we are social • JANUARY 2013 �
MAKING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING PEOPLE �WE ARE SOCIAL’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING �
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MAKING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING PEOPLE �SOCIAL MEDIA DEFINED �
THE STATE OF SOCIAL MEDIA�DEBUNKING SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS �
HOW CAN MARKETERS HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?�USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS�
THE 10 ‘COMMENDMENTS’�8 STEPS TO STRATEGIC SUCCESS �
FINDING OUT MORE �
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WHAT EXACTLY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA?�
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?!
Social media are internet-powered platforms that make it easy for individuals,
groups of people, and organisations to converse and participate with one another
in a wide variety of social activities.
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The concept of social media has been around for thousands of years – even early cavemen wrote on each other’s walls.
However, the internet has scaled social media to a whole new level. Today, more than 1.7 billion people around the
world have signed up to a social network, and that number is still increasing by more than half a million every day.
SOURCES: BASED ON FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD � 6 �
NORTH AMERICA�
CENTRAL AMERICA�
SOUTH AMERICA�
AFRICA�
MIDDLE EAST�
WESTERN EUROPE �
EASTERN EUROPE �
ASIA�
OCEANIA�
CENTRAL �ASIA�
SOCIAL MEDIA PENETRATION�JAN�2013 �
7 �SOURCES: BASED ON THE LATEST FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD (AS AT JAN 2013), COMPARED TO DATA FROM THE US CENSUS BUREAU (JAN 2013) �
54%�
36%�5%�
19% �
41%�
48%�
23%�
35%�
28%�
8%�
It’s not just the total number of users that’s impressive though. Facebook reports that more than half its users sign in every day, while ComScore data indicates that, worldwide, people spend a combined average of more than 10 hours each month using the
top social channels. Indeed, social media have become so popular that they are now responsible for more than 1 minute in every 6
spent on the internet – more than any other kind of activity.
SOURCES: COMSCORE; FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD � 8 �
SOURCE: COMSCORE, AS CITED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. DATA REPRESENTS THE AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON EACH SITE WORLDWIDE, NOT INCLUDING MOBILE USAGE � 9 �
AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES�
FACEBOOK: 405 MINS �
TUMBLR: 89 MINS � PINTEREST: 89 MINS �
TWITTER: �21 MINS �
LINKEDIN: �17 MINS �
MYSPACE: �8 MINS �
GOOGLE+: �3 MINS �
Social media are a global phenomenon too: Facebook has users in more than 200 countries, with India, Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico all in the top 5. China’s QQ messaging platform alone
claims more than 710 million registered users. What’s more, with interest in social media driving internet adoption in many parts of the developing world, we can expect continued growth in the use
of social platforms over the coming months.
SOURCES: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES� 10 �
SOCIAL NETWORKS BY REGISTERED USERS�JAN�2013 �
11 �SOURCES: BASED ON FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD �
1,000 M �
500 M �
FACEBOOK�
VKONTAKTE �
SINA WEIBO �
GOOGLE+ �
712 M �QZONE �
196 M �
PENGYOU�
400 M �
TWITTER �
246 M �
507 M �TENCENT WEIBO�
500 M �
HABBO � 230 M �
DEBUNKING SOME �SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS �
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“SOCIAL MEDIA WILL REPLACE �ALL ADVERTISING MEDIA” �
This assertion continues to surface even in leading business literature, but it’s unlikely that social media will actually
replace anything. Rather, social media are simply one more – albeit very powerful – addition to the array of
communications channels at the marketer’s disposal.
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“SOCIAL MEDIA ARE FREE” �
This is another common misconception. The media space itself may be considerably cheaper than it would
be in newspapers or on TV, but the time involved in creating effective content and interacting with audiences means social channels still require financial investment.
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Marketers that try to shoe-horn interruptive advertising into social channels may believe this to be so, but brands that strive to add value to their
audiences’ world will often find that their activities are actually very welcome in social media.
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“MARKETING HAS NO PLACE IN SOCIAL MEDIA” �
SO HOW CAN BRANDS�HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?�
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If marketers are to seize the opportunities offered by social media, they must first decide what they will use it for. Will it simply be
another advertising channel? Is there an opportunity to use social media to deliver real-time customer service? Could the brand
generate revenue directly through social media channels? Only once these questions have been answered should marketers
start to plan their specific social media activities. 17 �
COMMON BUSINESS USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA�
18�SOURCE: EMARKETER. ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’ INCLUDE SOCIAL NETWORKS, BLOGS, CHAT, DISCUSSION BOARDS, MICROBLOGS, RATINGS, VIDEO SHARING SITES AND WIKIS.�
57%�MARKETING �
39%�INTERNAL COLLABORATION AND LEARNING �
29%�CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT�
25%�SALES �
21%�HUMAN RESOURCES �
16% �STRATEGY �
14%�R & D �
31%�OTHER�
10 �‘COMMENDMENTS’�
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THE!
�1: FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY �Social media marketing is not a digital discipline – it’s a human discipline that is powered by digital channels. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have all achieved success by satisfying our desire to connect and interact with other people, but no matter how impressive it is, the technology is only ever a means to an end. So, in order for brands to ensure lasting relevance and engagement in social media, it’s critical that marketers build social media strategies around people’s motivations, not the platforms’ technology.
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�2: BUILD CONVERSATIONS, NOT CAMPAIGNS�Broadcast advertising works much like a pick-up line: it’s a great way to make an introduction and capture people’s interest. However, it’s very difficult to build a long-term relationship with pick-up lines alone. Social media allow marketers to engage audiences beyond introductions and deliver more meaningful exchanges of value. These exchanges are often smaller and less spectacular than traditional advertising, but – just like in a good marriage – these smaller interactions add up over time to form the basis of a much deeper relationship.
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Content is not king. If I sent you to a desert island and gave you the choice of taking your friends or
your movies, you'd choose your friends - if you chose the movies, we'd call you a sociopath. Conversation
is king. Content is just something to talk about. Cory Doctorow
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�3: CONTENT IS A MEANS, NOT AN END �Social media content is less about creating a stand-alone spectacle, and more about inspiring and fueling on-going conversations. Because of this, content can take on different forms and roles: activities like asking questions, posting simple pictures, or even sharing links to third-party content can all help to engage an audience. However, it’s critical that this content all contributes towards a broader ‘conversation agenda’, and marketers need to give special attention to sequencing different activities to ensure conversations evolve as desired.
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4: ADD VALUE TO THE AUDIENCE’S LIFE �A brand’s social media activity has to compete with a wide variety of compelling content: updates from family and friends, entertainment, news, and activity from other brands. Because of this, the interruptive ‘broadcast’ approach no longer works. Instead, brands must consistently deliver activities that engage the audience – activities that people will actively seek out, and choose to share with others. Critically, brands need to add real value to the audience’s life by going beyond statements about product attributes to understand the benefits that matter to the audience, and finding relevant ways to bring these benefits to life.
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�5: LISTENING IS THE NEW SHOUTING �People use social networks to talk about the things that matter to them. In doing so, they share a wealth of information: their interests, their habits, their moods; even their brand preferences. This publicly available information is often worth just as much as – and sometimes more than – traditional market research. Critically, it can help marketers to understand which platforms their audiences use, and why. This understanding can then inform a powerful, multi-channel strategy that engages people in different ways at different times.
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�6: SPREAD THE WORD �It’s unlikely that people will accidentally stumble upon a brand’s social media presence, so raising awareness of social media activities is a key part of success. Advertising is a perfectly legitimate way of getting the word out to the intended audience, but it’s vital that it demonstrates how the brand’s social media activities will add value to the intended audience’s life. Simply inviting people to ‘Like’ a page is rarely enough; people need to understand what they’ll get in return for their time and effort.
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�7: ALWAYS BE PREPARED �Social media provide frequent reminders that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Most brands will need to deal with discontent at some point or other, so marketers should prepare for such situations in advance. Similarly, brands should allow for nice surprises too, and have plans in place to capitalise on social serendipity and unexpected opportunities. A clear ‘3As Process’ – alert, assess, act – can help marketers prepare for these situations, ensuring the right people can deliver the right responses in the right places at the right times.
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8: MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS �Social media marketing is a business investment, and marketers must be able to demonstrate how it adds value to the brand’s bottom line. Social media ROI is not restricted to increasing sales though; improving the frequency of referrals, reducing the cost of customer service, and even helping to track competitor activity are all ways in which social media can contribute to a brand’s overall success. Measuring ROI needn’t be complicated either; simple before-and-after measurements of metrics tied to original objectives can provide rich insights into whether activities are delivering on expectations.
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��9: OPTIMISE AS YOU GO �Unlike the ‘ready, aim, fire’ paradigm of broadcast media, social media offer marketers the opportunity to stop, start, or change elements of their activities in real-time, depending on the audience’s response (or lack thereof). As a result, marketers can adopt a ‘test-and-learn’ approach, trialling different approaches and adapting their strategy based on their results. Consequently, regular reporting should play a key part in any social media strategy.
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You can’t hurry love, No, you just have to wait;
Love don’t come easy, It’s a game of give and take
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The Supremes (1966)
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10: BE IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM �Deep, meaningful relationships take time to build, and marketers need to take things at a pace that the audience is comfortable with. Sometimes the audience will initiate the conversation, but other times, it may take many months to build the desired momentum. Either way, brands can’t achieve lasting success in social media by dipping in and out; they must adopt a long-term, committed approach. This usually involves building a dedicated social media team – whether internally, or with the help of a partner agency – that can take advantage of every social opportunity, however unexpected, tactical or transitory.
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1. FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY �2. BUILD CONVERSATIONS, NOT CAMPAIGNS�3. USE CONTENT AS A MEANS, NOT AS AN END �4. ADD VALUE TO THE AUDIENCE’S LIFE �5. LISTENING IS THE NEW SHOUTING �6. SPREAD THE WORD �7. ALWAYS BE PREPARED �8. MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS�9. OPTIMISE AS YOU GO�10. BE IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM �
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SO HOW CAN YOU GET STARTED WITH �STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?�
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8 �STEPS TO
STRATEGIC �SUCCESS�
STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR �BUSINESS OBJECTIVES �
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STEP 2: MONITOR AND INTERPRET�YOUR AUDIENCE’S CONVERSATIONS �
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STEP 3: UNDERSTAND YOUR � AUDIENCE’S MOTIVATIONS�
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STEP 4: IDENTIFY HOW YOUR BRAND CAN�ADD VALUE TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S WORLD �
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STEP 5: SELECT�YOUR PLATFORMS �
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STEP 6: STRATEGISE �YOUR CONTENT APPROACH �
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STEP 7: TEST�AND LEARN�
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STEP 8: RINSE �AND REPEAT �
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1: SET YOUR OBJECTIVES �2: MONITOR CONVERSATIONS�3: UNDERSTAND MOTIVATIONS�4: IDENTIFY HOW TO ADD VALUE �5: SELECT YOUR PLATFORMS �6: STRATEGISE YOUR APPROACH �7: TEST AND LEARN�8: RINSE AND REPEAT�8 �
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FIND OUT MORE AT�WEARESOCIAL.SG �
WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.�
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,�AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.�
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S �TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING UNILEVER, ADIDAS, INTEL,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LOUIS VUITTON. �
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU�TOO, CALL SIMON KEMP ON +65 9146 5356, OR �
EMAIL US AT [email protected].�
FIND OUT MORE AT WEARESOCIAL.SG.�
