Social Media and Business Applications

Keith Feighery: Digital Media Strategist

What is Social Media?

Quick overview of social media

• The use of Technology to:– Develop, enable and be part of communities

• Internally and externally for organisations– Create and share content and information– Engage in conversations and extend social networks– Connect with people and groups– Listen and participate in discussions, threads and

develop ideas and relationships with others– Learn from others

Why should business use social media ?

Business & Social media

• Listening– Crucial to hear what the public is saying about you

• Engage with Customers– Once you know what they’re saying and what platforms they are saying it from – you

can then interact with them

• Benefits– Build real communities online– Build long lasting relationships and trust with customers– Reduce customer acquisition costs– Increase customer retentions– Instant polling and research opportunity with customers

• Cost– Initial set-up costs are relatively low – reduced production and media purchase spend– Main overhead is personnel resource & time

Running a social media campaign

Elements of a social media campaign

• Essentials of a successful campaign– Know your target audience– Plan goals and aims of campaign– Prepare internal organisation for impact of social media – Identify stakeholders and task them with ownership– Pick platforms and tools that relate to your identified

audience– Implement a pilot programme and monitor and analyse

campaign progress– Revise approach and campaign based on feedback– Roll-out on different platforms and business areas

incrementally

Implementing a social media campaign

• Benchmark existing stats– Current site statistics – Twitter followers, Facebook fans, Digg Links, existing traffic etc..– Identify SEO rankings, referrals from sites, customer satisfaction scores– Quantify ROI benchmarks – customer acquisition, advertising spend

per channel

• Design and develop the campaign– Decide on channels– Stakeholders – Expectations– Pilots– Revision points– Monitoring process– Engagement process

Metrics that can be measured

• Traffic– Traffic volumes, PPC, Organic, sources, keywords, affiliates, time spent on site, bounce

rates etc..• Levels of Interaction

– Comments etc… - engaged customers are quality customers• Sales

– Targeted Landing pages for specific channels (Dell generated 1.5M sales on twitter in 18 months)

• Leads/Conversions– If not possible to convert online – therefore create other mesaurable conversions

• Links– Video links – Tagged: YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv– Blog Links – trackbacks, comments, direct references– Digg Links

• Brand Metrics – Positive Brand Associations– Word of Mouth– Brand Awareness– Propensity to Buy– Brand Recall

Using Social Media within an organisation

Internal usage of social media

• Enables Collaboration and Content Generation– Manage knowledge, share best practices & communicate

and co-ordinate company/project activities– Solicit expert advice from internal and external sources

• Enables Expert Community Building– Create large scale expert distributed communities– Communicate externally about product development– Brand building and marketing development

• Making use of information markets and resources– Broad participation in strategic development and ideas

generation – both internally and externally

Social Media Platforms

Platform Types

• Social Networks– Facebook, MySpace, Bebo (Main ones in US and Europe)

• Blogging/Micro-Blogging– WordPress, Twitter, Laconica, Tumblr, Present.ly, Yammer

• Video, Audio & Photo sharing– YouTube, Vimeo, Seesmic, 12Seconds, Vidder – Flickr, MugShot, Photobucket– Blip.fm, Last.fm, Pandora, Spotify– Podcasts & Videocasts

• Aggregators/Status management– FriendFeed, SocialThing!, PeopleBrowser, Ping.fm

• Bookmarks/Tagging/Rating– Delicious, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Technorati, Digg

• Collaboration Networks– Wikis, Shared Workspaces, Forums, Commenting Networks (BackType, Disqus)

Social Networking Sites

• Bebo– Age group 14 yrs – 20 yrs– Entertainment based– Very effective – but campaign must engage with users– Social capital rewards– User generated content– Incentives

• MySpace– Age group 16 yrs – 24 Yrs– Like Bebo, media and entertainment based– Jan 09 - 124 M unique users – 2% declne in traffic (Comscoore)– 81 Million Users (3% Drop in users over 2008 – Nielsen)– More Music based (historically – but becoming Open platform)– Campaign success depends on level of engagement with users

Facebook

• Functional social networking platform more so than Bebo and MySpace– Emphasis is on Communicating with Friends

• Most users regardless of numbers of friends engage with est. 30 users– Largest Social Networking site – Jan 09 – 276 million unique users – increase of 16.6 % (Comscore) – In UK – est. 47% online community use Facebook

• Fastest growing user-base is 35-49 Age cohort– Now attracting twice as many users as MySpace (TechCrunch)– Is the fastest growing SocNet at present

• in terms of number of users – twitter growing at 1400% over last 12 months– Less advertising friendly than Bebo and MySpace (Nielsen)– Businesses can create fan, product or group pages (re-worked recently – early March 09)– Main markets in North America and Europe– Interestingly, due to cultural and linguistic (as well as regulatory challenges) domestic

networks dominate in China and Japan • 51 in China• Mixi in Japan• Orkut 29 times more popular than Facebook in Brazil

Micro-blogging: Twitter

• Excellent B2B and B2C networking tool• Great potential for building relationships

– Directly with customers– Good examples Zappos, Dell, Comcast

• Good listening tool – What is being said about you and most importantly are you hearing

it?

• Easy to engage with customers– Reach out to them and resolve issues and improve service to them– Opportunity to convey a personal dimension rather than marketing

speak

• Becoming mainstream but still only 10 million unique users– 1400% growth over past 12 months

Video Sites

• Very useful marketing tool– BlendTec and Diet Coke/Mentos– User-generated content

• Run competitions for customers to build content (see Pat The Baker example)

• Extending digital footprint and brand-building purposes– Create engaging content, tag videos with keywords

and distribute on a wide network– Post all content and video blogs on your website and

distribute on free video sharing sites

Social Bookmarking & RSS

• Add Bookmark Buttons to sites– Sociable, AddThis, Share are widely used

• Link all social profiles from website – Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, GetSatisfaction.com,

YouTube, MySpace, Bebo, Slideshare.net etc.

• Ensure that RSS is enabled– Feedburner, GoogleReader, MyYahoo, NetVibes

• Add rating and individual bookmark buttons– Digg, Technorati, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious

• Yahoo Pipes– RSS and Lifestream aggregator

Blogging

• Common Blogging Platforms– WordPress, Type Pad, Bloggers, Blogspot

• Excellent way of engaging with readers – Inform followers what is of interest to you

• Can use an informal style – Show human face of organisation

• Participate in wider conversations – Leave comments, interact, generate interest, etc..

• Search Engines – Love regularly updated content

• Now MNCs are encouraging employees to Blog and engage with social media– IBM, Dell, Intel and Cisco

Listening Tools

• Using the following tools brands can listen online to what is being said about them– Commercial aggregated listening tools

• BuzzMetrics, TNS Cymphony, Biz360, DJ insight, Visible, Radian6, TrackUr, BuzzLogic

– Twitter • Twittersearch, Tweetbeep, TweetDeck

– Blogs • BackType, Technorati, Techmeme, Disquss, GoogleBlogSearch,

WhosTalking.com, iceRocket– Alerts

• Google Alters– Customise Searches into RSS feeds and subscribe in RSS readers

• Using these, brands can listen to what is being said about them and manage reputation

Case Studies

Dell Case Study

• Dell-Hell Blog– Buzzmachine : Dell refused to engage with him - created a very

critical blog that snowballed– Appalling publicity – made onto cover of Businessweek

• How Dell reacted– Now Dell one of most active social media companies – blogs, twitter,

product ideas/feedback site – Ideas Storm – Customer recommendation platform– Encourages employees to blog and engage with tools like twitter– Monitors brand using Visible Technologies – TruCast

• Benefits– Improved customer service – real-time support using Twitter– Brand Enhancement, product improvement, customer service,

employee empowerment

Dell Case Study

Bebo & Pat The Baker

• Unlikely brand to become a template on how to run a social media campaign

• Engaged with their audience (very well)– Blogs, updates, conversational, responded to comments

and questions as they happened– User Interaction –

• Allowed and encouraged user feedback – solicited their opinions using Polls & questionnaires

– User generated competitions • Design related (skins, characters), video and

merchandise (T-shirts, bags)– Social capital as well as economic rewards

Pat The Baker

Zappos Online Retailer

• Use social media to be– Transparent and provide excellent customer service

• Prolific use of Twitter– Over 400 employees use it. CEO Tony Hsieh no.1 user

• Use blogs to – Give customers an insight into the company culture

• 75% of sales is customer repeat business• Talk with customers

– Support them thru sales process– Encourage them to drop by for office and warehouse tours

• Promote competitors– If goods not available at that point in time

Zappos

BlendTec

• Little known consumer brand (more industrial reputation) in the US

• Decided to run some low quality videos of CEO blending incongruous materials – iPhone, steel tins, golf balls

• Called it WillItBlend.com – instant success• Over 100Million views• Now have iPhone App• Raised profile of company in US and beyond• Low cost and highly effective

BlendTec

Diet Coke and Mentos

• Eepy Bird experiment– Two guys created a video mixing Mentos and Diet coke –

• Initial experiment video’ “Bellagio Fountain” Effect– Appearances of Letterman, Today Show – articles in Wall Street Journal and

New York Times– By September 2007 – viewed 18 million times on Revver; By 2009 – est. 120

Milllion views– Initially Coke resisted the craze – but then embraced as took off– Mentos (not well know in US at the time) immediately got on board – increase

in 20% of sales in 2007– Coke is now sponsor and partner to Eepy bird – est. minimum free $10M free

advertising– Traffic to Coke.com Doubled – Sales of Diet coke up 10%– Now established as a Guinness Book of Record – 1360 Bottles in Leuven

Belgium– Replicated across the world – 1000s of copycat videos

Diet Coke and Mentos

Skittles

• Recently turned Hompage into social webstream – Twitter updates, Facebook page,YouTube

• Brand was hijacked initially – Lots of puerile commentary on twitter stream (expletives etc)

• A lot of social media and marketing publicity – More negative than positive– However, are those who think very brave and only time will tell whether a

success or unmitigated failure

• Feeling that Skittles wanted to benefit from Social Media – Without truly engaging

• Interesting case as to how brands should engage through web and social media

• Highlights issue of brochure ware sites for brands – General feeling there needs to be another form of engagement with customers

other than bland websites

Skittles

Starbucks

• Set up a Starbucks idea site– To register user ideas, vote on them and then implement popular

ones

• Set up a community site to engage – With other socially minded starbucks fans - www.v2v.net

• Starbucks (Redcard) – Do something good everyday – HELP OTHERS around the world

• Set up http://starbucks.com/sharedplanet/ – To show commitment to the planet (green issues supporting

communities outside US)

• YouTube, Twitter, Facebook profiles– To connect with customers

Nokia

• Mosh– A Nokia site offering free safe content for phones– Applications, games, videos, widgets etc..

• Nokia Conversations– Blogs, news, events, future technologies, new applications, ideas and research– Twitter, LinkedIn, Slideshare, Kyte, FriendFeed, Delicious (some of these lighty used)

• Noki WOM– http://www.womworld.com– Integrated Nokia infostream to Social Media platforms

• Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Technorati, FriendFeed

• Discreet personalised Nokia Facebook profiles– Luca, Jade and Anna (Europe, Japan, US based) – Recording their lifestream on facebook

• Not without controversy– Wieden Kennedy’s Nokia Design Competition

• Demonstrated crowd-sourcing not without issues

Nokia

Starbucks

Nike

• Nike Plus– Integrated runner and nanoPod accelerometer tracking device– Community based training site – tracks runs, compete, train in teams– Route Planners – worldwide

• Nike.com – training programs– Create customised training programmes (Jordan program)

• Nike 6.0 – Community for skateboarders, X-country bikers, surfers, BMXers, Moto,

Snowboarders etc.

• NikeRunning– Information based – sharing, connecting with others, advice

• Blogs– Nikewomen – video training, program set-up, interviews and stories– NikeID – customised trainers

Nike

Intuit Business Service Co.

• Provides customer service and advice – Twitter, Blogs, wikis (accessed 2.7 million times) and

dedicated online advice sites

• Well crafted web2.0 site – Embedded customer feedback channels

• Two-way transmission of information – From customers to Accountants, Tax, Business services etc..

• Online Peer to Peer communicatin– Forums and Wikis

• Closed member feedback groups – For research and very frank opinions

Intuit Business Services

Southwest Airlines

• YouTube Channel– Reasonably Humorous– Tries to be transparent – company information etc..– Mantra: Low Fares. No Hidden Fees.

• Nuts About Southwest Flickr– 1000s of photos of planes – plane-spotter friendly– User generated content

• SouthWest Blog– Informal and irreverent– Integrated YouTube, Flickr, Twitter etc..– Best Tweet of the day – Dave the Rappin attendant– Run regular Polls – feedback loops

• Well manned presence of Twitter– Kudos from online community

Southwest Airlines

Flying Dog Brewery

• “Irreverent, provocative and purposeful” interactions• Use Twitter, Blog, Facebook and Flickr

– Chat and share sense of humour with followers– Organise meet ups with fans and customers– Take snap polls of customer likes and dislikes– Engage with followers real-time on Twitter– Show photostream on Flickr – having a good time with

real customers– Non-sanitised interactions on their blog

• Good template on how to use social media for small/medium sized businesses

Flying Dog Brewery

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Johnson & Johnson

• Organised Baby Camp – 56 influential mothers and bloggers – Gain word of mouth infuence– Not overtly J&J centric– Discussing issues that matter to families

• Run babycenter.com – Online community for Mums – Not 100% J&J branded – competitors advertise– Advice for Mothers– Reflects waning influence of print and TV

• J&J health Channel– Videos of people with real life health issues and lets them tell their stories

• Facebook – Acuminder– Useful Application to allow you to manage vision care routine

• Facebook – ADHD– A resource page for parents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (9000 fans)

• Motrin Ads caused furore with online “Mommy” Bloggers– J&J withdrew Ads (showing mothers suffering back problems from carrying baby)

Johnson & Johnson

Walmart

• 11 Moms Blogs– Eleven Mom Bloggers who offer advice to families– Different types of Mom (Geek, Classy, Frugal,Domestic Diva etc.)– Not an overt advert for Walmart brand– Kudos from Analyst community (Jeremiah Owyang)

• Also has difficult online relations– Walmart Watch– Working Families for Walmart– Both very critical of Walmart policies– Facebook page hacked – bad publicity around adoption of web

2.0– Myspace campaign panned – ends after 10 weeks– Walmarting across America – very mixed reviews

Walmart

American Red Cross

• Bad Public reputations – After Hurricane Katrina

• Started listening to what public was saying online about them– Blogsearch, twitter, alerts

• Started engaging with public – Initially started commenting to blog posts and other discussion threads and over

time embraced Twitter and Facebook etc…

• Now use Local Twitter Accounts – Connect directly – notify people of warnings/shelters/services etc..– Public update them of safety issues

• Use Flickr and YouTube – So community can share worldwide photos and videos of all experiences and

activities

• Facebook Pages – Update users with information

American Red Cross

Whole Foods

• Social initiatives– Wholefoods Foundation– Local producer loan foundation (lends up to $10M PY)– Engage with local communities – 5% giving days

• Social Platforms Used– Blogs, Twitter (165,000 Followers), Facebook (52,000 fans)

• Engage with customers– Feedback– Customer Service

• Mediums used– Runs competitions (videos, photos)– Broadcast cooking video– Photos

Whole Foods

New York Times

• 60 Blogs integrated with RSS feeds– Very broad content focus

• Created realtime share repository for NYT articles - TimesPeople

• Links to external story sources (direct competitors)• Facebook Profile

– Video, Photos, Comments, Individualised and local content– Discussions

• Twitter Account– Newsfeed

• Getting some Analyst credit since launched TimesPeople and external links

New York Times

Wall Street Journal

• Over 40 Blogs of wide ranging content– Individual tone rather than journalistic– E.g. Tracking 8 execs laid off in 2007/08– Management, Foreign Affairs, Markets, Digital Media

etc…

• Twitter – Mainly News Feed

• Tepid response from Analysts of social media adoption to date– General Gartner

Wall Street Journal

Future Developments

Looking to the Future

• Using social and demographic graph information • Single CustomerID and information

– Data Federation (user controls and owns personal info)

• Proliferation and ubiquity of Mobile Apps• Increased aggregation across all social

applications• Semantic and social search

– Relate search to previous search patterns, what friends like, registered personal information