Social Network Brand Fans More Likely to Buy

Chadwick, Martin, Bailey, a research firm based in Boston proves what we already know: people who associate themselves with a brand through online social networks are more likely, on average, to buy that brand and recommend it to friends.

While we spend a lot of time trying to mathematically prove the value of a fan and therefore assign ROI numbers to social initiatives, the truth is it is dependent on the product or service, the brand, the industry, etc.  This study however, provides benchmark numbers for the very top of the “virality funnel” where we begin to understand a fans propensity to advocate for a brand versus non-fans.  The end goal is to have a virality coefficient of >1, meaning that each new fan brings more than one new fan with them, proving your brand has viral appeal and exponential growth.

It is intuitive that having fans and followers is better than not having them however, if you need some numbers to prove it, here is a study of 1500 brands to back you up.  Article.

How Cisco uses Social Media

I often analyze how large companies are leveraging Web 2.0 and social media tools.  Recently I came across a talk from Jeanette Gibson who shared terrific insights on Cisco’s approach to social media and how it engages Customers, Partners, and Press with Social Media.

Gibson states “In a world where everything is open, we value openness and transparency.”

There are three ways that Cisco uses social media, especially blogs to drive customer engagement:

1) Thought leadership

According to Gibson, “Blogging is about creating conversations with customers, partners, employees, and the public.”

Cisco’s been blogging for over 4 years and the first blog was on government affairs. It was focused on having highly targeted 1:1 conversations and later their blogging efforts expanded to include other topics. However, their blogs tend to be more around larger industry topics such as Green IT rather than individual product-focused.

More recently Cisco’s been using video to increase engagement between their customers and Cisco executives.  Cisco’s using flip cameras to follow their executives around. They capture their executives on video and repurpose that content where ever possible. One example is where Cisco CEO, John Chambers talks about what’s happening at the Channel Partner event, on their blog which is very open and visible to everyone.

She cited Padmasree, the well-known Cisco CTO as a great example of successful executive twittering. One way that Padamsree uses Twitter is to get ideas for one of her keynote speeches. She sent out a question on Twitter – “What’s the future of collaboration?”. She got an overwhelming response to her questions and she incorporated this direct feedback from the audience in her talk.

2) Events are an area where Cisco leverages social media as event and travel budget cuts are driving the need and demand for virtual events. The company has been hosting events via Twitter: “Tweetup” Cisco TelePresence Tweet-up with Guy Kawasaki(virtual meeting). Cisco has set up public telepresence suites where anyone can come in and use these for instant conference with Cisco. In addition, the company also organizes many virtual partner events using teleconferencing technologies.

3) Global product launches are typically very expensive and this presented yet another opportunity for Cisco to leverage social media. The company has moved from PR-based launch executions in 2005 to messaging cycles with real-time global impact, two-way customer interactions, and community building events in 2009. This has resulted in 50-75% cost saving and created opportunities for thought leadership. It went from transactions to interactions and engagement. Bigger launch at lower cost.

No social media conversation would be complete without the ROI/measurement discussion.  Cisco like many other pioneering companies is grappling with the revenue question. Currently, it uses a mix of qualitative vs. quantitative. They have a set of standardized metrics for blogging and every blogger has access to the analytics on their own blog as well as that of their peers. So they are able to compare their blog’s traffic with that of other bloggers. They also use an external agency for brand monitoring.

While Cisco is very focused on ROI, there are no standard metrics, so it uses a variety of measurements. For example: they look at the free media impressions from social media activities and measure how much it would have cost them to assess cost savings. However, since social media is resource and management-intensive, the cost for it is still fuzzy.

Cisco has just started testing ways to leverage social media for sales and is working to get more traction for direct sales/revenue impact from social media.

Key take-a-ways from this honest, insightful presentation:

• Make the tools work for you, “First decide what you want to do and then decide on the tools.”
• Key is finding a few focus areas in social media and doing it well, rather than trying everything and not succeeding.
• Openness and transparency in social media has to start from the top. Senior management needs to be engaged and lead by example.
• Budget constraints and travel restrictions favor the use of social media and virtual events, which can help with cost savings.
• The ROI/monetization question is becoming increasing important but there’s isn’t one standard set of metrics or methodology for calculating that yet, every company uses their own metrics.
• Social media doesn’t only save cost, but can be more impactful than traditional marketing/PR. This is a great point to keep in mind, when you’re pondering ROI on your social media initiatives.

Think Social Media doesn’t reach your brand’s adult target audience?

THINK AGAIN.

A new Forrester report released last month declared that more than 80% of adults (ages 18 and up) use social media at least once a month. And, about half of US adults who go online at least once a month now belong to social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. That’s a 46% growth rate vs. prior year for adults!

Adults who don’t use social tools, such as online video and blogs are now in the minority. In fact, only 18% of all US adults on the web don’t use social tools.

According to Forrester, “Adults of all ages increased their use of social tools.” Adults younger than 35 approached universal social participation, while adults ages 18 to 24 and those ages 25 to 34 adopt social media similarly.

While young people continue to universally adopt social media, the most rapid growth occurred among consumers 35 and older. And, it’s not just parents jumping online, but grandparents too. More than 25% of US people aged 55 and older, use social networks!

Forrester encourages marketers to develop social applications, even if their audience is mature. “Social media can no longer be dismissed as a quirky habit of young adults. Nearly all online adults now participate socially, including those in their 40s and 50s.”

“This means the time to build social marketing applications is now,” said Forrester analyst and report author Sean Corcoran. “Interactive marketers should influence social network chatter, master social communication, and develop social assets — even if their customers are older.”

It’s time for brands to grow up and start using Social Media to reach their grown up audience.

More marketers use social networking to reach customers

This recent USA Today article provides an excellent glimpse into why marketers can’t afford to ignore millions of potential customers who are consuming media in new ways. As Shel Israel says at the end of the article, “Companies have no choice. This is where their customers are going.”

Role with the Times

The Internet has forever changed print media. While it seems most social media experts are anxious to call the time of death on the newspaper, we still have a few things to learn from the “old man”.

For several decades now, news delivery has depended on several people, all working toward the goal of distribution of content. Publishers, syndicators, writers, and editors are some of the more important roles in the process. These roles also exist in online news channels.  However, the accessibility of social media by the masses has caused these roles to blur; which is not necessarily a good thing.

To me, print media is like a McDonald’s hamburger – it’s not my favorite, but at least I know what to expect time and again. I’m not so sure what to expect from most social channels. Frankly, I sometimes get tired of sampling dog food while in search of steak. I doubt I’m unusual in this regard.

Does this mean that social media is flawed? To the contrary, social has the potential to be something that print or even traditional online media could never achieve. But social has some growing up to do – beginning with the realization that a cacophony of solo artists does not make for a spectacular show. Great social requires a process where different people come together to fulfill various roles including writing, editing, filtering, distribution, funding and more.

Success in social media is an orchestrated effort. Which role you are best suited to play? Here are some actions to consider:

1. The promise of social media is a personalised experience for the recipient, not a personal soapbox for the messenger. Define the ideal personalized experience for your target audience, and then decide how you best contribute to the experience.
2. Invite and involve others. For example, if you manufacture a great product but are not known as a trusted advisor, instead of trying to become the advisor, invite experts your customers trust to work with you to achieve a common goal.
3. Consider content intermediaries vs. direct communications. Especially if you’re new to social media, leveraging an existing channel may have greater value than attempting to create a new one.
4. If you own a channel, find content partners that can engage your audience and add value to bolster your “ratings”.
5. If you go the content route, consider multiple channels for distribution. Social media channels are smaller and more targeted than most traditional channels. Don’t rely strictly on viral messaging.

Although social media is informal and conversational, end users still have high expectations of businesses and professionals who participate in the space. Make sure your approach delivers the right message in the right place on a consistent basis.

Is your brand swimming upstream or downstream?

If you’re contemplating whether your brand should be participating in the social media space, think no more.  Instead, consider what you already know to be two of the most common marketing and sales adages: “location, location, location“ and “fish where the fish are.”

Your brand’s existing and prospective consumers can be found all over the place, not just where you think they should be or where they were last time you looked. No longer can you rely solely on effectively reaching them while they sit in front of the TV, listen to the radio, read the newspaper, view billboards on their way to work, or even by having your own branded website on the web.  And, even if you do reach them via those media channels, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to participate in engaging conversations, gather insightful learnings,  and build a relationship with your most valuable consumers.

 A common trap is to fish in the same pond over and over until it is pretty much drained because it is comfortable and we know what to expect. We sit with our same old fishing pole, or in this case, same old marketing and advertising plans. Most likely we even reflect back on the good old days and execute our marketing strategies with the hope that more fish magically appear, rather than exploring new venues full of fish just waiting to be caught!

 Participating in social media provides a unique and exciting new opportunity for your brand to proactively create a strong presence where existing and prospective consumers are choosing to spend their time.  You’ll be able to  converse with them in highly relevant ways, at a time and place where they will be most receptive to engaging with your brand.

 So get out there and find consumers wherever they might be hanging out. Whether it is on Facebook or Twitter or You Tube, explore these fresh new venues where your target audience is comfortably gathering and communicating with their friends and fans to discuss their interests, hobbies, and preferences. Of course, these dialogues just might include your brand’s category. Clearly, this is a perfect time and place to engage them in a conversation about your brand, in an authentic, trustworthy way. For helpful tips as to how to ensure your brand is personable and prepared for these conversations, please see my earlier blog, “Would you want to be friends with your brand?”.

 Fish where the fish are. And you will master Social Media swimmingly.

A Bird of a Different Color

Twitter has landed in our backyard and no one is really sure about this strange bird. To some it is a phoenix rising from the ashes of first- and second-generation network communications. Others may compare it to a noisy yardbird that is about to become the victim of a pouncing cat or well-cleaned sliding glass door. Whatever the claim, everyone agrees this bird is different.

Twitter’s rise has been followed by high drop-off rates. Has a fad taken flight? I don’t think so. I’m hesitant to predict the fate of the current Twitter application, but suffice it to say that its foundation is part of the future of communications. Its evolution will bring it into the mainstream. What is that foundation? According to Twitter, it is announcing what you are doing.

I started out a Twitter skeptic.  The first tweets I received were all mindless announcements like: “Ate too much Mexican for lunch… ready for a nap”. However, my experience has slowly evolved. As I became more critical of whom I chose to follow – people who shared my business interests or lifestyle – the quality of tweets improved. Even some of the people I originally chose to follow have graduated from noisy twits to more interesting tweeters. Subtle changes to tweet style can make a difference, such as: “Ate lunch at Frontera…their chicken tortilla soup is awesome.” This observation has led me to conclude that the best tweets are pronouncements, not personal announcements. Twitter is the official record of these pronouncements.

Despite my “aha” moment, in its current form, Twitter might have a hard time moving beyond the grand social experiment we have made it. Twitter is a disruptive technology, but not unlike the web in the mid-1990s. Back then companies with thousands of customers had a difficult time justifying the expense for a few pageviews each day. Then Google came along and gave the search engine to the masses. It became the killer app that made Internet content accessible. Twitter is still waiting for its killer app. Many developers seek the Holy Grail, and while none has found it yet, the proliferation of Twitter value-add applications is at least moving us in the right direction.

If you’re a marketer you’re probably asking: So what does this mean to me? Well frankly, a lot. To understand Twitter’s potential is to begin to use it effectively. Here are six tips for marketers using Twitter:

1. Twitter is a social record. Check your record, participate in it, respond to criticism, promote positive opinion, and accept transparency. Pay special attention to personalities that broadcast information about your industry or topics of particular interest to your customers.
2. Twitter is a rich data mine which will only become more valuable. Use Twitter data mining tools to assess actions, moods, trends, and influencers.
3. With Twitter, the same rules apply as with posting to other social networks: people prefer information from those they trust – starting with friends and expanding outward (e.g., friends of friends). There is a caveat: follower ≠ friend in the Facebook sense. The followship model is based on perceived value of the broadcaster. In this context, the information tweeted defines the value and trustworthiness of the broadcaster. Personal relationships still trump unknowns. Using individuals who are accessible to represent your brand is a nice alternative.
4. Social networks are perceived as more valuable when the broadcaster considers the receiver or more generally the audience segment as he/she writes. For this reason, a well-defined purpose or mission statement to guide tweeting is important to keeping your audience intact and growing.
5. If you create an account for your business, be ready for questions and requests. As a nice touch Zappos includes contact information in the background to reroute a variety of inquiries to the right channel. However, this does not negate people from commenting to @zappos without viewing their wallpaper. Be prepared to avoid customer service slip-ups by having a response plan.
6. While Twitter is designed as a synchronous tool, think about it as an asynchronous platform too.  Although a vast majority of tweets lose their value on delivery, more people are learning how to qualify web content by republishing links and retweeting. This content is often scanned using search filters after publication, much like custom newspaper headlines. Publish keeping this in mind.

Finally, experiment with Twitter to see what works. For example, test to see if articles or promotions are more likely to get retweeted in your business? Twitter is a low cost sandbox. Now is the time to learn what works for your business, so that when Twitter soars, you do too.

Would you want to be friends with your brand?

Is your brand engaging in interesting conversations? A good listener? An active participant in dialogues, not monologues? Is your brand trustworthy and act in a manner that not only motivates consumers to associate with it, but inspires them to truly want to become influential advocates and contribute to its success?

If not, it’s time to teach your brand some social skills.

Prepare your brand for the social marketing circuit. Be sure it personable, credible, authentic, transparent and a pleasure to be around, to talk with, and to talk about.  Then, let your brand speak for itself, make friends, and interact with consumers in everyday conversations.

Utilize the power of conversation and engagement that social media offers. Create unique and valuable reasons for consumers to build a special connection with your brand and reap the emotional and tangible benefits that inherently come with being in an “equal relationship”:  trust, loyalty, valuable input, a genuine listener, shared fun in the form of conversations, games, interactive activities, and the list goes on and on.

By displaying a friendly approach, a helpful attitude, unquestionable integrity, and a sincere desire to interact and share with others, your brand can play a key role in enabling, inspiring and influencing meaningful interactions – whether its communication between consumers and brands, brand facilitated consumer to consumer conversations, or organic dialogue among consumers.

In return, your brand will enjoy enhanced relevance and value in the eyes of the consumer, resulting in deeper consumer loyalty and advocacy.

Social media marketing provides an exciting new opportunity and relevant touchpoint for brands to show off who they really are. Be friendly, be helpful, be giving, be informative. Don’t be loud and obnoxious. Don’t force yourself on others. Be sure your brand has good manners and is enjoyable to be around.

Do that, and you’ll be sure to be invited back over and over!

What Big Brands Should Learn From the Little Guy

Small Business owners don’t have the marketing budgets, the world class ad agencies, or the ubiquitous brands that their larger competitors possess.  But they do have several traits that should be envied, and ultimately replicated, by the bigger consumer brands.

The small business owner tends to be networked in his community, on a personal level as well as a business level.  He (or she) is a little league coach, a singer in the church choir, a poker buddy, or a next door neighbor – as well as the heart and soul of his business. He is the living, breathing, walking-around representation of his business and its brand.  In short, he is connected with his community, and he tends to be plugged in very well to what is going on around him.  He is not always in sell mode, because he realizes that taking a genuine interest in others is far better than broadcasting his message 100% of the time.  He is likeable and is the kind of fellow with whom you would like to do business.

Big brands with big marketing dollars can learn a great deal from the small business guy.  After all, for many businesses it has been cost-prohibitive to connect with consumers personally – some even measure “cost per contact” as if talking to their customers was a cost center to be carefully managed.  But technology is now allowing big brands to capture and leverage some of the best traits of the small business owner. By using social tools to start a real dialogue with loyal customers, big brands can now encourage communication and customers can actually provide feedback that can increase the value of the overall organization.

It takes a real effort to effectively engage with consumers, though.  Too often brands will pay lip service to listening to what their consumers have to say.  Social marketing involves a commitment to the relationship over time.  It’s not a campaign.  It doesn’t end when the intern goes back to college after summer break.  It requires a concerted, sustained effort to engage consumers, just like the local business guy.

Is social media part of your holistic marketing strategy?

Ten years ago I headed up strategy and client services for a full service boutique ad agency where we were given the unique opportunity to respond to an interactive agency RFP (request for proposal) for a collection of brands at a leading CPG (consumer packaged goods) company,

We were David. The other contenders were Goliath. They were full-on “dot com” agencies, before the bubble burst (the first time!). We were a small team, with lots of creative and strategic smarts and a secret weapon: one of us came from a brand management background. We not only understood brand marketing and advertising, but had lived it day in and day out.

We won the business. Why? Not because we recommended solutions centered on massive online ad buys and the creation of beautiful colossal websites conceived in a vacuum and intended to be standalone works of beauty. We left that to the other folks.

Instead, we knew the client’s business. And, we understood what the role of the internet was at that time. It wasn’t the end all, be all. It wasn’t going to replace all other means of advertising. It was a touchpoint. One more place where consumers could interact with brands and an exciting new way for brands to build one-to-one, engaging relationships with their target audience.

We proposed integrated solutions where internet activity was one component of the holistic marketing plan. The perfect complement to all other efforts: run a commercial or FSI (newspaper insert) and drive consumers to the website. Give consumers an incentive such as loyalty or trial building coupons, relevant content, or a sweepstakes to provide information about themselves and CRM (consumer relationship marketing) efforts could begin. Then, complete the circle by putting learnings about the consumer back into ongoing holistic marketing and advertising plans..

Fast forward ten years. As an industry, we at the same place with Social Marketing: social media is an exciting new and relevant touchpoint that must not be regarded as a standalone entity. Instead, it provides a valuable way to engage consumers and build conversations around your brand. As such, it plays a special role as an extension of all other branded efforts and fits right into your holistic marketing plan.

Don’t be anti-social and don’t create your social media plan in a vacuum.