• Thought leadership• Drive sales through application examples• Drive traffic through SEO • Larger opportunities (nationally through guest blogs)• Internal communications

Source: AKHIA

Blogging:The science of posts

• Most people read blogs in the morning (80%+), though 40%+ of those polled also read at night

• Blog early for links

• Know your audience. Men tend to read more blogs at night than women, who tend to read them in the morning

• Page views take a dip on weekends (peaking on Mondays), but the weekend is when comments are the highest

• Multiple bloggers drive SEO results

Source: HubSpot ‘Science of Timing’ Webinar; B2B SEO

Blogging in Action

Example:Brand Building

Company: Boeing

Blogging in Action

Example:Brand BuildingSubject Experts

Company: HP

Blogging in Action

Example:Brand BuildingSubject ExpertsDrive SalesHumanizing

Company: Adobe

Blogging: Measurement

Beyond subscribers, comments and RT’s…

• Are people landing on your blog – what percentage?• Is your blog driving organic traffic?• Is your blog driving overall increase in site traffic?• Does your blog drive long visits? Deep visits?

The higher these numbers are the likelier your chances are of using your blog to drive customer engagement, resulting in a better brand experience (and increased sales conversions)

Source: AKHIA

Looking Ahead: What’s Next?

• It’s a small world that’s getting smaller

• You need to know…SEO

• Social media will become the veteran – mobile marketing’s time is now

• Video killed the…print star?

• Social media is now the frontline

Social MediaNot just for socializing.

Unprecedented Information Tool

Centers for Disease Control•Voicemail to 405 agencies, outreach to 2012 bloggers reaching 145 million people.•CDC working on eCards for individuals – so it can get instructions out quickly about specific diseases•The strategy has significant pass-through rates – allowing people to become advocates•Significance: In Kenya with 33 million people, 11.3 million have mobile phones vs. 250,000 land lines and 3 million online computers. FEMA •Press conferences on Twitter, taking direct questions.•You Tube channel offers instructions. •Twitter lets people know how to file claims

Social Media in Crisis Communication

•Good news travels fast….

•…Bad news travels faster

•Blogs, social networking sites, RSS feeds, etc., have the potential to reach more people than ever before – even non-activists, turning them into activists

•Everyone can get in on the conversation almost instantly – and so should you!

Three Primary Ways to Use Social Media in a Crisis

•Monitor what is being said about your company, organization or brand.

•Anticipate a potential crisis and avert the crisis before it happens.

•Disseminate critical information in the midst of a crisis.o React and respond to what is being saido Help shape the message

Monitoring for Potential Crisis

•Digital “listening posts” for your name or brand are essential to know what people are saying (good or bad).

•Monitoring is a useful way to identify warning signs that a crisis is developing; getting an early “heads-up” can make all the difference between crisis and total disaster.

•Conversations and potential/developing crises are probable across a multitude of online channels:

o Blogs and Commentso Microcommunities aka Microforumso Social Networkso Customer Networkso Groupso Facebooko Google and Yahoo Groups

Monitoring for Potential Crisis 

•Another warning sign could be online videos  o The KFC video of rats in New York Cityo Domino’s pizza pranko Videos spread information about “defective” Kryptonite bike locks

and flaming laptop batteries

•It might also be a bad sign if customers form groups on sites like facebook to complain about your organization. 

Ways to Monitor 

Tweetbeep – Free site to track Twitter mentions of your company or organization; product names; or any other keyword, and receive hourly updates. Also tracks link mentions of your web site or blog even. The company offers 15-minute alerts, which may prove useful during a crisis where time is of the essence. Social Mention – This site will send you free daily e-mail alerts about your brand, company name, a person’s name, marketing campaign, competitor or key word. You can hone your search to include only blogs, social networks, microblogs, bookmarks, comments and more. Google Comprehensive –Regular alerts for news, blogs, Web, video and groups combined into a comprehensive sweep of mentions by key word. Yahoo offers a similar tool. Keotag – Combs search engines, tag generators and social bookmark link generators at a number of social sites, including Twitter, YouTube, NetVines, Yahoo and Google. Radian6 – A paid service to more closely monitor your mentions and extrapolate deeper meaning from what is being said. Nielsen’s BlogPulse –Monitors broader trends on blogs.

TrendsToo (Google) – Searches news wires and web sites, and categorizes by region, city and language.   

Disseminating Information During a Crisis/Responding to Posts

•Blogs are effective for getting information out during a crisis. o Can be updated quickly – and are interactive: Stakeholders can post comment

and ask questions. 

•RSS can reach employees or stakeholders who are likely to subscribe to updates. 

•Podcasts and videos can be posted to sites like YouTube.  o Jet Blue’s apology on YouTube was effective use of video in a crisis.o Domino’s President among the most effective and speedy. 

•Websites still go-to source in times of emergency o For news media, AND for employees, family members and the community at large. o The KFC YouTube video responding to the rat situation had most hits from their

web site.

•Web allows you to update quickly and is a forum for the company’s stance on the situation. o Don’t wait for an emergency to have a plan/process for fast updates.o Consider a “dark site” created prior to an emergency

Response Formula 

• Admit the error

• Apologize

•Take corrective action

•Give people individual attention

Crisis Example

Motrin•Created a video that offended mothers who believed in attachment parenting (carrying baby in a sling).•Mommy bloggers—called Motrin Moms—were in an uproar.•Formed a Facebook group with more than 1,000 members in days.•Used the hashtag #motrinmoms on Twitter, a searchable tag, so moms—and the media—could follow the Twitter conversation. ResponseMcNeil Consumer Healthcare (Motrin) contacted some of the mommy bloggers by e-mail with a personal apology. The company also placed an apology on its web site. Better Response•Admit the error within the social media sphere, apologizing to mothers everywhere.•Contact the most vocal mommy bloggers, not just to apologize but to ask them for direct feedback on how Motrin could create a more positive and empowering message for moms. •Use the feedback to create a new, more positive ad campaign, and give kudos to the online mom communities and mommy bloggers for their input.

Final Advice •Have a Media Policy

•Have a Social Media Policy •Don’t wait for crisis to begin to understand these tools... you won’t be able to do it

•Don’t wait to begin building your audiences – may be too late! 

Social media in B2B: Key takeaways

• The most important step in social media has nothing to do with social media

• Understand when and why a social media channel should be used

• Regardless of the channel, look at the ‘science’ behind the execution – and never ignore the human factor

• The best way to get better is to get better – tweet, post, blog more!

• Don’t wait until you need social media to learn social media

“Conversations among the members of your marketplace happen whether you like it or not. Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations.”

– Seth Godin