Engaging Readers in the Digital Age

January 26, 2010 // http://digitalbookworld.com
Engaging Readers in the Digital AgeKeynote Presentation at Digital Book WorldShiv Singh@shivsinghhttp://goingsocialnow.com

Welcome :)
David Kenny

These are difficult times for everyone
US unemployment rate between 1999 and 2009.

But social media is exploding
Facebook’s growth rate within the United States.

And startups are creating ripples too
Scribd.com traffic. It is an alternative publishing model.

We’re also spending more time online
1999 : 7 hours 2000 : 7 hours 2001 : 7 hours 2002 : 7 hours 2003 : 9 hours 2004 : 8 hours 2005 : 9 hours 2006 : 9 hours 2007 : 11 hours 2008 : 14 hours 2009 : 13 hours
David Kenny

But what does this all mean for publishing?

Businesses need to act differently in 2010 or others will displace them.It’s time to reinvent.
Did you know that the HBR reinvented itself by dramatically changing the feel of its publication just as it ran a cover story on businesses needing to reinvent?

We’ve seen this happen before.It could happen to you if you’re not careful.
The best carriage manufacturers in the world still went out of business. As book publishers that’s something to worry about.

So here are 5 ideas to help you think about how to change.Disclaimer – Applicability of some of these ideas vary by genre, publisher type, size of publisher and may apply only at the topic level.

1. Build consumer brands because your current value chain is breaking

1
IDEA
They don’t need you as much as they once did. Why?
They can connect to readers directly and build their own brands. And they’re doing so today.
YOUR AUTHORS
YOUR B2B BRAND
YOUR DISTRIBUTION
YOUR CUSTOMERS

1
IDEA
Gary first created an audience (a huge one) and then signed a million dollar book contract. If you wait until your authors have audiences that are too large, you won’t be able to afford them.
Social media lets authors create audiences. You need to find authors right before they explode.

1
IDEA
Readers can connect directly with your authors too.
Just look at the blog or Facebook page of a popular author.
YOUR AUTHORS
YOUR B2B BRAND
YOUR DISTRIBUTION
YOUR CUSTOMERS

1
IDEA
When people read books today, they also go to the Internet to learn more about the author.
It takes minutes to set up a fan page on Facebook and start engaging with readers. Every author is doing this.
Authors can do this on your platforms or your Facebook pages.

1
IDEA
Your distributors are deepening their connection with readers.
They’re learning much more about readers than you’ll ever know.
YOUR AUTHORS
YOUR B2B BRAND
YOUR DISTRIBUTION
YOUR CUSTOMERS

1
IDEA
The Kindle, the Nook and the iPad are changing the dynamics of your industry. You can fight it or leverage it.
It may appear that your distribution channels are moving into the digital age more quickly than you are.

1
IDEA
And readers are letting them control much more.
They’re giving them more information than they realize.
YOUR AUTHORS
YOUR B2B BRAND
YOUR DISTRIBUTION
YOUR CUSTOMERS

1
IDEA
What my book retailer will know about me:
Usage Data
They know how many pages I’ve read
Which books I’m reading this minute
When do I drop off from reading a book
Where I choose to read books
Social Media data
Which reviews most influence me to purchase
Whether I am an influencer getting people to buy
How tight is my relationship to an author or a bookstore

1
IDEA
You’re losing control of your own destiny. Authors, distributors and readers are getting closer to each other.
YOUR AUTHORS
YOUR B2B BRAND
YOUR DISTRIBUTION
YOUR CUSTOMERS

1
IDEA
That’s why you need to be a consumer brand.
http://www.goingsocialnow.com/2010/01/sim-trends-for-2010-keynote-pr.php

1
IDEA
SIM Voices
Multiple, authentic individual voices
Transparent and googleable
Engaging and conversational
Appears where conversations are
Unique to the person not the company
Manifested in a real person
Used only by real people
Brand Voices
Singular company voice
Reflects the brand personality
Everybody follows the brand voice
Appears in all brand touch points
Usually unique to the company
Sometimes manifested in a person
Used everywhere –signage to ads

1
IDEA
Brand VoicesSocial Voices Social Brand
Who will be your social voices? Your marketers and editors? Remember you need to have a voice too, as author/reader relationships aren’t typically 24/7 365 days a year. Yours can be. Your audiences need to be a 100 times larger than any single authors.

2. Take consumers from one book to another

2
IDEA
Today your business is Product Manager Driven
Product
Customers
Source: Rethinking Marketing, Harvard Business Review. January 2010

2
This happens with every book in isolation
IDEA
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Book 7
Book 8
And you rarely know how many readers of one book, migrate to the next book or influence others to buy books. You do not know your customer lifetime value.

2
IDEA
Tomorrow you may be Customer Manager Driven
Customers
Can you put your customers at the center of your business? Your customers matter more than what you publish. You need to know how much they’ve bought from you and how much they influence others to purchase.
Products
Source: Rethinking Marketing, Harvard Business Review. January 2010

2
IDEA
But what I feel you really need is a Community Manager Driven model
Customers
We act and behave in groups online across social networks. You must understand the community dynamics that surround your customers if you want to sell more books and develop a B2C brand.
Community
Products

2
IDEA
There are precedents in your space – book clubs. They are communities. Now they’re online. And just as in the wine business where there are wine clubs from producers, there’s no reason why there can’t be book clubs from publishers.
You can provide your members with discounts based on their lifetime value to you.

2
IDEA
What does this mean:1. Consumers act not as individuals but as communities too2. You need to find the communities online and market to them3. You must know the lifetime value of a customer and a community4. And provide discounts based on that lifetime value too
Just because the customer has already bought the book, it doesn't mean you should forget about him or her. That’s extremely key.

3. Bring your readers into the book development process

3
IDEA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Publisher identifies opportunity
Author contract signed
Author writes the book
Book is published
Book is bought by retailers
Book is sold to readers
Book goes into second print run
The book publishing process

3
IDEA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Book is published
Author involvement
Consumer participation
With some author/consumer involvement

3
IDEA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Book is published
Social Media
Author involvement
Consumer participation
The ideal state in the future

3
IDEA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Book is published
Conversation Mining to choose topics that would make popular books
Listening tools to identify authors who are about to explode
Publish the book as it’s written. Test outlines, titles and concepts
Leverage SIM strategies. Using the social platforms and influencers
Map sales based on social activity. Use social metrics to project sales
Use the community for the next edition. Ask readers what to publish next and how
Repeat but with readers who participate even more in the process

4. Leverage social influencers at every step

4
IDEA
It is not just about a platform; yours or anyone else's.

4
IDEA
72% of internet users say they are exposed to too much advertising
Are you doing anything about that?

4
IDEA
We haven’t known how to reach these people. (Think Amazon star ranked reviewers. They are the cool kids.)
And these have typically been ignored. (Friends & family who drive many decisions)
CUSTOMER
Do you know who the influencers are for each book? With social technologies you can find these people.
These continue to get the most attention
(The book review editor at the NY Times for example.)

4
IDEA
You probably don’t know her. But she’s an example of an influencer who’s affecting book sales more than you probably realize. Who are the new influencers for the books you publish?

5. Use the new form of measurement

5
IDEA
What’s your SIM Score?
SIM Score = Conversation Share + Sentiment*
*Adjusted for influence

5
IDEA
Trade Publisher SIM Scores
The people who do talk about publishers do so in favorable light. You have the right ingredients to become consumer brands.And you can use any major conversation monitoring vendor to get the data to compute your SIM Score. The formula is available at http://www.goingsocialnow.com

5
IDEA
Trade Publisher SIM Scores over time

5
IDEA
SIM Score questions to ask yourself
How does book PR impact the SIM Score?
Does the SIM Score change over the lifetime of a book?
Is the SIM Score a predictor of future book sales?
Can an author’s SIM Score be used to determine a book’s success?
How does your B2B SIM Score stack up against your competitors?

So are you evolving at the pace SIM is?
1
Experiments
The nephew tests
2
Social Platform Rush for Brands
3
SIM Strategy
Integrated Marketing
You’re somewhere on this continuum
4
Social Brands
Becoming more human
5
Real time Brands
with real time products
6
Managing the Community Model
And probably need to move into these areas too

5 IDEAS for Engaging readers in the digital age
Build consumer brands
Take consumers from one book to another
Bring readers into the book development process
Leverage social influencers at every step
Use the new forms of measurement
@shivsingh http://goingsocialnow.com

Thank You"Special thanks to Andy Dutter who provided valuable suggestions for this presentation"
Shiv Singh
http://goingsocialnow.com
twitter.com/shivsingh

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Engaging Readers in the Digital Age

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