First, the bad news.

According to a recent study by !
the Association of National Advertisers:
77% of marketers are reducing
their advertising budgets
Source: http://www.ana.net/news/content/1622 (Feb. 10, 2009)

Where are the cuts?
o Departmental travel and expenses (87%)
o Ad campaign media budgets (77%)
o Ad campaign production (72%)
o Agency costs and expenses (68%)
o New project launches (58%)

The real bad news?

Those who stop advertising:
o Lose money, especially in the long term
o See a 20-30% drop in sales over 2 years
o Rebound slower after the recession
Source: “Marketing in a Recession: 10 Things to Remember,” Adweek, Feb. 2, 2009

“This is not the time to cut advertising.
It is well documented that brands !
that increase advertising during a recession !
can improve market share at lower cost than
during good economic times.”
— Professor John A. Quelch
Harvard Business School

The moral?
Social media is not !
a replacement !
for paid advertising.

Ready for some \"
good news?

“Tight budgets will !
prod businesses to do !
what all the preaching
and prodding won’t.”
— Lisa Hoffmann,
NewMediaLisa.com

75% of marketing executives
predict advertisers will move more than a
quarter of media time and spending away
from traditional channels over 5 years.

Where’s the money going?

A recent survey of marketers’ \"
priorities for 2009 included:
o Social media (68%)
o E-mail marketing (60%)
o Blogs (56%)
o Online video (51%)
o Microsites (43%)
Source: Junta42 e-mail survey, December 2009

So what is social media?
Social media is any
tool that lets you
share information and
network with others.

So what is social media?
• Blogging
• Chat Rooms
• Micro-blogging
• Podcasts
• Social networks
• Virtual worlds
• Video sharing
• Wikis
• Photo sharing
• Applications

How are marketers using
social media?

Social marketing is a mix of:
o Public relations
o Advertising
o Content strategy
o Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
o Web development

One approach:
Encourage the conversation

In just five weeks, Little Debbie’s !
100 Calorie Snack outreach sparked:
o 98 posts on 71 blogs
o More than 5,000 reader comments
o 830 new followers on Twitter

HP’s “31 Days of the Dragon”
o Gave laptops to 31 bloggers
o Laptops then given away to readers
o 84% increase in HDX Dragon sales
o 10% increase in overall PC sales
Source: The Viral Garden, Sept. 29, 2008

Another approach:
Join the conversation

Who’s on Twitter?
o Starbucks
o Ford
o Whole Foods
o Southwest
o GM
o Dunkin Donuts
o Dell
o Honda
o Kodak
o Zappos
o Comcast
o Red Cross
o Little Debbie
o H&R Block
o Rubbermaid
o Hertz
o Home Depot
o Nationwide

In December 2008, \"
Dell estimated it had made \"
$1 million in sales thanks to Twitter.

Twitter helps companies be:
o Proactive with customer service
o Efficient with their PR
o Useful to their customers

And yes,
Blogging is still important.
Perhaps more than ever.

A corporate blog offers you:
o A hub for all your social efforts
o A place to explain your side of the story
o An incredibly stronger search presence
o An open forum with your customers

Yet another approach:
Start the conversation

4 million views on YouTube

7 million views, multiple remixes on YouTube

Saying you want to create a !
viral video!
is like saying you want to write
a best-selling book

A successful ‘viral’ needs:
Something totally new
o
Lots of money and time
o
Lots of guts
o
Lots of luck
o
A strong distribution plan
o

What else is out there?
o Facebook pages, apps and causes
o Branded apps for iPhones, Android, etc.
o Alternate reality games
o Interactive online video
o Oh, and blogging. That’s still important.

Who should be doing \"
social media for companies?

Consultants?
Pros:
o Short-term commitment
o Usually focused on training
Cons:
o Little accountability
o Can have a cookie-cutter approach
o Often overstate experience

PR agencies?
Pros:
o Long experience with outreach, !
crisis management and conversation-starting
Cons:
o Still addicted to press releases
o Larger agencies too bureaucratic
o Don’t empower clients to get involved

Buzz agencies?
Pros:
o Savvy with new media and metrics
o Hungry for work, clients and case studies
Cons:
o Little accountability and track record
o Often repackage same tools
o Limited resources for bigger projects

Internal PR staff?
Pros:
o Close understanding of the corporate culture
o Access to many parts of the company
Cons:
o Close understanding of the corporate culture
o Few resources for design and development

Ad agencies?
Pros:
o Good design, interactive and writing skills
o Understand complementary role of paid media
Cons:
o Too often think of social media in terms of
campaigns or publicity stunts, not long-term
communication

There’s no right answer,
except to find a partner you trust.
And then get out there and do some
incredible things.

Thanks for your time.
david.griner@luckie.com
Twitter.com/griner
TheSocialPath.com