meaningful communications strategies in the digital age - lars voedisch

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Lars Voedisch Communications Strategist lars@preciouscomms.com

Rules of Engagement Meaningful Communications Strategies in the Digital Age

@larsv

Your reputation is precious…

• Communications Strategy

• Traditional & Social Media Relations

• Crisis Preparedness

• Internal Communications

• Media Training

• Analysis, Measurement, Research

Let’s talk!

Lars Voedisch

Communications Strategist

lars@preciouscomms.com

@larsv

Rules of Engagement Meaningful Communications Strategies in the Digital Age

• Social Media Today

• The Big Cultural Shift

• Role of New Media Engagements

• Overcoming Challenges

• Integrating Communications with Your Business Strategy

People

Processes

Policies

Who is… Lars Voedisch? International Communications Strategist

• Lars is an experienced global communications and business professional with 15 years expertise in growing, managing and defending leading global brands’ reputation across industry sectors.

Background & Expertise

• Clients include: AT&T, Citi, Coca Cola, DBS, GIC, Honda, ING, Macquarie, Motorola, Panasonic, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, Yahoo!, VMware

• Companies he worked for: Hitradio Antenne, AIESEC, DHL, Fleishman-Hillard, Dow Jones, Hill+Knowlton Strategies

• Experience in public relations, internal communications, marketing, journalism, as well as M&A, crisis and change management

• International working, training and team leadership experience on five continents

• Sought-after moderator and speaker on social media, public relations and communications thought leadership

Personal Background

• German by birth; living in Asia (Hong Kong / Singapore) for 9 years

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Misconceptions about Social Media

1. Build it and they will come

2. Using Social Media to broadcast, not to LISTEN

3. It’s FREE!!!

4. You have to react to each negative comment

5. No plan or objective

6. Tracking the wrong stuff

Source: The 7 Misconceptions of Social Media, Mike Lewis

Dealing with

Social Media is an ART:

Authentic

Relevant

Transparent

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Source: What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds - Rosa Golijan

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Don’t Panic! Focus on the Influencers 90-9-1 Principle: The Inequality of the Web

Source: Jakob Nielsen - Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute 7

• Be (Seen) Innovative – But Please Don’t Take Any Risk, Use Only Proven Methods

The BIG Cultural Dilemma

Online Engagement? Customers are very demanding!

[Brands] have to surprise me, not only meet my needs, but anticipate my needs. By using social media exclusively, I think the company has to

answer me whenever I have a question, enlighten me whenever I complain, and thank me whenever I compliment them.

Source: The Language of Love in Social Media - Firefly Millward Brown

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• From natural respect to suspicion

• Are you approachable?

• Why would people want to connect with you?

The BIG Cultural Dilemma #2

More pressure than anytime before

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” Source: IABC professional member, www.iabc.com

“

Make sure

you’re doing stuff

that matters to

the business

and contributes

to its success

12 Source: Blurring Lines, Turf Battles and Tweets: The Real Impact of Integrated Communications on Marketing and PR

Challenge Within Organisations: Who ‘Owns’ Social Media?

Challenge Within Organisations: Who ‘Owns’ Social Media?

Who Cares?

13 Source: Blurring Lines, Turf Battles and Tweets: The Real Impact of Integrated Communications on Marketing and PR

14 Source: Digital Life 2011 - TNS

32%

11%

13%

45%

‘Digital waste’ polluting the online world?

43% of Singapore consumers don’t want to be bothered in social

networks

15 Source: Digital Life 2011 - TNS

32%

11%

13%

45%

What are people saying?

OF

FL

INE

O

NL

INE

BUILDING (DEEPER) ENGAGEMENT

Integration is Key – or Waste

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The PR Perspective:

Social or not – it’s Media Relations?!

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Social Media Relations: Everything Changes!?

Everything Changes

• It’s about two-way conversations

• You’ve to deal with more channels

• We HAVE to listen and understand what’s said!

• What about those negative comments and posts?

• The game get’s so much faster

Nothing Changes

• You’ve to manage relationships

• So it’s wires, print, broadcast – and social media

• You already: monitor and analyze your media coverage

• Not every negative comment means a crisis

• Already forgot newswires? Look at trends over time

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Awareness & Reputation

Thought leadership

Sales / Activation

Cost Savings

Research & Insights

Something else?

Basic But Crucial: What Are Your (Social) Media Objectives

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Social Media is about Content What Should We Be Talking About?

Source: Developing your conversation sphere - CommsCorner

Your… products, offers, service,

people

Industry…

trends, news,

data, advice E.g. Technology,

Legislation,

Competition

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Marketing, Editorial… Conversation Calendar It’s all about planning – On- & Offline

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What happens in Huili county / Sichuan…

How to Deal with Comments – YOUR Response Plan

• Comment / Blog Post Validity

• Level of Responsibility

• Level of Respect

• The Commenter is a Troll / Rager

• The Commenter is a Spammer by Nature

Source: PR 2.0 Comment Response Chart 31

The BIGGER picture: What’s your engagement plan?

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What can/should your staff say – or not? Do you have a proper escalation path? How do you get ready for ‘beta’ mode?

Does every scenario need the same response?

Time

Impact

Analyze

Engage

Monitor

Discover

People Process Policies

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Where does a

CRISIS happen vs.

where does it start? How does the story

play out in traditional

and social media?

How bad (or good) is

it?

When things go wrong… Constantly check the temperature!

35 Source: Not So SMRT: A Case Study of Communications Failure - Skribe

Key Learnings

1) Speed is critical (on Twitter) 2) Honesty is a virtue 3) Make your CEO visibible 4) Brands have to be on alert in order to

correct any false assumptions before they reach critical mass

5) Track it

Reputational Risk: It’s all about perception...

Emergence:

Issue gets

public

Spreading:

Growing

interest

Establishment:

Full crisis

Erosion:

Relevance

declines

Potential:

Known areas

YOU?

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Emergence:

Issue gets

public

Spreading:

Growing

interest

Establishment:

Full crisis

Erosion:

Relevance

declines

Potential:

Known areas

YOU?

Time is crucial for managing risk

as it allows you to stay in the

‘driver seat’

Reputational Risk: It’s all about perception...

If a crisis happens:

Get it fast,

Get it right,

Get it out, and

Get it over!

Your problem won’t improve with age. N. Augustine, CEO Lockhead Martin

Crisis Survival Lessons for the Social Media Age

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In a crisis, consumers need honest answers and

they need them fast – and no messaging vehicle is better suited to meet this demand than those fueling

the crisis in the first place.

Transparent engagements in the online communities, where your customers already live,

provide a credible and direct channel for the answers they need.

Are we too proud? Sorry seems to be the hardest word…

• Don't RE-act right away

• Acknowledge - Don't be angry

• Admit the mistake and apologize

• Take ownership

• Ask for forgiveness and make the needed changes

40 Source: When You're Wrong, Say You're Sorry - SOLUTIONS: Social Media

Time to start or review

Review your current policies for engagement Do scenario / crisis planning White-board your process

Draw and distribute

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We heard about the Bad and the Ugly…. Let’s switch to the ‘Good’: The Old Spice Campaign

Source: W + K Old Spice Case Study

How Much Time Does Social Media Engagement Take? Data is everywhere – you need meaningful analysis!

Source: How much time does social media marketing take - Gigaom / Aliza Sherman 43

When it comes to an end… the Social Break-Up

Source: The Social Break-Up – Exact Target 44

When it comes to an end… the Social Break-Up

Source: The Social Break-Up – Exact Target 45

How to be fan-worthy

1) Be clear about your page’s purpose & objective

2) Take prospects to a welcome tab, not your wall

3) Engage potential fans

The world we live in…

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The Inside Look: How do you WANT your staff to use Social Media?

• Do you have a social media policy?

• Is your policy easy to read? Can you make it an engaging experience?

• Is it welcoming to employees and customers, or does it sound like it was written by lawyers?

• In addition to your policy, are you educating your employees on how to properly use social media in a way that will help them as well as help tell your brand story?

47 Source: Is Your Social Media Policy Hurting Your Brand? - MENG

Social Media Policy - Examples

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Transparency Protection

Respect Responsibility

Utilization

Respect Responsibility

Representation

Social Media Policy - Examples

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Transparency Protection

Respect Responsibility

Utilization

Respect Responsibility

Representation

Social Media Policies – More than Common Sense?

• Purpose (encouragements or laws; personal / business use)

• Dos (e.g. respect copyrights; say who you are…)

• Don’ts (e.g. forget your day job; get personal, …)

• Escalation process & Contacts

• Implementation plan!!!

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What should be included?

Useful Resources: • Social Media Daily: 6 Key Elements of a Social Media Policy

and Why You Need Them • Social Media Policy Templates: Lessons Learned for 20 IT

Social Media Policy Documents • Social Media Governance – 164 Company Policies

You DON’T have Social Media Access?

• Productivity (Productivity increases 9% among employees who are

able to access the Net for fun during work – University of Melbourne study)

• Attacks from Hackers (If the U.S. Military can do it, so can your

organization)

• Data Leaks (… but you DO have email, mobile phones, blackberry’s…)

• Slows a company’s internet connection (Bandwidth is the

paper of the digital age)

Common (questionable) reasons for blocking SNS

Source: Demolishing Barclay Communications’ blocking argument point by point – Stop Blocking

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Same, same – but different What lies ahead?

• Embrace online – leverage insights and connections

• Demonstrate your link to business objectives

• Integration will be everything • Meaningful Metrics will rule the

world • Media will live – probably even

stronger than before • We are content producers. Think

video!

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Future-Proofing Public Relations Who do YOU want to be?

Critical Analytical Skills

No Analytical Skills

Strategic Business

Orientation Vanity

Publishing

Gamblers Winners

Ostriches Bluffers

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Source: Dow Jones E-book: “Talk to me – 10 tips for translating the PR results into the language of business“.

• 60% of companies (PR Week) are measuring PR/

Communications at the request of senior

management. – Better start before management

asks for it

• Use the right approach with the correct content

– Show the whole picture through meaningful

KPIs

• Turn simple outputs into meaningful outcomes:

Connect the dots between clip counts –trends in

coverage and favourability

Winners know what success look like: Translating PR results into the language of business

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• 60% of companies (PR Week) are measuring PR/

Communications at the request of senior

management. – Better start before management

asks for it

• Use the right approach with the correct content

– Show the whole picture through meaningful

KPIs

• Turn simple outputs into meaningful outcomes:

Connect the dots between clip counts –trends in

coverage and favourability

Winners know what success look like: Translating PR results into the language of business

“…From an executive’s viewpoint, it can be interpreted as the difference between the PR team being busy and the PR team being indispensable.

Source: Dow Jones E-book: “Talk to me – 10 tips for translating the PR results into the language of business“. 56

Rules of Engagement – Things to Consider

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Get your processes right • Monitor • Analyze • Discover • Engage / Respond

What you need: • A PLAN & Resources! • Scenario planning & Reaction Plans • Guidelines

There is no one-size-fits-all • Better start small than not at all • Form a team • Have fun!

People Processes

Policies

‘Classic’ Case Study: Domino’s YouTube Experience

• Domino’s Pizza Chain discovered the power of viral marketing last month: two employees in the US filmed "prank" videos of themselves stuffing cheese up their noses and then putting it into sandwiches.

• The video went popular on YouTube (over 1 million views), and Twitter lit up with disgusted customer complaints.

• Domino’s apologized and put its own President on YouTube, started a Twitter response site;

• Still: In just a few days, Domino’s reputation was damaged.

Who in YOUR organization would go on Youtube?

What to wear? What to say?

Who to talk to? Are you ready?

Nobody will wait for you…!

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Lars Voedisch

Communications Strategist

lars@preciouscomms.com

@larsv

Your reputation is precious…

• Communications Strategy

• Traditional & Social Media Relations

• Crisis Preparedness

• Internal Communications

• Media Training

• Analysis, Measurement, Research

Let’s talk!

Lars Voedisch

Communications Strategist

lars@preciouscomms.com

@larsv