The document discusses social media strategies. It provides examples of how companies like Zynga, eBay, and American Express have successfully implemented social strategies on platforms like Facebook to connect users and encourage social interactions that benefit the companies. The key elements of a successful social strategy are said to be using social platforms to access friendship data, getting users to complete tasks that help connect people both online and offline, and providing value to users through their social connections.

1. Facebook
@+ mpiskorski
Associate Professor of Strategy
and Richard Hodgson Fellow
Harvard Business School

2. There are 2,000,000,000 people on the internet today…
… and they are social
1000 Number of site visits
(index)
800
Job search
Politics
600 Beauty
…
Research
400
Newspapers
Photos
200 Lifestyles
Social
0 0 20 40 60 80 100
E-mail Social Platforms
2009 Users (million)
2010 Users (million)
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 2

3. Social means…
… stalking other people
Add or delete
friends
Add content 8% E-mail
to profiles 5% View profiles
8% and pictures of
View own friends
profile 35%
9%
View profiles
and pictures of
stangers
35%
Percentages of all unique action clicks
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 3 excluding navigation, platform and IM

4. Who is viewing whom
Men Women
They They They They
Know Don't Know Know Don't Know
Men
8% 8% 19% 22%
Viewing
Women
10% 8% 17% 10%
Viewing
1/3 2/3
Adding Content
To Own Profile 2/3 1/3
Profile is Private 1/3 2/3
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 4

5. So you try advertising…
… but so few people click!
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 5

6. You build a company page on Facebook…
… but no-one comes!
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 6

7. You must evolve from digital strategy…
… to social strategy!
Digital Strategy Social Strategy
creates electronic platforms to reduce creates platforms to help people
marketing or customer acquisition improve existing relationships or
and service costs build new ones
Company
Company
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 7

8. Ask yourself a question…
… What Would Zynga Do?
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 8

9. Three elements of successful social strategy…
… or What Would Zynga Do?
Use Facebook Platform
• To get friendship data
• To write to people’s profiles
Post status Busy women
updates keep in touch
250 million players
Talk about Cityville gets 20 million a day Or make new friends
the game off-line through games
Zynga made $600 million last year
Social channels saved $150 million
And get them to do To connect people to
tasks for you each other in ways
• Such as advertising or • They can’t connect on FB
providing inputs for free • Or in the off-line world
as they connect to others
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 9

10. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 10

11. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 11

12. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 12

13. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 13

14. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 14

15. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 15

16. Social Strategy at eBay:
GroupGifts
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 16

17. Social Strategy at eBay:
Results
 Lots of happy people getting gifts!
– Successful gifts had 4.2 participants
– Amazing stories and thank yous in the notes included with the gift
 Economic effects
– Average ticket price = five times eBay average sale
– One in three visitors signed up for a new PayPal account
– Every visitor returned to eBay 4 times on average
 How much did it cost eBay?
– Nothing… the connection with Facebook costs nothing…
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 17

18. Three elements of successful social strategy…
… or How is eBay like Zynga
Use Facebook Platform
• To get friendship data
• To write to people’s profiles
And get them to do To connect people to
tasks for you each other in ways
• Such as advertising or • They can’t connect on FB
providing inputs for free • Or in the off-line world
as they connect to others
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 18

19. Social Strategy at American Express:
Facebook Page and Deals
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 19

20. Social Strategy at American Express:
Facebook Mobile and Deals
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 20

21. Social Strategy at American Express:
Foursquare Integration
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 21

22. Three elements of successful social strategy…
… or How will You be Like Zynga?
Use Facebook Platform
• To get friendship data
• To write to people’s profiles
And get them to do To connect people to
tasks for you each other in ways
• Such as advertising or • They can’t connect on FB
providing inputs for free • Or in the off-line world
as they connect to others
© 2011 Mikołaj Jan Piskorski 22