Strategizing Communicationin a (Social) Networked World

Neville HobsonHead of Social Media EuropeWeissComm GroupLondon

twitter.com/jangles

October 23, 2009

Key Questions

1. Wheredoes social media really fit into your business world?

2. Howdo you identify online influencers and connect with them?

3. Whoelse is using social media and what measurable benefits are they enjoying?

4. Whatcan you do right now?

http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/2007_05.html

What’s in a Name?

Social Software

Web 2.0

Social MediaEnterprise 2.0

Social Business

Clear Behaviour Changes and Trends

We don’t trust “corporate-speak” or “marketing-speak”

We fast-forward our DVRs through the interruptions

We pull content that interests us We create our own content, original and mashups We embrace word of mouth and eschew

mainstream media We are connected wherever and whenever we

wish We bring our behaviours to the workplace

Clear Business Trends and Focus

Key Trends Marketers are seeking lower cost solutions Desire for more accountable channels High focus on reaching customers directly Mix shifting quickly from traditional to interactive

channels Areas of Focus

Social Media (CAGR of 34% to 2014 – Forrester) Search Marketing (biggest bucket) Display advertising, email marketing, mobile

marketing next

The Media World Isn’t Changing…

Media Outlets: 74 of top 100 outlets for Techmeme are blogs/online sites

Bloggers: 3 of 4 look to each other for their next story

Customers: 3 of 4 look to each other for purchase advice

Conversations: the driver of share-of-voice, influence and recommendations

Don’t define it as offline or online: it’s all one media world. Just know which conversations are defining your brand.

…it has already changed

The New Media

http://www.techmeme.com/lb

3 AreasOf Influence

1: Search

Trend: Yes, Google is #1,

but YouTube is #3.

Relevance: We need to know the

influencers on the first screen for our brand and key topics.

We also need to understand where people are taken when they search.

2: Twitter

Trend: An effective way to

alert influencers, help propel news cycles.

Relevance: A great opportunity to

build a network of influencers who want

to share your news in real

time.

Twitter Mainstream Milestones

US presidential election campaign

Mumbai terrorism US Airways jet and

the Hudson River Twestival Oprah Winfrey

embraces Twitter Swine flu / Influenza A

H1N1 Iran elections

3: Social Networking Sites

Trend: The communities that

are often our “first place” to go online.

Relevance: Our day often starts

and ends with Facebook or MySpace or Orkut or other depending where we live.

Understand the New Rules of Engagement

1. Channels have fragmented

2. Trust is critical3. Social media have

arrived4. The consumer is in

control (kind of)5. Content creation

and distribution have been democratized

Imperatives: You must reach the

new influencers On their terms Engage in the

conversation or fail to connect

Why Care About Social Media?

It’s about knowing Where the conversations are happening What’s your share of the conversation What are the conversations that you could / should be in Who are the key influencers who can help build your brand

It’s about expanding your news flow Simple syndication – distribute news via basic sharing tools (eg, Twitter and

Facebook)

It’s about understanding communities Which groups, forums and networks matter Who drives share of conversation in these communities What are the next steps in driving relationships

It’s about leveraging existing content and improving your natural search

Our Reality

1. Channels have fragmented

2. Trust is critical3. Social media have

arrived4. The consumer is in

control (kind of)5. Content creation

and distribution have been democratized

Imperatives: You must reach the

new influencers On their terms Engage in the

conversation or fail to connect

Key Questions

1. Wheredoes social media really fit into your business world?

2. Howdo you identify online influencers and connect with them?

3. Whoelse is using social media and what measurable benefits are they enjoying?

4. Whatcan you do right now?

Start Here

Listen Give up control Be natural Make a commitment Be where your customers

are Learn to deal with

negativity Be humble Have a clear and

measurable objective Develop a plan Listen

Copyright applies to this document - some rights reserved.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-

Share Alike 3.0 License.Details: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

www.nevillehobson.com