This document discusses social media strategy and the importance of earned media. It argues that social media is fundamentally about conversation between people. While many brands focus on paid and owned content, they should prioritize earning media by crafting positive consumer experiences that people want to share. This will help brands be top of mind as people progress through "moments of truth" in their decision journey, from initial research to sharing experiences after purchase. The key is recognizing that every interaction can be shared, so brands must optimize all experiences across all touchpoints.

1. Your Social Media Strategy Is Wrong
James La Porte @jlp

2. Table of Contents
• On Social Media
• Earned Media and Moments of Truth
• The Path Forward

3. On Social Media

4. When asked, most
people will say that social
media is Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest,
Instagram, or one of the
hundreds of logos on this
slide.
What is Social Media?

5. They’re websites and
platforms, that’s all.
But those sites are just tools…

6. Social media, in it’s
simplest state, is a
conversation.
People talking to each
other, brands talking to
fans, fans talking to
brands.
Technology is finally
catching up with the way
we’ve communicated
forever
Social Media is a Conversation

7. By 2014 there will be
over 1.8B people who
use social networks.
Source:
h*p://www.sta2s2cbrain.com/social-­‐networking-­‐sta2s2cs/
A Large Conversation

8. Facebook users spend
spend over 700 billion
minutes on Facebook
every month.
Source:
h*p://www.sta2s2cbrain.com/social-­‐networking-­‐sta2s2cs/
A Large Conversation

9. The conversation doesn’t
end. There will always be
people talking to each other
online. "
Sometimes they’ll be talking
about your brand.
A 24/7 Conversation

10. As long as people
communicate with each
other there will always be
some form of social
media.
Some people think social media is a fad

11. But there will always be
ways for people to
communicate with each
other online.
It may not be any of these platforms

12. To communicate
To express themselves
To discover information
They could be talking with their
best friend, someone they’ve
never met or a brand.
Just as we express
ourselves in the real world
(i.e. the way we dress, the
music we listen to, et c) we
shape our online personas
to the way we want people
to perceive us.
Information can be the new
viral video, world news, or a
picture of your sister’s
newborn.
Why People Use Social Media

13. ~27% of time spent
on the web in the
United States is
spent on social
networking.
Source:
Experian,
2012
They use social media a lot…

14. Stay ahead of consumer needs and wants
To Shape Brand
Perception
To create functional
and emotional bonds
with consumers
Extend customer service offerings
To Augment market research with real time data
Why Brands Use Social Media

15. Consumers are now
empowered and their
voices have the potential
to be louder and carry
more weight than brand
voices.
Harnessing their thoughts
and feelings is how brands
will be successful in social
media.
Brands need to focus on
earned media.
Why Social Media Is Powerful

16. Earned Media and Moments of Truth

17. Paid
Owned
Earned
Content that is served
to prospects via ad-
networks or paid
placement.
Content you post on
channels you control
(e.g. Facebook,
owned website).
Content created or
perpetuated by a third
party – typically a
consumer.
The Types of Media

18. How Most Brands See Social
Most brands focus on paid and owned media, it’s
the easy part of social media.
They like the idea of earned media, but they aren’t
too good at making it happen.
Paid
Owned

19. What Brands Should Focus On
If you are effective at creating a sempiternal
ecosystem of earned media you will always be
top of mind with your consumers, this is easier
said than done.
Earned

20. Moments of Truth
Zero
Moment
First
Moment
Second
Moment
Ultimate
Moment
What it is
When a consumer is
researching which
product is the best
for them.
What it is
When a consumer is
in-store/online and is
about to purchase
your product.
What it is
When a consumer
uses and has an
experience with your
product they have
purchased.
What it is
When a consumer
shares their
experience with your
product with others.
Where it happens
• In the
consumers life
Where it happens
• E-Commerce
• In-Store
Where it happens
• Social Media
• Search
• Owned Website
• E-Commerce
• In-store
• Social Graph
Where it happens
• Social Media
• Blogs, websites,
comments
• E-Commerce
• Social graph
This is Earned Media

21. The Consumer Decision Journey
0
1
2
U
Check out
your product
on Google &
Facebook
Examine
product on
shelf, like it
Use your
product, have
an experience
with it
Like what they see, go to the
store to check it out
Enjoy using your product
Tell your
friends how
great of a
product it is
“Your current consumers’ Ultimate Moment of Truth becomes your
potential consumers’ Zero Moment of Truth”

22. Earned Media Manifesto
Every experience, both digital and physical, with
your brand, through every moment of truth, has
to be crafted with the knowledge that the
consumer is going to share their experience with
someone at some point in time.

23. Earned Media at Scale
Digital, social media more specifically, gives
consumers the ability to share their experiences
more often, with a larger audience, and at a faster
pace than ever before.
It also gives brands the ability to augment,
perpetuate, and build upon existing experiences
as well as creating opportunities to create future
ones.

24. The Path Forward

25. This Talk Will Cover…
- Why focusing solely on your owned properties
is the wrong strategy.
- Where you should focus your social media
efforts.
- Social Media’s role in the consumer decision
journey