Activating social media for brands
Transcript of Activating social media for brands
Activating social media for your brand March 22, 2011
Overview
• Define your objectives • There are many reasons to engage in social networks, be clear on what yours are
• Know your measures of success • Be sure that you’re using the right metrics to measure the success of your efforts
• Listen–and learn • Find the social white space by observing your consumers and competitors
• Define your role, offering and behavior in this community • People are looking to feel valued and find value (social currency). What do you have to offer?
• Plan for contingencies • Things don’t always go as they should
• You’re a media brand now, resource (and budget) appropriately • Must-have items before you start
• Be social, flexible and open to change • Collected wisdom on best practices
• Measure, monitor and optimize • Data will show how the story is unfolding. Here are some things to watch.
There are many reasons to engage in social networks, be clear on what yours are
New consumers?
Customer service?
Build relationships?
Discover opportunities?
Define your objectives
Know your measures of success
New consumers?
Customer service?
Build relationships?
Discover opportunities?
• Likes/follows • Brand and social metrics • Conversions
• Reduced costs at other service channels, e.g., call center • Improved sentiment in reviews
• Repeat visitation • “Unlikes” (unsubscribes) v. likes • Commenting, content engagements and shares, etc.
• Actionable ideas to improve or enhance products and services
Be sure that you’re using the right metrics to measure the success of your efforts
Listen – and Learn
• Who are the people you wish to reach (big picture)?
• Who are the key influencers? • Where do your targets spend time online
(in what communities) – • –And when are they online? • What do they care about/talk about?
What do they do online? • Why do they care about those things?
• What are your competitors doing?
Find the social white space by observing your consumers and compe;tors
Define your role, offering and behavior
• What value can you provide your community? Why should they engage with you?
• How will you engage people and key influencers?
• What is your brand voice in this context? • What kind of content will you offer – and
how often? • How should your presence here integrate
with your other channels? (e.g., drive to website, etc.)
• PS: It’s not all about you
People are looking to feel valued and find value (social currency). What are you offering?
Plan for contingencies
• Complainers, bashers, trolls, etc. can disrupt when you least expect them
• Establish policies so that teams know how to respond – and approvals can be streamlined
Things don’t always go as they should, be prepared
Resource (and budget) appropriately
Things to have: • A content strategy outlining who you’re
engaging, how you’ll engage them and on what schedule (among other things) (see p. 6)
• An engagement plan for how your social network presence will interact with your other online channels
• A community manager who behaves like a brand steward. He or she should be able carry on a fluid and authentic exchange with your audience.
• IOW: It’s probably not the intern.
The need to offer consumers fresh and relevant content and experiences in social networks are forcing all brands to behave like media companies
Being social: Some best practices
Successful brands: • Grow their Facebook fan bases (“Likes”) by offering exclusive content and deals
• Consumers can only obtain them if they “like” the brand
• Have “news” on an ongoing basis, targeting a range of interests • They engage their target consumers on an ongoing basis by continually finding ways to be fresh and
relevant (i.e., coupon offers and product tips are good but not enough) • Contests, events, challenges, exclusive video, etc.
• Practice good conversational techniques • Soliciting – and engaging with - consumers’ own news, opinions, perspectives, and content • Allow consumers to initiate their own posts on brand wall
• Help consumers look smart or “cool” and entertaining in front of their friends • A.k.a. “social currency”
• Make general participation easy; make challenges fun • Attract, elevate and empower hand-raisers
Be flexible and open to change
• As interactions progress, you may find that your audience is bringing you topics, ideas and opportunities that you didn’t anticipate.
• Be prepared to adjust course.
Measure, monitor and optimize
• Community growth (likes/follows) • Activity and engagement:
• Content views and completions • Application usage • Commenting and content sharing (retweets
and similar) • Repeat visitation
• Impressions and “social impressions” • Conversions • Brand mentions and sentiment in online
chatter
Data will show how the story is unfolding, here are some things to watch
Questions?