the social web for business

The Social Web for Business


Jonathan Crossfield26th August 2009


Why should my business care?

Social networks are popular

• Over 70% of Australian internet users visited a social networking site in June 2009*

*comScore study, June 2009

Reported in Marketing Charts, August 17th 2009

People want to be part of something exciting

• Twitter rose to over 800,000 users in June 2009, up from 13,000 in 2008*

*comScore study, June 2009

Reported in Marketing Charts, August 17th 2009


Twitter is seeing astronomical growth

*courtesy Hitwise Australia, July 2009 (Hitwise.com.au)

How can my business use Twitter (or Facebook, etc)?


But businesses keep asking the wrong question


There is a better question

How can I use the social web to help consumers achieve

their goals?

Deciding to use a tool is a TACTIC

I want to use a snow shovel to benefit

my business

http://www.flickr.com/photos/signifying/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/signifying/



http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Helping people achieve goals is a STRATEGY

Clearing my driveway helps more customers get

where they’re going






Knowing the customer goal may reveal a better tool


Wow! Cleanest driveway in the street!





Human behaviour is the key!


The ANT Approach

ANT businesses are taking over

Google – designed for users, not businesses

Twitter – tapped into social behaviour

Amazon – made buying books easier


So, what is the social web?


You might think social media is this


These are just tools – snow shovels


The entire web is social – with many tools

Sending an email is a social activity…

Commenting on a blog is a social activity…

Interacting with a website is a social activity…

…and everyone has access to the toolshed!


The audience is now the media


But so are your employees! Use them!

Let’s look at just one tool


What is Twitter?

• A “microblogging” platform• Allows people to create posts

(“tweets”) of 140 characters or less• Users can “follow” others that

interest them


Originally designed as a “broadcast” medium


Evolved into an “engagement” medium


The users transformed Twitter

Users started replying to each other with @


So Twitter built it in!


User started using # to tag conversations


# made conversations searchable & real-time


So Twitter built it in!


Users began “retweets”, spreading content


So Twitter is building it in!



Word of mouth on Twitter


Will someone recommend your product?


Will someone recommend your shop?


Wow! Now this is word of mouth!


But then, so is this!


Should we care what they say?

• Trib is followed by 4000+ people. I’d care!

So what do the sceptics say?

“Churn on Twitter is too high”


Why Twitter churn is not bad

Joining Twitter is like signing up for flying lessons only to find yourself sitting at the controls of a passenger jet… but I envy you that moment when it 'clicks' and you suddenly realise the possibilities.

*Graham Linehan – “The Conversation”

Blog post 19th August 2009

“Twitter tweets are pointless babble”

The Pear Analytics Report

• 40% of tweets are “pointless babble”

• 37.55% were “conversational”

• Suggested only 8.78% of tweets had “value”

The Pear Analytics Report


We’ve heard it all before!

The problem with television is that the people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn't time for it.

*The New York Times (1939)



This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.

*Western Union internal memo (1876)



The multitude of books is a great evil. There is no limit to this fever for writing; every one must be an author; some out of vanity, to acquire celebrity and raise up a name, others for the sake of mere

gain.

*Martin Luther – Table Talk (1530s)


Don’t listen to the sceptics!

With the advent of every new medium — books, radio, TV, social networks — there is a built-in fear, social concern, that it will lead to lack of productivity and a general sense of dysfunction. This is one of the tropes of the arrival of any new media. Many consider Twitter a fad.

*Joseph Turow - University of Pennsylvania

USA Today August 25th 2009

“Twitter tantrums should be ignored”


“There’s no financial sense in social media”


Case Study


A major Australian clothing retailer…


…released some controversial babywear.


A mother’s complaint was ignored!


The complaint was blogged


Twitter discussed the blog post – a lot


Cotton On’s Twitter page ignored them


More bloggers heard and reacted


Mainstream news heard the outcry


The Twitter call for a boycott was reported


Cotton On bowed to pressure

One complaint became thousands


Ignoring the social web cost money!


Who’s the big fish now?


But it’s not all bad news!


How should we use the social web?


By providing “elegant organisation”

You don’t start communities. They already exist. They’re already doing what they want to do. The question you should ask is how you can help them do that better. Bring them “elegant organisation”.

Mark Zuckerberg – Creator of Facebook

Quoted by Jeff Jarvis – “What Would Google Do?”


Identify the customer goal or problem


Understand the route they prefer to take

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyskis/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyskis/



http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/


Use the right tools to make it easier for them!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkransen/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkransen/



http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/


See how many customers choose your route!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/grahamking/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/grahamking/




Direct sales via links & promotions

Brand awareness / customer engagement

Feedback & complaints management

Customer service & support

Solving problems with the Twitter API

• Application Programming Interface• Software designed to work with Twitter• Over 2000 applications currently

developed


Filesocial.com – file sharing via Twitter


CommuterFeed.com - users tweet traffic info


Twitpay – sending money via Twitter


Twitition – create and sign petitions


Botanicalls - tweets when plants are thirsty


Ryan Rose modified a washing machine


Lets him know when washing is done!


What could you do?

• How could your business provide “elegant organisation” for your customers and staff with Twitter and the API?

• Don’t forget the iPhone!

Twitter is not alone

• Find and recruit staff• Create employee groups and pool ideas• Create a company profile and network

with related professionals


• Tutorial ‘how to’ videos• Present a fun side to the business• Branding messages


• Create communities for feedback• Share content and information to

interested members• Spreading the brand ‘virally’ with facebook

apps


• Create an internal wiki• Allow employees to collate and collaborate• Share best practice and knowledge• Empower staff and value their experience


But where’s the ROI?

Dell

• Joined Twitter in 2007• Has achieved over US$3 million in

sales from Twitter followers• Sales increasing – US$1 million in the

last 6 months


Dell

• Multiple accounts• Offer special deals with links• Tracks conversions with proprietary

software


Starbucks – MyStarbucksIdea.com


• Responds to the community• Reviews and promotes ideas• Customers submit and vote on

suggestions• ALL Starbucks departments involved



• 3 million unique visitors• 60,000 ideas submitted• 100,000s of comments• 460,000 votes• Over 50 business changes made as a

result

*Source: Engagement db.com July 2009 Prepared by Wetpaint and AltimeterThe Social Web for Business

Engagement to revenue – is there a trend?

• The top 100 global brands & the social web


Show me the money!

Wallflowers (low – or no - engagement

in 6 or less channels)

Selectives (high engagement in 6 or

fewer channels)

Butterflies (low engagement in 7 or

more channels

Mavens (high engagement in 7 or more

channels)

*Source: Engagement db.com July 2009

Prepared by Wetpaint and Altimeter


What does it mean?

• Very hard to show definite cause and effect

• However, the trend is very strong

• Businesses engaging heavily in the social web have stronger growth


Nearly there…

I grew up near a corner shop (not this one)

They knew me, my family, our story…

…and we knew them

It’s gone now. But 30 years on I still remember them

Corner shops gave way to supermarkets

We scaled up production

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inju/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inju/




We scaled up marketing

We scaled up sales

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_beaver/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_beaver/




We couldn’t scale up relationships

“Do you want fries with that?”

The social web scales up relationships!

What does this mean?

Listen and respond – don’t just broadcast

View everything from the customer’s position

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quaelin/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quaelin/



http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Treat everyone as individuals, not a mass market

Be an ANT!

•Care about Anthropology, Not Technology!

Thankyou

@Netregistry

@Kimota

the social web for business

Business

pear analytics

business starbucks

comscore study

social web

social networks

weve heard

customer goal

www