Engagement is of paramount importance when it comes to getting it right in social media. Your contributions on social networks form the outward representation of your brand or company online and define how you are viewed by others.

Which is why effective and compelling engagement requires scrupulous planning and calls for careful consolidation of your overall social media strategy and content plan.

Three simple recommendations for successful engagement include:

1. Decide your online persona
Your outputs must correspond with your company or brand persona, which should be carefully considered and agreed before launching into online communications. Those engaging on your behalf need to understand and embody your brand or company’s social media personality, so that they reflect this in their tweets, posts and blogs. Bear in mind that social media often requires a different, or slightly more relaxed tone of voice.

2. Establish clear etiquette and workflow guidelines
This should be given careful consideration during strategy planning, however, it’s important to make sure that these rules are maintained and translated in your engagement on social networks. Consistency is key, particularly when you have more than one employee participating on your brand or company’s behalf.

Establishing a clear workflow for handling detractors is also something that requires careful consideration. Your employees need clear guidelines for responding to defamers, general criticisms and social customer service issues in an appropriate manner.

3. Listen & ask questions
Listening to your community can provide you with insight into the kind of engagement that will get them participating. Your followers and fans won’t appreciate it if you bombard them with irrelevant content, which offers no means of getting involved. Social media isn’t about shouting with a megaphone, it’s about generating a conversation, asking questions. If you don’t offer your fans a two-way dialogue then you are failing from the outset.

For further ideas and inspiration for engagement, we recommend a report recently published by Radian6, titled ‘30 ideas for your 2012 social media plan’.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It’s Valentine’s Day? Oh yes, of course! It’s also Day Two of Social Media Week and the line up for the rest of the week is looking fantastic. SMW takes place all over the globe, but there is a host of great events taking place in London town on a wide variety of topics, such as social content, social customer service and the psychology of online influence, to name but a few.

We are delighted to announce that immediate future’s fabulous Managing Director, Katy Howell, will be sharing her expertise this Thursday. Katy will be speaking at Email and Social Media: The New Rules of Engagement, Panel Discussion hosted by Constant Contact. This event is taking place from 11am to 1pm at the main Hub for this year’s Social Media Week London, The Design Council.  The discussion will centre on the importance of email and social within the overall marketing mix and how the channels can both be best leveraged to develop businesses. Katy will be sharing and debating her views on these channels, alongside a host of other great speakers.

Other members of the immediate future team will also be milling around towards the latter end of SMW. We will certainly be at the Londata II: Taming the firehose – putting data to work in social media, so do pop along and say hello if you are about.

If you aren’t able to make a visit to the Capital, don’t panic! You can still catch the events via live stream and soak up the social media knowledge from the comfort of your office chair or couch at home.

You might also want to download the SMW Mobile App so you can favourite events, speakers and venues, register for events and connect to content and SMW realtime infographics. Enjoy the rest of the week and don’t forget to follow/use the #SMW12 hashtag!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Few events in the sporting calendar command as much media coverage or social chatter as the US Super Bowl. Last year, French data intelligence company, Semiocast, reported that the American football championship was the focus of 4.5 million tweets, driving a 25% increase in global tweets during Super Bowl Sunday, while The Huffington Post reports that some 162.9 million people tuned into to watch the big event on TV.

While powerful advertising secured Doritos the most branded Twitter mentions surrounding the game in 2011, a number of brands have chosen to tackle social media head-on by putting real-time at the heart of this year’s campaigns. We’re kicking off with the best three.

1. Coca-Cola

With Pepsi reaching the top three most mentioned brands during last year’s Super Bowl, it’s no surprise that Coca-Cola has hit back. The drinks giant has developed a Facebook app, which enables viewers to watch videos of the brand’s iconic polar bears reacting in real-time to the game.

2. Pepsi

Keen not to be sidelined after last year’s success, the brand is using its social TV platform, Pepsi Sound Off, to show a real-time, celebrity-laden viewing party during the game. The web application enables viewers to engage with and shape the viewing party conversations by sharing comments using core hashtags via Twitter and Facebook.

3. National Football League

The NFL has kicked up controversy by announcing that players will be allowed to tweet from the sidelines during this year’s Pro Bowl, the first match of Super Bowl Sunday. While supporters have applauded the move for delivering entertainment to the fans, skeptics have criticised the NFL for taking players’ eyes off the game.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Still relatively unheard of amongst the masses, RFID or radio frequency identification technology has recently made the headlines as it is potentially going to be adopted for use at summer festivals in the UK. Glastonbury organiser, Michael Eavis has confirmed that he is looking into using the technology – read more here.

RFID technology offers many exciting prospects for brands who are keen to integrate on and offline experiences. RFID possesses that WOW factor that really gets people talking. And combined with social media, RFID gets people sharing.

How RFID works in conjunction with social? And what can it do for brands?

RFID bracelets or tags can be synchronised to a user’s Facebook profile. With a single swipe, the user can then tag, like and check-in, all in real-time.

A number of pioneering brands have already experimented with RFID technology, cashing in on real-world events in order to grow their social profiles and extend their reach through social media.

Coca Cola was an early adopter of RFID, providing teenagers with wristbands holidaying at the Coca Cola Summer village. This video provides you with a snapshot overview. The teenagers loved this exciting new offering, which auto-tagged them in photos uploaded to Coca Cola Facebook page.

The use of RFID for experiential events boosts branded page activity as fans share content, whilst also creating amplification and awareness through their individual social profiles. This user-generated content acts as a magnet for new visitors and potentially new fans, drawing in interest from across the social space. For the existing fans, RFID activity serves to further reinforce their positive attitude towards the brand, nurturing advocacy and retaining interest. Those who aren’t at the event can still feel and be involved, engaging through comments on RFID social content.

Videos and photos are the most popular forms of online content, which is handy as real world activity can be easily translated into the social space in these formats.

To sum up…

We are still oohing and aahing at the boundless opportunities that RFID can bring in social terms, which certainly cannot be summed up in one small blog post. It certainly seems likely that this ingenious technology will develop into a mainstream experiential technology as the divide betweens what’s social and what’s real continues to narrow. It’s one to watch.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

There is a perception in the industry that B2B “doesn’t do social”. I have often been asked if B2Bs “should use Social Media?” as part of their marketing mix and if “B2Bs can utilise Facebook?”

GlobalWebIndex – B2B Social Media Strategy – Research Report – 2011

However the results from our recent analysis of GlobalWebIndex data that was published as “Social Strategy for B2B Marketing” could not be more different from this perception. B2B decision makers are the most socially active consumers for all markets and demographics. If anything B2B marketing is a more obvious fit with social media than consumer marketing.

In addition GlobalWebIndex trend data shows that activities such as profile updating and microblogging are expanding quicker among business users than your average consumer. This underlines how B2B decision makers have used social media to develop personal brand and drive their influence.

Interestingly this difference is most marked in developed internet markets where B2B decision makers stand out most from consumer behaviour and usage of social media platforms. In growth markets such as China they are still more active than the norm, but the gap is significantly smaller. This means businesses that operate and sell in the US, UK, Germany or any other high penetration internet market need to focus marketing and sales through social media.

Crucially it’s not just B2B decision makers’ behaviour that leads the way in social media; marketing communications via social channels are also perceived as having an impact on purchasing decisions for products and services they buy for business.

At a global level, social media communications outranked even face-to-face meetings, conferences, client entertaining or traditional trade advertising in most markets, as an influential communication channel. Based on data fielded in June 2011, global decision makers said “Conversations with people from a company/organisation on a social network” was their leading influence scoring 15%; the second ranked motivation was “direct mail”, scoring 13%. Among senior decision makers – those at senior manager level and above – conversations were level with “sales presentations”, both scoring 16%.

The fact that a virtual conversation is seen as more influential than a real life one shows how social media has permeated their lives and importantly for our industry, underlines the importance of empowering all employees (not just sales people) to be active, visible and representing the business online. This fact alone would highlight the need for a radical shift of budget from traditional B2B marketing activities into proactive social media engagement.

In addition “branded communities created by a company or organisation” are seen as more influential than corporate events and entertainment. This prompts the question, is social media changing the way business operates?

One note of caution, company blogs and branded Twitter profiles rank last. This we believe is not necessarily bad news, but very telling in terms of how social media works in B2B. Buyers want to interact online with people and companies need to create structures that enable this. This shows that the true value of social media lies in people, not the platform.

To succeed in this new era of socially enabled B2B communication, firms will have to empower staff to act on a company’s behalf and give them the platform to build a profile, content and relationships in this space.

Tom Smith is MD of Trendstream, a consultancy dedicated to understanding trends in technology adoption and what they mean for consumer behaviour, marketing communications, media and content

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Estate agents used to say, that if Pizza Express opens in a new area, it’s a sure sign property prices in said area are about to rise; and smart property investors should pay attention.

So I put it to you, if a meme spreads across YouTube, it’s a sure sign that a new trend is forming; and smart brands should pay attention.

Admittedly, there are vast differences between social memes and the property market, but there is also one clear similarity: they are both traded on currency.

Online memes carry social currency, content that can be traded, shared and associated with, as a means of improving – as Pierre Bourdieu put it – “one’s sense of community…helping to form one’s identity, and providing status and recognition.”

And if online social media memes carry social currency, then think of YouTube as The Royal Mint. A quick look at YouTube’s currently most viewed video today reveals that ‘Simon’s Cat in ‘Catnap’ is the top trending video.

With 922,292 views and 26,005 Likes on YouTube alone, the adorable cat cartoon, by animator, Simon Tofiled, has already reached 11,680 people via Twitter. A scan of YouTube also reveals that there are currently more than 1.6 million cat videos currently circulating across YouTube and a glance at the social media staples such as Mashable, will reveal that advertising agency, John St. in Toronto has, in the last two weeks, heralded the age of ‘catvertising’ – advertising that harnesses the cat’s current trading power as social currency.

So, if cat-related content is the latest social currency, should brands be chomping at the bit to invest in cat-related advertising and marketing campaigns?

Probably not. As PR Web wisely pointed out in a recent post, for a brand to adopt a meme, that meme needs to reflect an “image, idea, or phrase that best sums up your brand or product”. It also needs to “focus on the problem that your brand actually solves”.

Millions of memes circulate across the social web every day, as millions of consumers trade on the social currencies that help them form identities and feel included within their communities. When a brand hits upon a meme that bears relevance to their product or service, the result can be marketing gold.

Shoe-horning a brand into a meme that has no relevance to the brand promise or values is about as wise as purchasing a property on the promise that a Pizza Express is on its way to the area.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

We love purple as much as the next company, but it appears Cadbury have decided to take it to the next level in a recent trademark dispute settled yesterday with Nestlé. Cadbury wanted to trademark the tint and made the case that it has used the colour on its packaging for more than a century.

There were a few concerned looks around the office when we realised the similarity between Cadbury’s Pantone 2865c and our own Pantone 275c. This prompted an official statement.

An unnamed insider from social media consultancy, immediate future (established in 2004)  said: “If they come after our purple they should be prepared for a long, drawn out and debilitating battle. You may have beaten Nestle to Pantone 2865c, but we’ll defend our beloved Pantone 275c to the death. Plus we’re not bloody redecorating, alright!”

The company is awaiting an official response from Cadbury.

p.s. We might consider negotiation if Curly Wurlies are part of the deal

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

An experimental scientist? A mathematician, an historian, an IT geek, a money making  economist or socially savvy psychologist? Last week we conducted a Twtpoll to discover who you would rather employ as a social media consultant for your business. The results were eye opening.

To our great surprise the mathematician received no votes.  One thing that social media and the world of online has is data – mountains of it. The ability to analyse and interpret data is increasingly important in social media, whether evaluating campaigns, assessing website analytics or search data or teasing out insights from the universe of social conversation.

However, it was the psychologist who was the most sought after. Inevitably, being able to understand the human psyche is a great advantage when trying to influence people and help brands to communicate effectively with consumers.

The IT geek ranked fourth in desirability. Having an avid interest in digital is a must, as the technology that drives social media is constantly evolving. But, perhaps our voters thought their technical know-how would obscure their ability to engage?

After much debate in the office we concluded that a professional with a mix of both psychology and a mathematician’s skills would be best suited. Having a firm grasp of statistics really is a prerequisite for the role. Social media campaigns’ success is dependent on a number of factors, one of which is to feel at ease with analysing data and responding accordingly.

Who would you employ in a flash? And whose CV would be quickly chucked in the recycling bin? We would love to hear your thoughts…

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Before hastily setting up a Google+ page for your business, you need to step back and consider whether there is any value in joining the early adopters. We pulled together 4 points to help you evaluate whether it is worth your company embracing Google+:

The promised land?

1.  Objective – Are you targeting your Google+ to generate awareness and buzz about your company? Or do you want to generate engagement and build upon relationships with customers? Google+ is in its infancy and audience demographics are unclear, there’s scant information about how active these profiles are. You’ll need to bear this in mind when contemplating what your objective is.

2.  Time and resources – Your time is important so you need to evaluate whether it’s worth launching a page and the continual maintenance and monitoring of that page. Content is also key. The page requires rich content to be shared and engaged with. As Google+ prevents competitions or promotions, it’s perhaps best to use content from assets that you already have.

3. How will Google+ fit in with your other branded web estates? – Do you really need to include it in your marketing mix? Will it play a large part in your online marketing ecosystem or are you just securing a simple branded profile? Perhaps wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks, and then, venture into investing resource.

4.  Outcome – So far the main benefit is that Google+ has connected social with search. For those who participate in this opportunity it is likely that your page rankings will get a boost. And for those who do not, we anticipate that you may lose rankings or be displaced amongst your competitors who have a Google+ presence.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

We’ve taken the three most engaged Facebook pages and for the past week we’ve been watching to see just how much emotion plays a part in their community management. In Part I of this series we laid out our measurement criteria; in Part II we put it to the test.

According to SocialBaker’s latest report, the three UK Facebook pages with the highest engagement levels are Kérastase UK, Lagavulin and Park Bench. Over the space of a week we’ve analysed the level of Emotional Intelligence displayed in their online community management, based on three of the key factors in Goleman’s theory. Here’s what we found:

#1 Kérastase UK
Hair care community
12,558 fans
This is the most engaged Facebook page in SocialBaker’s report, despite having the lowest number of fans in the top three; an indication, perhaps, that social media success is not always a numbers game. The community thrives on its own, providing the manager gives it a stimulus – and that stimulus is typically a prompting question to talk about themselves. Beyond starting conversations, however, the community management remains largely withdrawn emotionally, particularly when the community demonstrates any level of frustration.

1. Motivation
On average, the community manager posted on the wall every couple of days and did not respond to comments. When prompted by a simple question or poll the community became highly motivated to ‘Like’ and comment, left unprompted, the community fell into blanket silence.

2. Self-regulation
The community manager had the opportunity to step in and diplomatically engage with frustrated members, but instead chose to keep out of the conversation, which felt like a missed opportunity to a) forge a stronger relationship with the community and b) use the platform as a means of customer care.

3. Empathy
The community clearly enjoyed being asked questions about themselves and the community manager pandered to this and in this respect showed a clear empathy towards the group. When a practical solution could be offered, the community manager was quick to step in and offer this, but when all that was needed was a sympathetic response to frustrations that had no real solution, the community manager held back.

#2 Lagavulin
Whisky community
112,023 fans
This community displayed a high level of emotion and a great passion for the brand. The community manager used personalised and evocative questions to further fuel the community’s passion and the manager also showed a good level of empathy towards the community when responding to its frustrations.

1. Motivation
Lagavulin posted less frequently than Kérastase, leaving several days between posts, though the community manager did respond when prompted and the community kept the wall active without being prompted. Simple wall posts such as, “if you were asked to describe Lagavulin to a fellow whisky fan who had not yet sampled it, how would you describe it to them,” elicited a visibly emotional response from the community.

2. Self-regulation
When a member of the community complained that they couldn’t find the brand in their local supermarket, the community manager was quick to act in a diplomatic fashion, apologising and offering an explanation in a friendly and understanding way.

3. Empathy
This is a community that wants to talk whisky and the community manager gives them exactly what they want. A prompt to answer the question, “the best place to enjoy Lagavulin is, “________”, generated just under 700 comments and over 800 Likes.

#3 Park Bench
Dog-lover community
45,247 fans
The Park Bench community displayed the most emotion of the three, with the community manager tapping into the shared love and sentimentality surrounding animals, which the community clearly thrives on.

1. Motivation
The Park Bench community manager was the most motivated of all three, posting several times a day and always responding to comments. The community needed a stimulus to start talking, but the community manager never failed to provide it.

2. Self-regulation
Fantastic levels of diplomacy are shown here. The regular ‘Ask A Vet’ slot encourages members to visit the event Wall with questions for the vet, though many members leave their questions as comments on the page which they have been asked not to do; nonetheless the community manager cooly and calmly puts members on the right track.

3. Empathy
The community manager is highly empathetic to the community, responding to its love of sentimentality with Wall posts that play perfectly into this. Regular posts offering advice also offer the community reassurance and encourage trust.

Conclusion
These are pages that see high levels of engagement from their communities, but it’s interesting to see that the emotion and the engagement come more from the communities than their managers. If Emotional Intelligence is as much about expressing emotion as understanding the emotions of others then the role of a branded online community seems to be reading, igniting and empathising with the emotions of the community rather than injecting any emotion of its own.
.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites