Integrating Social Media Into Strategic Communication

[integrating social into strategic communication]

Social Media For Strategic Communication 2013
Richard Becker, Copywrite, Ink. at
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Tuesday, October 22, 13

[what is social media anyway?]



Social media describes technologies that
people use to share content, opinions,
insights, experiences, and perspectives by
interacting with each other in an environment.



[but wait.]



[isn’t social media a medium?]



[social media includes all technologies...]



[...operating in one environment...]



[...driven by people.]



[what people?]



[almost everybody.]

350 million

*internetworldstats.com

*pewinternet.org



Interests of Internet
users

[what they say they like.]

Below is a cross sample of the top 20 most
commonly liked ‘general interests’ on
Facebook, which is the largest social network
on the Internet. Ages 18+ in the United States
and rounded in millions.

1. Comedy — 19 million
3. Music — 13 million
4. Shopping — 11 million
5. Clothes — 11 million
7. Movies — 10 million
8. The Bible — 9 million
13. Coffee — 9 million
14. Lingerie — 8 million
15. Video games — 7 million
17. Animation — 7 million
18. Cooking — 7 million
21. Reading — 7 million
24. Social networks — 6 million
32. Drama — 6 million

People publicly like funny
stuff, music, shopping,
entertainment, and religion.

37. Basketball — 6 million
35. Travel — 5 million
44. Sleeping — 5 million
48. Country music — 5 million
51. Vampires — 5 million
52. Camping — 5 million
*optimal



[what they really like.]

*trendbuzz

But they tend to talk about
funny stuff, sex, politics,
celebrities, and sports.



[how do they express it?]

They like it enough to talk
about it online, but not
enough to create any of it.



[where do they express it?]

28% decrease in email usage
48% increase in time on blogs and networks

They spend most of their
time on social networks
and reading blogs.



[how often do they express it?]
• 40 hrs./week, up from 9 hrs./week in 2006

“Other” includes checking
the news, organizing their
lives, and shopping for
products.



[and they don’t express it alone.]

The most signiﬁcant change in
communication wasn’t media, but rather
the way people could interact with the
media in an open environment.



[the environment.]

But to understand this environment, it is
always helpful to understand the way it
used to be, just a few decades ago.



[the old environment.]

1750s
advertising

1920s

1960s

reporters

technology

pr

public

word
of
mouth



[the current environment.]

social public

reporters

pr, advertising, social insiders



[the future environment.]

people

people

people



[so why aren’t we there yet.]

people

people

people



[communication silos.]

The fundamental challenge for most organizations is that social media
is one environment where messages work on a one-to-many, one-tosome, and one-to-one scale across multiple technologies at the same
time in real time, but most professionals do not have this experience.



[communication silos.]
advertising

sales

internal

public relations

social media

branding

direct

publicity



Develop
individual
contacts and
word of mouth.

Send the right
message to
where your
target is.

Don’t forget to
tell your
employees what
is going on.
Make friends
one person at a
time and they
will tell friends.

Work with
specific publics,
especially media
and influencers.

If everyone
knows what you
are about, so
will your target.

Reach the
masses, and
your target will
hear about it.

Focus on your
demographic
and you will find
the target.



[rethink communication.]
digital

social networks

intranet

content creation

outreach

mobile

ofﬂine support

grassroots



[think strategic.]

one-to-some

one-to-many

one-to-one



[think strategic.]

Every communication plan has two parts.



[think strategic.]

The mission, vision, values, history, and an
assessment of current internal and external
issues as they align with the company goals.



[think strategic.]

Speciﬁc publics, important messages,
delivery of messages, timing of
delivery, and measurement/feedback.



[think strategic.]
• Determine the mission, value proposition, and objective. - What is the message?
• Deﬁne the context as it relates to the organization. - What is the context?
• Decide on the voice or voices of the organization. - Who is the messenger?
• Discover where your existing customers already are. - Where are your customers?
• Determine where your potential customers might be. - Who else might be interested?
• Decide which technologies could reach them. - Where are they engaged?
• Listen to what is already taking place in the space. - How receptive will they be?
• Figure out how you can add value to what they do. - Do you have beneﬁcial content?
• Decide what your expected outcomes might be. - What is the expected outcome?

Critical Areas Of Focus.



[think strategic.]

But just because you have the right
message for you doesn’t mean you
have the right message for anyone.



[think strategic.]

vote left!

me, me, me

silly cats photos!

vote right!

my team won!

how to meet a guy!

red carpet roundup!
other stuff!


[think strategic.]

When that doesn’t work, they give up or
try one of two approaches for attention.

short-term tactical and long-term strategic.



[short-term tactical.]

vote left!

me, me, me, and silly cats

silly cats photos!

vote right!

my team won!

how to meet a guy!

red carpet roundup!
other stuff!


[long-term strategic.]
Relevant.

Reach.

Right time.

Relevance is the ability to send the right
message to the right people at the right time.



[long-term strategic.]
Relevant.

Reach.

Right time.

And you to have to use the right technologies.



[technologies.]

Most marketers choose the most popular online technologies and
platforms to develop their presence, which frequently leads to
missed opportunities, shiny object syndrome, and content overload.



[technologies.]

Technologies are tools and networks and applications.



[tools.]



[tools.]

desktop

mobile

+ dozens and millions more.

glasses

big data

surfaces

interactive

remote

a.i.

talking cars

geotags

holograms

ddd



[networks.]



[networks.]

+ 500 majors and millions more.

cafemom

facebook

twitter

google+

pinterest

linkedin

goodreads

tumblr

blogcatalog

tagged

path

deviantART



[applications.]



[applications.]

youtube

ﬂickr

meetup

feed.ly

instagram

paper.li

+ 100 majors and millions more.

social medium

slideshare

vine

bit.ly

scoop.it

commun.it



[highlights.]

Let’s dig deeper into a a few of the most common technologies.



[blogs.]



[blogs.]

• Content that adds value on a regular basis.
• Opportunity to provide point of view.
• Opportunity to share news and announcements.
• Opportunity to position the company brand.
• Potential for mixed media integration.
• Easily shared by social networks, email, etc.
• Enhances search engine optimization.
• Provides a mechanism for public feedback.
• Provides a central hub for other online activities.
blogsouthwest.com

• Chronicles information and content as it happens.



[what’s involved.]

• Ongoing research within select topic fields.
• A well-defined purpose delivered with context.
• Editorial calendar for reasonable consistency.
• Content development and writing of content.
• Purchase and/or making arrangements for photos/art.
• Layout to enhance editorial.
• Making the content readily available for readers.
• Searching out people who might be interested.
• Ongoing promotion online, offline, and in directories.
liquidhip.com

• Monitoring comments, links, and actions.



• A niche environmental engineering
company employed a blog to reach state
and federal environmental agencies,
engineering firms, and manufacturers to
become a subject matter expert.
600 subscribers within the first 90 days.

[what can be done.]

• A nonprofit organization used a causeoriented blog to engage volunteers and
increase attendance at an annual
fundraising event, which resulted in the
largest amount of individual donations
raised for the event. 700 subscribers
within the first 60 days.

• An independent film employed a blog
as its social media content hub, drawing
700,000 trailer and production footage
views, 30,000 content readers,
expanded reach among fans of the cast,
and a highly engaged social network
audience. Increased distribution of the
film resulted in home distribution sales.


Connect

Shop

Subscribe
Organize

Comment
Share
Purchase

Find
Relevant



[sites.]



[sites.]

• Create something new and unique.
• Develop and create a vibrant community.
• Opportunity to help other people achieve goals.
• Opportunity to ‘be’ the online company.
• Limited only by imagination and resources.
• Foundation is largely independent of other platforms.
• Ability to integrate other tools into the site.
• Opportunity to build features and functions.
• Becomes the hub for interested people and parties.
kickstarter.com



[what is involved?]

• Market research to determine an under-met need.
• Innovative development of products and services.
• Long-term planning to stay one step ahead.
• High tolerance of risk and fearlessness.
• Willingness to accept criticism and setbacks.
• Wear multiple hats and cater to funding sources.
• Develop a communication plan, online and off.
• Develop an engaging presence at rapid speed.
• Deliver on promises from sign-up to forever.
celebratinglegacy.com
• Ability to set increasingly higher objectives.


• Kickstarter.com demonstrated what could be
accomplished as a fundraising platform
commonly known as “crowdfunding.” The site
raised more than $75 million for 10,000 projects
by 2009, with the most successful project
receiving almost $1 million in funding.

[what can be done?]

• DonorsChoose.org helps match people who
want to donate to very specific school projects
to teachers who have a specific wish for their
students by subject, location, and financial need.
The site has funded 210,00 projects and helped
more than 5.1 million students.

• Zappos.com started as nothing more than an
online site that sold third-party shoes but
eventually grew into one of the largest social
media and customer service success stories on
the Internet. While it sells more than shoes
today, it is still the largest online shoe retailer in
the world. It hit $840 million in sales by 2007.



Personal

Fresh
Focus on
Others

Relevant

Urgency

Community

Proximity



[social networks.]



[social networks.]

• Real-time customer interaction.
• Real community development.
• Proximity and interest advertising.
• Breaking news announcements.
• Customer feedback on content.
• Sharing features within the network.
• Ongoing engagement with members.
• Opportunities to create and participate.
• Social, media, and Internet searches.
• Customer demographics and proximity.

facebook.com


[social networks.]

• Real-time customer interaction.
• Networking with colleagues.
• Sharing and consuming content.
• Breaking news and topic trends.
• Humor and entertainment.
• Drama and intense discussions.
• Joining discussions, such as hashtag chats.
• Participation as opposed to creation.
• Asking and answering questions online.

twitter.com



[social networks.]

• Ability to designate connections.
• Easy and uncluttered look and feel.
• Easy to ﬁnd content because of less noise.
• Important integration into search functions.
• Creative and tech-oriented topics.
• Difﬁcult to establish connections with people.
• Designed as an individual network.
• New and not always used by members.
Google+

• Limited engagement for brands online.



[niche networks.]

YouTube - Media Rich
• Path - mobile app built around privacy.
• Vine - mini video sharing application.
• Stumbleupon - eye candy and creative sharing.
• Pinterest - photo bulletin board with interests.
• Medium - idea sharing like a community blog.
LinkedIn - Pro Network

• Reddit - counterculture and college topics.
• Instagram - vintage photo sharing platform.
• BlogCatalog - social network for bloggers.
• And one million others ... you may never know.

Flickr - Niche Media


[what’s involved.]

• Extensive time commitment.
• Personable, empathetic messenger.
• Carefully selected network connections.
• Capable of sharing valuable content.
• Sensitivity to under- and over engagement.
• Prepared for crisis communication.
• Customer service and spokesperson trained.
• A high degree of knowledge and authenticity.
• An understanding of what topic relevance means.
• Recognition that spammers are ignored or banned.



[what can be done.]
• Ford launched its 2011 Explorer on
Facebook, driving a 104 percent
increase in online shopping activity for
the SUV. This was compared to a
Super Bowl TV ad, which generally
increased the same activity by 14
percent.

• Foiled Cupcakes joined Twitter while
its website was being redesigned. By
the time the website was launched, the
cupcake startup had 2,200 people who
were interested in the opening. Many
of them promoted.

• Newcomer Pinterest relies
extensively on visual communication.
One ‘mommy baker’ shared a single
image of a cake that was shared 750
times in 24 hours, which led to
increased site trafﬁc and foodie
reviews.


[think people ﬁrst.]

Each network presence has to be more
than interruption, regurgitation, jokes,
and coupon codes. Networks thrive on
relevance and unique offerings that are
developed speciﬁcally for that network.



[models.]



administrators

legislators

unions

[people.]

teachers

parents

staff

children

media

community
hypothetical educational institution


foundation

motivation

ﬁscal policy

teamwork

worker rights

performance

[objectives.]

achievement

development

advocacy



foundation

motivation

ﬁscal policy

teamwork

worker rights

performance

[technologies.]

achievement

development

advocacy



[case concepts.]



public

Content
spontaneous
readers
engage

informal

share and engage

reviewed engage

formal

readers,
insiders,
reviews,
news

community,
giveaways,
promotion

videos,
labels,
publishers

[integrated]

network
members

alternative review publication


[integrated]
national/local news to public

discussions
event news

member news
group

live tweets
and news
coming soon

industry news
each network features
specialized activities

various member and
general publics with
overlapping members

professional design organization


[integrated]

Content

share

real time

community
participant
content

meet/greets
proximity ads
breaking news
feedback
current scores
field news

bridge interests
nurture support
cross promote
reach seniors
find sponsors

collaboration
show standings
coach tips
youth profiles
special events

hypothetical youth sports program


Content
share events
share

share print

reinforce
participant
content

[integrated]

share pr



[integrated]

Content
share events
share

share print

reinforce
participant
content

share pr



[standard concepts.]

The point is that there are a number of
ways to build an organizational model.

[integrated]


• A campaign that engages people
to share their thoughts on one of
three different human rights issues
was spread by 1.2 million blogs and
social networks that reached more
than 250 million people worldwide.
It was done on a shoestring budget
and no hard costs.

[what can be done.]

• Engaging people and making
them active participants in the
content created and the cause that
their community decides to take is a
more powerful motivator than most
marketing strategies.

• But it goes beyond engaging
people who are directly impacted by
a speciﬁc issue. You have to
connect the dots and start to ask
yourself who has an interest in a
cause for reasons other than the
obvious.


[the next step.]



[the next step.]

MIT Sloan | 2012

52 percent of survey
respondents believe that social
business is important to their
business today and 86 percent
of managers believe social
business will be important within
the next three years.



[measurement.]



[measurement.]

Most companies spread messages about
themselves in an effort to generate interest.
They have expectations that revolve around
actions such as likes, tweets, shares.



[measurement.]

While there is nothing wrong with that,
real measurement is about aligning
planned objectives to a measurable
outcome, just as communicators do for
total integrated communication plans.



[measurement.]

The intent of your communication vs.
the outcomes of your communication
is the return on your communication.



[measurement.]

[(B • I) (m+s • r)/d] / [O/(b + t + e)] = ROC



[measurement.]

The intent of you communication, ampliﬁed by your existing
brand equity times the strength of the message and
suitability to the audience times its reach and adjusted for
sustainability over the outcomes (minus the budget, time of
production, and labor value) is a return on communication.



[measurement.]
• Do we want to increase sales? - Measure prospects and sales.
• Do we want to increase in-store trafﬁc? - Track check-ins.
• Do we want to improve the value of our brand? - Monitor sentiment.
• Do we want to reposition the company? - Poll the public.
• Do we want to improve our credibility? - Track media and reviews.
• Do we want to improve name recognition? - Track accuracy of mentions.
• Do we want to increase participation in a program? - Count participants.
• Do we want people to adopt a speciﬁc belief? - Benchmark and measure.
• Do we want to be the most popular kid on the block? - Are you kidding me?
• Social media is only one piece of communication.

Critical Areas Of Focus.


[measurement.]

Beyond that, when a company knows
its mission and delivers on a promise,
then it can shape public perception
because most will stop acting like
customers and more like partners.



Richard R. Becker, ABC
President, Copywrite, Ink.
copywriteink.com
richardrbecker.com
liquidhip.com
celebratinglegacy.com
copywriteinkinc@yahoo.com
702.341.7135



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