What’s the Value?: Monetising online communities and building value

Joanne JacobsSocial Media Consultant

joanne@joannejacobs.net

@joannejacobsbgsbjj

Scope

• ‘Value’ and social media• Retail and social media stats• Case study: Gurgle• Case study: Book Army• Emergent retailing opportunities with social media• Rethinking ‘monetisation’

Value & Social Media 1

• ‘Value’ versus ‘monetisation’– What do you want to achieve?– What revenue streams do you need to be

sustainable/profitable/change your retail proposition?

Value and Social Media 2

• ‘Value’ versus ‘utility’– Value drawn from demographics,

market research and product testing– £ value income generation from the

channel and/or conversions

Facts and Stats (1)

December 2008, Source: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/31/top-social-media-sites-of-2008-facebook-still-rising/

Facts and Stats (2)

January 2009, Source: http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Adult_social_networking_data_memo_FINAL.pdf.pdf

Facts and Stats (3)

January 2009, Source: http://www.emarketer.com/

Facts and Stats (4)

March 2009, Source: http://www.coremetrics.co.uk/solutions/industry-report.php

Facts & Stats (5)

March 2009, Source: http://server-uk.imrworldwide.com/pdcimages/Global_Faces_and_Networked_Places-

A_Nielsen_Report_on_Social_Networkings_New_Global_Footprint.pdf

Background:– Launched October 2007– Joint Mothercare & Fleming Media investment– 50,000 registered users by April 2008– Launched to US and India in June 2008– >90,000 registered users by April 2009 (200,000+ uniques/month)

What does it do:– Provides ‘safe’ space for pregnant women and young families to

share stories, find information on relevant issues, and communicate with people in same situation

– Non-exclusive promotion of products– Generates advertising revenue

TOP DOWN

BOTTOM UP

Sharing Stories

Product promotion:

• Mothercare• Other brands

Ad revenue generation

Social media components:– Chat & Answers section– Uploads– Comments on all items– Facebook app– Polls– Bookmarking/integration

Background:– Went to Beta in December 2008– Joint Harper Collins & Fleming Media investment– Approx 30,000 users by April 2009 – Not due to launch properly until July 2009

What does it do:– User generated reviews of books and recommendation engine– Promotion of Harper Collins books and authors– Generates advertising revenue

Reviews and Recommendations

HC Book and Author profiles

Ad and Referral Revenue

Clicking this….

… takes you to e-tailing partner.

Emergent Opportunities for Retail

• Twitter represents a great opportunity to:– Research perception of brands– Track product launches– Respond to questions in real time

• Vendor Relationship Management– ‘Markets are conversations’– Sustainability dependent

on lifetime value of customer

Rethinking monetisation

• Monetisation doesn’t have to involve e-tailing conversions– Market research– Product testing– Reviews and recommendations– Distributed, or reduced-cost customer service

• Social networks don’t have to be all ad revenue driven– Can sell premium information services, event participation, other

services.

Questions?

Joanne JacobsSocial Media Expert Consultant

Email: joanne@joannejacobs.netOffice: 0208 144 9348Mob: 07948 318 298

Twitter: @joannejacobsSkype: bgsbjj