Chris Barger Social Media Presentation

Changing Channels: The Rise of the Social Web & What It Means For Business

Christopher BargerDirector, Social Media, General Motors@cbarger

University of TampaSeptember 22, 2009

Agenda Why the focus on the social web? What’s it really all about? One company’s efforts in action What you should be thinking about/what

you can do Who to watch Q&A (both ways, by the way)

The Social Web: Pop Culture

The social web: global politics

The social web: Business

The social web: $$$ !

Social media is not really about technology

“It's a story about community andcollaboration on a scale neverseen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of

knowledgeWikipedia and the million-channelpeople's network YouTube and

theonline metropolis MySpace. It's

aboutthe many wresting power

from thefew and helping one another fornothing and how that will not onlychange the world, but also changethe way the world changes.”

The new communications paradigm Mass Media Social MediaAudience Mass NicheEconomics High cost Low costEngagement Passive ActiveVoice Corporate IndividualPublisher Professional Self-publishingAuthority Corporate PeerMarketing Sales RelationshipsCommunications

Publisher Enabler

Projections are that more than half of all U.S. households will have DVRs by 2010.

"I bought XM radio because I wanted something that wasn't clogged with commercials," said Alfred Lupercio of Chesterfield Township. "But now there seem to be more and more and I figure it's not worth the money.“

As of September 9, 2009, more than 220 million iPods had been sold worldwide.

A growing backlash

The backlash extends to PR, too

It’s about trust 58% believe what a

“person like me” says about a company or organization

63% of those 25-34 are “likely to share opinions and experiences about companies they trust or distrust online.”

78% of those 35-64 are “likely to trust what they have seen, read or heard about a company if someone they know has already mentioned it to them.

Source: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2008

Consumer vs. Traditional Media“Professional” vs. “Amateur” – Who’s objective?

“Professional” vs. “Amateur:” Who’s credible?

“Professional” vs. “Amateur:” Who’s accurate?

The environment has changed“Influence the Influencers”

GM Social Media Team: PhilosophyThe GM Social Media team is responsible for reaching new audiences, bloggers and other key influencers that live in the online world. We continue to educate communications and marketing colleagues throughout the globe on the importance of social media, how to embrace it, and how to engage in conversations that are taking place online.

GM’s approach to Social MediaEmpower all employees to become active in Social Media

Brand vs. Individual balanced approach Immerse and disperse

GM Social Media: History “FastLane” blog launched January 2005 Gmblogs Flickr photostream launched May 2006 “FYI” blog launched June 2006 First official YouTube channel (gmblogs) launched

September 2006 Blogger relations function established early 2007 Facebook presence established (via group interactions,

pages, widgets) July 2007 Twitter (@gmblogs) established January 2008 iPhone application: GM Mobile News launched January

2009

Social Media Engagement (June 1-5)

Created extended Social Media team to engage GM Communications team to support communication efforts

– Represented at least one member from Brands, Regions, Manufacturing, Marketing, Product Planning, Technology, Finance, Corporate, Policy and Design

Live “Tweeting” from GM Communications team during executive broadcast interviews, sales call, press conferences and congressional hearings

Rapid Response engagement via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and influential blogs

Fastlane posts from Fritz Henderson Live chats with Ray Young (Twitter) and Fritz Henderson

(Fastlane) NPR Planet Money Podcast with Ray Young gmreinvention.com was built to include social network sharing

tools

Results

Making use of the @GMBlogs Twitter account, members of the social media team responded to more than 1,000 questions, comments and concerns that week.

The team also live-Tweeted press conferences and media calls that would have been otherwise unheard by the Twitter community.

Ability to clarify rumors and hearsay before on-line “forest fires” spread

Communication employees on twitter collectively have more than 30,000 followers.

Overall, the community was impressed with GM’s use of Twitter to communicate news during a corporate communications crisis. Several local news outlets published the GM Twitter badge on their own web sites during the announcements. Notable comments:

o Live from New York! It's our bankruptcy proceedings twitter feed! GM breaks new territory into corporate lifecasting with @GMBlogs -@JonnyWon

o @GMblogs is on fire today. Not a plug, but in the olden days, a company would be hiding in cave on a day like 2day -@APAutoWriter

Hands on Engagement Product and Technology showcase: Consumer

Day 1– Invited 100 consumers, influencers and bloggers to

experience GM “Hands On”– Trip included exclusive tour of GM Design

showcasing forthcoming products and concepts, PPO build shop to witness Chevy Volt production, full product ride and drive at Milford Proving Grounds and TweetUp

– Guests were encouraged to share their experience throughout the program• @GMBlogs RT’ed comments, photos and links to guest’s

blogs• Posted comments to personal and corporate Facebook

pages• Created photostream feed to share photos taken

throughout the tour

“After this event it is safe to say, I can say I feel GM has a real future and great product in the pipeline” – Joelfeder.com

“Lo and behold, GM has jumped into the ring with a new project called The Lab and it seems to be a solid first step in engaging designer and customer in a productive, conversational way. This marks a turning point  in the use of social media as a truly two-way street into and out of automotive companies outside of the PR department” – Downsideupdesign.com

@Stephanieclick There are not enough good things to say about yesterday's event. So grateful that I was invited. Trying to process all that I saw!

Hands on Engagement

“Michaelbanovsky: Sweet! #GM actually listened for once! Now I know I talked to #fritz about the #G8… http://tr.im/wHpq”

Nsap: is impressed GM is listening when it comes to product...good for them! Keep it up!! @gmblogs @bpgjim @cbarger”

Listening to consumers

Portfolio Event Results: Product

“It's also clear that GM spent a lot of time and care designing the interior of the Enclave… Fit and finish are light years ahead of past GM vehicles.”

The new [Cadillac] CTS is probably the best conceived and executed GM product that I have ever had the privilege of experiencing… The first generation CTS started to change minds, this second generation model is going to win hearts.”

“Search... I mean, search, for another automotive blog where a young import-loving guy posts twice in one afternoon; consecutively; where the titles both feature the name Buick… And we ain't joking around. Nor does the joke start at the next sentence: The Enclave is good.

“While GM cars are unmistakably American, it turns out that the meaning of that word is changing. I noticed a maturing and a refinement of design that (while a little slow in coming), feels like a breath of fresh air. GM certainly needs some of that these days.”

Effect of outreach on brand reputation “Kudos to you General Motors, for realizing and respecting the reach

of the Internet and the influence of women in the blogosphere.” “This is what really impressed me - here we were with all of these

major executives from this huge automotive company, and yet they were sitting there talking to us, interested in what we had to say, asking us what we thought of the cars, what we thought of the whole trip - everyone was friendly and approachable. It tells me that GM really cares about what people think about their cars, and I like that.”

“In the end I was impressed with [Chevy’s general manager]’s willingness to come meet with us bloggers… the fact that he was there and listening counted for a lot. I didn't agree with every answer, but I was glad to have the opportunity to ask the questions.”

“The best part was the realization GM has come to: the internet matters, bloggers matter, and they're representative of the marketplace. We were listened to and taken seriously. We were asked questions, too!”

Effects of outreach on GM Brand Reputation “First, credit where credit’s due: GM is one of

the few major public corporations (and the first I’ve seen in the auto industry) to realize that social media, and the blogosphere in particular, doesn’t take kindly to being treated like any old marketing mechanism. On-message spin doesn’t work online because bloggers are people who take pride in peering through the fog, and distilling information for their readers… They managed to hire people who realize that success in the blogosphere is about having an honest conversation, good or bad, and that admitting mistakes builds trust with consumers.”

Manic Mommies Escape Weekend Results

Before the Escape, would you have considered purchasing a GM vehicle?

– YES: 34.6%– NO: 65.4%

Has your perception of GM changed since the Escape:

– YES: 73.1%– NO: 26.9%

3. Would you now consider purchasing a GM vehicle?

– Yes 92.3%– No 7.7%

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The bottom line

Relevancy in the social web is earned, not boughtWe now work in a trust economy

Businesses and organizations no longer automatically relevant; peers are

To be effective, you must broaden your scope, your audiences, and your mind

The bottom line: Get ready If you’re not out there, get out there Shift your focus to engagement, not numbers Avoid “gurus” Recognize that ROI is indirect No such thing as “creating viral” Don’t overfocus on the tools or technology;

remember that people and trust are the core Be strategic; don’t just create media to be “out

there” Would you read/listen/watch/care if you didn’t work

here?

Where Can you find us?

http://facebook.com/generalmotors

http://facebook.com/chevrolethttp://facebook.com/

chevycamarohttp://facebook.com/chevyvolt

http://facebook.com/cadillachttp://facebook.com/buickhttp://facebook.com/GMC

http://facebook.com/OnStar

http://www.fastlane.gmblogs.comhttp://thelab.gmblogs.com

http://www.fyi.gmblogs.comhttp://www.cadillac.gmblogs.com

www.onstarconnections.com

www.chevroletvoltage.com

http://gmreinvention.comhttp://www.facesofGM.com

www.youtube.com/gmblogs www.youtube.com/chevroletvehicleswww.youtube.com/mycadillacstorywww.youtube.com/buickvehicleswww.youtube.com/igotshotgun

www.youtube.com/gmcertifiedused

@gmblogs@cbarger

@maryhenige@wendyrclark@connieburke

@annalisabluhm@nuriabaldello