Building A Better BrandFall 2009#sprf095 October 2009Tunica, MSOlivier Blanchard@thebrandbuilder

IOlivier A. BlanchardPart of what I do consists of helping companiesdevelop, integrate, manage and measure social media programs.Social Media and communicationscan’t be divorced from brand management.@thebrandbuilderwww.thebrandbuilder.wordpress.comwww.thebrandbuildermarketing.comwww.smroi.net

About Social media - First things first:

What this really is: People talking with people.

(Which is nothing new, really.)

People connecting with each other.

People creating communities…on their own terms.

People sharing their passions.

People sharing their outrage.

How does this fit in with traditional marketing?Command and Control ModelMessaging & BrandingAdvertisingPRThe PublicMarketingWebeventsYou are here

FACT: People no longer trust advertisingand traditional corporate channels.

Some Nielsen Statistics on consumer trust:Online banner ads: 28%E-mail (opt-in): 48%Television, magazines, radio: 55%Newspapers: 66%Recommendations from consumers: 78%Word-of-Mouth: 62%-93% (Depending on the country)

New Technologies have given people the power totune out messaging and marketing…… and tune into relevance and dialogue.

Traditional marketing has been interrupted.

Invasion of the micro-channels.

The web no longer belongs to marketers.

People are again turning to each other…Because they can.

Blogs

The Emergence of New MediaBlogs are now read by 24% of adult Internet users, up from 13% in 2006Social networks are now used by 26% of adult Internet users, up from 17% in 2006Mobile platform users will double by 2013 in the USTxt + SMS (including Twitter SMS) already > voice.Source: mashable

200 Million users+ worldwide100 Million users log in dailyThe average user has 120 friends (WOM)Daily, 4 million users become fans of a page30 Million + users access FB via mobileAverage stay on site is over 13 minutes185 Million UsersPrimary age demo: 14-34Still the top social app. For youth.Average stay on site is over 10 minutes11%+ of adults online now use Twitter 12+ million users worldwideTwitter Search may threaten GoogleMore and more online conversations now occur hereEvents and websites are discovered here“Twitter is Word-of-Mouth on steroids.” - @GaryVeeBlogs

BLOGS133+ Million worldwide (50% are here)25% of internet users read blogs daily (up from 13% in 2006)Brands without blogs are losing tractionNo blog/dynamic content = weak SEOFastest growing demo: Women 24-55

85M Visitors in August9% MoM Growth

8.9 billion YouTube videos viewed in July.Downloaded by 120.3 Million US viewers (That’s 1/3 of the US population.)Total videos viewed on the web in July: 21 BillionSource: Comscore

Your customers = a vibrant community.

And they’re doing their own thing.

They choose when to hang out with you.

Social Media can help organizationsconnect with existing communitiesAnd create new ones.

Ways in which Social Media can help your business:SalesNet New Customers, Increased Frequency of Transactions, promo exposureIncreased yield (average $ value per transaction), and product penetrationCustomer SupportImmediate feedback and response, positive impact in public forum, cost reductionHuman ResourcesMore effective recruiting, online monitoring of employee behavior (risk management)Public RelationsOnline Reputation Management, improved brand image via Social WebCustomer LoyaltyIncreased interactions, better quality of interactions, deeper relationship with brand,Increased trust in brand, increased mindshare of brand, greater values alignmentBusiness Intelligence

You are no longer in the business of creating value.You are in the business of creating importance.

People don’t get their coffee from Starbucks because of “value”.People get their coffee from Starbucks because getting their coffee from Starbucks is important to them.Pride.Image.Exclusivity.Passion.Uniqueness of Quality.Sharing in a common passion.

Plant your flag. Stand for something. Stand out.

But don’t forget to listen.

Tip 1: Vertical Vs. Lateral Engagement

By the way...There are 2 forces at work in Social Media:Vertical EngagementAndLateral EngagementThis is important.

Vertical Engagement= Brand + Customer.(This is not a monologue)Great Experiences & Brand Loyalty.

Lateral Engagement = customer + customerValidation and Scale.

How does this fit in with traditional marketing?Command and Control ModelMessaging & BrandingAdvertisingPRThe PublicMarketingWebeventsLateralVertical

People share things they love.Twitter, YouTube and FacebookAre word-of-mouth on steroids.

“The community closes the sale.”- Porter Gale (@virginamerica)Virgin America invests in the good will of customers, simply by publicly acknowledging and supporting them in the same channels where they’re communicating.

Tip 2: The mechanics of Engagement

How does this all fit into your existing web strategy?ManagementwebsitevideoNewsInfoStoriesActionBlog

Engagement tip: Know your toolshttp://twitterface.com

Today’s recommendation: TwitterfaceCreating a Twitterface page promotes awareness and engagement.

Engagement

Outbound Thinking: Seeding channels“Reaching out” basically means planting seeds.Think of reaching out as spreading your content.This is basic distribution across various channels. Your website

Outbound Thinking: Spreading ContentWrite a blog postShare it on Facebook and TwitterCreate an eventOn FacebookShare it on your blog and TwitterCreate a #chat on TwitterShare it on your blog and FaceBook

Outbound Thinking: Spreading Contenthttp://digg.com

Outbound Thinking: Spreading Contenthttp://stumbleupon.com

http://www.stumbleupon.com/technology

Tip 3: Listening & Monitoring

Do you really know how to listen?

How do you manage your brand in 2009?www.radian6.com

Keyword & Mention Management Dashboardswww.radian6.com

Sentiment Monitoringwww.radian6.com

More Sentiment Analysis

Create Listening Posts OnlineBlogsBRAND

Listening & Monitoring platforms/toolshttp://www.socialmention.com/http://techrigy.com/http://www.twitscoop.com/http://www.peoplebrowsr.com/http://www.radian6.com/cms/homehttp://twitterface.comhttp://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/http://www.netvibes.com

Tip 4: Responding (Yes, you’re on 24/7/365 now.)

Responding to the publicResponding to your audience comes in 2 forms:Conversational Responses (chat)Informational Responses (link)Either way, never argue, always be helpful, don’t Ever become defensive.Your website

Responding to the publicEngagementPR

CustomThe riverto or about you

TweetDeck allows you to create follower categories

CompoundBasicBasicSearch

Crisis ManagementHave a crisis/response plan.Make sure everyone knows the plan. Write it out. Keep it in an obvious place.Train and drill the plan.Let the press release or official statement guide your responses.Link to the official statement on Facebook, Twitter, the blog, etc.Monitor Social Media for mentions of the incident.Be prepared to respond or answer questions on Twitter and Facebook.Do not argue with detractors. Calmly state the facts. Be Zen.Be honest and transparent. Social Media dwellers smell BS a mile away. A swift, kind, honest discussion on Twitter can turn a disaster into a mere scrape. Relax and don’t take attacks personally.

Tip 5: How to manage a Brand on Twitterhttp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/how-to-manage-an-enterprise-twitter-presence-avatars-account-structure-and-response-methodology/

Brand Management on TwitterFace are personable, but lack context

Brand Management on TwitterLogos are clear, but impersonal

Brand Management on TwitterCombining faces + logos = humanity + context

Brand Management on TwitterThe 1-800 number.The lobby.What people search forhttp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/how-to-manage-an-enterprise-twitter-presence-avatars-account-structure-and-response-methodology/

Brand Management on Twitterhttp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/how-to-manage-an-enterprise-twitter-presence-avatars-account-structure-and-response-methodology/

Brand Management on Twitterhttp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/how-to-manage-an-enterprise-twitter-presence-avatars-account-structure-and-response-methodology/

Brand Management on Twitterhttp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/how-to-manage-an-enterprise-twitter-presence-avatars-account-structure-and-response-methodology/

Some thoughts about ROI and measurementMeasurement & Accountability

R.O.I.RETURNONINVESTMENT

THE R.O.I. EQUATIONInvestmentExpectation of return

THE R.O.I. EQUATION(GAIN FROM INVESTMENT - COST OF INVESTMENT)ROI =COST OF INVESTMENT

Non-financial impact is not ROI (yet).

Types of non-financial impactCustomer complaintsWebsite VisitorsImpressionsPositive pressClick-throughsYouTube viewsRetweetsCoupons distributedVisitors to a brick & mortar storePositive WOMDelivered emailsNegative pressNegative WOMEmployment applicationsBlog commentsFaceBook friendsSocial mentionTwitter followers

ROI = actualized potential.

Non-Financial Measurement & AccountabilitySet GoalsSet StandardsSet MilestonesPick the right measurement tools for the jobExamples of free tools:Track website visitsMonitor visitor behaviorTrack the growth of your Twitter AccountMonitor your Twitter statsTrack online mentionsCompare mentionshttp://www.google.com/analytics/http://twittercounter.com/pages/dashboard_infohttp://www.blogpulse.com/trendTrack video downloadsTrack video embedsTrack traffic from SM outposts to your websiteTrack FB & LinkedIn group membersTrack blog visitors & commentsTrack offline numbers and results

Join your community. blogs, facebook, twitter, events, groups forums, fund raisers, media. Reconnect with your audience. Partner with them more.2. Take a leadership role. blog, facebook group, twitter, events, lectures, media relations, branding. Inspire. Become important again.3. Be easy to find. “search”/ SEO, broad digital footprint. Always be where your audience is.4. Inspire passion. What you do is important. What you do matters.

Ask away.Olivier Blanchard864.630.7398www.thebrandbuildermarketing.com@thebrandbuilder(on Twitter)