Your Social Media Strategy Won't Save You

&$*#@@%&*!!! your social media by tara ‘missrogue’ hunt strategy won’t save you

twitter isn’t the answer.

facebook isn’t the answer.

blogs, vlogs, photosharing, text messaging and IM aren’t the answer.

none of these are guaranteed to

why? 1. social media doesn’t scale 2. social media is only a band-aid 3. social media is about...being social 4. trust is at an all-time low

1. it doesn’t scale

craigslist.org

“Craigslist gets more trafﬁc than either eBay or Amazon .com. eBay has more than 16,000 employees. Amazon has more than 20,000. Craigslist has 30.” sept 2009, wired magazine

craig’s social media strategy #1

craig’s social media strategy #2

craig understands that social media doesn’t scale, but creating a useful, working site that listens to its users does...

"The truth is that a lot of people complain about craigslist...few of them complain about the design...They seldom complain about amazing new features they imagine they might possibly want to use, because they are too busy complaining about the simple features they depend on that don't work as well as they'd like. By eliminating marketing, sales, and business development, craigslist's programmers have cut out all the cushioning layers that separate them from the users they serve..." sept 2009, wired

30 staff members.

number of social media gurus?

2. it’s just a band-aid

"For all the good that @comcastcares does on Twitter in order to help unhappy customers Comcast is still reviled for its lousy service." Steven Hodson, The Inquisitor, September 5, 2009

impressive! but wait...

ah...comcast cares is a charity!

results of a more likely search...

@comcastcares is a victim of our nepotism. We desire to validate ourselves so strongly, that we will idolize less than lofty examples.

"Customers wouldn’t feel the need to embarrass us en masse, if our customer service channels weren’t so completely broken." Bob Knorpp, The Beancast

why it’s a band-aid • not everyone that is having trouble with the company is going to be on twitter • the comcast staff on twitter don’t answer every complaint (I checked thru the last 3 days of complaints and only 1/3rd were addressed) • for those they DID answer, many people didn’t engage their ‘Can I help?’ dialogue • competitors also troll for the same keywords and take advantage of this • what happens when customers start asking, “WTF don’t you ﬁx the problem instead of just being my Twitter buddy?”

3. social media is about...being social!

we probably don’t need research to tell us this, but...

“we are wired to connect” Goleman on the ﬁndings of his research.

reasons why adults & teens use online networks adults teens Stay in touch with friends 89% 91% Make plans with friends 57 72 Make new friends 49 49 Organize with others for an event, issue or cause 43 n/a Make new business or professional contacts 28 n/a Promote yourself or your work 28 n/a Flirt 20 17 http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/Social-Networking.aspx

nowhere even close to the top of that list is the desire to be sold to...or ﬁnd interesting new products to buy...or have a chit chat with a brand representative...

our friends’ behaviors inﬂuence our behavior

wired mag: 12 sep 09 http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-10/ff_christakis

the social networks aren’t really changing us that much... • around the world, studies have shown people maintain between 4 and 7 close friends at any given time • in 2007, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, discussing the social graph, showed that the average user had about 110 ‘friends’ • social scientists wondered whether the web had changed our ability to have more close friends • Christakis and Fowler analyzed a universities data (students who had 110 average friends) and looked at close vs ‘internet’ friends • Christakis and Fowler found that the average Facebook user actually had 6.6 close friends

4. trust is at an all-time low

Google News search results for articles with “rebuilding trust” in the title in 2009: 4,500

so...who can we trust?

the myth of super-connectors

the realities • the path of influence is not predictable • a burst in traffic sent by an influential blog/event is not usually sustained • our influences change frequently as do our needs • influence can grow fast or slow, but can disappear fast or slow as well • there is a big difference between ‘DISCOVERY’ and ‘BUYING DECISIONS’

discovery decision • super-nodes/ • friends/family influencers • product reviews (to a • friends/family lesser extent now) • word of mouth • sales agents (influence • branding outcome depends on experience (cool, I’ll remember that - helpful?) for a time when I need • multiple other factors, it) including cost • rarely a purchase • purchase outcome • may be connected to a decision later on close to wide network close network has higher influence influence

in other words... I may learn about something cool from Tim O’Reilly (famous dude), but I may actually buy something completely different based on the experience and advice of Carol Ellen (BFF).

buying decision process (AIUAPR) • awareness - this is where marketing comes into play. Getting the message out that a product exists. Could be WOM, could be SM, could be an ad. • interest - aka “sexiness” is this something that piques my curiosity? Usually where branding comes into play. • understanding - is it relevant to my needs? what is this all about? Good copy goes a long way, but so does good product design and usability. • attitudes - does it do what it says it does? is it really all that? This is where friends/family come into play as well as consumer reviews. Trust is core here. • purchase - this may take a while if it’s a big ticket item, but the analysis isn’t over yet. User experience is key here. • repeat purchase - loyalty or recommendations to others...if the product hasn’t lived up to it’s expectations, this can really inﬂuence attitudes going forward. http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9432.htm#AIUAPR

this is all way more complicated than simply opening a twitter account or making a facebook fan page...

you should be happy that it’s complicated. it makes our work MUCH more interesting.

if merely setting up a Facebook page or providing customer service on Twitter were the answer...

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/allaboutgeorge/335788165

where do we begin?

thinking bigger 1. forget ‘social media strategies’ -- think customer-centric business strategies 2. forget marketing -- think customer happiness 3. forget inﬂuencers -- think enthusiasts 4. forget campaigns -- think learning cycles 5. go deeper than trust -- raise whufﬁe

customer-centricity

social media isn’t a strategy, it’s one of the communication tools available. It’s a great and potentially personal tool, but don’t stop there.

think customer-centrically instead - for the entire experience...

not customer-centric • You do everything you can to • You have a long list of customer keep your customers on your relations policies. Any exception website. to those policies has to go up the chain of command for approval. • You measure number of visitors and time spent on your website as • You need to create multiple whether you are successful. instructional videos so that your customers will understand how to use your product. • When budgets get tightened, you make cutbacks in areas like customer service, marketing, • You demand social media support staff and design. strategies that win over the ‘inﬂuencers’ to blog or tweet about your product. • You are bothered by a customer describing your product in their own words that doesn’t match your brand.

customer-centric • You send customers to other • Your customers are doing things websites. with your product you never dreamed and are posting videos. • You measure how many people refer their friends to you as • Inﬂuencers are adding you as success. friends on social networks. • When budgets get tightened, • You work with your competitors you tighten operational costs. towards better customer experiences for all. • Your only customer service policy is to do right by the • You know you compete for your customer. customers’ attention with everyone.

...if it doesn’t help your customers rock ﬁrst and foremost, it isn’t customer-centric.

creating customer happiness

what makes people happy? • autonomy (feeling that your activities are self-chosen and self-endorsed) • competence (feeling that you are effective in your activities) • relatedness (feeling a sense of closeness with others) • self-esteem (set-point, or the person’s natural propensity to happiness) from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

5 ways to create feelings of autonomy 1. give people tools to personalize their experiences 2. build businesses that democratize previously inaccessible industries 3. offer clear and attractive choices/help people make choices that are good for them 4. be open and transparent 5. make feedback simple and remove barriers between employees and customers 6. don’t lock people into your network/product

5 ways to increase feelings of competence 1. create ﬂow...simple entry point to more complex systems 2. allow ways for mentors to interact with newbies (create rewards) 3. build consecutive levels of achievement into the experience 4. plant ‘easter eggs’ 5. don’t talk down to your customer...make it fun (think Gary Vaynerchuk)

5 ways to increase relatedness 1. build in multiple ways for customers to interact 2. create multiple collaborative experiences 3. create simple ways for customers to share experience with friends 4. build in easy referral systems and bonuses 5. help the customer be more generous 6. create online/ofﬂine meeting experiences

rewarding enthusiasts

Inﬂuencers Enthusiasts probably haven’t tried your have tried and LOVE your product product are really busy and have are dying to get YOUR multiple companies trying to attention get their attention have an audience of various have a sizable audience sizes, but with your help could grow that audience will move onto the next will remain loyal as long as product review tomorrow you rock their world aren’t guaranteed to give have already sung your you a good review praises

rewarding your enthusiasts (be careful of creating the wrong incentives - too much free stuff and commissions = trouble) • refer a friend codes for their blog/twitter followers • thank you note with a small gift • passing along journalists that are doing a story on your company to the enthusiasts • give them a backstage tour of your facility (zappos does this - it’s awesome) • name a feature that came from his/her feedback after him/her • blog a success story about that customer • send a birthday/Christmas/Hanukkah/thank you card

versus http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2829219697/

launch learn limited time campaign ongoing process - no end less planning up front and more putting stuff out to lots of planning up front, customers, getting feedback, leading up to the big launch learning, tweaking, rinse, repeat. pull (with a small amount of push push) about customer acquisition about customer satisfaction if the word grows slowly, lots of time for grassroots campaign may be over b4 growing of buzz - and by the people catch wind. time it tips, it’ll be better!

whufﬁe

whufﬁe is... • reputation • number of people who know you • trust • number of people you can count on to bring you soup when you are sick • reach • current and potential access to • positive sentiment ideas, talent and resources • inﬂuence • saved up favors (reciprocity) • number of people you know • your known accomplishments

whufﬁe is more complex than trust and may or may not care about inﬂuence, network size and popularity, but does care about whether or not you deliver on your promises.

and social media?

social media tools are great. they’ve raised the bar and they’ve empowered customers.

AND we can work them into an overall strategy to help direct customers make a good buying decision.

social media tools and AIUAPR • awareness - help spread the word that our products exist - ‘post this to Facebook’, following keywords and getting in front of potential customers, search engine optimization, blogging, tweeting, attending social functions/BarCamps, publishing valuable information and reports • interest - focus on design, blogging/tweeting behind the scenes, telling your story, posting videos and photos of our product in action, ‘follow us on twitter’/’become a fan on Facebook’, get involved in the customer community • understanding - good copy/content, posting videos and photos, collecting feedback/having conversations with people who are potential customers

social media tools and AIUAPR (2) • attitudes - learning from customer reviews, allowing for customer reviews and ratings, following keywords to improve/put back into your product, allow people to ask for others’ opinions on social networks, responding to let people know you’re listening, collaboration, making it simple to give feedback • purchase - make it super simple to discover, share and purchase, creating multiple distribution channels, share decisions on social networks, sharing purchases on FB/twitter, posting photos to Flickr, following up with simple return policy • repurchase - creating badges, tell-a-friend referral programs, keeping track of preferences, deep web monitoring of feedback, tracking & recording and putting lessons back into the learning/improving

social media won’t make our companies better or make people love us, however...

we are lucky that these tools allow our customers to connect, speak out, talk back and share more readily with their friends.

if we are doing our job right - i.e. thinking customer centrically, putting their happiness ﬁrst, rewarding enthusiasts, learning not launching and raising whufﬁe - those connections, conversations and some of that sharing will lead to our success.

Order Whufﬁe today! http://www.thewhufﬁefactor.com

licensing: share/remix/spread ... but don’t forget to attribute. http://slideshare.net/missrogue

contact me: Tara ‘missrogue’ Hunt horsepigcow@gmail.com @missrogue montreal, quebec, canada 514-679-2951 http://www.horsepigcow.com

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Your Social Media Strategy Won't Save You

by Tara Hunt

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