make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

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Page 1: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps
Page 2: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

A large number of companies are thinking about their next steps in

social media. One of the key factors in any social media strategy is the

channel/content debate. Companies are struggling to capitalize on their

use of social media channels.

In this paper, we want to share our approach on how to make effective

use of social media channels in order to spread content. It is clear that

social channels can also be used for customer service, conversation

management and for collaboration purposes.

This paper focuses on how to increase the impact of your content

marketing via social media and how to optimize your social content

strategy in four steps.

The paper is based upon a series of research projects conducted over

the last two years, the experience gained from numerous workshops

with our clients and an in-depth discussions with social media experts

Erik Van Roekel (@evr) and Matthijs Van Den Broeck (@mgvandenbroek).

Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

Page 3: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

During the past two years, companies have been overwhelmed with articles

and feedback relating to the impact of social media and the modern

consumer. At the same time, those companies have also been bombarded

with new trends and evolutions. As a result, most companies are now aware

of the radical changes that have taken place in our society. At the start of

2010, 45% of American marketers named social media as their top priority 1.

In other words, social media awareness is now a fact. Most companies were

already taking the necessary corrective action. A recent study conducted in

both the US and the UK showed that only 12% of companies are currently

doing nothing at all in the field of social media 2. In other words, there is both

awareness and action. Excellent, you might think. Mission accomplished!

Unfortunately not. Very definitely not, in fact.

Seven out of ten companies that have adjusted their marketing strategy to

reflect the expectations of the new consumer view these changes from a

purely tactical perspective 3. This is what we call a ‘checklist mentality’.

The ‘checklist’ mentality is still alive & kicking

They have heard a modern company needs a Facebook page and so they

create a Facebook page. Check, done that! Twitter is becoming increasingly

popular? Check, done that! Mobile apps are cool? Okay, I suppose we’d

better start using those too… That’s all very good and possibly well intended,

but its purpose is tactical rather than strategic. Companies that use social

media for tactical purposes will, for example, create a new Twitter account for

each new event but they don’t always do the necessary follow-up. As a result,

they repeatedly invest in followers who are then left to their own devices

once the event is over. Perhaps there’s also the occasional investment to win

new fans on the company’s Facebook page but new and interesting content

is only posted during campaigns. And what happens the rest of the time?

Little or nothing at all. Not really the best way to create satisfied fans, is it?

Such investments are unsuccessful because they are not the result of a clear-

cut vision. They are just opportunistic, tactical pin pricks. As a consequence,

a large number of companies create a cemetery filled with neglected social

media (Facebook, Twitter & beyond) accounts. This has a negative impact on

the overall effectiveness of their social media investments.

1 2010, 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook, Society of Digital Agencies 2 2011, Social Media Integration Study, InSites Consulting 3 2010, Stop the Paradox Study, InSites Consulting

Page 4: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

The first step consists in

formulating a clear vision on the

role of each of the online touch

points. Apart from defining

the goals and content of each

of the individual channels, this

phase is also about deciding

how those channels interrelate.

In this phase, you must define

which touch points are most

likely to reach the social

media (and broader business)

objectives. Instead of creating

silos you are going for an

integrated approach where the

whole is greater than the sum of

the parts.

To increase the return on

content creation, it is advisable

to build reach in the early

phase of your online plan. In

this phase, the hard part is

maintaining a balance between

relevant content on the one

hand and being able to attract a

large set of likes & followers on

the other hand.

Once you’ve attracted a

significant number of followers

and fans, you need engaging

content to keep them

interested. The threshold to

follow a brand is very low but it

takes a huge effort to keep your

audience engaged.

The final phase is the most

difficult part. In this phase you

are looking to create a small

army of active ambassadors.

In order to succeed, you can

focus on two dimensions: start

by getting people as actively

involved as possible and then

give them usable content. Don’t

just give them content to read

or view; give them content that

adds genuine value to their

lives. Once consumers are using

your content this creates an

amplification effect.

4 steps to effective social channel use

1 2 3 4channel & content strategy build reach

Persuasion through content & interaction

From likes to ambassadors

Page 5: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

TIME

ContentTouchpoint plan

Build reach through campaigns

Convince with content & interaction

Conversion

These four phases are obviously not entirely sequential; there is an overlap between phases 2, 3 and 4. In our strategy, it’s not that hard to define the necessary

actions for the various steps. In real life, though, we need to be flexible enough to adapt to consumer needs in a moment’s notice. Once a certain stage is

reached, phases 2, 3 and 4 become iterative steps in an eternal loop designed to build reach and create more ambassadors.

In the next part of this paper, we will dive into the details of each of these 4 steps.

Page 6: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps
Page 7: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

STEP 1channel and content strategy

Most managers think of social media channels as stand-alone silos. Content is

spread through each of these channels without a clear plan on how to reach

business objectives. The truth is that all online channels are interrelated.

Consumers can even be routed from channel A to channel B. In this phase,

we recommend companies to elaborate a ‘content-conversion’ plan.

Page 8: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

A content-conversion plan includes every touch point where a (potential)

customer can come into contact with your content. Then you need to

determine at which of these touch points conversion to your objectives

(reputation management, community building, lead generation...) is likely

to occur. All other social channels support traffic generation towards these

conversion points. Instead of having a set of silo channels, this creates a set of

interrelated online channels.

For example, the converting touch point might be the corporate website or

blog. A corporate blog can be the touch point that leads people from the

content area to the sales area. Your other social media accounts ensure that

sufficient traffic is channeled to the blog every day.

For companies working in the knowledge sector, SlideShare can serve as a

useful converting touch point. SlideShare is a social network site where people

can share presentations (PowerPoint, etc.). This is the ideal place to showcase

what you can do and what you have to offer.

What is a content-conversion plan?

On this platform, it is easy to directly convert a reader into a sales lead. In case

your key objective is community building, your Facebook page may be the

best content-conversion point. When mapping out your conversion touch-

point plan, define the trigger for each touch point that makes it possible to

move on to the next. Furthermore, try to keep the lines as short as possible.

The more steps are necessary in order to reach the touch point where your

business goals are realized, the harder it is to achieve high conversion rates.

Page 9: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

Content sharing through silo’s

...

Content Conversion

Point

SocialMedia

Blog OtherMedia

Influence

ExternalBlogs ...

Page 10: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

1. What is the key objective of our content marketing?Some companies focus on creating brand awareness and others on

becoming an expert or on creating business leads. Depending on your

objective, there are several content-conversion points to choose from.

2. Which online touch point provides the best odds of reaching this objective?Define the best place on the web to reach your objectives. Below you

will find several examples of content-conversion points. Since so much

depends on the context, the contents of this table should be viewed as

examples and not as the only possible outcome of the discussion.

Questions to ask in building your content-conversion plan

3. Which channels can create traffic to the content conversion point?Once you’ve determined your content conversion point, the challenge is

to bring people there. All social media channels can be helpful in reaching

this goal. In this phase, the tough part is being able to use your content

intelligently. For instance, suppose you’ve launched a great YouTube video

and you want to share it with your followers. If you have chosen your blog

as the content conversion point, you should embed the video in the blog

and share the link to the blog post that includes the video. Mention your

blog and the URL in the description on YouTube. Also, don’t forget to

mention the name and URL of your blog. Every time someone embeds your

video on their blog, this helps increase the traffic to your blog. If one of

your employees gives a presentation outside your company, put the name

and URL on the last slide: “For more info about our company/subject of

presentation check out our blog at …” Create relevant cross links to your

conversion point e.g. in your Twitter profile background. The more roads

lead to the conversion point, the better.

Objective Touch Point Details

Create business leads Corporate blog

Link to contact details available and biggest change people will contact you for commercial information

Strengthen the emotional bond

Facebook Organize open and wide-rang-ing forms of customer collabora-tion to increase involvement

Improve customer experience

Twitter Most complaints and questions come through Twitter, so we focus on this channel for an optimum customer service

... ... ...

Page 11: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

1. Define objectives 2. Content Conversion Point 3. Content Conversion Plan

Content Conversion

Point

SocialMedia

Blog OtherMedia

Influence

ExternalBlogs ...

Content Conversion

Point

Lead generation

Community building

...

Reputation mgm

Page 12: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps
Page 13: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

STEP 2build reach

In order to generate impact with your content, it is important to create online

reach. You can have the most brilliant content available, if no one sees it the

impact will remain limited. There are two ways to build reach: the slow approach

and the fast approach. The slow approach builds reach over time by investing in

quality content that spreads naturally. To succeed in the slow approach, you need

three things: good content, a fixed rhythm and a lot of patience.

Page 14: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

Big brands usually lack the last ingredient, which is why we recommend choosing the fast approach.

Our research has shown the following seven approaches to be successful reach builders:

1. Conversation worthy campaigns Invest in social campaigns to boost the reach of your social channel activities

2. Rhythm:A one-time campaign won’t do it.

You need a certain rhythm to share great content

3. Contests & free stuff: Giving away some of your products is still an effective way to build reach in

the short run (although there’s no guarantee of quality). Many companies

are afraid to attract ‘low quality’ followers with this strategy. This is indeed

a risk: once they are on board, the challenge consists in convincing such

followers to stay with your content (step 3).

4. Social advertising: To grab the attention of your audience, you need to advertise your

campaigns and content on social channels.

5. Employee activationA company should always have more fans than employees. If your own

employees don’t follow your content, how can you expect your customers

to be interested? Train and facilitate employees to become active

ambassadors of your social channel activities.

6. Offline communication channels Building reach goes beyond online channels. Try to mention online

channels in all your communications: TV commercials, print advertising,

banners, point of sales material...

7. Partner up with other major brands: If you have a good relationship with brands that have a large social reach,

you can always ask them to share your brand content (or a competition)

with their fan base.

7 approaches for effective reach building

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TIME

Build reach through campaigns

RhythmConversation worthy

campaigns

Social advertisingFree stuff

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Page 17: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

STEP 3convince through content & interaction

In this step you have to convince your audience that following your brand was a good idea. Keep in mind that

consumers are becoming more selective in the number of brands they interact with. Research conducted by

InSites Consulting has shown that the average consumer actively interacts with no more than 5 brands on social

media. This means your brand needs to be part of this select little group. Also, recent research 4 has shown that

fans won’t dislike your page if they don’t like the content; instead they will ‘hide’ your page.

This means competing for the attention of your own followers with big love brands like Apple, Coca Cola and

Disney. And let’s not forget, your toughest adversaries when competing for the attention of your followers

comes are those followers’ friends and families.

The conclusion is obvious: this evolution is raising the bar for companies to be able to engage with consumers

on social media.

4 Fast Company, Ekaterina Walter, Your Facebook Fans Are Hiding Your Posts At An Alarming Rate (http://www.fastcompany.com/3001871/your-facebook-fans-are-hiding-your-posts-alarming-rate)

Page 18: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

1. An editorial calendar: Make sure you know what your content updates will look like at least

three months in advance. Our previous research paper, ‘a six-step content

marketing plan’, outlines how to set up an effective editorial calendar. In

fact, content planning consists of three layers: big campaigns (very intense),

projects (recurring thematic themes) and content updates (small content

sparks).

2. Creative content: Drawing up the perfect content plan is probably the easiest part of the

long road to success on social media channels. Coming up with creative

and talked-about content is the real challenge. It’s not an exact science and

there’s no such thing as a foolproof plan. It’s really quite simple: building

content that conquers the hearts of your followers and friends requires

highly creative people.

3. Operational conversation management: In this phase, consumer engagement is one of your key objectives.

To succeed, you need top operational conversation management. Have a

person or a team ready to interact and engage with your audience. Be fast,

empathic and listen to your fans so they will commit to your brand. Follow

the conversations in real time and be ready to respond.

3 elements are key in this particular phase

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Page 20: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

STEP 4from likes to ambassadors

The previous steps focused on winning people’s hearts through great

content. In this phase, the challenge is to create ambassadors: people

who promote your brand to their friends and family. Here the question is:

‘What do we want our fans to say about us and how can we facilitate this?’.

Succeed in this challenge and you will be rewarded with positive

and impactful conversation about your brand.

Page 21: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

1. Broad consumer involvement If you involve your customers in your decision-making flows, they will be

more committed to your brand. People are more emotionally involved

when they feel they are part of the team and that’s how you create

ambassadors. So content planning is not just about sharing cool content or

asking evident questions. It’s also about asking your customers for feedback

on your performance. Ask people’s opinion on all things related to your

company and remember to thank them for the input they provide.

2. Consumer consultantsIf you have in-depth questions concerning a new project or product, you

should turn to your die-hard fans on social channels and invite them to join

a closed community to discuss these topics. This makes them feel like they

are really part of the team and essentially you’re hiring employees that are

not actually on the payroll.

3. Questions and answersPut meaningful questions to your audience as we explained in the first

bullet point. Once your fans start giving you inspiring feedback, be sure to

return the favor and keep them in the loop. Let them know what you did

with the feedback and why certain remarks were used and others were not.

Be open about what use you make of their feedback. Gain their trust be

being honest.

4. Branded utilityThink of applications that bring added value to your fans. Look for content

that is both highly relevant to your audience and in line with your business.

Once again, you need top creative people to invent these applications.

Once fans start using the utility apps, it is a great way for them to talk about

your brand through the application.

Convert your likes into ambassadors

In this stage, you need to convert your likes into ambassadors. The following factors are essential:

Page 22: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

I am convinced that most companies could use their social channels more effectively. The problem is that most companies only focus on steps 2 and/or 3 of this

plan. Most brainstorms start with the question ‘what should we share on Facebook?’. By taking that discussion to a higher level, you will change the way you

look at social media touch points.

When using the approach outlined in this paper, it becomes obvious that the KPIs, the media types and the content types differ in each of the steps.

You can plan for success in social media

Reach building Content & interaction To ambassadors

KPI Social reach Engagement Recommendations

Media type Paid media and existing owned media

Owned media Earned media

Content types Campaigns Content sparks Applications, online products

Page 23: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

In order to use your online channels

to maximum effect, they should be

aligned with marketing actions in

offline channels. Also, steps 2, 3

and 4 of this approach become an

iterative process as soon as you’ve

reached step 4 for the first time.

Once you’ve managed to recruit

ambassadors, it is very relevant

to increase your reach again and

create even more ambassadors.

At a certain point it turns into a

perpetual loop and when it does, the

content planning from step 3 and the

philosophy from step 4 merge in the

overall content planning.

After that: integrated content loop

CONTENTLOOP

Reach building

Content

Conversion

TIME

Page 24: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

CONTENTLOOP

Reach building

Content

Conversion

TIME

ContentTouchpoint plan

Build reach through campaigns

Convince with content & interaction

Conversion

Page 25: Make your social media channels more effective in 4 steps

B Conversationalb-conversational.com | twitter.com/stevenVBe

Feedback & suggestions?

I hope this paper has inspired you as well as presented you with a number

of transparent guidelines on how to build your social channel strategy.

Of course, I’m looking forward to your feedback and to hearing about

your personal experience in this field, so feel free to contact me at

[email protected]

@StevenVBe

Thank you and good luck!