3557 social media strategy leseprobe

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SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY


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Te ZHAW School of Management and Law is one of todays leading business schoolsin Switzerland, offering internationally recognized Bachelors and Masters degreeprograms, a broad range of continuing education courses and programs, and innova-tive research and development projects. Te Institute of Marketing Managementof the ZHAW School of Management and Law aims to connect scientic knowledgeand practical application in the eld of modern marketing.

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Lardi & Partner Consulting GmbH helps companies get clarity on their strategic goalsand nd ways to reach them. Combining professional expertise with proven methodo-logies, we develop strategies, dene pragmatic and measurable solutions and support

our clients in implementing them.Visit us at www.lardipartner.com

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ISBN 978-3-7281-3557-5

2013, vdf Hochschulverlag AG an der E H Zrich

[email protected]

Leseprobe aus: Kamales Lardi, Rainer Fuchs: Social Media Strategy vdf Hochschulverlag 2013


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|pp.||CON EN S|

SANDRO GR AF & ERESA VALERIE MA NDL A Sustainable Approach to Social Media --------------------- 9 for Businesses

KAM ALES LARDI The Social Media Strategy Framework ----------------------- 17Why is a Social Media Strategy Framework important? --------------- 17Te difference between social media strategy and ---------------------- 19 social media marketing strategy Applying the Social Media Strategy Framework ------------------------- 20 Applying the Social Media Strategy Framework ------------------------- 22 in large companies Applying the Framework in small companies, non-prots ------------ 22 or charity organisations

2.1 Develop the strategy---------------------------------------------------

242.1.1 Inputs required for Phase 1 -------------------------------------------252.1.2 Determine objectives and readiness -------------------------------- 28

Identify business goals and challenges to be addressed ------------ 28Determine readiness -------------------------------------------------------29 Assess strategic t ----------------------------------------------------------31Determine scope ------------------------------------------------------------32

2.1.3 Identify initiatives and prioritise ----------------------------------- 34Dene business drivers and social media opportunities ----------- 35Prioritise opportunities ---------------------------------------------------36Map benets and develop key measures ------------------------------- 36Develop the business case -------------------------------------------------38Develop guiding principles ------------------------------------------------39Set high-level scope and timelines -------------------------------------- 39

2.2 Eight key considerations ----------------------------------------------40People --------------------------------------------------------------------------41

echnology -------------------------------------------------------------------41Governance -------------------------------------------------------------------42

Risks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------42



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Organisation structure ----------------------------------------------------43Change and learning -------------------------------------------------------43Support structure -----------------------------------------------------------44Processes ----------------------------------------------------------------------44

KA MALES LAR DI & ROLF RELLS AB Plan and Deliver Enterprise Collaboration Initiatives 47

ransforming the way people work together ----------------------------- 49ypes of enterprise collaboration platforms ----------------------------- 50

User levels -----------------------------------------------------------------------51

3.1 Enterprise collaboration focus areas ------------------------------ 53

3.2 Approaching enterprise collaboration ---------------------------- 553.2.1 Plan implementation ---------------------------------------------------55Dene functional user requirements ----------------------------------- 55Build use cases ---------------------------------------------------------------56Evaluate and select technology -------------------------------------------57Dene project plan ----------------------------------------------------------58

3.2.2 Build and launch --------------------------------------------------------59Launch pilot and test -------------------------------------------------------60Launch change management and training ----------------------------- 60

Final launch (or phased launch) ------------------------------------------

613.2.3 Continuous management ---------------------------------------------61Monitor key measures -----------------------------------------------------61Launch support structure -------------------------------------------------62

3.3 Enterprise collaboration adoption tactics ----------------------- 62

KA MALES LAR DI & A RMIN LEDERGERBER Plan and Deliver Business 2.0 Initiatives -------------------- 67

Te social customer ------------------------------------------------------------

68ypes of Business 2.0 tools ---------------------------------------------------71

4.1 Business 2.0 focus areas -----------------------------------------------72

4.2 Approaching Business 2.0 --------------------------------------------744.2.1 Plan ------------------------------------------------------------------------74

Know the target audience -------------------------------------------------74Clarify the message ---------------------------------------------------------77Evaluate and select the appropriate channels ------------------------- 79

Prepare the company -------------------------------------------------------80



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4.2.2 Innovate ------------------------------------------------------------------81Brainstorming creative ideas ---------------------------------------------81

4.2.3 Setup ----------------------------------------------------------------------82Implement preparation activities ---------------------------------------- 82

Create a content calendar -------------------------------------------------83Setup social media accounts and tools ---------------------------------- 844.2.4 Launch --------------------------------------------------------------------85

Align with traditional marketing /branding activities -------------- 85Launch the channels -------------------------------------------------------85

4.2.5 Operate -------------------------------------------------------------------86

4.3 Social media engagement tactics ----------------------------------- 86

RA INER FUCHS & HEIKE R AWI ZER Social Media Strategy: Key Lessons Learned --------------- 95

from Successful Examples Case study: Social media customer service at ---------------------------- 96

Swiss International Air LinesCase study: Excellent customer service in social networks ----------- 97

at EurailCase study: Platform to boost employee collaboration ----------------- 99

at Swiss Re

Case Study: Customer care and peer support through-----------------

100 social media at SwisscomCase Study: Innovative banking customer service ----------------------102

from FinansbankCase Study: Innovation management to improve -----------------------103

product development at IBM



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CHAP ER 1

A Sustainable Approach toSocial Media

for Businesses SANDRO GRAF & ERESA VALERIE MA NDL

Glancing at the agenda for the next executive board meeting, David Wallmerprepares himself for a challenging session. As the senior director of busi-ness development in a company with more than 10,000 employees in twocontinents, David is responsible for all initiatives labelled social media.He vividly remembers some of the boards previous discussions in thetopic, which have sometimes been challenging. Te lack of understandingof social medias business value and potential on the part of several execu-tives, as well as his own inability to demonstrate returns on investmentfrom the channels have left David frustrated.

Te company David has been with for over ten years is very good at gaug-ing the behaviour of its customers, and tailoring its products and servicesto their specic needs. After great effort, it has managed to position itselfas a leading player and innovator in the highly competitive environment ofconsumer goods and today covers all major markets.

Davids department was quick to recognise the digital changes af-fecting society. Tey observed the emergence of social networks with inter-est and soon initiated their own concept. Well ahead of the competition,Davids team joined forces with the companys marketing and distributionteams in setting up a Facebook prole. While this initially focused on dis-seminating information to customers, interaction gradually increased. o-day, the company offers customer support via Facebook. Many customerquestions are answered directly by other customers, and support is pro-

vided by customer service staff only where it is necessary or requested.



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Chapter 1 A Sustainable Approach to Social Media for Businesses

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Facebook was proceeded by witter, which was initially quite effective forone-way communication. Te company mainly tweeted corporate news re-lating to new products or special achievements. While the witter feed wasoriginally followed by journalists and existing loyal customers, the channel

eventually became increasingly active and, after only a few months beganto be used by potential new customers as well. witter followers started touse the account to respond to tweets and to make service enquiries.

As a result, the customer service department became quite busywith social media channel requests. Enquiries coming in via witter had tobe addressed (and dealt with) immediately, in line with the dynamic natureof the medium and high customer expectations. Tis in turn led to higherstaffing costs, particularly to cover weekend shifts. David has had severaldiscussions with other departments regarding the impact of social media

in the company. For example, the head of customer relationship manage-ment ( CRM) argues that receiving requests and complaints on social me-dia channels make it difficult to use standard CRM tools to manage andfollow-up on enquiries as well as customer lead. Tis is because the plat-forms and customer data are not integrated.

As a consequence, it is becoming increasingly challenging to developand maintain successful relationships with customers and other stakehold-ers. As social media became more popular throughout Europe, customersbecame more active in wanting to shape their experiences with the com-pany and its products and services. Tey accessed their friends and peersonline and interacted with them on different levels: by exchanging infor-mation and ideas, by providing peer support, leveraging their bargainingpower and even engaging in co-creation. Eventually, the corporate commu-nications department became involved and expressed the need for moreproactive control of user-generated content on the social media channelsused by the company.

Davids company also initiated important developments in HR management including convincing recruiters to utilise social media chan-nels to search for high potential candidates. Early on, individual staff mem-bers started using Xing to establish and maintain business contacts. As thecompanys operations became more international, LinkedIn also gainedimportance. oday, the HR managers actively use these platforms in theirinternational recruiting activities to advertise job vacancies and identifypotential candidates. However, to date this has not led to a reduction in theuse, and thus the costs of more traditional recruitment methods.

In recent months there has been an increase in evaluation of thecompany on platforms such as | www.kelzen.com| , which is used by former andcurrent employees and job seekers to evaluate potential employers. Nega-

tive comments by individual former employees give external users a bi-



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ased opinion of the day-to-day operations of the company. Managementfears that this may result in a highly subjective (one-sided) company proleaffecting public opinion and perhaps even inuencing representatives ofemployers associations. So far, however, the companys efforts to address

these risks have neither been effective nor coordinated. Admittedly, David has proted from a very open and dynamic cor-porate culture that encourages a trial-and-error approach towards embrac-ing new developments. On the other hand, pressure from senior manage-ment has increased to present nancial gures justifying the investmentsmade or proposed. At the beginning, external social media consultantspromised great things and internal stakeholders placed high hopes on theuse of social media tools for their business. Indeed, initially the companymade remarkable progress in establishing direct access to its customers

for the rst time and took advantage of opportunities to learn about theirlikes, dislikes and desires. Customer interaction became more targeted andpersonal, leading to very valuable feedback. At the same time, in manyways the changes proved to be too radical for the company. While Davidsfellow board members appreciate the great potential of social media, theyare feeling uneasy about the risks and the uncertain outcome of social me-dia measures with regard to the companys protability.

David will need to propose to the executive board a well-managed,top-down strategic approach embracing not only the companys goals andoverall strategic direction, but also to manage reputational risks and trig-ger changes in organisational culture. Te approach will need to demon-strate how social media could contribute to cost effectiveness and efficien-cy of processes such as recruitment and customer service. In addition, thecompany will have to implement reliable feedback mechanisms to monitorsuccess and protability over the coming months.

Davids case is an example of the issues and sensitivities of senior execu-tive clients of Lardi & Partner as well as the project partners of the ZurichUniversity of Applied Sciences ZHAW face regularly. Tose days whencompanies paid for their social media activities out of their marketingbudgets and hoped for the best are long gone. Te increasing popularityand signicance of social media in the consumer lifecycle that developedover the past decade has created real challenges for companies and theirlong-term strategies. Social and collaborative technologies are no longer just marketing tools; they promise a broad range of benets for compa-nies in terms of internal and external collaboration, communication andinteraction |MERCHANT, 2010| . In the medium and long term, these benetsmust be transformed into sustainable, measurable prots. o this end,

management today must deal with the following key questions:



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) How can the advantages of social media be utilised to a companys best advantage?

) How can a company create measurable added value by using social

media? ) What are the effects of such measures on the long-term strategy

of a company, and what cultural and structural changes need to betaken into consideration?

) How can a company effectively manage reputational risks and po-tential opportunities arising from independent content produced by users of social media (e. g., loss of inuence over the dissemina-tion of information, users advocating brands and products)?

) What future developments must be taken into account today andintegrated into a companys corporate strategy for tomorrow?

A number of books have been published on the topic of social media overthe last few years. Most of them either focus on strategic guidelines for theuse of social media in marketing or distribution activities or they serve asinstructions for creating social media communities. Only a few of themtake into consideration a holistic business approach.

In order for a company to grasp and utilise the potential of newdevelopments in the social web, the various approaches available must bethoroughly understood and dissected. Tey can be categorised in two ways:

) According to eld of application, as Business 2.0 or Enterprise col-laboration

) According to type of interaction, as transactional or cooperative models

Business 2.0 describes the activities of companies aiming to interact withsocial media groups outside their own organisation. In addition to market-ing and branding activities, such approaches are becoming popular in manyother corporate areas, such as CRM, innovation development, competi-tive intelligence, revenue creation and operational excellence |SOLIS, 2011, BERNOFF & SCHADLER, 2010, BRUHN, SCHOENMUELLER & SCHAEFER, 2012| .Companies generally like to use well-known, well-established tools, such asFacebook, witter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Google+ and You ube. However, thereare also numerous smaller social media channels and aggregator sites thatcompanies could utilise.

Enterprise collaboration comprises activities based on internal

collaboration in companies and includes knowledge sharing, innovating,



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content creation and reusing, communication and learning |MICHELIS, 2012,ZHOU, HONG & LIU, 2013, LI & BERNOFF, 2011| . Te companies again employ well-establish tools in addition to their existing technology infrastructure aswell as customised solutions.

In a transactional interaction model , the participants in a socialnetwork exchange services for money or another material advantage. Loy-alty programs, for instance, operate by exchanging customer informationor data for loyalty points or coupons the customer can use towards buyingthe products, and thus to save money (e. g., Nespresso Club or the escoClubcard). Often, companies collect Facebook likes and reward the clicksthey get with an opportunity to take part in a contest or to receive somesimilar benet |cf. http://bysb.eu/c1r1 or http://bysb.eu/c1r2 | .

In cooperative interaction models , on the other hand, the material

transaction is effectively replaced (or supplemented) by an immaterial ben-et that makes a transaction superuous. Tus, the companies and theirstakeholders cooperate; or rather, they invest reciprocally in the relation-ship because they believe that they will eventually receive something inreturn. Relationships based on cooperation are thus less stable than trans-actional relationships, where the agreed trade-off is always something oftangible value for both sides |ODONNEL, OREGAN, COATES, KENNEDY, KEARY &BERKERY, 2003| .

Tis type of immaterial interaction can work only if both parties areable to prot, i. e. if they receive an added value from their collaboration. Atthe same time, they must both be prepared to collaborate and be perceivedas trustworthy. In return, both consumers and employees must put theirtrust in the company. In a social network, such trust must be gained andit must be justied. Without it, immaterial exchange cannot take place inthe long run |CHASERANT, 2003| .

Compared to transactional models, cooperative models have twomajor advantages. Tere is an inherent culture of trust between the send-er (the customer or employee) and the receiver (the company) of informa-tion, and more data (particularly personal data), is typically exchangedbetween sender and receiver | JOHANN, 2011 | . Furthermore, the return oninvestment on the part of the company is higher when no material trans-action is necessary to achieve the interaction and the customer relation-ship the company wishes to have.

Yet, how can companies sift through the multitude of possible social mediainitiatives and identify those that will produce sustainable benets in thecontext of their own business and market environment? How could theseopportunities be aligned with the overarching corporate goals or function-

al strategic goals? Currently no proven management tools are available for



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use in developing sustainable interactive practices that create value andmeet the following requirements:

) Firmly built into the companys overall strategy

) Embedded in the companys processes with a high degree of organ-isational t

) Measurable in terms of effort versus value add

Tis book is designed as a practical manual for executives whose responsi-bilities include social media initiatives as part of their strategic activities.Further, it is aimed at anyone interested in methods to realise value-added,sustainable Business 2.0 and Enterprise collaboration measures in theircompanies. Te book serves the following objectives:

) It introduces an integrated social media framework describing allpossibilities of social media in a business and enterprise contextand includes both cooperative and transactional initiatives.

) It presents a state-of-the-art guide that has been extensively eld-tested and can be used to develop, implement and maintain a socialmedia strategy in the readers own company.

) A web-based platform that continuously provides up-to-date infor-mation about the most promising approaches and most recent suc-cess stories.

It was a conscious decision by the authors not to include a chronologicalhistory of developments in social media over the last few years. Neitherdoes the book provide an overview of the relevant platforms in social me-dia. Rather, the authors refer to other sources where such informationis readily available, e. g the book titled Te New Community Rules from

amar Weinberg.Instead, the following chapters describe a framework that has been

eld tested and found to be sound: the Social Media Strategy Frameworkto develop and implement social media for business use . Tis book usesthe Framework to develop a step-by-step guide to help companies achievethe following:

) Identify and develop social media initiatives based on the businesscontext and taking business goals and challenges into consideration.| The Social Media Strategy Framework, Chapter 2| .

) Based on the strategy developed, implement initiatives for the compa-nys internal use | Enterprise Collaboration, Chapter 3| , or in order to achieve

external business goals | Business 2.0, Chapter 4|.



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Finally, the last chapter | Successful Examples, Chapter 5| provides the reader withan overview of success stories from various sectors of industry and com-merce. Tese are published on a case-study platform created to accompanythe book. Tis database of online case studies will be continuously updated

and expanded to offer readers additional inspiration for their own projects.

References

BERNOFF, J. / SCHADLER, .(2010). Empowered.Massachusetts: Harvard Business

School Publishing.BRUHN, M. / SCHOENMUELLER, V. / SCHAEFER, D. B.(2012). Are social media re- placing traditional media in terms of brand equity creation? In: Management ResearchReview, 35(9), 770790.

CHASERAN , C.(2003). Cooperation, Contracts and Social Networks: From a Boundedto a Procedural Rationality Approach. In: Journal of Management & Governance,7(2),163186.

JOHANN, A.(2011). Verstehen lernen was in sozialen Medien relevant ist. Wirtschafts-Blatt. May 26. p. 3435.

LI, C. / BERNOFF, J.(2011). Groundswell: Winning in a World ransformed by Socialechnologies.Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

MERCHAN , N.(2010). Te New How Creating Business Solutions through Collabora-tive Strategy. CA: OReilly Media.

MICHELIS, D.(2012). Organisieren ohne Organisationen. In: Michelis, D. / Schildhau-er, . (ed.): Social Media Handbuch (pp. 118133). Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlags-gesellschaft.

ODONNELL, D. et al.(2003). Human interaction: the critical source of tangible value. In: Journal of Intellectual Capital, 4(1), 8299.

SOLIS, B.(2011). Engage! he Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cul-tivate, and Measure Success in the New Web.New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

ZHOU, Y. / HONG, Y. / LIU J.(2013). Internal commitment or external collaboration?he impact of human resource management systems on firm innovation and perfor-

mance. In: Human Resource Management, 52(2), 263288.


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