Social Media Audits: Achieving Deep Impact Without Sacrificing the Bottom Line

Social Media Audits

Achieving deep impact without sacrificing the bottom line

Urs E. Gattiker

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

List of figures and tables

Figures

Tables

About the author

Preface

Introduction

I.1 Business context matters

I.2 Where are we going?

Part 1: Setting the stage, or what it’s all about

Introduction

Setting the stage

1. Looking under the hood

Abstract:

1.1 Social media: A workable definition

1.2 Why context matters

1.3 Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)

1.4 Your social media purpose

1.5 Where we stand

1.6 Conclusion

References

Appendix 1a Ropes to skip

7 Managing risks – every word comes with its own metadata.

8 Do not treat social media marketing as a separate activity.

9 Do not think LinkedIn, Xing, Viadeo, et al. are sales tools.

2. Who is driving?

Abstract:

2.1 Social capital

2.2 Social sharing

2.3 Brand and reputation

2.4 Do we blast or engage?

2.5 Why social media can fail us

2.6 Taking inventory: Skill-sets matter

2.7 Conclusion

References

Appendix 2a Avoiding the epic fail: Manage your social media engagement

3. Plan your trip

Abstract:

3.1 Target audience

3.2 Improving the customer experience

3.3 Walk the walk

3.4 What kinds of interaction help clients most?

3.5 Shortened URLs have no shelf life

3.6 The importance of positioning in the purchase cycle

Conclusion

References

Appendix 3a Starting off on the right foot

Part 2: Driving with better benchmarks: The data game

Introduction

4. Start your engine

Abstract:

4.1 Customers can work magic on your staff

4.2 Strategy

4.3 What is a workable social media strategy?

4.4 If necessary, shift strategy

4.5 Where are we now?

4.6 E-marketing – paid versus earned media

4.7 Customers are not always the end-users

4.8 Know the conversation – and own it

4.9 The strategy: Saving the client time and/or money

4.10 Decide which platforms to use

4.11 Set a budget and give your team the right tools

4.12 Failure to listen

4.13 Conclusion

References

Appendix 4a Client focus: Seven fallacies

5. Drive: Move beyond impressions

Abstract:

5.1 What is the purpose of data collection?

5.2 Using a framework: Business analytics

5.3 Statistics and type of analysis

5.4 Variables needed for measurement

5.5 Finding metrics that suit our data crunching needs

5.6 Is a picture worth a thousand words?

5.7 Conclusion

References

Appendix 5a Measurement: When less is more

6. Quick tune-up

Abstract:

6.1 Manage and monitor the process cycle

6.2 Monitor process quality

6.3 Assess resource adequacy

6.4 The magic of good service

6.5 Assess and review performance

6.6 Improving processes and performance

6.7 Do the numbers really add up?

6.8 Conclusion

References

Appendix 6a Preparing for the Dakar Rally: The monitoring and analytics journey

Part 3: With traction and insight, everything is obvious

Introduction

7. Case Study – Bakery

Abstract:

7.1 Purpose of social media use

7.2 Define your target audience

7.3 Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken

7.4 Accelerating the learning curve

7.5 Strategy and key drivers

7.6 Assess and review: You cannot beat free

7.7 Actionable metrics

7.8 Quality management and improvement

7.9 Conclusion

References

Appendix 7a Learn to walk before you sprint

Appendix 7b On successful social media use

8. Case study – Hospital

Abstract:

8.1 Social media audit: Inventory

8.2 Reviewing customer experience and performance

8.3 Improving process and performance

8.4 Honing relevance for better social sharing and engagement

8.5 Improving impact

8.6 Improving the process: Many quick steps make a difference

8.7 Conclusion

References

Appendix 8a Making sense of data and improving social media use

9. Conclusion

Abstract:

9.1 The ropes to skip

9.2 Talking the talk without walking the walk

9.3 Doing homework improves performance

9.4 How to avoid being the next social media screw-up

9.5 Social media brings increasingly demanding customers

9.6 Conclusion

References

Appendix 9a Context matters

Appendix 9b Social media crisis management: A no-nonsense guide

Index

Copyright

Chandos Publishing

Elsevier Limited

The Boulevard

Langford Lane

Kidlington

Oxford OXS 16B

UK

store.elsevier.com/Chandos-Publishing-/IMP_207/

Chandos Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier Limited

Tel: + 44 (0) 1865 843000

Fax: + 44 (0) 1865 843010

store.elsevier.com

First published in 2014

ISBN: 978-1-84334-745-3 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-78063-426-5 (online)

Chandos Social Media Series ISSN: 2050-6813 (print) and ISSN: 2050-6821 (online)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014931705

© Urs E. Gattiker, 2014

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the Publishers. This publication may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior consent of the Publishers. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The publishers make no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions.

The material contained in this publication constitutes general guidelines only and does not represent to be advice on any particular matter. No reader or purchaser should act on the basis of material contained in this publication without first taking professional advice appropriate to their particular circumstances. Any screenshots in this publication are the copyright of the website owner(s), unless indicated otherwise.

Typeset by Domex e-Data Pvt. Ltd., India

Printed in the UK and USA.

List of figures and tables

Figures

I.1 Managing the process: Social media and marketing  4

P.1.1 Setting the stage  14

1.1 Sharing is caring  31

2.1 Join the conversation: Sharing usable content that helps others save time  56

3.1 ‘Til death do us part  70

P.2.1 Driving with better benchmarks  94

4.1 E-marketing  108

4.2 Earned media  114

5.1 Constructing your data-set  130

5.2 Micro and macro conversions  139

6.1 Monitoring and improving the process  163

P.3.1 Now everything is obvious  190

P.3.2 The maturity model  192

Tables

I.1 Making sense: Some answers and definitions  5–9

3.1 Content's social impact: Word of mouth & viral sharing  83–4

3.2 Purchasing cycle: Preparing content to fulfil customer needs properly  86

4.1 Client focus: Signs of missing the mark  118

5.1 Business analytics: Gaining insights  132

5.2 Gaining insights with business analytics: Examples  133

5.3 Business analytics: Gaining insights with the right statistics  135

5.4 Business analytics: Descriptive, univariate and multivariate statistics  136

5.5 Business analytics: Different data results in different data types  138

5.6 Developing workable and actionable metrics for social media activities  140

5.7 Eight principal steps for developing workable and actionable metrics  141

5.8 Business analytics: Using the best statistics for each variable and data type  145

5.9 Business analytics: Data crunching with variables that matter  146

5.10 Spreading content for impact: Going viral through Social Sharing  148

P.3 Engagement and social media: Business cases  191

7.1 Key parameters and drivers  202

7.2 Fine-tuning data collection  208–9

7.3 Fine-tuning the social media program  214

8.1 Key parameters and drivers  223

8.2 Three well-established channels  225

8.3 Blog(s) and micro-blog(s)  229

8.4 Social Sharing on social networks  231

8.5 Developing workable and actionable metrics for social media  233

8.6 Calculating the ripple score: SSimpact and WOMimpact (Social Sharing impact and Word of Mouth impact)  241

9.1 The path to success: Seventeen tips that make a difference  251–3

9.2 Social media officer (SMO): You talk the talk, but do you walk the walk?  256–7

9.3 Doing your homework helps improve grades: Monitor, Acknowledge, Summarise, Ask, Reply (MASAR)  259–60

9.4 Reputation management: Managing a social media crisis  263–4

About the author

Urs E. Gattiker is the CEO of CyTRAP Labs, a company that specializes in social media and marketing metrics. He earned a Ph.D. in business administration with a focus on informatics and industrial psychology from Claremont Graduate University (United States). He was Professor of Technology Management and Innovation at the University of Lethbridge (Canada), and also taught at Stanford University, before serving as Chairman of Entrepreneurship at Aalborg University (Denmark), to name a few.

A pioneer in the study of computer-based communities, he is the author of such titles as The Internet as a Diverse Community (2001) and Social Media Audit: Measuring for Impact (2013). His findings, writings and work have been featured in the Financial Times, Le Monde, the Wall Street Journal, Tages-Anzeiger, Focus Magazin, The Australian and many other publications around the world.

He lives in Zurich, Switzerland, with his wife and the younger of his two children. For more about Urs’ work, or to analyze your blog's footprint on the Internet with tools from this book, visit http://BlogRank.CyTRAP.eu.

Urs E. Gattiker

CyTRAP Labs GmbH, Röntgenstrasse 49, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland

Email: measure.for.impact@gmail.com

Additional book resources:   http://ComMetrics.com/http://info.CyTRAP.eu

Measure for impact:   http://BlogRank.CyTRAP.euhttp://HowTo.ComMetrics.com

Measure for impact: Achieving social media nirvana

Preface

Always set a high bar for Social Media (SM) excellence, not by critique, but by expecting that if you have a creatively inspired idea that advances current knowledge, and the requisite rigour and passion for it, you achieve excellence.

Thank you for giving this book a chance. If you are reading this, you are probably at least thinking about purchasing a copy, and if you do, you will doubtless find something wrong with it despite my, and my publishing team’s, best efforts. Nevertheless, I believe you will also find it an enjoyable way to spend a few evenings/weekends or commutes to and from work. Best of all, you will probably learn a few things along the way.

This book grew out of an introduction to social media assessment and benchmarking problems presented in various chapters previously published elsewhere. During our work and research at CyTRAP Labs GmbH, I began to develop a template for doing a social media audit, which evolved and became what is now part of our CyTRAP Social Media Audit Toolkit (CySoMAT) (see Chapter 1 for reference on Gattiker, 2013). This book is the culmination of many varied efforts, including field studies, assessments conducted, and audits, as well as library work.

The writing of this book would not have been possible without the support of several people. I would like to thank my colleagues, near and far. Special thanks to Stan Albers, Karen Dietz, Mark Leinemann, Bryan Peters, Jeanny Schmid, and Christiane Stückelberger for offering thoughtful suggestions, asking questions that needed clarification, encouraging me to write down my thoughts, and being great ‘virtual’, as well as real-life, colleagues and friends.

Thanks to Jonathan Davis, George Knott, and Ed Gibbons at Chandos Publishing (imprint of Woodhead Publishing) for taking this project on and making the process a bit easier. Also thanks to my editor Melanie Gattiker, whose skills played a significant part in bringing this project to a fruitful conclusion.

Finally, thanks to my wife Verena, for putting up with my many quirks and long hours, particularly during the writing of this book.

Urs E. Gattiker

Zurich, Switzerland

Introduction

In a study of 2400 Harvard Business Review (HBR) readers and newsletter subscribers (54 percent from North America, data collected July 2010, study not dated, http://www.sas.com/resources/whitepaper/wp_23348.pdf), 12 percent stated they felt they were effective users of social media. These respondents were most likely to work in companies that deployed multiple channels, used metrics, implemented a strategy for social media use, and integrated their social media into their overall marketing operations.

By 2013 things may be different, especially since platforms come and go, resulting in the emergence of new opportunities (e.g., Facebook advertising, Google Maps, Siri, etc.), while others vanish. This constant state of flux makes it hard to keep up with it all while ensuring one uses social media smartly.

This book is primarily written for managers who do not feel they are sufficiently effective users of social media tools and techniques – no surprise when we consider that changes in social media occur fast and furious all around us. However, as Gene Spafford has pointed out, showing people how to put sugar in a gas tank does not teach them much about auto mechanics.

Accordingly, this book teaches people about the mechanics of social media without getting so technical that we lose half our readers. It focuses on helping managers use social media more effectively by presenting ideas, examples, cases and so forth that illustrate the material, thereby helping readers successfully transfer what is discussed to their work context.

Topics addressed include:

– What is happening in the area of social media, mobile and e-commerce?

– What is causing these interesting developments?

Answers to the above two questions will help you better understand how some things can cause or correlate with others, such as higher sales or more visitors to a webpage. Armed with this information, we can then proceed with asking predictive questions to understand and prepare for future events, such as:

– What do we want to have happen or occur?

– What actions must we take to achieve desired outcomes or set objectives?

Answers to these questions help us achieve our goals with social media marketing, which is the overarching objective we cannot stray from.

I.1 Business context matters

Some very interesting books focus on large companies, including the Fortune 500, but small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of a country's economy. Fully 99 percent of all companies in the EU have 250 or fewer employees, while 96 percent of all companies in the US have 100 employees or less (see Gattiker, August 23, 2011 for statistics and links to sources about this). Realistically, learning from big global brands like Coca-Cola, Carnival Cruises, Whole Foods, and Vodafone, who are the digital pioneers, is a bit out of reach for most.

By 2010, Coca-Cola had more than 120 social media experts called associates. In contrast, many firms do not even have one staff member focusing on social media full-time. For instance, in 2011 a study revealed that only about 20 percent of the 400 Swiss companies responding (mostly large ones) had a dedicated social media expert.

Accordingly, learning from global brands' social media blunders – in the areas of crap customer service, plain dumb marketing or simply being caught short in a crisis – does not provide valuable lessons for SMEs from which to shape future corporate communication policy. Instead, your situation might be similar to Zweifel Chips AG, a company with around 400 employees that claims to have 70 percent of market share in Switzerland. How successful SMEs can leverage their customer service, social media marketing campaigns or manage social media disasters effectively is the backbone of this book.

I.2 Where are we going?

Figure I.1 outlines how this book is structured and how each chapter builds upon the next to further develop our insights regarding this topic. Chapters 1 through 6 set the stage for this book.

Figure I.1 Managing the process: Social media and marketing

Figure I.1 The number one reason why social media strategies fail is that people start with a plan, without first having looked at a map (type of terrain we are dealing with). In other words, given the economic situation in Greece in 2012 or Cyprus in 2013, a small- or medium-sized enterprise (SME) has no chance of copying Procter & Gamble's social media strategy.

Words must be converted into action, meaning social media activities are linked to key drivers, such as customer return.

These key drivers affect key performance indicators(KPIs), such as sales or costs. Showing how social media relates to these KPIs ensures that management will be interested.

Chapters 7 and 8 will be case studies that illustrate how the steps outlined in Figure I.1 and Chapters 1 through 6 can be applied in different organizations. Chapter 9 addresses risks inherent to social media and how to manage these risks, even in the midst of an unfolding social media disaster, as well as some conclusions.

When it comes to social media and its use, most organizations' management focuses on strategy. Unfortunately, this is outright wrong – at least when we start with the process as outlined in Figure I.1. Instead, one must:

– determine the purpose of using social media;

– assess (according to purpose) what social media skills, talents and know-how are already available in-house.

Nobody would design a product without having a clear idea of what purpose a client would use it for. Unless the service or product solves a problem or services a need of the client's, it is unlikely to do well in the marketplace. Social media is similar from the perspective of marketing strategy and the tools we want to use to get there. Once we know the purpose (e.g., better customer service by…), we can assess whether the skills and human capital needed to succeed are available. If not, the necessary skills upgrading and/or hiring of talent can be initiated.

Unless we know what purpose we want to achieve with social media activities, it will be difficult to develop a strategy for the organisation's target groups. Based on the definition of those target groups, it will become clear whether micro-blogging makes sense. For instance, Dell has different Twitter accounts for different target groups (e.g., small businesses in Canada, small businesses in the US, investors and so forth). For a small business, limited resources may dictate offering only one Twitter account, but focusing it on content the chosen target group perceives as valuable and can use in their work.

Our purpose and strategy define the target groups we need to reach. Therefore, the company might decide to participate on some platforms (e.g., LinkedIn), but not others (e.g., Facebook). Part 2 of the book focuses on defining the key drivers (e.g., product returns) and how these key drivers could be influenced by the organisation's social media activities (e.g., helping customers online through chat, email or a frequently asked questions page).

When we drive in an unfamiliar place, it's possible to take a wrong turn. If we think this is the case, we either ask for directions to get back on track or drive back to the place where we went wrong. Social media is similar: try fast to fail fast. Try things for a few weeks, see how it works and if your clients do not want to consume your offering or the platform ceases to exist, cut your losses and move on. Like checking your oil, you need to check your performance, assess possible weaknesses and improve where possible and feasible.

Figure I.1 suggests the cycle we describe here might occur over the period of a year. Nevertheless, once changes are made it is useful to return to the beginning and start back at stage 1 again. Remember, in 2011 many had not yet heard about Pinterest, but in 2012 it is a completely different story. The year 2014 might bring us something we do not know about today, and thus are unable to include in Table I.1.

Table I.1

Making sense: Some answers and definitions