The document discusses 10 steps for a successful social media strategy execution, beginning with conducting an audit of a company's current social media activities to understand where they are and developing a strategic plan. It emphasizes sharing insights and comparing social media engagement across brands to identify best practices and boost performance. The 10 steps provide a comprehensive guide for companies to leverage social media opportunities and recognize it as a key driver of brands, demand, and sales.
2. LIFESTYLE AS BASE
FOR CONSUMPTION
5
Social Media can be crucial for digital
business success if used strategically
in a consumer-oriented way.
A strategy that pays off for your business
With increasing digitization in our lives, Digital Marketing becomes a key
success factor for companies. Social Media occupies a very important
place in this area as billions of customers use it to connect with each other
and with companies. To exploit the vast potential of Social Media for
your business, it is not enough to simply engage. You have to proceed
strategically as well.
A.T. Kearney’s Social Media Strategy Execution is part of the 10 Steps Digital
Series. As a comprehensive how-to guide, this publication will lead your
company to higher return rates in 10 strategic steps that cover all aspects
of digital business success with Social Media.
I hope you enjoy reading Social Media Strategy Execution and find useful
our 10 recommendations for recognizing and employing Social Media as
a strategy for the digital future of your company.
Michael Römer, Head of Digital Business and Co-Founder of the A.T. Kearney Lab
Siegmar Tittjung, Founder and CEO of KRAFTJUNGS GmbH
3. 6
Contents
Welcome to the Digital Age 6
Potential in Digital Marketing 8
Media Types in Digital Marketing 10
Challenges in Digital Marketing 12
10 Steps 16
Step 1: Audit 18
Step 2: Share and Compare 22
Step 3: Monitor 28
Step 4: Leverage 32
Step 5: Plan 36
Step 6: Organize 44
Step 7: Outsource 48
Step 8: Protect 52
Step 9: Communicate 56
Step 10: Influence 60
Social Media Examples 64
A.T. Kearney Lab 68
Appendix: Sources 70
7
Boost your
performance
and profitability
with digital
4. DE
of households in Germany
have Internet access at
home (2013) 6)
88%
8
Increasing digitization ends the era of mass processing, of mass advertising,
and selling at a physical Point of Sale. At the same time, the empowerment
of the digital customer is driven to unexpected heights. Consumers want to
co-develop and co-test products as well as choose freely and pay safely –
around the clock, wherever they may be.
Without getting in touch with the Digital Age, there is no entrepreneurial
future and no growth potential to exploit. Those companies connecting to
their customers successfully – enthusing them by offering digital services and
ensuring their loyalty at the same time – will open up effective opportunities
and be sustainably successful.
Welcome to the Digital Age
Digitization has deep-rooted effects
on your personal life and on your
industry. Companies that want to
succeed in the Digital Age must be
better positioned tomorrow than
they are today.
Internet users in Europe (2013) 2)
EU
70%
75%
55.6 m
Internet users
in Germany (2014) 3) DE
566.3 m
of the world’s population is using
the Internet (2014) – almost 1)
40%
3 bn
EU
of households in Europe have
Internet access at home (2013) 5)
79%
of households have Internet
access at home 4)
44%
9
mobile-cellular subscriptions by the end of 2014,
corresponding to a penetration rate of 96 % 13)
mobile broadband subscriptions
2.3 bn
7 bn
DE
of Internet users
in Germany are active on
Social Media 11)
42%
EU
of Internet users
in Europe are active
on Social Media 12)
43%
of Internet users are now active on
Social Media 9)
of users access Social Media
from a mobile device 10)
72%
71%
Sales in Europe with mobile
payment (in bn US$) 8)
EUworldwide sales with mobile payment in the
years 2010 to 2012 and forecast for 2013
to 2017 (in bn US$) 7)
+1,474%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2017
721
235.4
163.1
105.9
48.9
2010 2017
4.9
99.4
5. Potential of Digital Marketing
Digitization creates disruptive
business models, ideas, and
products. Digital Marketing is the
decisive factor to reach out to
target groups and enthuse them –
in ever-changing, innovative ways.
Digital Marketing has been established as a success factor in vying for consu-
mer business for quite some time now. Concurrently, the continuous develop-
ment of new and more effective mobile devices changes user behavior and
at the same time continuously opens up innovative opportunities for Online
Marketing.
More and more companies keep investing in these opportunities to profit from
digitization along the value chain with an ever-growing tendency – as can be
clearly seen in recent studies.
10
29
38
25
26
23
15
ONLINE
2012 2017
TV NEWSPAPERS MAGAZINES
OUTDOOR
ADVERTISING RADIO VIDEO GAMES
Advertising market share in %
Share per type of media in the advertising market in Germany in 2012 and forecast for 2017 15)
14
13
5
6
5
4
1 1
Digital Ad Spending Worldwide, 2012–2018 14)
104.58
2012 2014 2016 2018
119.84
2013 2015 2017
137.53
154.29
171.08
187.65
204.01
20.8
20.4
14.6
23.2
25.3
27.0
28.4 29.8
31.1
14.8 12.2 10.9 9.7 8.7
Digital ad spending in bn dollar | % of total media spending | % change
“Global spend on digital advertising is growing continuously
and will have doubled by 2018.”
11
In this context, online shops are the most important
revenue drivers.
„„ 71 % of German retailers plan on extending their Digital
Marketing budgets in the next two years.
„„ The global spend on digital advertising on desktop
and laptop computers, smartphones, and tablets
amounts to $137,530,000,000 in 2014.
„„ Until 2017, the spend on digital advertising will add
up to a quarter of overall advertising media spend.
„„ 60.2% of retail companies in Germany generate
more than a quarter of sales online.
„„ Nearly one-third of Germany-based retailers achieve
50% of their total sales via online channels.
„„ 29.6% of B2C companies in Germany generate
more than half their sales online, while B2B
companies make 18.5%.
Online channels as an important sales factor 16)
Number of users of social networks globally in 2012 and forecast until 2017 (in bn) 17)
0.97
1.22
1.40
1.59
1.79
1.96
2.13
2.29
2016 2017201520142013201220112010
6. Media types in Digital Marketing
Digitization opens up new channels
for corporate and marketing
communication. For advertising
messages to succeed in the digital
world, the right communication
channels have to be chosen.
Owned Media, Paid Media, Earned Media – these three key terms pave the way
toward Digital Marketing success. It leads to where the relevant target groups
are. The tripod Digital Marketing rests on has been analyzed by renowned market
research companies for relevance, benefits, and risks.
It is obvious: whoever takes the first steps in the Digital World with Owned,
Paid, and Earned Media enters new territory under controlled conditions and
with good prospects of healthy growth.
12
Media Type 18)
Definition Examples Role Benefits Challenges
Owned Media Channel that
a brand controls
•• Website
•• Mobile Site/Apps
•• Blog
•• Social Media
Account (e. g. on TW)
•• Build a long-term
online asset and
relationship with
existing and potential
customers
•• Control
•• Cost efficiency
•• Longevity
•• Versatility
•• Company
communication
not trusted
•• Takes time to scale
Paid Media Brand pays to
leverage a channel
•• Display ads
(e. g. on FB)
•• Paid search
(e. g. on Google)
•• Direct mail
•• In-store media
•• Shift from
foundation to a
catalyst that feeds
Owned Media and
creates Earned Media
•• Immediacy
•• Scale
•• Control
•• Clutter
•• Declining
response rates
•• Credibility
Earned Media Customers become
the channel
•• WOM
(Word-of-mouth)
•• BUZZ (e. g. posts/
likes on FB
•• Viral
•• Blogs/forums
•• Listen and respond –
often the result of
well-executed Owned
and Paid Media
•• Most credible
•• Key role in most
sales
•• Transparent and
lives on
•• No control
•• Can be negative
•• Global scale
•• Hard to measure
13
Owned Media
Generate reach by self-produced
advertising.
Paid Media
Increase reach with paid tools.
Earned Media
Increase reach by user-generated
advertising respectively comments.
Ideally, Earned Media are the prod-
uct of well-applied Owned und Paid
Media. Social Web Users and influ-
encers consider the advertised brand
or product so important that they
discuss them in forums, blog about
them, or post them on Facebook.
Content generated by the commu-
nity or opinion leaders enjoys high
credibility and achieves maximum
reach.
Owned Media – for example the cor-
porate website or a blog – are often
the starting point of Digital Marketing
activities: The company generates
reach with self-produced content.
Besides production costs for online
media, there must be a time invest-
ment to maintain them.
Paid Media uses paid tools from
Search Engine Marketing (SEM),
such as GoogleSearch, to increase
advertising reach. While doing so,
the company decides when, where,
and which Paid Media Tools are
applied. Paid Media are recognized
as advertising in Web 2.0, which can
raise questions about the credibility
of the company.
RESOURCES
OWNED MEDIA
WEBSITE OR SHOP
OWN SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS 19)
PAID REACH GOOGLE ADWORDS, DISPLAY, FACEBOOK ADS
EARNED REACH BLOGS, FACEBOOK, XING, TWITTER, G+, PINTEREST, …
TIME
BUDGET
REACH
SCALABILITY
CREDIBILITY
COSTS
PREDICTABILITY
The goal of an agency today is to integrate all media
for maximum results, with Social Media being highly important
as it touches all three media types.
7. Challenges in Digital Marketing
Social Media are one of the
driving forces of digitization and
an important economic factor.
But the enormous growth
potential opened up by Digital
Marketing in the field of Social
Media is presenting companies
with entirely new challenges.
For companies going for decisive competitive advantage by offering customer-
oriented products and services, Social Media are and will be essential to
participate in. But simply taking part is not enough. Only by integrating Social
Media activities into Marketing Communication can companies introduce digi-
tal change into Marketing 3.0. Priority must be given to digital networking and
clearly defined values to effectively meet increased expectations and individual
customer requirements.
Challenges of Marketing 3.0 – such as new technologies, interaction, real-time
communication, Big Data, or loss of control – can be mastered with compre-
hensive preparation. The appropriate mix of strategy and execution encom-
passes opportunities that can tap the full potential.
14
How can
a Social Media strategy
support a company
in achieving decisive
company goals?
How much
do we have to invest in
Social Media, and how do we split
our activities in a meaningful way
between platforms, possibilities
for analysis, and specialized
service providers?
Promotion
Brand
ambassa-
dors
User-
added
value
SEO
Campaign
Marketing
15
What does Social
Media Risk Management
mean, and how do we do it
the right way? Do we have the required
internal and external resources at
our disposal to effectively fulfill the
requirements of each consumer
who takes the time to communicate
with us on Social Media?
With which criteria
can we determine the
effectiveness of our
Social Media
commitment?
Do we have a
clear strategy to earn
money with Social
Media channels?
EditorsDialectics
Pre-testing
Agency
Open
graph
Magma
Dream
team
Experts
Last year, Facebook collected more than $4 billion in
advertising revenue. However, marketers are somewhat dissatisfied
with the results – a clear strategy is required! 20)
DIGITAL MARKETING
KEY TOPIC: SOCIAL MEDIA
FACEBOOK
YOUTUBE
TWITTERMYSPACE
GOOGLE+
8. 10 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL
SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY EXECUTION
16
Social Media are a unique network of opportunities for success and
development possibilities. In the Social Web, customer relations
are newly defined, intensified, and consistently optimized.
Shared information leads to not only double but also to
several-times-multiplied success: With the right strategy,
Social Media for about 40 million users in Germany and
about two billion users globally become effective drivers
of brand profile, demand, and sales.
In applying the following 10 Steps to a Successful Social
Media Strategy Execution, you can pluck high-quality
marketing fruit from the tree of Social Media.
17
9. 18
10 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL
SOCIAL MEDIA
STRATEGY EXECUTION
STEP 1
PAGE 18
STEP 2
PAGE 22
STEP 3
PAGE 28
STEP 4
PAGE 32
STEP 5
PAGE 36
Audit!
Social Media Landscape
Share and Compare!
Social Media Engagement
Monitor!
Social Media Monitoring
Leverage!
Social Media Business Case Levers
Plan!
Social Media Planning
19
STEP 7
PAGE 48
STEP 6
PAGE 44
STEP 8
PAGE 52
STEP 10
PAGE 60
Organize!
Social Media Organizational Continuum
Outsource!
Social Media Outsourcing
Protect!
Social Media Risk Exposure
Communicate!
Social Media Communication
Influence!
Social Media Influencer
STEP 9
PAGE 56
11. Step 1:
Social Media Landscape
Many companies already
active in Social Media behave
in an unstructured way.
An assessment of its own current
activities in Social Media gives a
company an overview and will be
the starting point of a strategic
Marketing route.
Only a few years ago, Social Media were only part of online communication
and interaction. Today, they have penetrated almost every area of the Internet
and thus created an ideal breeding ground for Digital Marketing. The routes to
success in this fruitful landscape are manifold.
Generate your own Social Media map so that you do not lose orientation along
the way: it will show you where you began, where you are heading, and which
further Social Media activities are required to reach your goals without detours.
22
Frédéric Cavazza, Social Media Landscape 2014, modified under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license. 21) 22)
Key Comments
23
Only an extensive overview over already existing
Social Media activities allows the development of a targeted
Social Media strategy.
Therefore, you should build an inventory of the company’s
Social Media activities and assets.
The number and variety of
Social Media platforms grow
continuously. That leads not only
to more possibilities, but also
to increased complexity.
Only 350 of
Fortune 500 companies
have a Facebook or
Twitter account.
The big players
of the scene invest
heavily and build their position
in Social Media.
Many companies
do not use their Social Media
in a targeted way and are not
strategic enough.
13. 26
Step 2:
Social Media Engagement
The level of Social Media
commitment varies not only from
industry to industry but also
from brand to brand within
a company. A Best Practice
comparison boosts brand
performance in Social Media.
The Social Media maxim is “who shares, wins”. This applies to insights, data,
ideas, customers, and success. This principle also applies to internal and
cross-industry Best Practices: A comparative view on further brands of your
company or those of your competitors tells you how effectively and success
fully your own label performs in the Social Web.
TRIDENT
„„ 41.4 k followers
„„ 5,932 Tweets
„„ 14,113 m likes
„„ 193 k talking about
„„ 491 k followers
„„ 22.6 k Tweets
„„ 38,480 m likes
„„ 211 k talking about
„„ 405 k likes
„„ 9,531 talking about
OREO
JACOBS
TWITTER
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
27
Social Media commitment of single brands of Mondelez International Inc., the world’s third-largest food, beverage, and
confectionery company. The numbers in this overview of the Social Media performance of the single brands of Mondelez
International Inc. are accurate as of December 2014 and may have varied in the meantime.
Start best-practice sharing across brands/categories.
MILKA
„„ 8,755 m likes
„„ 108 k talking about
„„ 815 k likes
„„ 5,884 talking about
CADBURY
„„ 224 k followers
„„ 37 k Tweets
„„ 1,016 m likes
„„ 587 talking about
„„ 230 k likes
„„ 6,120 talking about
„„ 7,321 followers
„„ 2,801 Tweets
TASSIMO
Multi-brand company Mondelez
MIKADO
TWITTER
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
14. 28
Step 2: Example
Social Media Commitment of Car Brands 23)
Automobiles are among the most emotional products and most-talked-about things in our lives: Design, aesthetics, and
functions appeal directly to the consumer’s heart and soul. But how do car brands apply their fascination to Social Media
platforms, and how do users respond to the brands’ Social Media activities?
PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW
Car brands on Facebook in Germany as of December 2014
Increase or decrease in total number of fans since November 17, 2014 is shown in green and red, respectively
1,473 m
+23,914
1,122 m
+13,789
772,586
+6,835
587,390
+10,208
436,369
–25,754
340,802
+9,203
253,227
+3,922
AUDI
BMW
VOLKS-
WAGEN OPEL
SKODA
FORD
Share of Interactions from November 17, 2014 to December 17, 2014
100%
75%
50%
25%
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Audi Germany BMW Germany VW Germany Mercedes Benz Germany Opel Skoda Germany Ford Germany
MERCEDES-
BENZ
29
„„ Total number of fans: 1,473,124
„„ Max. growth on total fans: 1.065 in December 2014
„„ Total fan Interactions: 790,1 k
– 741,5 k as likes
– 14,9 k as comments
„„ Average daily Share Rate: 33,6 k
„„ Average Response Rate for Questions: 70 %
– 51 answered
– 22 unanswered
„„ Average Response Time for Questions:
30–90 minutes, at an average of 17 questions
per week
„„ Total number of fans: 253,227
„„ Max. growth on total fans: 254 in November 2014
„„ Total fan Interaction: 20,7 k
– 18,7 k as likes
– 1,0 k as comments
„„ Average daily Share Rate: 33,6 k
„„ Average Response Rate for Questions: 86 %
– 25 answered
– 4 unanswered
„„ Average Response Time for Questions:
12–24 hours at an average of 7,4 questions
per week
MULTI-BRAND AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURER VOLKSWAGEN AG
Snapshot of Social Media Commitment of the car brands Audi Germany and Skoda Germany, both of which belong to
Volkswagen AG, the biggest German automaker. The numbers in this overview, compiled in December 2014, may have
changed.
Audi Skoda
Number of User Questions
50%
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
ResponseRate%
Response Rate vs. Number of Questions from November 17, 2014 to December 17, 2014
BMW
AUDI
VOLKS-
WAGEN
SKODA
FORDOPEL
MERCEDES-
BENZ
16. 32
Social Media increase the
quality of products and services
via customer-oriented dialogue.
Consistent monitoring helps
recognize customer requirements,
opinions, trends, and weaknesses.
With the growing importance of Social Media for Digital Marketing and
Customer Relationship Management, requirements from monitoring own
Social Media activities increase. With comprehensive effective control tools,
you optimize the online reputation of your company, your brand, and your
product as well as your Return On Investment.
Online monitoring tools deliver substantial data on which to build your Digital
Marketing.
Automated monitoring solutions filter relevant information on your company,
your brands, and your products or on market development from the large and
fast data streams in Social Media channels by important indicators:
Measuring of “visibility of a brand, product or service”
by Social Media users
Measuring of “attitude” toward brand or product based on user comments
and their influence in the Social Web
Measuring of number and value of online sales as well as services and the
resulting customer satisfaction
Evaluation of marketing success in terms of ROI or by executing multivariate
tests in networks before product launch
Step 3:
Social Media Monitoring 24)
AWARENESS
ENGAGEMENT AND INFLUENCE
TRANSACTION AND SATISFACTION
CONTINUOUS CONTROLLING
AND OPTIMIZATION
33
Continuous monitoring and subsequent evaluation of your
Social Media activities and data deliver solid, meaningful values on which
to base important business decisions.
AWARENESS
ENGAGEMENT
AND INFLUENCE
TRANSACTION
AND SATISFACTION
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
•• Visits, page views,
referrer
•• Number of reviews,
retweets, comments,
tags, likes …
•• Search volume
•• Key words/topics
around brand/company
•• Share of voice
•• Number of fans,
followers, favorites …
•• Type of comment
•• Search engine position
•• Number of likes
•• Sentiment analysis
•• Type of key words
association
•• Number of inquiries,
POS traffic or orders
•• Average order value
•• Frequency of appearing
customer service issues
•• Customer/Social Media
user satisfaction index
•• Increase of Marketing
ROI
•• Change of time to
market
•• Buzz before product
launch to predict future
revenues
•• Extension of selling long
tail products
18. 36
Social Media commitment pays off
in many ways: With various levers,
certain segments of the value chain
are activated with effects on the
entire value chain.
It takes time as well as financial and human resources to introduce Social Media
to the company and build a coherent and credible presence and to interact
with target groups on various platforms. From an entrepreneurial perspective,
inevitably the question arises as to whether and in what way Social Media offer
a measurable Return on Investment.
Our Business Case clarifies that Social Media have effects on the company’s
entire value chain. With strategic use of Social Media, you set in motion exactly
the levers decisive for achieving your corporate goals. With only one action, you
profit from the “penetrating character” – the trickle-down effect – of Social Media:
A Facebook post on a new product pays off in a more innovative image of the
company, and the degree of brand awareness for the product is increased
by sharing within the community, which means new fans and customers are
added and sales figures go up.
Step 4:
Social Media Business Case Levers
37
LEVERS
EXAMPLES
SOCIAL MEDIA BUSINESS CASE
GROWING SALES
GENERATING INSIGHTS
AT REDUCED COSTS
PROACTIVELY
PREVENTING RISKS
„„ New sales channels (e.g. pop-up
shops or new product introduc-
tions)
„„ Access to new customer groups
– greater reach at comparably
low costs
„„ Better customer retention and
increased customer loyalty via
continuous engagement
„„ Positive impact on brand image
„„ Understanding consumer at
early stages (and using that
information for new product
development)
„„ Trend monitoring – fastest way
for market research and product
testing
„„ Reduced costs for marketing
and market research – Social
Media much cheaper than
traditional marketing tools
„„ Minimization of reputational
risks caused by firestorms
through proactive management
„„ Consumer companies with
direct link to end consumer, thus
possibility to actively participate
and steer one-on-one commu-
nication
„„ Dell: Twitter outlet generated
$3m in revenue
„„ Best Buy: Twelpforce generated
$5m benefits due to call
deflection and sales influence
„„ Burberry: 10% increase in
same-store sales due to “Art of
the Trench” (socially enabled
website)
„„ Starbucks: reduced product
test phase costs to minimum by
using crowdsourcing
„„ Ritter Sport: heavily engages
fans when formulating new
marketing campaigns
„„ Bosch: only 11 % user overlap
between two social communities
employed – tailor-made commu-
nication and advertisement
„„ Dell: reduced negative blog
posts by 55% due to proactive
engagement
„„ FedEx: C-suite level response
on the appropriate platform,
swiftly and in a positive tone
helped prevent an unpleasant
situation
„„ Burger King: time from erup-
tion to resolution: just 24 hours
(based on crisis response plan)
20. 40
Professional planning ensures
a successful introduction of
Social Media to the company – and
it paves the way for campaigns
that enthrall by their simplicity,
originality, and inventiveness.
Social Media open up revolutionary marketing opportunities. Yet their intro
duction is governed by familiar process steps that are an integral part of daily
tasks in a company: analyze, plan, decide, adjust, realize, control, and optimize.
Step 5:
Social Media Planning 25)
SOCIAL MEDIA CHOICE
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Platform
„„ Multimedia
„„ Timing
„„ Structure
Deliverables:
„„ Platform and multimedia
mix with target group fit
selected
„„ Social Media integrated in
marketing and platform mix
CAMPAIGN MONITORING
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Monitoring
„„ Effort-benefit ratio
Deliverables:
„„ Actively participated
„„ Competitors’ reaction watched
„„ Social Media users’ and brand
employees’ influence evaluated
„„ Influence evaluated
SOCIAL MEDIA
TARGET SETTING
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Targets
„„ Target group
„„ Message
„„ KPIs
Deliverables:
„„ Social Media suitability
for target, target group,
and message ensured
„„ KPIs defined and target
values set
CAMPAIGN IMPROVEMENT
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Optimization of i.e. content,
platform choice, structure
Deliverables:
„„ Effects measured
„„ Marketing operation efficiency
and effectiveness calculated
„„ Social Media brand presence
improved
6
7
41
The consistent implementation and execution of your Social Media activities and campaigns by means of these measures
generates a valuable life cycle: This is oriented at the strategic long-time goals of your company and includes all-important
factors of outright successful Social Media communications.
Social Media Planners, e. g. INPROMO, help find the perfect matching
platform for a business and its underlying goals.
CAMPAIGN SHAPING
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Value-add
„„ Stimuli
„„ Interaction
„„ Brand fit
Deliverables:
„„ Content added-value
strengthened
„„ Brand awareness on
platform known
„„ Brand fit ensured
CAMPAIGN REFINING
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Test campaign with peer group
„„ Processes
Deliverables:
„„ Target group reaction proved
„„ Reality check conducted
„„ Social Media operations
completed
CAMPAIGN SEEDING
Content/decision criteria:
„„ Speeding
„„ Seeding
„„ Activating
„„ Integrating
Deliverables:
„„ Spreading strategy set
„„ Social multipliers identified
and treated in a special way
„„ Critical mass achieved
3
4
5
21. 42
Step 5: Example
Innovative Social Media Campaign:
WestJet 26) 27)
The Canadian airline WestJet captured the spirit of Christmas in a highly credible video that, in terms of viral spread,
became one of the top five Social Media videos in 2013.
TORONTO
BEFORE FLIGHT
CHECK-IN
Check-in Toronto’s Pearson & Hamilton
airports for flights to Calgary
MAKING WISHES
Virtual Santa Claus asks for Christmas
wishes
Making Christmas wishes
after check-in
43
Normal flight procedure
while WestJet staff shop for
presents on ground
NORMAL FLIGHT UP IN THE AIR
Two airplanes with 250 passengers total
on a five-hour flight
SOMEWHERE
DURING FLIGHT
CALGARY
AFTER FLIGHT
WESTJET SHOPS ON GROUND
150 WestJet staff hurry to buy, wrap, and
deliver presents to Calgary Airport
SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS STORY
More than 36m views on YouTube; seen in
more than 200 countries; in the top five
viral videos in 2013
RECEIVING PRESENTS
Unsuspecting passengers see wrapped
presents bearing their names at carousel
“Wishes come true” – receiving
presents at baggage claim
22. 44
Step 5: Example
Innovative Cross-Media Campaign:
General Mills 28) 29)
General Mills, the sixth biggest food supplier globally, is among the highest earning U.S. corporations. The Cross-Media
campaign “Hello, Cereal Lovers” effectively combines a strong presence in Social Media with offline communication
channels.
„„163 posts
„„935 followers
„„617,272 likes
„„2,723 visits
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
45
„„1,509 tweets
„„~21,000 followers
„„243 posts
„„~40,000 notes
„„Retro boxes
„„Fashion
„„Interactive exhibits
“Cereal Pop Art” exhibit at the New York City Wine and Food Festival with
„„85 pins
„„289 followers
OFFLINE
CHANNEL
PINTEREST
TUMBLR
TWITTER
24. 48
Organization is half the battle, and it
is a big step toward well-functioning
Social Media communication.
Within existing company structures,
the course is set in the direction of
communication of the future.
Communication that is not in line with the voice of the company, with
delayed or incomplete reactions to customer requests, doubles effort:
If individual employees or departments activate Social Media channels with-
out involving key sources of information or consider the corporate strategy,
consequences are not foreseeable.
Step 6:
Social Media Organizational Continuum 30–39)
CENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION
DECENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION
COORDINATED ORGANIZATION (HUB AND SPOKE)
„„ All decision-relevant competencies are
centralized.
„„ All Social Media activities are steered by one
department.
„„ All online support is coordinated centrally.
„„ Ideally, a Chief Customer Officer is in charge
as a “steering head quarter”.
„„ No concrete management or coordination
unit in the company
„„ Departments are taking care of customer
requests (e.g. customer service, sales,
marketing, PR) via Social Media independently
from each other
„„ All Social Media activities are oriented toward
overall corporate strategy
„„ Coordination of activities by Social Media
experts who support all departments and
units centrally
„„ Social Media budgets are still the respon
sibility of each single department
„„ Customer service is organized as a stand-
alone unit
„„ Single Social Media Hubs are controlled by
the management board
Consistent presence to the
outside, but not always authentic
High coordination effort
Overburdening of leadership
High degree of autonomy and
therefore high motivation
Naturally grown structure
Authentic communication
Know-how from direct confrontation
with customer requests
Unburdening of people in the
hierarchy
High requirements for coordination
Communication has not been unified
Relatively high freedom of action
of separate units
Authentic communication: a lot of
exchange and good distribution of
knowledge
High costs for coordination
49
With the right organizational structures, you determine how far management will control your communication, to allow
you to react quickly and smartly to Social Media issues affecting any part of the company. This way, Social Media com-
munication becomes “daily business” that can be planned, structured, and controlled.
MULTI-COORDINATED ORGANIZATION (MULTIPLE HUB AND SPOKE)
HOLISTIC ORGANISATION
„„ A Social Media team coordinates Social Media
activities of the company across units
„„ Individual business departments operate
under one brand, yet independently of one
another
„„ All Social Media activities are oriented toward
overall corporate strategy
„„ The preferred Social Media organizational
model of big companies
„„ Each employee is allowed to apply Social
Media to answer customer requests
„„ Employees know the corporate strategies
and they are aware of how customer
requests have to be answered
High degree of freedom
High coordination requirements
Building know-how by intensively
dealing with customers
Targeted customer orientation
Much time and effort for
coordination
INDEPENDENT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL, THE FOLLOWING POINTS NEED TO BE CLARIFIED:
„„ Assessment, communication, and updating of guidelines that are central to the company
„„ Frequent trainings for employees
„„ Involving insights and experiences of employees
„„ Defined crisis management plans
A Social Media organizational model that sufficiently mirrors the
structures and cultures of the company determines how far
management will control communication.
26. 52
The potential Outsourcing of
sub-areas of corporate Social Media
activities is an elementary strategic
decision. If Social Media work is
outsourced, effectiveness and
efficiency of the commitment
have to be ensured.
A professional Social Media agency delivers the required knowledge and the
means for a successful presence in the Social Web. Yet the agency team does
not have the internal teams’ background knowledge on your company at its
command. This way, arguments such as unburdening employees or saving
time internally – such as outsourcing – in the field of Social Media have to be
seen in a new context.
Users who communicate with companies via Social Media expect quick and
professional answers – from real representatives of the company. A Social
Media agency acting as an intermediate reacts more slowly because it requires
information from your team. Meaningful Social Media Outsourcing distributes
tasks between internal handling and external service in a way that ensures the
reaction capability and credibility of your company and the seamless integra-
tion of diverse Social Media channels.
Step 7:
Social Media Outsourcing 40–43)
PRIMARILY
INTERNAL RESOURCES
ROLE
Focus: Brand manage-
ment, overall strategy
definition, governance,
guidelines, and
processes
EXAMPLE
Innocent’s in-house
Community Team
considered essential for
marketing success
53
Key Facts
PRIMARILY
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
ROLE
Focus: specialized media
services, ad campaigns,
frontline management
EXAMPLE
Dell established Social
Media & Community
University inter alia with
external specialists
EXAMPLE
Beiersdorf has a Social
Media agency in place
to cover consumer
interaction
The conditions for outsourcing Social Media work stem from clearly
defined strategy guidelines and effective agency management.
Compilation of content
Designing and developing Social Media campaigns
Analytics
Monitoring
Status updates
Research
Strategy
Community management
In the US, only 25% of companies are Outsourcing Social Media tasks.
Among the tasks most often outsourced are:
15 %
11 %
10 %
7 %
6 %
6 %
5 %
4 %
Contra Outsourcing:
Lack of content,
risk for the brand,
loss of confidence
Pro Outsourcing:
Professional and
niche expertise;
saves time
28. 56
The reputation of a company or
a brand generates confidence
and is thus an important
economic factor. Proactive
Social Media Risk Management
protects your reputation and
has a positive influence.
Companies have always run the risk of reputation damage. In the Digital Age,
the dimension of this damage is new: Through the Social Media combination
of speed, global reach, and two-way communications, a reputation built over
decades can be tarnished in minutes.
Proactive Risk Management provides scope for action to monitor and protect
your company’s reputation and brand in a targeted way. Negative comments
no longer escalate to a threatening and uncontrollable situation.
Step 8:
Social Media Risk Exposure
IMPLICATIONS
„„ Reduced time to react
„„ No test group trials possible
„„ 24/7 Social Media availability of the company
RISK MANAGEMENT
„„ Real-time and high-quality service 24/7
„„ High solution orientation
„„ Active monitoring of brand chatter buzz
SPEED
REAL-TIME
57
The major risks to be managed are reputational harm and
disclosure of sensitive corporate data.
IMPLICATIONS
„„ Shared control of messaging
„„ Independent interpretations of actions
and statements
„„ Employee power in brand communication
IMPLICATIONS
„„ Increased impact of messages
„„ Blurring consumer segments due to
consumer-to-consumer communication
RISK MANAGEMENT
„„ Social Media guidelines and training44)
„„ Frequent response analysis
„„ Authentic communication
RISK MANAGEMENT
„„ Consistent information across all platforms globally
„„ Avoidance and management of brand control loss
on Social Media platforms
COMMUNICATION
TWO-WAY
REACH
GLOBAL
30. 60
Successful Social Media use
plain language, expressed
in five characteristics that
together foster vivid brand
communications.
Social Media communication means dialogue, not just one-sided information.
The customer’s needs are in focus, and you can meet these needs with relevant
content, emotionally engaging pictures, and videos, keeping the lines open for
24/7 interaction with your company.
Good communication is well received in the Social Web. With the right approach
you will be rewarded with high-value returns: Your Social Media engagement
will be compensated with brand loyalty, external knowledge, and innovative
ideas, and will increase competiveness by co-creation, crowdsourcing, or
innovation.
Step 9:
Key success factors for
Social Media Communication 45) 46)
61
CONSUMERS’
BRAND LOYALITY
INTEGRATION
RELEVANCE
INTERACTIVITY
MULTIMEDIA
AUTHENTICITY
INTEGRATION
„„ Integrated communication
across platforms and other
marketing instruments to
multiply impact
„„ Strategic integration in
planning, organizational
structure, and goals
COMPANIES’
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION
RELEVANCE
„„ Complete, valuable
content
„„ Performance-based
content including added
value, e. g. connecting
product/service with
current societal topics
MULTIMEDIA
„„ Innovative and diversified
brand presentation
„„ Combined usage of text,
picture, audio, video,
and considering target
groups’ preferences
INTERACTIVITY
„„ 360 degree availability:
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
„„ Listen, talk, support,
energize, and embrace
„„ Brand controlling
by consumers and
brand management AUTHENTICITY
„„ Genuine and natural
communication
„„ No brand anonymity;
instead employees as
brand ambassadors
„„ Brand empathy
32. 64
Influencers are opinion leaders and
multipliers in Social Networks.
For effective relationship-building,
it is important to win influencers.
The Social Web stands for knowledge that is freely available and shared with
others. In theory, any user can publish content, start dialogue, and give feed-
back. In practice, the “90-9-1” rule of Danish Web expert Jakob Nielsen points
out the following: 90% of Social Media users read content but do not become
active. Another 9% comment and act on contents that have been generated by
the remaining 1%.
This 1% represents the influencers, who have the ear of the Social Web. They
include, for example, top bloggers, who are ideally placed to influence the
buying decisions of different target groups. In the vast landscapes of the Social
Web, the appropriate influencers become important reinforcers of brand or
company reputation. Track them down using the available tools, communicate
appropriately, and nurture the relationship.
There are two groups of influencers:
„„ Mass Connectors: Networkers that are connected with a vast number of
people in Social Media channels and continuously make more connections.
Their influence is based on their enormous reach.
„„ Mass Mavens: Experts who deal intensively with certain topics, provide their
knowledge in Social Media, and understand feedback as inspiration. Their
influence is a result of their expertise and the way they approach issues.
Step 10:
Social Media Influencer 47–49)
Reach out for respective brand communities
(company-owned and user-generated) on
Social Media platforms
Use tools such as Klout
Score or Jitterater to esti-
mate reach and influence
of community members
Ensure that identi-
fied influencers
are brand fans
Define social network
characteristics of
influencers
IDENTIFICATION
65
Tools for Influencer-Research:
„„ Followerwonk: Twitter analysis based on bios and topic.
Calculates how long someone has been with Twitter,
and how many retweets (index relevance) as well as men-
tions (index connection) he or she gets
„„ Tweetlevel: Analyzes influencers using criteria tools
such as Viewer, Commentator, Curator, Idea Starter, and
Amplifier
„„ Google+ Ripples: Diagram shows the unified distribution
in terms of time and volume of a contribution shared on
Google+, including news and information on multipliers
„„ Challenger: Application that analyzes Facebook in
real time using an animated map. Shows which contri-
butions are liked, commented on, and who is friends
with whom. The size of a circle of friends indicates the
extent of reach and popularity
„„ Wolfram Alpha: Supplies data on Facebook profiles –
indicates topic, day, and time of posting
„„ LinkedIn: Visualization of the personal network
„„ Klout Score, Peerindex, Kred: Provides number of
friends, activities, and number of recommendations in
diverse Social Networks. The more numerous the actions
and reactions, the higher the individual’s influence
Social Media rule: 1% of people create content, 9% edit or modify that
content, and 90% view the content without contributing.
Get to know influencers well:
„„ First, listen carefully
„„ Second, provide helpful comments and
support that boosts the Social Media
communication quality
Be transparent and authen-
tic in whatever is written on
Social Media as influencers
are very sensitive to “Social
Media nonsense”
Treat influencers
well – they influence
your brand image
and success as much
as the company does
Develop a “treat special strat-
egy” for influencer to engage
them in a unique way (e.g. in-
formation up-front, integration
into innovations) Reinforce perception that the
brand is a collective good that
is fully shared with influencers,
and appreciate their brand
competence
Give the brand a face
Be interactive 24/7
ENGAGEMENT
SPECIAL
TREATMENT
33. 66
ICE BUCKET
CHALLENGE
50) 51)
2.3 M
VIDEO UPLOADS
28 M
TALK ABOUT IT
ON FACEBOOK
94 M US$
IN DONATIONS
WITHIN FOUR WEEKS
From July 15 to August 27 in 2014, 94.3 m US$ in donations
were received, and ALSA (ALS Association) recorded over
2.1 m new donors.
(Wikipedia)
67
34. 68
AVERAGE NUMBERS OF HOURS PER DAY
SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA 52)
USERS ON ALL SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AS OF JANUARY 2015, BY COUNTRY
DEVICES USED TO ACCESS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES 53)
ACCORDING TO INTERNET USERS IN GERMANY AS OF OCTOBER 2013
SHARE OF RESPONDENTS, MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE
69
SHARE OF RESPONDENTS, MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE
MOST POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES IN GERMANY 2013 54)