This document discusses the importance of social engagement but emphasizes that engagement should lead to tangible business outcomes, not just metrics like likes and followers. It provides tips for effective engagement including understanding audiences, exchanging value, using content strategically over the long-term to influence behaviors and actions. Engagement must be integrated into the overall marketing plan and customer experience to drive results like sales, referrals or donations.

1. More Signal
Less Noise
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Why attention matters
but engagement is a tactic
not an outcome

2. Simon Nash
More Signal Less Noise
-------------------------------------------------------
Why attention matters but
“ engagement is a tactic not an outcome
”
------------------------------------------
@simonnash
I work at Reading Room where I consult
with organisations trying to adapt to
digital. My areas of interest include
content marketing, social engagement and
digital transformation. Today I want to take
in a common misunderstanding relating to
the role social engagement and set out my
views on how organisations should employ
engagement to meet business objectives.

3. I was looking for examples of misdirected engagement
and this one (originally published by Mashable.com)
jumped out at me. If anyone can explain to me how
Clorox aim to sell more bleach through this I'd be keen
to listen. Now I'm not suggesting that bleach brands
shouldn't engage but perhaps they might be better off
blogging about environmental impact reduction
schemes or some other message.

4. Fortunately, I’m not alone,
many commentators have
highlighted this issue.

5. Attention Matters!
“ ”
Roughly 99.9% of online
banners are never clicked.
--------------------------------------
Michael Brenner, Senior Director of Global
Marketing at SAP
But attention does matter, the old
methods if marketing and advertising
are increasingly ineffective and their
modern equivalents are not faring
much better.

6. Attention Matters!
Buyers wait until they
“ ”
have completed 60-80% of
their research before
reaching out to vendors
--------------------------------------
Michael Brenner, Senior Director of Global
Marketing at SAP
Consumer behaviour has changed too. Opinions are
being formed in places we cannot reach using
conventional methods. To tackle this we need
advocates out there in the wild extending our reach.

7. Everyone’s at it
So attention does matter and engagement is one
of our primary tools for achieving this. And
everyone is having a go, governments, charities
and commercial organisations are all throwing
money at social engagement.

8. But conversations about
engagement often miss the
bigger picture
My concern is that investment in
engagement achieves something. The
conversation is dominated by likes,
audience size and reach but we need
to look beyond that.

9. Engagement is important but
It’s what you do with it
that counts.

10. Nowadays people expect
content and experiences that are more
meaningful
Consumer expectations are changing
too. Just take Red Bull who have spent
a decade investing in a consistent
engagement campaign focused on
associating their brand with endeavour.

11. Engagement should
effect changes in behaviour
Behaviour change requires a
series of carefully planned
engagement initiatives.

12. Engagement should
influence action
Ultimately you should be able to
influence action. That might be a sale, a
referral or donation – something tangible
your organisation will benefit from.

13. Engagement should deliver
competitive advantage
-----------------------------------------------------------
To create future customers who will drive the
business forward. Brand engagements are
platform engagements. This means advancing
“ ”
customers into new creative realms–and markets–
where they can add value back to the brand, and
where competitors can’t follow.
----------------------------------------------
Brian Phipps

14. Focusing on results doesn’t mean we
need to ram our message down people’s
throats. We can craft a programme of
engagement that indirectly leads to a
beneficial outcome.
The process can be
direct or indirect

15. So don’t expect just to dive in and
achieve results right away. There are
plenty of other marketing tools that
will deliver immediate ROI. For
engagement you need to be thinking
about long term programmes and
calendars of activity.
It takes time
to communicate your
message whilst engaging

16. The Glenlivet came to us and invited
us to plan their crm campaign - the
end goal was sales but they wanted
to invest in customer relationships.
Having researched their audience
we felt they would respond to a
conversation rather than overt sales.
That's not to say sales were off the
agenda but we understood that push
messages would turn them off. So
we designed a three year
programme of content and
messaging designed to build affinity
and interest in The Glenlivet by
nurturing an interest in
connoisseurship.

17. Engagement can deliver business results
Awareness +58%
Consideration
(amongst those who are aware but not buying TGL) +75%
Preference
(vs. Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie) +113%
Brand I trust
Brand for me
+24%
+37%
Consumption / Sales
regular buyers of TGL
52%
Qualitative research proved that this engagement led approach yielded substantial business results.

18. The building blocks
of successful engagement

19. You need to understand what makes
your audience tick
At Reading Room we focus on using
research to define Audience Personas.
By understanding audience needs and
goals we are able to uncover how and
where to engage each segment.

20. Recognise its all about
value exchange
Its really important to understand that
social engagement is voluntary, if we
don’t offer our audiences a tangible
return for their involvement then why
should they bother.

21. Understand
This quote was a real inspiration to
me. I’m always trying to imagine what
people will do with the content we
produce and how I should therefore
tailor it for that purpose as much as
my own agenda.
how people use our content
-----------------------------------------------------------
If I like your content it’s not because I like your
“ brand it’s because I like my friends.
”
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Henry Jenkins - ‘Spreadable Media ‘

22. Play the long game
and understand the role of every interaction
You need to have a game plan, a long
term objective and a set of initiatives
that are going to get you there.
The Content Grid by Eloqua does a
great job of mapping this out

23. Embark on a journey from conversational engagement
Conversational
• Responsive
• Promotional
• Engaging
• Positive
Content Led
• Proactive
• Content creation
• Advocacy driven
• Campaigning
Narrative Led
• Strategic
• Story telling
• Dialogue driven
• Always On
This is where many organisations are.
Engagement works and best practice
is being followed but that may not be
translating into results.

24. Embark on a journey from conversational engagement
Conversational
• Responsive
• Promotional
• Engaging
• Positive
Content Led
• Proactive
• Content creation
• Advocacy driven
• Campaigning
Narrative Led
• Strategic
• Story telling
• Dialogue driven
• Always On
More experienced organisations start
to steer engagement and to lead with
their own original content. They tend
to start seeing real return on
investment.

25. Embark on a journey from conversational engagement
toward an ‘always on narrative’
Conversational
• Responsive
• Promotional
• Engaging
• Positive
Content Led
• Proactive
• Content creation
• Advocacy driven
• Campaigning
Narrative Led
• Strategic
• Story telling
• Dialogue driven
• Always On

26. Engagement should not be treated
as an entertaining side-show
Frustratingly many organisations still
see engagement as an adjunct to their
core marketing activity.

27. It’s a crucial element of your
multi-channel marketing plan
Whereas success comes from a much
more integrated approach. Understanding
how engagement fits into your customer
experience is the key to unlocking ROI.

28. Focus on the
customer experience
& create clear
paths to action
London Business School have placed
engagement at the centre of their digital
strategy and have invested across all of their
digital channels to support this. We helped
them develop an engagement strategy and a
framework to support that. Now engagement
is fully integrated and they are enjoying
spectacular results .

29. To achieve this you need
system-thinking
When you step back and consider
what that actually means you realise
that you are creating a really
complicated system of interwoven
activities across multiple channels.
That requires a different mode of
thinking and the ability to grasp how
each channel and touch-point
contributes to your end goal.

30. Organisations need to change to support this new type of thinking.
They need new attitudes and an evolved set of values. They also
need to create processes to support effective engagement, that
means revaluating everything from customer services to publicity.
And staff often need support to make that happen. You cannot just
assume people will get it – the risks and the pressure are too great
Supported by
culture and processes

31. Lastly you need a sophisticated reporting and
analytics process so you can track and
measure the impact of what you are doing.
Tweets and Likes and numbers of followers are
not the be all and end all but they are
incredibly useful signals we can learn to
interpret and adapt our tactics accordingly.
And one eye
firmly on the prize

32. In Conclusion…

33. Integrate social engagement with your
marketing plan
-----------------------------------------------------------
In order to achieve a tangible return from
your investment in engagement you need to
integrate content and social channels within
your overall marketing plan and develop a
“ ”
connected and personalised experience
across every touch point.
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34. Integrate social engagement with your
customer experience
-----------------------------------------------------------
The reality of the evolving multi-channel
operating environment is that social
engagement is no longer an adjunct to your
marketing activity it is a critical aspect of the
“ ”
overall customer experience.
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35. So stop focusing on engagement
and start thinking about
transformation
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That's one of the principle drivers behind the
argument for business transformation. Simply
slapping social media on top of the same old
tired business models won't cut it anymore.
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“ ”

36. If you found this useful, you
may also like…

37. Thanks
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readingroom.com
@ReadingRoomUK
@SimonNash