October 28, 2008
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You Can Do It We Can (Still) Help
It. Help.
Social Media and The Home Depot
Nick Ayres
10.28.08

Where Do You Shop?
Today,
Today it just depends.
depends
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Overview of the Landscape
 Traditionally, The Home Depot has been synonymous
with home improvement expertise and best-in-class
customer service
 In recent years this reputation has come under fire
years, fire,
impacting our brand preference
3

A Very Public Trial
March 2007 MSN article:
7,000+ comments
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The Big Idea
 Social media gives us the opportunity to create
lasting brand differentiation by:
 Recapturing ground we've lost with existing
customers, or those on the fence
 Connecting with a new set of customers
 Engaging our associates in ways that are
relevant to their lifestyles
 Simply put, social media
is a growing part of our
digital orange apron
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Example #1: Twitter and Natural Disasters
 The Home Depot is a leader in natural disaster
preparation, repair and recover efforts, for both
our customers and our associates
t d i t
 The challenge: Could social media help us
reach further faster?
further,
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How Did We Engage?
 Trusted
 Ti l
Timely
 Relevant
 Accurate
 Appropriate
pp p
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The Results
 Extremely positive
commentary, both
externally and
internally
 Building block for
long-term brand
preference
 Added a human
face to the “online”
brand
 Did we drive short-
term sales?
Maybe. Was that
y
the point? No.
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Example #2: Video Syndication
 Reality check: homedepot.com is a destination – but not
the only destination – for home improvement know how
homedepot.com/tv
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Video Syndication Tactics and Results
 How did we engage?
 Identified destinations
that made sense and
were contextual to our
brand promise
 Started small and are
building over time
 Following the same
rules: Be trusted, timely,
, y,
relevant, accurate and
appropriate
 Response so far?
 Mostly positive, always
candid feedback about
content and context
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Tips and Best Practices
 Start at the beginning as often as possible
 Fi d others at your company who are passionate about
Find th t h i t b t
the brand and the space, and make them evangelists
 Scratch and claw for small wins, then use them to
capture the imagination of an executive champion
 Do not let social media turn into another \"campaign”
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Q
Questions?
ti ?
Examples from the presentation:
Follow us on Twitter @TheHomeDepot
Check out our how-to videos @ homedepot.com/youtube
Nick Ayres
The Home Depot
nicholas_j_ayres@homedepot.com
Twitter: @nickjayres
FriendFeed: nickjayres
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