NO COOKIE-CUTTERS ALLOWED:NO COOKIE-CUTTERS ALLOWED: Making Social Media a Driver of Genuine Relationship BuildingGenuine Relationship-Building

WelcomeWhat We’ll Discuss:

Overview of Recent Knoxville Area Survey Results fromOverview of Recent Knoxville-Area Survey Results from PRSA Communicators about Social Media

Customer CommunicationsEmployee CommunicationsEmployee CommunicationsCrisis CommunicationsProduct Development and Testing

Key Take-Awaysey a e aysRationale for Customized Strategies and TacticsObservations and Landmines AssociatedObservations and Landmines Associatedwith the Cookie-Cutter Approach in Social MediaDo’s and Don’ts

Q&A

Our Team• Mary Beth West, APR

– www.marybethwest.com y

• Tori Rosebl di b ti– www.bluemediaboutique.com

With independent research provided by:With independent research provided by:

• Rebecca Bryant– www.bryant-research.com

Survey Methodologyy gy• Part of a larger Tennessee statewide survey

of PRSA members conducted summer 2010• 62 respondents from the Volunteer Chapter

listservWid f b i t ith• Wide range of business sectors, with government, health care and educational organizations making up nearly half the

lsample.• Over half of respondents reportedly from

companies with:companies with: • More than 500 employees• 2009 revenues of more than $10 million

9 out of 10 believe Social9 out of 10 believe Social Media is an important

t icomponent in any communications plan.p

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTSSocial media is an important component in any

i ti l ( 67)

75

100 communications plan. (n=67)

57

3350

cen

t To

tal

4 60

0

25Per

c

Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at allPRSA Volunteer Chapter

As important as it isAs important as it is, however, 7 in 10 say it’s hard t lt fto measure results from using Social Media.g

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTS

It's hard to measure the results from using social

75

100

gmedia. (n=67)

58

50

75

cent

Tot

al

12 12 126

0

25

Perc

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Still very few – only 4% –Still, very few only 4% regard Social Media as a

i f dpassing fad.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTS

Social media is a passing fad. (n=67)

75

100

Social media is a passing fad. (n 67)

4950

75

cent

Tot

al

04

13

33

25

Perc

00

Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Social media is changingSocial media is changing the face of both customer

d land employee communications.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTS

Social media is changing how organizations

73

100

g g gcommunicate with [customers / employees]. (n=67)

73

31

4950

75

cent

Tot

al CustomersEmployees

24

3 0 0

31

10 90

0

25Perc

Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Still, there is a serious learning curve: ¾ of respondents expressedrespondents expressed difficulty knowing what

bi ti f i l dcombination of social and traditional media to use.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTS

It's hard to know what combination of social media100

It s hard to know what combination of social media and traditional media to use. (n=67)

61

50

75

ent T

otal

159 12

3

25

Perc

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Perception regarding how p g gclearly Social Media impacts their companies’ bottom linestheir companies bottom lines varied among the respondents.• Most respondents reported seeingMost respondents reported seeing

some degree of clear impact.• However one-in-threeHowever, one in three

characterized the impact as unclearunclear.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTSIt's unclear how social media can contribute to our

75

100 organization's bottom line. (n=67)

3650

75

cent

Tot

al

10

21 18

36

1525

Perc

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Though nearly a third areThough nearly a third are uncertain, 2 in 3 say i ti i S i l M di iinvesting in Social Media is worth it.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTS

The return on investment in social media is well 100

e etu o est e t soc a ed a s eworth it. (n=67)

57

50

75

ent T

otal

9

31

1 1

25

Perc

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

1 in 4 view the cost of1 in 4 view the cost of investing in Social Media as too great for mosttoo great for most organizations.

However, the majority do not.

NOTE: one-in-five are uncertain in this regardg

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTS

The cost of managing social media effetively is too

100

The cost of managing social media effetively is too great for most organizations. (n=67)

50

75

ent T

otal

4

21 19

37

1825

Perc

e

40

Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Many are uncertain about how to reliably measure the bottom-line impact of Socialbottom line impact of Social Media.A significant portion of those in theA significant portion of those in the Volunteer PRSA chapter doubt there is a proven way to quantify impactis a proven way to quantify impact.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTSThere is no proven way to measure the bottom-line

100impact of social media. (n=67)

50

75

ent T

otal

6

2230 27

1525

Perc

e

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Very few firmly believe federal regulations havefederal regulations have hindered Social Media adoptionadoption.

H l h lfHowever, nearly half expressed uncertainty about this statement.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTSFederal regulations have negatively impacted

adoption of social media (n=67)

75

100adoption of social media. (n=67)

4850

rcen

t Tot

al

49

2415

25

Per

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Social Media should be i l d d i i iincluded in crisis communications planning, p g,according to the vast majority of those in the Volunteerof those in the Volunteer PRSA chapter.

SURVEY RESULTSSURVEY RESULTSCrisis communications planning should include

social media (n=67)

7375

100social media. (n=67)

50

rcen

t Tot

al

22

40 0

0

25

Per

0Very true Somewhat true Not sure Somewhat untrue Not true at all

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Survey Methodologyy gy

Age (n=62)g ( )

75

100

otal

1026

37

15 1325

50

75

erce

nt T

o

10 15 13

0

25

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64

P

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Survey Methodologyy gy

Gender (n=62)Gender (n 62)

7975

100

tal

2150

75

rcen

t Tot

21

0

25

Male Female

Pe

Male Female

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Survey Methodologyy gy

Management Level (n=62)

5575

100

Tota

l

27

55

1825

50

Perc

ent T

0Senior Management Middle Management Other

P

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Survey Methodologyy gyType Organization (n=61)

16 15 15 235075

100

nt T

otal

16 15 15 10 8 7 723

02550

ent

on are

fit,

ng cial sm herPe

rcen

Gov

ernm

e

Educ

ati

Hea

lthca

Non

-pro

fot

her

Mar

keti

Fina

n c

Tour

is

Oth

G

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

Survey Methodologyy gy

Number of Employees (n=61)y ( )

75

100

otal

13 13 11 10 11

41

25

50

75

Perc

ent T

00-5 6-25 26-100 101-500 501-1000 Over

1000

P

1000

PRSA Volunteer Chapter

1/3 of Respondents’ Organizations Centered Around Downtown Knoxville and CampusAround Downtown Knoxville and Campus

Organization's Zip Code

Percent TotalZip Code Total (n=61)

37902 16%37996 10%37996 10%37916 7%37830* 7%3 909**37909** 7%37922** 7%37923** 5%Other 43%* Oak Ridge

** West Knoxville

The Take-Awaysy• The power of social media as a tool to

build communications relationshipsbuild communications, relationships and reputations is practically undeniable.

• However, confusion persists about which strategies, tools and tactics can be effective particularly given manybe effective, particularly given many organizations’ limited budgets and resources.

Resulting Challenges We Have Observed in the MarketplaceObserved in the Marketplace

• Failure to use the proven research / pplanning / implementation / evaluation approach in social media

• Customization viewed as too time-consuming and too expensiveconsuming and too expensive, resulting in a cookie-cutter route– Can pose many problems in effectiveCan pose many problems in effective

communications and relationship-building for the brand

Examples

• Social media tools driving gan organization’s interactive presence, rather than the targetrather than the target audience’s known needs and expectationsp

• Template-dominant websites and interactivewebsites and interactive tools

Resulting Problemsg• Target audiences don’t experience

what they wanted online; brand loseswhat they wanted online; brand loses traction

• Failure to develop monitoring and p gtracking on the front-end results in no reporting / ROI data . . . furthering the false notion that social media isn’tfalse notion that social media isn t measurable.

• Budgets wasted on creating andBudgets wasted on creating and developing tools that miss the mark, either technologically or experientially

Customizing Your ApproachCustomizing Your ApproachHow-To’s

What NOT To Do, and WhyyDon’t SPAM.• Your social media content is consumed voluntarily, so it has to be valuable enough to pay attention toenough to pay attention to.

• Limit your “advertisements.” • Think in thirds:Think in thirds:

• 1/3 grow your network• 1/3 engage one-to-one with that g g

network• 1/3 share fresh and exciting content

What NOT To Do, and WhyyDon’t focus solely on your

ticonnections.• Your social media end goal should

always be to convince your network that something is share-worthy.It’s not just about your page or channel• It’s not just about your page or channel. Your content can be delivered by other people on your behalf which is muchpeople on your behalf, which is much more likely to have a profound impact.

What NOT To Do, and WhyyDon’t drive traffic to the wrong place.• Create a funnel. Always drive traffic to a

central place, like your website or blog...not to someone else’s.

• Don’t just share what someone else has done or said Share what you thinkdone or said. Share what you think about what someone else has done or said.said.

What NOT To Do, and WhyyDon’t forget about SEO.• People will most likely discover your

content, including your social media content, through search results.• Facebook pages are typically listed in

the top five resultsthe top five results.• You should have a focused SEO effort and

make sure your social media outreach is amake sure your social media outreach is a part of that effort (pay attention to keywords, titles and phrases).

What NOT To Do, and WhyyDon’t just post...engage.

If you want more comments comment more• If you want more comments, comment more often.

• If you want more Twitter followers, followIf you want more Twitter followers, follow others.

• If you want a blogger to comment on your company, write a blog post about him/her.

• If you want people to watch your YouTube id b ib t th i h lvideo, subscribe to their channels, or even

better, consider posting a video response to one of their videosone of their videos.

What NOT To Do, and WhyyDon’t ignore the power of UGC.• Instead of always trying to convince your

audience to share your content, ask th t t th i ( tlthem to create their own (greatly increasing the likelihood that it will be shared!)shared!).

• Social media is, at its core, a self-centered thing. If someone has been ginvolved in producing it, it’s likely they’ll “brag” about it and pass it along.

Parting Thoughts• Today’s audiences want a unique, genuine

experience from a brand.experience from a brand.• While the full range of interactive capabilities can

be a bit confusing or overwhelming, taking an g g, govertly cookie-cutter approach is not the answer.

• Research, planning, implementation and evaluation is still a tried-and-true process.

• Taking this process and making the execution real and relevant to the user is the critical task.

THANKS!THANKS!

Questions?Questions?

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