MAKING WAY:
BUSINESS STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Russ Nelson
May 2009

The Social Media landscape is cluttered and confusing.
How are you supposed to remember the milk
when you can’t remember rememberthemilk.com?
CONTENTS:
Social Media Definitions
Social Media Use Statistics
Business Strategies

The term “Social Media” is replacing “Web 2.0” because it emphasizes the human
aspect of this technology. Social Media websites allow people to connect with each
other around common interests or shared experiences.
Sharing photos or video:
Sharing what you’re doing or thinking:
Sharing musical tastes:
Deepening offline relationships:

Traditional Media: Social Media:
Passive audience Active audience
One-to-many communication Many-to-many communication
One-way communication Conversation
Role of Advertising: Role of Advertising:
Advertising is like “the uninvited guest” who brings Advertising is like “Dad in the basement.” Consumers
a bottle of wine to a party. Consumers tolerate the are creating the entertainment themselves, so they
inconvenience and annoyance of commercials question the value of advertising. Commercials are
because they sponsor the entertainment. The more intrusive because they come between users and
advertising-supported business model is well- their friends. And because users are actively engaging
established and only recently have consumers tried with social media, they are not a passive, captive
to fight it with technologies like Tivo. audience for ads.

Social media users can be a skeptical audience for marketing, but companies need to
communicate with their customers, wherever they are spending their time. With a large
segment of the population using social media, the ROI (Risk of Ignoring) is huge:
35% of internet users 18 or older have a profile on a social network.
In February 2009, social network usage exceeded web-based
e-mail usage for the first time.
70% of consumers use social media websites to get information
about a company, brand, or product. And 49% made a purchase
decision based on that information. DIY!

For a lot of companies, social media is an experiment. There is a lack of
consensus on which marketing approaches are most effective.
Out of 1,000 social media marketing campaigns, 450 companies used 19
different types of tools to try and reach their customers.
267 169 49 90 258
ONLINE VIDEO
SOCIAL NETWORKS
WIDGETS
TWITTER
BLOGS

Social media is not just another marketing channel:
The goal should not be just to put ads on MySpace. Companies should aim to use these
tools as part of a strategy that can engage customers and make them brand advocates. Just
as fans go home from a rock concert and tell their friends about the band, these tools can
propel a company’s message into a topic of everyday conversation between consumers.
A comprehensive Social Media marketing strategy provides speed, access, and broad reach
in four types of conversations:
Brand Message
to Customer Communication within
the Organization
Customer Response
to Brand
Communication
between Customers

Tropicana used social media to quickly adjust their marketing strategy
1
when their new packaging fell flat with consumers.
1 2
Brand Message to Customer Response to Brand
Customer (outcry about new package)
(package redesign)
4 Communication
between Customers
3 Brand Message to
Customer
(return to old package)

Brand Message
to Customer
Social Media tools allow companies to deliver more targeted
advertisements and promotions and have more persistent relationships
with their customers.
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh uses Twitter to give a real sense of personality to
an online retail store. Papa John’s uses Facebook to deliver coupons to its
fans. Snuggie posted their cheesy infomercial on YouTube, where
customers made parody videos. They sold 4 million blankets with sleeves.
DIY!

Customer Response
to Brand
Transparency on message boards, blogs, and Twitter means that providing
good customer service is good marketing.
After a cable guy fell asleep on a customer’s couch, Comcast turned to
Twitter to show its renewed dedication to customer service. Starbucks is
introducing a gluten-free cake because customers voted for it.
DIY!

DIY!
Word-of-mouth is the most trusted way for consumers to learn about
new products. By monitoring what customers are saying, companies
can adjust marketing campaigns or discover new opportunities.
A Motrin commercial offended its target audience and the company
quickly changed the campaign. Hiking gear manufacturers like Communication
Tarptent read forums to monitor how their new designs hold up. between Customers

Communication within
the Organization
Using Social Media tools within the organization can keep everyone updated
without overwhelming employees with email. Sharing information quickly means
that companies like Tropicana can respond to their business environment faster.
Best Buy gave all employees email after one wrote on their social network
about giving his personal email address to customers. The CIA created a top
secret wiki to help them manage information from the war on terror. DIY!

Thank You!
Russ Nelson
russel.nelson@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/rpnelson

Works Cited
Slide 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ms_abitibi/1462557669/
Slide 2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8058893@N03/508390960/
Slide 3
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naughton321/131293624/
Slide 4
http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=bf7d1a80b1950811_landing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pumpkinjuice/3004620168/
Slide 5
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/Adults-and-Social-Network-Websites.aspx
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/online-global-landscape-0409/
http://www.deiworldwide.com/files/DEIStudy-Engaging%20ConsumersOnline-Summary.pdf
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikmin/2860601151/
Slide 6
data source: wiki.beingpeterkim.com
Slide 7
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anirudhkoul/2841482484
Slide 8
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilyem/3399594187/
Slide 13
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bree0977/55003117/