Current Trends in External Engagement CURRENT TRENDS in EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT
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SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT: TRENDS, CASES & THE NEW MODEL IN ACTION PART THREE Current Trends in External Engagement CURRENT TRENDS IN EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT Many companies, especially but by no means limited to those subject to complex regulatory regimes like those in pharmaceuticals and financial services, began their social media engagement internally and now, after having gained both the confidence to use these tools externally and the recognition that external engagement is essential, are moving out more assertively, creatively, and efficiently. While this migration to social media platforms a community of people who feel themselves to for external engagement is not without some be part of a movement, and who are apparently anxiety, it is being driven by an awareness that motivated – at least in part – not by “rational traditional models just aren’t as effective as they economic self-interest” but by a belief in, and once were (or, perhaps, that better metrics are emotional satisfaction from connectedness. This helping us understand that they were never as connectedness is, in turn, linked to trust, which effective as we once thought they were). As then depends upon a sense of mutuality, as the Building Belief noted: Page Society’s Trust Report noted. Social media, by providing the opportunity for true engagement • Seventy-five percent of people don’t believe rather than the passive reception of corporate that companies tell the truth in advertising. messaging, permits customers and other exter- nal constituents to become active participants. • Nine out of ten consumers online trust recom- When their beliefs are honored and shape those mendations from people they know; seven out of the enterprise in such exercises as crowd- of ten trust opinions of unknown users. sourcing, Building Belief notes, “tremendous • Seventy-eight percent of consumers trust peer advocacy” can result. recommendations. As corporations pursue external engagement, they • Sixty-one percent trust family and friends and are both changing the social media environment customer reviews over manufacturers, experts and reacting to an evolved social media ecosystem or retailers. that is no longer just about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Photo/video sharing ser- If, as the New Model suggests, “forging a shared vices are an example: Flickr, which currently has belief” is essential to spurring action and building roughly 90 million users, was acquired by Yahoo advocacy, it is clear that social engagement is an in 2005. Instagram, another photo sharing service, essential vehicle. Moreover, the most effective was acquired by Facebook in 2012 and has over companies and organizations have been successful 100 million users. Vine, acquired by Twitter early at not only forging a shared belief but in creating in 2013, is already being embraced for its ability ARTHUR W. PAGE SOCIETY SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT 2 to capture 3-D images of merchandise and cre- reminiscent of Woody Allen’s lament in the film ate memorable visuals in tiny video clips that are “Radio Days” about his mother running all their essentially the visual equivalent of a tweet. Early food “through her deflavorizing machine.” De- business adopters have included Urban Outfitters, veloping the skills of “transmedia storytelling” Nordstrom and a number of big-name fashion – providing a compelling narrative that engages designers. What are the key trends in external the audience at the optimal intersection of the engagement and the best practices for effectively rational and emotional across all channels, digital engaged enterprises? and otherwise – has become essential. Content Will Remain King Dell is one example of an organization that has developed a successful content-driven effort. The Perhaps most important of all, one should dis- company has used social media as a channel for count the notion that we have moved into a thought leadership and brand awareness. It created “post-content” marketing world. The evidence a Facebook page to provide small and medium-size is strong that content remains, and that content businesses with best practices for social media use. will continue to be king, and organizations that Aside from the Dell branding, the page isn’t about don’t have quality content (along with the ability selling computers – it’s about how to use social me- to shape and syndicate it effectively) will suffer. dia effectively. Content includes tips for reaching Content remains essential to connecting with out to bloggers, Pinterest guides, Twitter demo key audiences and demonstrating an organiza- graphics and more. The program has garnered tion’s understanding that effective social media over 55,000 “likes” and is considered to have in- engagement requires a two-way exchange of creased awareness of Dell’s services to small and beneficial information. Companies that do not medium sized businesses. provide genuinely useful content will find it dif- ficult to keep their end of the bargain. It’s important to remain mindful of current public sentiment (political, cultural and social) when Indeed, in the New Model, CCOs are encouraged engaging with your audiences on social media. to establish the capacity to create “owned media” Such sensitivities can overcome the danger of and to distribute this content directly to targeted creating your own social media crisis through individuals through social networks and mobile thoughtless engagement. In November of 2013, devices. And they are advised to leverage the data JPMorgan (which had already had its share of obtained from listening into personalized and bad press) announced plans to have one of its tailored communications that enhance brand senior executives, Jimmy Lee, “take over” the relevance. @JPMorgan twitter handle to answer questions from the masses using the #AskJPM hashtag.1 It is also increasingly important for content to make an emotional connection with target audiences, J.P. Morgan Follow something many companies still find challenging. @jpmorgan This is occasionally the result of overcautious legal Tomorrow at 1pm ET $JPM Vice Chairman Jimmy Lee review, but is more often the result of tight dead- takes over @JPMorgan to answer your questions for 1 lines, writing by committee or simply the habit hour. Tweet your Q early using #AskJPM of speaking in a dry institutional tone. Whatever 11:16 AM - 13 Nov 2013 the cause, the effect is to drain all emotion – 105 RETWEETS 36 FAVORITES 1 Camilla Hall, “JP Morgan Feels the Wrath of Twitter,” Financial Times online, Nov. 14, 2013, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8d3a24dc-4cbf-11e3-958f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2wDQjDUkm ARTHUR W. PAGE SOCIETY SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT 3 The public’s negative sentiment toward the 2012 tools like Radian 6. But the future of social media large trading losses, which occurred at JPMorgan’s data generation will tie into other existing mea- Chief Investment Office, was still very fresh. It surement systems such as customer databases. turns out that many people on Twitter still had One leading automotive company is building its strong feelings about the financial crisis and wanted measurement program to see if customers who to #AskJPM about it. After about seven hours engage with its social content are more likely to it became clear that JPMorgan had lost control purchase, and if they do, whether they are more of the conversation and the bank pulled the plug likely to spend more than other customers (which on the event. is examined further in the upcoming section on Metrics). Consequently, skill in data analytics is J.P. Morgan Follow becoming a core competency for communications @jpmorgan professionals. Tomorrow’s Q&A is cancelled. Bad Idea. Back to the drawing board. Platforms and How We Use Them 7:29 PM - 13 Nov 2013 Platforms are simultaneously expanding (Face- 1,699 RETWEETS 951 FAVORITES book graph search), proliferating and consolidating The crisis, nicknamed the “London Whale,” ac- (e.g., Twitter’s acquisition of Vine and Facebook’s cumulated an estimated trading loss of $2 billion. acquisition of Instagram), and international use These events gave rise to a number of investiga- in languages other than English is increasingly tions to examine the firm’s risk management important. A few examples of platforms beyond systems and internal controls. the big three of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and who’s using them well include: Data is Power • Pinterest, the theme-based interest-sharing If content is king, data is power, and the type of site, has 48.7 million users worldwide, with 12 data that matters is rapidly changing. Many com- million U.S. users. Among its effective users are panies have been looking at data such as the number Bayer, Novo Nordisk, Lowe’s, Whole Foods, of Facebook “likes” and “followers” on Twitter, etc. Sephora and others.2 But these are crude measures of effectiveness for a variety of reasons. For example, they fail to • Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing and social distinguish between key influencers and others networking site, has 100 million users, with 7.3 and do not measure whether the sentiment that million daily users, and 4 billion photos posted. produced the “like” or “follow” produces any sus- National Public Radio, American Express and tained interest or other benefit. In short, volume GE are notable users. is no longer the Holy Grail, and companies are • Qzone, the Chinese social networking platform learning that volume doesn’t necessarily translate similar to Facebook, has 600 million members to advocacy. (primarily in China), and is being used effectively by such consumer brands as Nestle, Nabisco Currently, many organizations are relying primarily and Colgate. on data provided by the social media platforms themselves, such as Facebook Insights, Twitter • V’kontake, the Russian social networking service, Analytics, etc., though the most sophisticated has 200 million members and is being used by socially engaged enterprises use a combination of Adidas, Megafon (the telecommunications social media management systems and listening company) and Volvo.