Crafting an Engagement Strategy

DITCHING COMMUNICATIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT: a strategic approach
Eric Weaver | Tribal DDB
Social Media Breakfast
12/1/09

Topics
WHY engagement?
The traditional marketing model
Why the wheels have fallen off
New approaches to revenue
WHAT is an engagement strategy?
What does it consist of?
HOW marketing can rethink its approach for engagement
Some thought starters

Our (Formerly) Glamorous Life
3

The ground rules
Built in a known environment of limited product choice
Limited media channels
Longer brand interactions
Higher barriers to entry
4

Meanwhile, back at the recession…
5

revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue
revenue revenue revenue revenuerevenue revenue
6

“Are you asking for a budget increase?”
7

Cultural shifts and Marketing
8
Source: Agent Wildfire

ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE’S RISK
People turn to peers when time is short, risk is greater
WE TRUST PEERS THE MOST
(57%); 13% trust advertisers/marketers (least trusted group)
Trust
drives transactions
PEOPLE BUY TRUST
Trust drives preference: 91% buy from trusted companies; 77% refuse to buy from distrusted
TRUST IS WIDELY SPREAD
56% age 35-64, 63% 25-34 share trust/distrust on the web
2008-2009 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

Hmmm: if peers are the most trusted and we are the least, what if we put our brands into the hands of the market?
66% of touchpoints are now consumer-generated
Banner ads have an average .19%clickthrough, while Facebook fan page announcements have a 6.5%clickthrough
WHY? The mental gauntlet is down
APPROACH: Craft brand content nuggets and trust builders
Testimonials
Interviews
Leadership/product management commentary
CRUCIAL: Set your brand and value messaging guardrails
10

12
BOOMERS = propriety. Trained in formalities, don’t offend, guarded means safe, not so great with “random.” Suit & tie = trust.
GEN Y = affinity. Formalities ignored, sharing means finding, tech is easy, random is life. Consider your lens. Suit & tie = distrust.

Let’s talk strategy
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First of all, what’s a strategy?
Simply put, a strategic vision — an end point — and a plan to get there
It’s not about the channels
Honestly assess your starting point
Audit your customers and prospects
Review competitive SWOT
Determine approach and action steps
Short-term, mid-term, long-term
Here’s where your tools come in
Staffing and support
Determine success metrics, KPIs
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15
Envision an end goal
FLICKR: @SLUDGEGULPER

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How can customers engage with you today?
Who are your brand zealots? Ambassadors? Naysayers?
What topics are tied to your brand? Your firm?
How is the competition engaging with your customer/prospect base? Threats? Opportunities?
Honestly assess your starting point
FLICKR: @BEN+SAM

Where’s your offering today?
Social marketing
Never started, yes but not yet, stuck/unsure, baby steps, active
Feedback channels
Retail, mail, web, email, phone, blog, external monitoring, branded social channels, customer advisory panels
Value proposition
Information, promos, media, tools
Relevance
Impulse, low need, high need, essential
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AFFINITY/SHARING: Forwarding/Bookmarking/WallPosting
Content that triggers feelings of identity, tribe, bragging rights
Content that provides reference information
FEEDBACK: Commenting/Reviewing
Editorial content
Ask for feedback
ADVOCACY: Faving. Fanning. Blogging.
Cause and value messaging/content
FANDOM: Mashups/Media/FanSites.
Provide malleable content
Empower ambassadors
19
Action steps

Forrester’s Technographic segmentation model
20

Two different approaches
MANAGE INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS BY CHANNEL
CRAFT MESSAGE, CONTENT BY VENUE
Call center
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Direct
Events
Flickr
YouTube
FOSTER CUSTOMER DRIVES TO ENGAGE
LET CUSTOMERS DETERMINE MOST EFFECTIVE CHANNEL
Start with affinity, trust, transparency
Create feedback channels
Assign listeners, conversationalists, and content creators
21

BRANDED SITE
EXTERNAL MKTG-MANAGED PRESENCE
EXTERNAL THIRD-PARTY SITE
TRADITIONAL MEDIA/PR
Integrated Traditional/Social Marketing Mix
AWARENESS
NEED
DETERMINATION
EVALUATION/COMPARISON
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
TOPICAL COMMUNITIES:
IP, HELPFUL TIPS
PRODUCT LAUNCH MICROSITE
CONSUMER
STYLE SHARING
AMAZON
S T O R Y T E L L I N G
DOT-COM SITE
HELPFUL RESOURCES
SEO
COMMENTS
EVENTS
COMPANY BLOG (IP)
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
ONLINE SAMPLING
E-COMMERCE PARTNER
ONLINE
YOUTUBE CHANNEL: STORYTELLING, IP
PRINT
EXTERNAL BLOGS: IP, FASHION TIPS
OUTDOOR
PR
PRODUCT SEEDING PGMS
RETAIL

Consider including a trust strategy
If trust is the primary lever of revenue
Where are you trusted?
Create amplifier opportunities for brand zealots
Video testimonials
Where are you distrusted?
Provide open, transparent proof points that can be found
Testimonials and interviews
Inside looks
Open dialogue with the market
Lead with trust weak spots
Takes the wind out of naysayers
23

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Trust generated, 2300 new accounts, $4 million.

PROOF OF INTENTION: leveraging social causes to focus conversation (and brand) on giving back.
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So, remember
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Follow the social marketing mantras
Peer marketing extends your sales force along trust channels that you cannot buy
Social marketing is a commitment, not a campaign
Plan staffing appropriately
Outsource temporarily if need be
Be transparent about everything except that which cannot be
Polar opposite to Boomer privacy issues
May take sell-in with management, legal
Be fearless
This is the most exciting area of marketing!
You’re at the cusp of a transformation!
Engage openly, but with response guardrails and internal governance
“Cool people” don’t suffer fools – neither should your organization
Let the market decide how you’re doing (they’d do it anyway)
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As you write your strategy
Any tactic should clearly ladder up to the overarching strategy
Consider how you will phase your engagement approach
What kind of kickoff?
What can staffing accomplish?
Which tactics to try first?
What learnings can inform future engagement efforts?
As you examine your audiences, consider creating personas that will help create organizational empathy and understanding
Clearly state your mandatory requirements for success
X conversationalists, Y monitors, Z content creators
Agency or in-house? Automated or qualitative?
Clearly state your success metrics
Increase in time-on-site? Sentiment? Twitter fans? Retweets?
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FLICKR: @JACOB DAVIES
And don’t let that commitment—or that strategy—fizzle
Get buy-in
Management must understand the cultural shifts and buy into plan
Stay focused!
Don’t let day-to-day duties stall your efforts
Hold people accountable
Who’s responsible for each action step?
Follow up, adjust and readjust
Plans change, adjust accordingly
Set a timetable for reexamination
Tie what you’re doing to organizational goals
Management can’t argue with approaches that support mission, goals
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About Tribal DDB Vancouver
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Part of a worldwide network of tribes
53 full-service offices
25 countries
1,500 people

Expertise
Services
Digital brand strategy
Customer experience design
Usability
Interactive advertising
Media planning & buying
Engagement & social marketing strategies
Social network/community design
Community cultivation (via @RadarDDB)
Search engine marketing
Engagement analytics
Platforms
Web
Mobile/iPhone
Interactive interfaces
Kiosks
GPS

Our North American Clients

THANK YOU
ericw@tribalddb.ca
slideshare.net/weave
206-905-9328

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Crafting an Engagement Strategy

by Eric Weaver on Dec 01, 2009

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Crafting an Engagement Strategy — Presentation Transcript