Part 1: John Bell: Moving beyond the experimentation phase of social media

When John Bell, head of the global 360° Digital Influence team – Ogilvy’s global social media marketing and communications practice, was in Sydney in June, Ogilvy PR’s Heather Jacobs caught up with him to talk about social media.

Based in Washington DC, Bell heads up the global team of Digital Influence Strategists integrating the power of social media – social networks, blogs, Web 2.0 applications – with digital marketing to produce measureable results. He’s developed strategy and executed award-winning programs for clients including Ford, Lenovo, Unilever, BP and American Express.

Following is a three-part series on how brands can get started in social media, measure its impact, how Australia compares to the rest of the world when it comes to social media and the challenge of finding social media experts who also understand marketing and communications.

Part 1: Moving beyond the experimentation phase

Question: You have a theory that brands are moving through what you call ‘the experimentation stage’ in social media? Can you explain this?

John Bell: The enterprise adoption curve shows there’s a path brands typically move along. It starts with phase zero, where people are nervous and full of anticipation, and shifts into the listening stage where brands want to know what people are saying about them online.

From there it moves onto the experimentation stage, where brands try things in social media – implement programs, encourage various regions around the world to try different things and allow entrepreneurial drive within the company to push forward experiments.

Pretty soon brands find that this approach doesn’t produce a significant business result so they want to get efficiencies or ‘operationalize’ their approach to social media.

This is largely trying to take all the experiments and align them with a business purpose, trying to manage the brand online so there’s isn’t 25 different Facebook pages. Instead, there’s one voice for the brand online that is purposeful, not simply whatever the person who did the feed decided on.

There’s a measurement model around everything that’s done so they can learn from their efforts, see what’s having a business impact, what’s creating customer value, what’s helping them build brand reputation and what’s helping them sell product through social media.

Beyond this is the promised land of full integration where social media becomes a part of everyone’s job delivering greater efficiency, greater customer value, and building good culture. I’m not sure if there are too many examples of that yet.

Q: Which companies are close to getting there?

John Bell: A company in the middle of operationalizing is Ogilvy client IBM, which has a long history of applying social media internally – and is an Ogilvy client. Unilever and Proctor & Gamble really started with social media as an external marketing communications discipline.

Q: Is there a sense that a company will think, ‘We’d better open a Twitter account and Facebook page to build up people to like them and once they get negative feedback or aren’t seeing immediate business results, they’ll think it’s not worth it.

John Bell: A lot of brands reactively get involved in social media and then realise, “Now what?” Along the way to getting reactively involved, they probably haven’t built the best foundation or put thought into their conversation calendar and the online space they are going to engage with people in.

They probably haven’t thought too hard about roles and responsibilities in the organisation and goals for those people.  They’ll wake up one morning after pulling the trigger on a Facebook program and blog program and say, “Is this all there is? Is this all I get?”

You would expect them to pull out, but hopefully in most cases, they then say there must be a better way.

We can’t leave social media. We all intuitively believe it has promise for our business – if nothing else a competitive colleague insists it’s the next big thing.

So brands try to find guidance from people who talk about social media as a business driven discipline as opposed to a fluffy “get in the conversation” type-way. Hopefully they find us. We’re trying to play that role for our clients because we understand social media has tremendous potential to drive sales and impact business. But only when you marry it with the best of marketing communications discipline do you get that.

People overestimate how social media has inverted the world. I think the impact is tremendous: it will transform us, make us better marketers, better product and service developers, but it hasn’t completely rewritten the old rules from marketing communications. They remain relevant today.

The obvious starting point is for brands to deliver some authentic value to their customers. We can’t just message people because we want them to understand something and then do it a dozen times to beat them over the head. We have to try and earn their attention and involvement by figuring out what they want from our brand.

TweePR: Australia’s PR practitioners on Twitter

I just spotted TweePR.com.au, an interesting initiative driven by the school of marketing/communications at the Queensland University of Technology.

TweePR aims to “give a bird’s eye view of what the nation’s public relations gurus are tweeting about. Watch myriad issues unfold – as interpreted by the nation’s masters of PR – all in one place.”

The river-of-news format is a nice touch, enabling you to see real-time messages being tweeted.

There’s also the tweepr top 100 list, which ranks Australia’s PR practitioners from 1 to 100, calculated based on the number of followers, updates and how recent their tweets are.

Howorth-ians in the list are @bdgiesen, @GWhiteOz, @Ofagirl and @deelau.

Spotted: Twitchiker and the Feats of Tweet

Earlier this year, a freelance journalist by the name of Paul Smith (no relation to Paul Smith from the AFR), embarked on an adventure to get from Newcastle to New Zealand in just 30 days.

He put in place a few rules for his journey and unless these were followed, the whole adventure is over and he goes home:

• He’ll only accept help (lifts, a place to stay and food) from other people on Twitter
• He can’t make any plans further than three days in advance
• He can only spend money on food, drink and anything that might fit in his suitcase
• If there’s more than one offer on the table, he gets to choose which he takes. If there’s only one, he has to take it within 48 hours
• If he’s unable to find a way to move on from a location within 48 hours, the challenge is over and he goes home

Fast forward to September, he’s halfway across the globe in much more interesting places than NZ (…sorry Kiwis) and with a whole heap of amazing stories to tell about his travel adventures.

He has also recently embarked on a new project, Feats of Tweet, with an aim of using social media to change the world – one tweet at a time.

These are both great example of social media – used the way that social media is supposed to!

Online communities: think ‘quality NOT quantity’

Nate Cochrane pens his rules for social media etiquette on iTNews. And in a style true to the very fundamentals of social media which encourage active sharing and participation, he has made a point to list the rules he outlines as a work in progress and has opened it up for discussion on the site.

One of the rules that he points out is one that we tend to forget: ‘Quality NOT quantity’. Too often PRs get flack for doing a last minute dash to sign up as many people in their network to become friends/ fans on their clients’ Facebook groups and pages or on their Twitter handles.

As PRs, we need to continue to educate our clients that the real value does not lie in the sheer volume of people we sign up but rather in the quality of the people we engage (even if it’s only a handful!).

Consider who your target audience is, where do they frequent and how to reach them. Who is in your fans/ friends extended networks. Are they the right audience to target?

Using Twitter as an example, it’s important to do the analysis and drill down into who the person is that you want to connect with, get to know them, follow them for a while and find out what they write about. Also have a look into who follows that person, are they the appropriate person for your client to be reaching out to or is there someone in their Twitter network that is better?

The following tool can help you determine the most appropriate people to follow:
http://flowingdata.com/2008/03/12/17-ways-to-visualize-the-twitter-universe/

If we want to get some real and long lasting results for our clients, the key is to make sure that we’re speaking to the right audiences!

The scary side of Social Networking

With the popularity of social networking sites continuing to grow at massive rates, adding thousands of new users every day, we must still tread with caution. Every week we see experts step forward to advise us that platforms like Twitter and Facebook can easily ruin our reputations.

One such recent report is by Zatz Publishing’s editor-in-chief David Gewirtz, which was reported by the Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog.

In the article Gewirtz says that when it comes to social networking, it’s not what you know, or even who you know, it’s who knows you. The report is aptly titled: “The Dark Side of Social Networking.”

Gerwitz adds: “social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn are the increasingly popular community services that are designed to help people stay in touch.”

The Bulldog article cites research from Nielsen Company that “more than two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit social networking sites at least once a month, and nearly 10% of all time spent online is devoted to social networking.”

Due to this popularity and growth, and an army of undisciplined users, Gewirtz adds that “social networks are attracting scammers and criminals. The bulk of social networkers are between the ages of 18 and 49 – prime employment years, and ages where a mistake today could haunt them for many years into the future.”

Gewirtz’s report explores the following issues:

• Employment: how social networking can lead to career suicide
• Reputation: how something you say now could haunt you for years into the future.
• Malware, phishing and identity scams: how using services like Facebook and Twitter without caution could cause you serious financial loss
• Physical security and stalking: how social networks give stalkers and other scary people an almost minute-by-minute update on your habits and haunts

As for physical risks, Gerwitz says “the potential for horror is enormous. If a criminal can easily find out where you are, what stores you frequent, what your daily habits are, who your friends are, and even what your personal food, entertainment, and beverage preferences are, you can be targeted with a level of ease never before possible. I worry that there is a deep and dangerous dark side to social networks and I worry about the potential victims.”

Yikes, scary stuff. You have been warned!

(Acknowledgement: Gerwitz’s quotes and observations sources from the Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog article)

Why it’s good to tweet

Who would want to read about what anyone had for breakfast?

Chances are you’ve either read or personally had this reaction to the now ubiquitous new social media tool called Twitter that allows anyone to post 140-character updates about what they are doing right now. The site has millions of users from across the world, including politicians, Hollywood actors, and business celebrities.

Yet for all the attention that Twitter gets, its real significance is that it has started the trend of “microblogging.” Through these short posts (called “tweets”), you can experience everything from updates written by witnesses of global tragedies to behind-the-scenes gossip from Hollywood.

But is it actually useful from a business point of view?

Below are ten business uses for one of the most misunderstood social media tools today:

• Selling directly to customers. Twitter itself may not be making money, but if you want an example of making money through the site, just ask Dell who passed the $1 million mark in online sales from their @delloutlet Twitter account.

• Listening and gathering insight. Not only can you get an instant pulse of consumer sentiment about a brand, but unlike Google results, most of what you find will be only a few minutes old.

• Learning “secret” information. Clients are tweeting about what they want in an agency, competitors share strategy, and potential recruits signal they are in the market. Can you afford not to be reading?

• Managing or averting a crisis. By watching brand conversations happen real time, Ford recently used Twitter to help resolve a legal dispute with a fan site that could have been much uglier. Crisis averted.

• Conducting a live focus group or poll. For a prolific Twitter user, tweeting a quick poll can generate hundreds of responses in a matter of minutes, as opposed to email invitations to polls that are deleted or filed for later.

• Demonstrating a brand personality. Social media can help to bring the human side of a brand to life. When a real voice responds to a mention, it is unexpected but has a great effect in fostering customer loyalty and encouraging word of mouth.

• Promoting a campaign. Twitter should not be used solely to blast out links to your latest marketing effort. But once you have built a community of Twitter followers, tweeting a link could be your best short term traffic driver.

• Tracking emotions. Many people share how they feel right now. So before pitching a journalist, check their Twitter account (yes, thousands of media now have them). If they had their car stolen that morning, you might want to wait until tomorrow to send them that press release.

• Amplifying real life events. During any large event, you can see a surge in Twitter activity from people “covering” it in real time. This can be a powerful way for any brand to share an inside look at a real life event with a virtual audience.

• Offer a direct communications channel. Beyond email, customers want more ways to interact with companies. Luckily, Twitter is also an extremely fast way to interact, so it can scale.

For more insights about social media and Twitter, visit the 360 Digital Influence team blog at http://blog.ogilvypr.com.

Rohit leads the interactive marketing team at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and is a founding member of the pioneering Digital Influence Group at Ogilvy — a leading agency in helping clients around the world navigate the social media universe.

Having Tweeties for Breakfast

The key, according to Ogilvy’s digital influence expert Brian Giesen, is this: If you want to use Twitter, the newest of the new media, for public relations or business then it is imperative that you follow the rules.

And just what are those rules? Well, it’s all pretty simple. After setting up a Twitter account (the essence here is to be completely transparent in identifying yourself or your brand) there are basically three steps to engaging with and through Twitter: 1) Follow, 2) Create and 3) Engage.

Giesen, speaking to a 100-strong crowd at a Frocomm breakfast conference held on Wednesday at Ogilvy House, said the first stage, follow, meant that a business searched Twitter to discover what people were saying about their brand or their market.

After a time, the business could then enter the create phase, Twittering interesting messages relevant to the conversation and gathering followers.

Only after going through those steps, Giesen stressed, should a company start engaging with other tweeters, responding to people who mention the brand, offering advice and assistance where necessary so that people who may have been critical before may now have the chance to be brand evangelists through the positive contact.

Twitter’s growth in Australia this year has been extraordinary. Traffic has surged more than sixfold, the fastest growth in the world, while there are almost 4 million registered users, rating us fifth behind the US, Japan, the UK and Canada.

Giesen said businesses could use Twitter to meet real business objectives in a number of ways: customer relations; product promotion and sales; crisis and reputation management; event coverage; issues advocacy; and, internal communications. All, however, utilise the three steps: follow, create and engage. And, he stressed, all must use the code of ethics for social media which includes being transparent, respecting other Twitterers by knowing when to participate and when to listen, thinking before messaging (will it be seen as helpful or intrusive), making sure your message is relevant, and providing value to your followers.

Another of the speakers, Strath Gordon, the Director of Public Affairs at NSW Police, related how he had to deal with a company which was Twittering under the name NSW Police. After trying unsuccessfully to contact the through Twitter Gordon was forced to go to the media. A prominent newspaper story and subsequent radio interviews soon had the company coming forward (It was a marketing company trying to build the NSW Police Twitter profile so they could go to the police and show what a powerful tool it was).

The police have now taken over the name, together with 2000 followers, and are using it to Twitter information. At times the responses from the public regarding matters such as speeding fines were ‘’in language not usually used’’ in communication with the police. Gordon said the police see Twitter, and other social media, as valuable tools to help report crime, issue general warnings and to inform people of the real level of crime.

Gordon also said that there was no doubt terrorists and criminals were using social media to communicate with each other, using codes words, and revealed the ‘’secret’’ parts of the force were developing ways to  counter that.

Giesen provided a list of do’s and dont’s for Twitter users.

Do:

• See what other businesses are doing on Twitter;
• Use Twitter search engines for keyword searches around brands, products and topics of interest;
• Follow Twitterers with similar interests to establish a brand presence;
• Use twitter to start a conversation;
• Be dedicated to Twitter, with more than one employee on Twitter to ensure an ongoing presence;
• Ask questions and get feedback from followers;
• Engage consumers in co-creation and get constructive insights for future products etc;
• Follow the blogger code of ethics;
• Spread the word about your participation by including your Twitter handle in your email signature.

Don’t:

• Push ads or brand messaging;
• Talk about your everyday tasks. Make your Tweets entertaining and/or valuable;
• Tweet anything about clients, co-workers friends etc that you would not want them to read.

Don’t tweet like a twit: leveraging Twitter

To all the PRs who are regurgitating client messaging on Twitter: STOP STOP STOP! This is NOT what Twitter is all about. Twitter is about being a PART of the conversation. Twitter is not about secretly stalking journalists.

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend MediaConnect’s Kickstart conference in Queensland. Kickstart brings together some of Australia’s most influential technology journalists to meet with technology vendors and their PRs.

I’d recommend the event to any vendor who’s interested in meeting face-to-face with journalists and who has an opinion to communicate about the technology industry that doesn’t involve flogging their own products (there was a lot of product pushing this year, which is never good when trying to cultivate relationships with journalists!).

Possibly the most interesting part of the entire conference was the last session of the event which focused on Twitter. Self-proclaimed Twitter gurus Alex Kidman, Anthony Caruana and Nick Broughall formed the panel of journalists discussing this new communication tool.

I’ve been ‘tweeting’ for roughly five months and it seems a pretty basic proposition to me: think of something quirky to say that makes you sound insightful, busy and fun and sum it up in 140 characters or less.

Easy enough? Clearly not.

Alex, Anthony and Nick gave feedback during the session that PRs need to be more willing to participate in Twitter discussions. No one is going to follow you if all you do is re-post client press releases and announcements.

I was a little surprised that PR colleagues would be doing this, but after doing a quick scan for PR tweets, it became fairly obvious that the journalists are right. Quite a few of us have ‘tweeted’ less than fifty times and the majority of our posts are about our clients. There are way too many PRs who don’t seem to understand that Twitter isn’t just a PR tool, it’s an ongoing conversation amongst colleagues.

I even spoke with a PR person from a local agency (who will remain unnamed) who suggested we develop a ‘statement’ to issue via Twitter in response to some negative tweets about a product. Clearly we’re not getting the Twitter picture!

Upon reflection, Twitter is the ‘technology-of-the-moment’ and will doubtfully last forever. Just as Facebook has left behind its niche audience following in favour of widespread adoption, Twitter will do the same. And, when it does, I venture to guess that our beloved technology journalists will move on to the ‘next new thing’. But, for now, Twitter is here to stay.

I’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks that will help you navigate the world of Twitter smoothly…

1. Engage with Twitter outside of your client work – i.e. tweet about what interests you, what you find meaningful and what you think might be of interest to others as well. Sharing links, articles and asking questions are great ways to get involved.

2. Reply to your followers/the people you are following – If you agree, disagree, don’t understand or want to know more, ask! Or, just drop people a line who you think have said something interesting.

3. If a journalist asks you a question – answer!

4. Use functions like Search.Twitter and TweetScan to find out about what journalists are saying about your client’s brand.

5. Interact with journalists, when appropriate – if you see your client or your client’s products being criticised by journalists, try to work out a way to offer them support or counsel to improve their experience. In this way you can target problems before they escalate and possibly even build brand advocates.

6. Don’t just post links to client press releases! If your client has written a blog/byline that you find particularly interesting, sure, go ahead and tweet about it. No one appreciates constant tweets about press releases and announcements.

7. Use Twitter to pitch stories in a short and concise way to journalists via Direct Message – don’t blast a pitch to your entire Twitter following, rather send it directly to the person who matters most, what a great way to get a quick reply!

8. Be careful what you say! Don’t post anything about clients, co-workers, friends, etc that you would not want them to see. These posts don’t go away people and you certainly don’t want to burn bridges!

Now get tweeting!

The impact of the global recession on social media

I’m keen to understand how the global recession is impacting social media and particularly the North American powerhouse, Silicon Valley. I’m interested in the develpments occurring at Silicon Valley mostly because today we can consider it the backbone behind a lot of the big Web 2.0 companies.

Belts seem to be tightening in all industries across the board – banking, automotive, retail and so on – yet we’re still seeing big injections of capital in many of the Web 2.0 companies.

Take micro-blogging service Twitter for example. It was announced this week that Twitter has managed to raise $35 million in venture capital in spite of the challenging economic climate. This capital has come from Institutional Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital.

Are venture capitalists finally seeing the real value of Web 2.0 in helping deal with challenging times ahead?

I think that social media will come out on top in these tough times as people start using it as a means of cost-saving on entertainment. This is especially important at a time when people are becoming increasingly budget-conscious and are rather choosing to bunker indoors and save their pennies.

I’m a good example of this. I seem to find myself on fewer outings to the movies and instead I keep my cinema experience to my lounge room with my LCD TV, entertainment system and complete surround sound system. In fact, I can’t remember the last movie I saw at the cinemas but I could rattle off at least five DVDs that I have watched at home. I also spend less time travelling and more time talking to my friends overseas via Facebook and Twitter.

There are a plethora of online technologies and digital devices out there that provide consumers with their own portal to entertainment. Aside from big screen TVs that bring you a cinema at home, there are also notebook PCs to consider.

Notebooks are another means of cost-effective entertainment to online services such as online gaming, online video, video conferencing and instant connection to friends and family via IM, social networking sites, email or Skype with those embedded with broadband solutions.

Interestingly enough, consumer experts are also already tipping that many Australians will use the planned $950 Rudd Government cash handouts to splurge on games and gadgets, following record spending on electronics last year (as reported by the Courier Mail).

I’ll be watching these developments closely but please feel free to share any information specifically around how you think social media will fare in light of the global recession.