Building the Case for B2B Social Media

Building the Case for B2B Social Media

AppleExpo

Presented by Humphrey Ho – Agile Dudes Inc.

• Principal Social Media Strategist @ Agile Dudes Inc

• Clients:

• Social Media & Digital Strategy• Online Community Management• Brand Eminence and Monitoring

Humphrey HoCAPM | MBA | H.BSc.

@itshumphrey

Agiledudes.com/thoughts

Did you know?

72% of Internet users are part of one social network – that’s 940 million users! (Insites Consulting)

18% increase in revenue for companies using social media

6% decrease in revenue for companies NOT using social media

(Eric Qualmann, 2009)

57% of US workers use social media once a week

for business purposes (IDC State of Social Business 2009)

33% of adults use social networks for professional purposes(Forrester Research – Conversations Get Onto the Ladder 2010)

The Apple Reseller Summit and AppleExpo have a Twitter Account and Blog?

Follow: @appleexpo Hashtag: #appleexpo Blog: Appleexpo.ca/blog

The Way We Communicate

Baby Boomers (1964 or earlier)

• 7 hours a day on a PC• 1.1 hours a day on an

iPhone or Blackberry• Receive 69 emails a day• 24% befriend clients on

social networking sites• 28% are likely to blog

about work• 14% access social

networking sites from work

Generation X (1965 – 1979)

• 7.8 hours a day on a PC• 1.7 hours a day on an

iPhone or Blackberry• Receive 63 emails a day• 44% befriend clients on

social networking sites• 42% are likely to blog

about work• 39% access social

networking sites from work

Generation Y(1980 or later)

• 8.5 hours a day on a PC• 4 hours a day on an

iPhone or Blackberry• Receive 40 emails a day• 47% befriend clients on

social networking sites• 43% are likely to blog

about work• 62% access social

networking sites from work

Lexis Nexis Technology Gap Survey April 09

All generations agree - the line between professional and personal life is blurring

General Rules of B2B and Social Media

• Social media tools are just that...tools– It’s all in the strategy and implementation of such

tools. B2C and B2B tools are the same!• B2B: Few customers drive majority of revenue– Encourage client-vendor collaboration using SM

• B2B cost of acquisition 3-5x that of retention– Use SM to reduce costs of brand exposure– Target decision makers of prospective accounts

B2B & Social Media – Key

Benefits

Extend Relationsh

ips

Expand Reach

Professional Communitie

s

Increase WOM

Thought Leadershi

p

Reduce Marketing

Spend

Notable companies and social media• American Red Cross - $5 million dollars for Haiti in less than 72

hours

• Ford – 2010 marketing budget = 25% on social media

• Lenovo – Reduced call centre activity 20% with Lenovo Support

Community

• VW – Launches VW GTI solely using social media

• EBay – Users of online community spend 54% more

• Burger King’s Delete 10 Friends – investment = <$50,000

impressions = $32M , press/media value = $400,000Sources: Respective company news releases

Social Media Strategy – The Pre-ListStandardize Nomenclature

Centralize Assets

Purpose of each social media tool

Identify internal/external resources

Time/Schedules?

Policies/Rules of Engagement

Business Objectives

Twitter Tips

• 74 million Tweeple, 50 million tweets• Use as an outpost • Re-tweet others that have similar content• #hashtags!• Setup a tweet schedule• Integrate with other social media properties

Expand Reach Thought Leadership

Increase WOM

Expand ReachFacebook Tips

• 400 million users, 30% activity about brands• Understand your fan base• Focus groups, surveying, technographics• Run incentive promotions• Integrate into other web properties

Reduce Marketing

Spend

Extend Relationships

Expand Reach Thought LeadershipLinkedIn Tips

• 100 million members, 33% over 45• Build Thought Leadership – Answer questions,

post discussions, join groups• Share! Take advantage of LinkedIn Widgets• Cross-promote your profile elsewhere• Host “exclusive” content and seminars

Professional Communities

Social Media Tools At-A-Glance• Blogs

– Corporate, Individual, Public (Ulitzer)• Wikis

– Product/Solution Enabling• Social Networks

– Linkedin, Facebook, MySpace• Microblogging

– Twitter, FriendFeed• Forums/Groups

– Google Groups, open knowledge sharing• Online Video

– YouTube, blip.tv, Vimeo• File Sharing / Podcasting

– Scribd, Slideshare• User Community

– Private knowledge sharing• Bookmarking

– Digg, Delicious, Reddit• WOM (Word of Mouth)

B2B & Social Media – Key

Benefits

Extend Relationsh

ips

Expand Reach

Professional Communitie

s

Increase WOM

Thought Leadershi

p

Reduce Marketing

Spend

Relationship Building• Two-way, real-time nature of social media

enable highly personal brand experience• B2B executives can interact directly with

prospects and customers

Extend Relationships

Expand your Network

• Identify new business leads and partners who pull your content

• Monitor online conversations, trending topics

• Use social media as an outpost

Expand Reach

• Build professional communities, or join an existing one!

• Share insights, answer questions, provide third-party referrals

• Knowledge-sharing...good place to build thought leadership!

Tap Professional CommunitiesProfessional Communities

Increase Third-Party Influence

• Encourage Word-of-Mouth feedback

• Build referral programs by providing a platform for interaction

• Find brand advocates and monitor positive endorsements

Increase WOM

Provide Thought Leadership

• Leverage multimedia channels to give expertise

• Gain exposure through exchanging knowledge with other professionals

• Repurpose existing content for new social media platforms

Thought Leadership

Reduce Marketing Spend

• Safenet – $1 million in direct revenue from LinkedIn IT Security Community

• Vocus - $500,000 revenue– B2B support via @vocus– LinkedIn participation

• Lenovo – 20% reduction in call center activity using Lenovo Community

• SUN – 3000 employees blog about projects – Ranked #451 website

Reduce Marketing

Spend

Things to Consider in Social Media (and how we can help...)

• Social Media Monitoring• Online Community Management• Social Media Bootcamps• Public/Private Social Networks• Social Ready Websites• Mobile• Multimedia Channels • Social Media Blueprint

Social Media Best Practices

• Useful content – helpful and knowledgeable• Comment and reply• KISS (Keep it Simple...)• Linkback and Trackbacks to others• Be consistent – schedule updates• Develop a Social Media Policy• Have a sustainable strategy• Make sure you’re “social-ready”

Agile Dudes Inc.

60 Adelaide Street East

Toronto, Ontario M5C 3E4

416-203-3380

www.agiledudes.com @agiledudes agiledudes.com/thoughts