Introduction to Social Media Marketing Week 8

Objectives Explain how social communities enable user participation and sharing Understand social networks and their primacy in terms of social community Describe how marketers use social communities for branding and promotion

Social Activities in Online Communities Two types of social media conversations: Directed communications Consumption communications

Social Activities in Online Communities Directed communications are one-to-one interactions on a social network between two users. Two forms of direct communication exist: Direct messages Instant messages You might think that most of the activity on a network is directed communication, but most users interact only with a very small core of people in their network. Research shows that most people can maintain only around 150 meaningful relationships, online and off—this figure has become known as Dunbar’s number (named after the researcher who first reported this pattern). Although you may “friend” 5,000 people on Facebook, all but roughly 150 of them are relative strangers that only follow your life with limited interest.

Social Activities in Online Communities Consumption communications are passive communications. For example, reading the feeds others post. As we read status updates and posts from those in our network, we feel that they are communicating with us, even if they posted these updates a while ago. In other words, directed communication is active whereas consumption communication is passive. That’s ambient intimacy in action. But it requires the public sharing of content to work because without shared content, there’s nothing for us to consume.

Social Networking Sites How do we interact with others onsocial media platforms? We observe, we lurk, we mingle, we chat, and we share

Social Networking Sites Status Casting occurs when you broadcast updates to your news feed or activity stream. Activity streams are the news feeds or “wall” (as it’s known in Facebook) social networks use to establish an ongoing point of connection between network nodes A nudge is a tool for reminding someone to socialize

Social Networking Sites The top three reasons people share content “socially” They find it interesting and/or entertaining They think it could be helpful to others To get a laugh.

Social Networking Sites Typical sharing activities include: An activity stream is a tool to share a short piece of content with a network. Gift applications enable members to present virtual gifts to their friends. Ongoing sharing means working with partners to include activities from other sites in an activity stream on a partnered site. Uploading functionalities are applications that make it easy to share from many locations. Embed codes let people share content where they wish. A recent study of social media users found that 75 percent of people are likely to share content using social media channels. The top three reasons people share content “socially” are because they find it interesting and/or entertaining, they think it could be helpful to others, and to get a laugh. Although the content can be virtually anything you can send in digital form, most people reported sharing family pictures and video, news about family and friends, funny videos, news articles and blog posts, and coupons and discounts. Finally, sites encourage sharing when they reward participation with reputation indicators. People like to be acknowledged for their contributions. Sites can award top status to those who contribute the best and most. Reputation indicators broadcast these contributions; they include participation levels, labels, collectible achievements and awards (badges), and points. Some sites maintain a leader board to highlight the best participants.

Characteristics of Social Networking Sites Social networking sites typically vary in terms of three important dimensions: Audience and degree of specialization The social objects that mediate the relationships among members Degree of decentralization or openness

Marketing Applications in the Social Community Zone Paid Media in Social Communities Earned Media and Brand Engagement User-Generated Content Campaigns Remember, the social community zone focuses on relationships. By becoming an active participant in these channels, brands can leverage social communities to meet several marketing objectives including promotion and branding, customer service and customer relationship management, and marketing research. How? By advertising within the community space, participating in brand-to-consumer relationships within the chosen communities, and engaging consumers interactively.

Paid Media in Social Communities Display ads may include text, graphics, video, and sound much like traditional print ads and commercials but they are presented on a website. Social ads are online display ads that incorporate user data in the ad or in the targeting of the ad and enable some form of social interaction within the ad unit or landing page.

Paid Media in Social Communities There are three variations on social ads: A social engagement ad contains ad creative (image and text) along with an option to encourage the viewer to engage with the brand (e.g., clickable “Like” button). A social context ad includes ad creative, an engagement device, and personalized referral content from people in the viewer’s network. Organic social ads are shared on a person’s activity stream following a brand interaction (such as liking the brand).

Earned Media and Brand Engagement Earned reach (the breadth and quality of contact with users) gained when people share positive brand opinions and branded content with others is invaluable because of the influence attributed to individual, personalized brand endorsements. Influence posts occur when an opinion leader publishes brand-relevant content such as a blog post in social media. Brands earn value in social media when they engage consumers over time (relationship marketing) and when they encourage consumers to interact with the brand and share those interactions with others. Brands stand to benefit from heightened brand loyalty among engaged consumers and a more expansive reach for brand-related messages.

User-Generated Content Campaigns Brands can seed many forms of content in social communities as they try to boost engagement and sharing. One of the most popular tools is the use of: User-generated content (UGC) campaigns – these are campaigns that offer a way for brands to invite consumers to engage and interact while they develop shareable content. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLTmyAEA7h4&feature=youtu.be http://artofthetrench.com/ The most frequently used manifestation of CSM is the “create your own ad” contest, which has been used by numerous brands including Frito-Lay, Dove, and Chevy. Sponsors encourage submissions with incentives such as prize money or the chance for the winning entry to be broadcast on television (possibly during high-exposure events such as the Super Bowl and the Oscars). Doritos used this approach with its Crash the Super Bowl campaign.

Social Presence: Brands as Relationship Nodes Brands may create a brand profile within selected social networking communities. In this way, the brand acts as a node in the network’s social graph. The fan base is an indicator of the brand’s success in establishing a known presence within a community. Return on emotion (conceptually) assesses the extent to which a brand has delivered a value in exchange for the emotional attachment fans have awarded it. Doing so increases the opportunities for interactions with customers and prospects and also serves to encourage people to talk about the brand with each other. When a brand profile launches on social networking sites, the brands exist much as people do on the sites. Friends can interact with the brands; share information, photos, and videos; and participate in two-way communication. As we discussed in Chapter 2, brands may participate as a corporate entity, as one or more people representing the brand, or as a mascot. Whichever the choice, the brand will develop a profile to represent its persona and then should interact in keeping with that profile—like a good actor, it should “stay in character.” Building brand personas strengthen brand personality, differentiate brands from competitors, and set the stage for a perceived relationship. Assuming the brand’s persona is likeable and credible, it can facilitate message internalization (the process by which a consumer adopts a brand belief as his or her own). It is a natural expansion of the trend for brands to create personalities for themselves, both through the use of creative language—including style, imagery, tone, and creative appeals—and music.

Is The Brand Ready for Social Communities? Brands should ask these questions before deciding whether social relationships will work for a specific brand. Is the brand set up for engagement? If the brand participates in social media, where should the brand be? How can the brand’s profiles be developed in such a way as to reflect the brand’s personality? If “fan pages” exist among brand loyalists on social networking sites, how can the brand leverage the fan sites to better meet its objectives? How can the brand integrate its social network presence into other campaign components?