A Realist’s Guide
to Successful
Social Strategy
4 November, 2009

About me.
(But this is not about me.)
• I am a strategist who also knows social
• VP/Account Management and Digital Strategy at
Meyer & Wallis
• Brand, marketing, communication strategist
• 20-years experience, American Airlines, Gateway
computers, Harley-Davidson, numerous other local/
regional brands
• Tons of social media planning over the past year

Not every brand needs a Facebook page.

“ Marketers are like kids at Rita’s candy shoppe,
gazing at all the pretty opportunities. Most of us are
afraid of strategy, because we don’t feel confident “
outlining one unless we’re sure it’s going to work.
-Seth Godin

Get real. “Being social” is not a strategy.
If you jump into it with no clear strategy, you have
absolutely no right to expect it to work.

Today’s topics
• Social Strategy: What is it? Why do it? How?
• Strategies behind some successful social brands
• Q&A

Where to begin.

In the new
marketing
funnel...

...engagement
is the new
awareness.

Strategy is the road.
It answers how you will engage.

GOAL: 29,029 Feet
OBJECTIVES: Reach top of Everest; don’t die
STRATEGY: Be as prepared as humanly possible
TACTICS: Intense training; best climbing team;
right route for weather; use best tools available

OBJECTIVE: Resolve dissatisfaction
STRATEGIES: Listen, learn, participate; tell our story;
engage customers by sharing info that matters
TACTICS: blog response, Direct2Dell community

Three levels of social
Social Business: At heart of the organization
Social Marketing: Impacts product, distribution, etc.
Social Media: Another communications channel

Social Media Strategy
Mount Fuji: 12,388 feet

Social Media Strategy
Mount Fuji: 12,388 feet
Listen & be responsive.

Responded to my Twitter product inquiry immediately...
at 7AM on a Sunday.
For a company that is all about listening, that is very strategic.

Social Media Strategy
Mount Fuji: 12,388 feet
Put a human face on
the organization.

18 months after the launch of the blog,
online mentions had almost doubled, and positive
mentions had increased from 68% to 83%.

Social Media Strategy
Mount Fuji: 12,388 feet
Tell strategic
stories.

Proof:
stories change perceptions.
Courtesy Tom Martin www.tommartin.typepad.com
The Trans

Social Media Strategy
Mount Fuji: 12,388 feet
Create a community
of ambassadors to
spread the love.

There are now more than 5,000 members. Branded
mentions of Fiskars products are up 600%. Sales are up.
The program successfully made crafters value
Fiskars beyond price.

• Brand awareness equal to model on market 2-3 years
• 50,000 interested prospects
• 97% not current Ford owners

Social Marketing Strategy
Mount Kilimanjaro: 19,340 feet

Social Marketing Strategy
Mount Kilimanjaro: 19,340 feet
Create “insider” vibe
with special social-
only promotions

>$2 million direct revenue since 2007
Also driving interest in/purchase of new product

A Word of Caution
• For most brands, there is a “higher order” social
strategy; special promotions might be a sub-strategy
• This does not mean “forget all this relationship-
building stuff, get out there and sell, sell, sell”

Social Marketing Strategy
Mount Kilimanjaro: 19,340 feet
Empower employees.
Facilitate service.

“ I thinkacross our companyaabout customer service.
differently
Twelpforce can be catalyst to think very
It begins to really blur the lines between customer service
“
and traditional one-way marketing communications.
-Barry Judge, CMO of Best Buy

Social Marketing Strategy
Mount Kilimanjaro: 19,340 feet
Collect ideas/
Invite customer input

There are now more than 5,000 members. Branded
The Dell community has contributed 12,698 Sales are up.
mentions of Fiskars products are up 600%. ideas, posted
87,031 comments and promoted 692,897 times.
The program successfully made crafters value
Dell has beyond price. 379 ideas.
Fiskars implemented

“ These conversations are going to occur
whether you like it or not. You can learn from
them. You can improve your reaction time. And
you can be a better company. What’s most
important in the long run is how we learn from “
any situation and improve for our customers.
-Michael Dell

Customer experience is
social strategy job #1
• Great product - people will know
• Bad product - people will know
• Speed and power of dissemination is proportional
to the degree of superiority or defect
• Technology will continually make it faster and easier
to access, organize and use information
The Transparency PrincipleTM Copyright Karlson Consulting www.marketingmeritocracy.blogspot.com

Social Business Strategy
Mount Everest: 29,035 feet

True “brand integrity” is a
powerful engagement facilitator
• How a brand treats:
• customers
• employees
• community
• environment
The Transparency PrincipleTM Copyright Karlson Consulting www.marketingmeritocracy.blogspot.com

Launched in 2005. Sales in 2007 grew at three times the
rate of category growth. Raised >$4 million for shelters.

Why social strategy?
• Clarify how you are going to achieve an objective
• Know how to apply the tools
• Know what success looks like

How to create your own
social strategy
• Most social strategies are hybrids
• Know what social level on which you want to play
• Be a realist!
• Aim high, but “baby steps” are often the best start
• “Listen and respond” is an excellent starter strategy
• Start where your audience is already engaged

What is your audience
already doing online?

How to create your own
social strategy
• Learn from others, but tailor to your situation
• Flows from business, marketing, brand strategy
• What element of plan best extends into social?
• Build social around your essential brand idea or a
core element of your value proposition
• If you don’t know these things, take a step back

Strategist coordinates
sspaight@meyerwallis.com
www.spaighttalk.com
twitter: @suespaight
414.224.0212

Bibliography/Credits
• Slide 4: David Armano, Dachis Group
• Slide 5: Seth’s blog: sethgodin.typepad.com
• Slide 11: Denise Kohnke, Laughlin Constable
• Slide 13: Dell, presentation, Social Media Strategy, slideshare.net
• Slide 20: Mack Collier, presentation, What Rockstars Can Teach You About Kicking Ass With Social
Media, slideshare.net
• Slide 24: Tom Martin, presentation, Can One Man, and iPhone and Twitter Change Consumer Perception
of Mardi Gras, slideshare.net, tommartin.typepad.com
• Slide 27: Ford Fiesta Movement Reaps 50K Potential Buyers on $0 Ad Budget, adrants.com

Bibliography/Credits
• Slide 28: How a Social Community Became a Veritable Sales Force, BL Hochman, whatsnextblog.com
• Slide 32: ideastorm.com
• Slide 35: barryjudge.com
• Slide 37: Dell Outlet Surpasses $2 Million on Twitter, community.dell.com
• Slides 39, 41 Karlson Consulting, karlsonconsulting.com, marketingmeritocracy.blogspot.com
• Slide 44, The Brains Behind Great Ad Campaigns, 2009, Margo Berman