chapter 8, part a, web 2.0 and social media for business, 3rd edition
TRANSCRIPT
Web 2.0 and Social MediaBusiness in a Connected World
Chapter 8a
© McHaney and Sachs 2016
Social Buzz and Viral Phenomenon
Two Examples
Time and Geography Independence
Egypt’s 2011 Tahrir Square RevolutionProtests against former president Hosni Mubarak relied heavily on Facebook pages maintained by a rotating staff of twenty during the uprising (BBC News, 2011)
Franciscan Friars Flash MobsGroup of Franciscan Friars gathered at Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy for their event, Missione Giovani Firenze 2015. Flash mobs were used to encourage young people. Nuns and friars used social media complete with hashtags (#liberiperamare) and an anthem, "Esci Fuori!" (Come out of there!).
Web 2.0 has enabled crowd behavior to become independent of time and geographic location. The manifestation can be vastly different and triggered by social media.
YouTube Video
Example
Kansas State University Flash Mob
Flash mob dance troupes have emerged
Commercializing Flash Mobs
Commercial Flash MobsDancers hire their services out to corporate clients wishing to draw attention to new products or inject life into marketing efforts.
Bay Area Flash MobDance groups like Bay Area Flash Mob, in San Francisco, which mainly did free flash mobs for the fun of it, began getting inquiries from businesses in about 2010.
Golf Shoe LaunchNike paid about $1,000 to stage a flash mob at a San Francisco golf-shoe launch. A YouTube video documented the event and dancers pumped footwear in the air to Lady Gaga's ‘Poker Face’.
People can be separated in time and space, or belong to multiple crowds simultaneously through the use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and Reddit.
Time and geography are less constraining
Virtual Crowds and Business
Someone may belong to communities organized with social media tools
Same tools may result in crowd-inspired “waves” that move through these communities at incredible rates
Waves lack leadership or common purpose
Often referred to as viral Enormous Business Implications
Multiple Functions
Social Media
Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Foursquare and others create an infrastructure conducive to social buzz
Tools such as Social Mention and Klout help businesses track social buzz
Big players: Facebook and LinkedIn
Multiple Functions
Social Media
Visual Social Media
Designed so users can organize and share images and videos
Shared media called Pins organized into Pin Boards Pin Boards relate to a theme and can be followed by
other Pinterest users Content can be RePinned, Liked, and shared Users follow each other as well as specific Pin Boards Pinterest is visually-oriented and suited for use on mobile
devices Pinterest opened for beta use in 2010, making it a young
and rapidly growing site. By 2011, it had over 11 million daily visitors making it a top social media site.
Its co-founder and CEO, Ben Silbermann, defines it as a catalog of ideas and not just another social network.
Visual Social Media
Users pin interesting items they find on the Web (or that they create for themselves).
Community aspect becomes important as individuals rely on others with similar interests to help find new relevant items.
Popular in areas where a visual component is important.
Often is used for interior design, art, fashion, recipes, food, cake decorating, and shopping.
Businesses benefit because traffic is driven to their Web sites .
Users communicate by reposting content, sharing pins on Facebook, tweeting pins, or embedding Pinterest material on blogs.
Businesses create pages to promote products and services.
Pinterest business pages can become virtual storefronts to be repinned on customers’ pin boards.
Traffic driven from Pinterest results in higher revenues and greater percentages of sales than other social media sources.
Rich Pins Buyable Pins
Multiple sources of income
Pinterest Business Model
Six types of Rich Pins: app, article, movie, recipe, place and product. More to be added!
Do not directly provide a money stream for Pinterest through subscription fees or other means.
For consumers, Rich Pins include extra information about certain types of items being pinned.
Rich Pins automatically show current pricing details and have direct link to retailer’s product page to make purchasing easier.
Provide data about items listed and sold to Pinterest users: BIG DATA!
Rich Pins From Pinterest and Consumer Perspective
Rich Pins are the best way to move potential customers to where product or service can be purchased.
Pinterest has developer’s site which provides details regarding the implementation.
Rich Pins must be validated. Retailer receives a validation code
to embed in their Website. Pin It Button can be added to the
company’s product pages. Pinterest users will be
encouraged to pin products and spread the word.
Social Media Impact
Rich Pins From Retailers’ Perspective
Pinterest Future Capabilities
According to Danny Maloney, CEO of Tailwind
Virtual DatabaseSoon, Pinterest will be able to introduce smart tags which will leverage its visual database with knowledge acquired from smart pins.
Data AnalyticsPinterest will have the capability to use image recognition technology to group pins of similar images for brand analytics and be able to add those smart tags as a service.. Services to PurchasersPinterest will be able to provide potential purchasers with tagged items that include links about where to buy even if the pin didn’t come from that retailer’s site.MonetizationPinterest will monetize this service by syndicating its product search to e-commerce sites, making social commerce a reality across the Web.
Pinterest announced the addition of Buyable Pins---a simple, secure way to buy products pinned on Pin Boards. Customers are able to shop, checkout, and buy without leaving the mobile app or Web site. Pins with blue prices are an indicator that the items shown can be purchased right through the app.
Announced in 2015 and now in use
Buyable Pins
Web sites such as StumbleUpon and Reddit have become giants on the Web. Both provide venues for finding and sharing interesting material. For a business, this can mean publicity, new customers and free exposure.
http://www.mysocialagency.com/social-media/how-to-drive-website-traffic-from-stumbleupon
Examples: StumbleUpon and Reddit
Alternate Social Media Approaches
Driving traffic to the rest of the Web
StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon Approach
Discovery for FunDesigned to help a user “discover new and interesting stuff on the Web”.
Data RepositoryUsers provide basic information about likes (a marketer’s dream come true) and are given a journey to relevant Web sites, videos, blogs, photos and other material.
StumblersThe more other users like a page, the higher it is rated and it is more likely to be viewed by more ‘Stumblers’.
MonetizationUser profiles become more specific and better tailored as they provide feedback on pages.
StumbleUpon drives over 50 percent of its traffic to the rest of the Web
Offers a great way to get people to link to a business site for comments and to boost subscriber numbers
Surpassed 25th million click in August 2011
Tracks over 3 million sites
StumbleUpon Facts
From the Hatcher Group
Business Uses of StumbleUpon
From the Hatcher Group
Business Uses of StumbleUpon (Continued)
From the Hatcher Group
Business Uses of StumbleUpon (Continued)
Businesses can pay to have their sites discovered
Paid Discovery
Popular forums for discussion and venting!
Premise: Users submit content (text-based posts, images, links or other
items)Most posts are discussion related or controversial statementsUsers vote posts up or downMost popular posts reach the Reddit’s front pageComments to the posts can also be voted up or down
Web site divided into subject areas called subreddits Often used to raise public awareness regarding issues Often considered revolutionary Provides a platform for individuals to build a following Reddit users turned off by self-promotion
Known for openness and diverse user communities
Used by businesses to promote blog or other content.
An article can be submitted and voted up resulting in even more readers.
Reddit works best with well written informative content, particularly when it has a social conscience .
Negative side: Reddit communities criticized for hive mindset and negative aspects of group interaction, crowd psychology and collective consciousness.
Imgur linked to Reddit for image storage
Reddit Comments
Why Reddit?
Unique and interesting to businesses: Reaches engaged individuals
Why Reddit?
Provides paid advertising service. Allows business to reach those reading and posting in particular subreddit areas. Reddit ads also include comment threads where viewers can discuss the ad and the product being advertised.
Paid advertising
Reddit Business Hints
Reddit Business Hints (Continued)
Contact: Roger McHaney, Kansas State University, [email protected]