DITCHING COMMUNICATIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT: A STRATEGIC APPROACH

1. DITCHING COMMUNICATIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT: A STRATEGIC APPROACH • Eric Weaver | Tribal DDB • Social Media Breakfast • 12/1/09

2. Topics • WHY engagement? • The traditional marketing model • Why the wheels have fallen off • New approaches to revenue • WHAT is an engagement strategy? • What does it consist of? • HOW marketing can rethink its approach for engagement • Some thought starters

3. Our (Formerly) Glamorous Life

4. The ground rules • Built in a known environment of limited product choice • Limited media channels • Longer brand interactions • Higher barriers to entry

5. Meanwhile, back at the recession…

6. revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue revenue

7. “Are you asking for a budget increase?”

8. Cultural shifts and Marketing Source: Agent Wildfire

9. Trust ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE’S RISK People turn to peers when time is short, risk is greater WE TRUST PEERS THE MOST (57%); 13% trust advertisers/marketers (least trusted group) drives transactions PEOPLE BUY TRUST Trust drives preference: 91% buy from trusted companies; 77% refuse to buy from distrusted TRUST IS WIDELY SPREAD 56% age 35-64, 63% 25-34 share trust/distrust on the web 2008-2009 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

10. Hmmm: if peers are the most trusted and we are the least, what if we put our brands into the hands of the market? • 66% of touchpoints are now consumer-generated • Banner ads have an average .19% clickthrough, while Facebook fan page announcements have a 6.5% clickthrough • WHY? The mental gauntlet is down • APPROACH: Craft brand content nuggets and trust builders • Testimonials • Interviews • Leadership/product management commentary • CRUCIAL: Set your brand and value messaging guardrails

12. BOOMERS = propriety. Trained in formalities, don’t offend, guarded means safe, not so great with “random.” Suit & tie = trust. GEN Y = affinity. Formalities ignored, sharing means finding, tech is easy, random is life. Consider your lens. Suit & tie = distrust.

13. Let’s talk strategy

14. First of all, what’s a strategy? • Simply put, a strategic vision — an end point — and a plan to get there • It’s not about the channels • Honestly assess your starting point • Audit your customers and prospects • Review competitive SWOT • Determine approach and action steps • Short-term, mid-term, long-term • Here’s where your tools come in • Staffing and support • Determine success metrics, KPIs

15. Envision an end goal FLICKR: @SLUDGEGULPER

17. How can customers engage with you today? • Who are your brand zealots? Ambassadors? Naysayers? • What topics are tied to your brand? Your firm? • How is the competition engaging with your customer/prospect base? Threats? Opportunities? Honestly assess your starting point FLICKR: @BEN+SAM

18. Where’s your offering today? • Social marketing • Never started, yes but not yet, stuck/unsure, baby steps, active • Feedback channels • Retail, mail, web, email, phone, blog, external monitoring, branded social channels, customer advisory panels • Value proposition • Information, promos, media, tools • Relevance • Impulse, low need, high need, essential

19. AFFINITY/SHARING: Forwarding/Bookmarking/WallPosting • Content that triggers feelings of identity, tribe, bragging rights • Content that provides reference information • FEEDBACK: Commenting/Reviewing • Editorial content • Ask for feedback • ADVOCACY: Faving. Fanning. Blogging. • Cause and value messaging/content • FANDOM: Mashups/Media/FanSites. • Provide malleable content • Empower ambassadors Action steps

20. Forrester’s Technographic segmentation model

21. Two different approaches • MANAGE INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS BY CHANNEL • CRAFT MESSAGE, CONTENT BY VENUE • Call center • Email • Twitter • Facebook • Direct • Events • Flickr • YouTube • FOSTER CUSTOMER DRIVES TO ENGAGE • LET CUSTOMERS DETERMINE MOST EFFECTIVE CHANNEL • Start with affinity, trust, transparency • Create feedback channels • Assign listeners, conversationalists, and content creators

22. BRANDED SITE EXTERNAL MKTG-MANAGED PRESENCE EXTERNAL THIRD-PARTY SITE TRADITIONAL MEDIA/PR Integrated Traditional/Social Marketing Mix TOPICAL COMMUNITIES: IP, HELPFUL TIPS AWARENESS NEED DETERMINATION EVALUATION/COMPARISON PURCHASE LOYALTY PRODUCT LAUNCH MICROSITE CONSUMER STYLE SHARING AMAZON S T O R Y T E L L I N G DOT-COM SITE HELPFUL RESOURCES SEO COMMENTS EVENTS COMPANY BLOG (IP) ONLINE SAMPLING FACEBOOK FAN PAGE E-COMMERCE PARTNER ONLINE YOUTUBE CHANNEL: STORYTELLING, IP PRINT EXTERNAL BLOGS: IP, FASHION TIPS OUTDOOR PR PRODUCT SEEDING PGMS RETAIL

23. Consider including a trust strategy If trust is the primary lever of revenue • Where are you trusted? • Create amplifier opportunities for brand zealots • Video testimonials • Where are you distrusted? • Provide open, transparent proof points that can be found • Testimonials and interviews • Inside looks • Open dialogue with the market • Lead with trust weak spots • Takes the wind out of naysayers

24. Trust generated, 2300 new accounts, $4 million.

25. PROOF OF INTENTION: leveraging social causes to focus conversation (and brand) on giving back.

33. So, remember

34. Follow the social marketing mantras • Peer marketing extends your sales force along trust channels that you cannot buy • Social marketing is a commitment, not a campaign • Plan staffing appropriately • Outsource temporarily if need be • Be transparent about everything except that which cannot be • Polar opposite to Boomer privacy issues • May take sell-in with management, legal • Be fearless • This is the most exciting area of marketing! • You’re at the cusp of a transformation! • Engage openly, but with response guardrails and internal governance • “Cool people” don’t suffer fools – neither should your organization • Let the market decide how you’re doing (they’d do it anyway)

35. As you write your strategy • Any tactic should clearly ladder up to the overarching strategy • Consider how you will phase your engagement approach • What kind of kickoff? • What can staffing accomplish? • Which tactics to try first? • What learnings can inform future engagement efforts? • As you examine your audiences, consider creating personas that will help create organizational empathy and understanding • Clearly state your mandatory requirements for success • X conversationalists, Y monitors, Z content creators • Agency or in-house? Automated or qualitative? • Clearly state your success metrics • Increase in time-on-site? Sentiment? Twitter fans? Retweets?

36. And don’t let that commitment—or that strategy—fizzle • Get buy-in • Management must understand the cultural shifts and buy into plan • Stay focused! • Don’t let day-to-day duties stall your efforts • Hold people accountable • Who’s responsible for each action step? • Follow up, adjust and readjust • Plans change, adjust accordingly • Set a timetable for reexamination • Tie what you’re doing to organizational goals • Management can’t argue with approaches that support mission, goals FLICKR: @JACOB DAVIES

37. THANK YOU • ericw@tribalddb.ca • slideshare.net/weave • 206-905-9328