smbseattle: crafting an engagement strategy

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

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

Our (Formerly) Glamorous Life

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The ground rules

◼  Built in a known environment of limited product choice

◼  Limited media channels

◼  Longer brand interactions

◼  Higher barriers to entry

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Meanwhile, back at the recession…

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“Are you asking for a budget increase?”

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Cultural shifts and Marketing

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Source: Agent Wildfire"

Trust

ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE’S RISK

People turn to peers when time is short, risk is greater

TRUST IS WIDELY SPREAD 56% age 35-64, 63% 25-34 share trust/distrust on the

web

WE TRUST PEERS THE MOST (57%); 13% trust advertisers/

marketers (least trusted group)

PEOPLE BUY TRUST Trust drives preference: 91% buy from trusted

companies; 77% refuse to buy from distrusted

2008-2009 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER

drives transactions

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

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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.

Let’s talk strategy

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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

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Envision an end goal

FLICKR: @SLUDGEGULPER!

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17 FLICKR: @BEN+SAM!

Honestly assess your starting point

◼ 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?

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

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◼  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

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Action steps

Forrester’s Technographic segmentation model

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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

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DOT-COM SITE

Integrated Traditional/Social Marketing Mix

AMAZON S      T      O      R      Y      T      E      L      L      I      N      G  

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

SEO  

COMPANY  BLOG  (IP)  

BRANDED  SITE  

EXTERNAL  MKTG-­‐MANAGED  PRESENCE  

EXTERNAL  THIRD-­‐PARTY  SITE  

TRADITIONAL  MEDIA/PR  

HELPFUL  RESOURCES  

COMMENTS  

RETAIL  

ONLINE  SAMPLING  

TOPICAL COMMUNITIES: IP, HELPFUL TIPS

PRINT  

OUTDOOR  

PRODUCT LAUNCH

MICROSITE

ONLINE  

EVENTS  

E-­‐COMMERCE  PARTNER  

EXTERNAL BLOGS: IP, FASHION TIPS

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: STORYTELLING, IP

PR  

PRODUCT  SEEDING  PGMS  

CONSUMER  STYLE  SHARING  

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

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Trust generated, 2300 new accounts, $4 million.

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

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So, remember

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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)

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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?

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FLICKR: @JACOB DAVIES!

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

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About Tribal DDB Vancouver

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Part of a worldwide network of tribes ◼  53 full-service offices ◼  25 countries ◼  1,500 people

Expertise Services ◼  Digital brand strategy ◼  Customer experience design ◼  Usability ◼  Interactive advertising ◼  Media planning & buying ◼  Engagement & social marketing strategies ◼  Social network/community design ◼  Community cultivation (via @RadarDDB) ◼  Search engine marketing ◼  Engagement analytics

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