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The Evolution of Online Communities:From Knowledge Sharing to Personal Brand Building
George Krautzel, Co-Founder and President, Toolbox.com
OfficeArrow, LLC. 2009.
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Table of Contents:
Section 1: Introduction Section 2: Evolution of Online Communities Section 3: How Professionals Are Using B2B Online CommunitiesSection 4: Personal Branding in B2B Online CommunitiesSection 5: Why Vendors Should Start Engaging Now in Online CommunitiesSection 6: Q&A
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Section 1:Introduction
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Who is Toolbox.com?• Mission
— Provide an online platform that enables professionals to easily share knowledge with their peers
• Existing Communities— IT (11 years), HR (<1 yr), and
Finance (<1 yr)— More than 3.0 million unique
monthly visitors and 1.6 million registered members
— Over 2.6 million pages of user-generated content
• Advertising Services— More than 800 advertising
partners, including: IBM, HP, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell
Toolbox.com Growth – Registered Members
Q3 20091,659
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Toolbox.com in the Media Space
Consumer Business
Edito
rial
Use
r-G
ener
ated
• Content is communication, specific appeal• 2-way conversations between friends• Personal experiences, socially driven
• Content is communication, specific appeal• 2-way conversations between peers• Personal experiences, best practices
• Content is carefully vetted, broad appeal• 1-way conversation from experts to readers• News, consumer interests, and trends
• Content is carefully vetted, broad appeal• 1-way conversation from experts to readers• News, case studies, best practices
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Section 2:Evolution of Online Communities
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Community is Not a New Concept
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Usenet Strengths• One of the first computer network
communications systems (1980)
• Precursor of discussion boards, peer-to-peer networking
• Organized and categorized for easy knowledge sharing
• Significant influence on online culture (coined “spam”, “FAQ”, etc.)
Gaps • Not moderated
• Short binary retention time (although now archived as Google Groups)
• No registration, anonymous participation = no brand building
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AOL Strengths• Made online service available to
the masses (30 million users at peak)
• Offered a graphical user interface (GUI) instead of command lines
• Pioneered the chat room concept
• Emphasis on communication with other members as value proposition
Gaps • Proprietary software/service
needed to gain access (“walled garden”)
• Repositioned as content provider instead of a community (lost focus)
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FacebookStrengths• Dominant reach- 250 million
active members
• Well designed to create member engagement
– Wall/newsfeed functionality highlights activity of connections
– Various applications for sharing/collaboration
• Ability to leverage for B2B and B2C with Facebook Fan Pages
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TwitterStrengths• Simple communication vehicle –
“What are you doing” in 140 characters
• Easy way to stay current on news and trends in your areas of interest
• Potential to connect with and influence the influencers
• Fluid process for “following” and “unfollowing” connections
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Section 3:How Professionals Are Using B2B Online Communities
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Tracking Social Media Consumption Among Professionals• Trend: consistent increase in social media consumption, up to 4.72
hours per week in June 2009
• Results from the Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Survey of 3,000+ IT pros in each of the four waves
3.48
2.882.71
3.263.06
2.88
3.74
3.35
2.85
4.72
3.54
2.79
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Social media/user-generatedcontent (Toolbox.com,
Wikipedia, LinkedIn, etc.)
Online Editorial media(InformationWeek, CNN,
WSJ.com, etc.)
Online Vendor content(vendor-produced whitepapers, webcasts, etc.)
Ho
urs
pe
r w
ee
k
Source: Toolbox.com/PJA IT Social Media Index, Wave 4, June 2009
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How and Why Professionals Use Online Communities• Increase productivity and efficiency through knowledge sharing
— Manage careers
— Stay current
— Solve problems faster
— Research vendors
— Make better decisions
• Tap into tools for peer collaboration– Personal networks
– Blogs
– Discussion groups
– WikisMember question Community feedback Cost-effective,
timely, and better solutions
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Solving Problems – Discussion Group Example
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Section 4:Personal Branding in B2B Online Communities
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Managing Your Personal Brand
• Personal branding is “your promise to the marketplace and the world”
– Tom Peters, best selling author on business management
• According to a recent survey by ExecuNet, the average tenure of an executive with the same company has slipped to 2.8 years
• Loyalty to “You” does not have to be in conflict with loyalty to your company
• In today’s business environment, proactive career management through active shaping of your personal brand is essential
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The Permanence of Participation in Communities
• “What happens in Vegas, stays on Google”
– Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motors
• While this quote has a negative connotation, the same understanding also creates opportunity
• Professionals can leverage this permanence to support their personal brand management through active networking and participation
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Reputation Management - Creating Value for Individuals and the Community
• A clear, logical reputation management system can be a tide that lifts all ships in a professional community
– For individuals
o Answers “what’s in it for me” and provides a foundation for personal brand management
o Increases likelihood of responses to inquiries
o Produces the opportunity to leverage the community to vet answers
– For the community
o Provides incentive for transparency
o Increases the quality of contribution
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Reputation Management Key Ingredients – RatingsExample: Digg Ratings Systems
• Easy to use voting system
• Community assesses value
• Highest rated posts receive the most visibility
Ratings Systems in a B2B Community• Helps determine the “best”
solution to an issue
• Provides a quick input to judge the competency of the poster
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Reputation Management Key Ingredients – AchievementsExample: eBay Achievements Systems
• Powerful means of rewarding participation
• Can be based on quality, quantity, response time, etc.
• Feeds the human need of “Everyone wants a gold star”
Achievements Systems in a B2B Community• Creates a carrot for greater
engagement and higher quality
• Provides a system to identify high value contributors
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Reputation Management Key Ingredients - ProfilesExample: Toolbox.com
Achievements: Provides a systematic way to recognize high valued contributors, whether it is based on volume, quality, or response time.
Capability: Online résumé to detail relevant experience, accomplishments, interests, and values.
Connections:Lists the community members who are part of a user’s network.
Participation:Shows contribution from a user that has taken place within the Toolbox.com community.
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“By participating in an active community, I can benchmark my skills and understand my knowledge gaps. By doing so, I can plan my career path, better position myself for new appointments, and/or understand the greatest value-add ability to a current employer. At the very least, it allows anyone, no matter where they are in their career, to know what they don’t know.”
Benefits of Active Participation – Example: Nic Harvard
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• Founder of Profiling Solutions, an Atlanta-based company
• Transitioned from a consumer of Toolbox.com to a contributor to enhance brand
• Benefits of participation:
– Builds brand awareness
– Positions company as having a deep pool of knowledge
– Contributes to top line growth – 20-25% of annual new customer acquisitions come from the community
Progressing Reputation to Commerce – Example: Ron Fisher
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Section 5:Why Vendors Should Start Engaging Now in Online Communities
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Universal Truth in Marketing
• “Advertising dollars always follow the audience”
– Scott Karp, CEO of Publish2, Inc., and various sage marketers
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Attitudes About Vendor Participation in Online Communities
Source: Toolbox.com/PJA IT Social Media Index, Wave 4, June 2009
Which of the following statements best reflects your attitude about vendor participation in online communities?
• More than 76% of community members believe it is important that vendors listen to their audience and participate in conversations
• Results from the Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Survey of 3,000+ IT pros in each of the four waves
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The Evolution of Online Marketing
Direct Results
2004-2009 2010-2015
Experimentation
Value: Web as a promotional vehicle
Primary Goals: Trial a new media concept, gain eyeballs, build brand and drive awareness
Measurements: Cost per impression
Marketing Tactics:– Branding – buttons, banners– E-mail – newsletters, list rentals
1996-2003
Value: Web as a direct results platform
Primary Goals: Drive traffic and lead generation
Secondary Goals: Thought leadership and branding
Measurements: CPL, CPC, brand measurements confirmed through surveys
Marketing Tactics:– Search ads– Lead generation – white papers,
webcasts – Branding - IMUs, larger units,
microsites– E-mail – list rentals
Value: Web as a relationship management platform
Primary Goals: Engaging prospects and customers outside of their Web site
Secondary Goals: Lead generation, drive traffic, thought leadership and branding
Measurements: Cost of sales, customer retention, brand penetration and measurements from direct results stage
Marketing Tactics:– Vendor communities– Two-way ads– Messaging connections using
trigger marketing– Successful tactics from direct
results stage
Relationship
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Impact = Site visits/leadsEffort = Funding
Traditional Campaigns
TIME
VALUE
With traditional campaigns there is a direct relationship between funding and results – once a campaign is over, that activity usually ceases (landing page visits, etc.).
Source: Pauline Ores, IBM
Marketing ROI – Traditional Campaigns
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Marketing ROI – Online Community Campaigns
Impact = Relevance and engagementEffort = Funding
Social Media Impact
TIME
VALUE
Marketing through an online community allows advertisers to
quickly engage and make an impact with their target
audiences.
Social media marketing requires continuous, steady investment to build and manage the network, with eventual value created as the network grows and becomes self-sustaining.
Source: Pauline Ores, IBM
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Creating a Beachhead Within Active Communities
About Section: Provides an overview of the vendor, as well as links to allow community members to quickly connect with or contact the vendor.
Vendor Assets: Prominently displays the vendor’s information assets, including white papers, webcasts, product demos, news, PR, and more.
Connections:Lists the community members who have expressed their interest in engaging and staying current by creating a connection with the vendor.
Participation:Shows related postings by the vendor within the Toolbox.com community.
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To Start, Devise a SMART Strategy
Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-based
• Do not start without a basic strategy, execution should come second
• Test, listen, engage, and learn
• Like personal brands, in communities your company’s brand is being formed with or without your participation — actively shape it
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Section 6:Q&A
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Contact Information
George Krautzel
Toolbox.com Co-Founder and President
• My profile on Toolbox.com: http://it.toolbox.com/people/george_krautzel
• My profile on Twitter: http://twitter.com/georgekrautzel