r u l e sfor the

social eraELEVEN

n i l o f e r m e r c h a n t

one.connections

createvalue

Previous eras of marketing were about reaching as many people as possible. He who yelled the loudest and the furthest won.

“The results of a new study support what many people intuitively know about winning political elections: the party that has a more connected voter network usually receives more votes.

”

http://phys.org/news/2013-04-election-strongly-voter-network-key.html#jCp

The social era is about connecting people, things and ideas. It’s not how many you reach, it’s how many you connect.

two.community is

longevity

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you

want to go far, go with others.”

African Proverb

Relationships between companies and customers had become incredibly transactional.

The Social Era burst that bubble.

42% of customers expect social mediaresponses from their inquiries (within the hour!) (study by GetSatisfaction)

but it’s not just about customer support...

86% of customers want to engage retail brands via mobile/social channels if they believe that it would improve future expectations (study by EmpathicaInc. http://www.luxurydaily.com/82pc-consumers-want-to-engage-retail-brands-via-mobile-study/)

and by engagement, they mean mutually beneficial interactions. not more transactions. but it does lead to transactions...

30% Increase in sales because of social media interactions. (study by LoyaltyOne, Northwestern and Ivey Business School: http://loyalty.com/knowledge/articles/social-media-payoff-missing-link-between-social-media-roi

These are just two of the shining examples of how attention to building relationships with customers

leads to loyalty and longevity.

but we don’t call them customers anymore...

three. no more “consumer”

GAME OVER

BUYERS SELLERS

COLLECTORS MAKERS

BROWSERS CURATORS

AUDIENCE ENTERTAINERS

the audience are entertainersthe buyers are sellers

the browsers are curatorsentertainers are the audience

sellers are buyerscurators are browsers

this is a good thing, because...

four.the power of co-creation

“people will support what

they help create.”

post-it note at the front reception in Office Nomads, a coworking space in Portland, OR.

Since it’s launch in 2009, Kickstarter has helped raise over $607 million for over 45,000 projects.

*from Kickstarter Stats

Modcloth went from a dorm room side project to $100M in sales (40% annual growth) against much

bigger retailers because they work with their customers to do everything from merchandising to

creating whole new lines.

within the social era, you sell

not TOy o u r c u s t o m e r s

When community invests in an idea, it also co-owns its success.

five.celebrate

youronlyness

When we define ourselves by what others want, we please no one,

take no risks and deny our uniqueness. We are kissing a

‘moving butt’.

What do you want me to be?

Each of us is standing in a spot no one else occupies. That unique perspective is born of our accumulated experience, perspective, and our

vision. This is our onlyness.

Jack Dorsey, founder of both Twitter and Square, is the epitome of onlyness.

Coming up with two completely unique ideas that solve real problems from a very unique angle requires a person

with a unique perspective.

Jack’s accumulated experience, perspective and vision is what gives him the ability to dream up these ideas. His

onlyness is why nobody else could have done the same.

comparisonitis

what’s the opposite of onlyness?

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Oscar Wilde

six.collaboration over control

big wig

vp wig vp wig vp wig

middle wig middle wig middle wig middle wig middle wig middle wig

peons

had ideas & made decisions

just told to get strategy done

do what they were told to do (but have lots of great ideas to improve things that aren’t listened to).

the pre-social era way

The Air Sandwich:when those at the top give orders and those at the

bottom are just expected to deliver, but there is nothing in between to collect feedback from front line workers to become a learning organization, improving ideas.

the social era way

big wig

vp wig

vp wig vp wig

vp wig

talent talent

talent

talent

enabling the connected and

talented individuals in the organization

through systems and leadership.

understanding that talent and ideas can

come from all corners of the

organization (and even from outside).

Powerful organizations look less like an 800-pound gorilla and more like fast, fluid,

flexible networks of connected individuals - like, say, a herd of 800 nimble gazelles.

seven.mistakes can

build trust

mistakentweet by

drunk employee

awesome response byRed Cross

Bodyform (feminine products) responds to concerned post on Facebook with hyper-honest + funny video - gets millions of views organically.

Sainsbury’s has a great sense of humor + humility + it pays in loyalty

and organic PR.

eight.learn. unlearn. (repeat)

unlearning• different canvas, different brush: there are no ‘best

practices’ because there are no constant variables.

• shift happens: metrics or assumptions from the past are not necessarily useful for the future

• avoid analysis paralysis: don’t overplan...iterate! Try, fail, learn, adjust, repeat.

• flex your openness: great ideas come from everywhere.

• skate to where the puck is going: don’t do what everyone else is doing or what is working for you. Figure out what’s next.

TEDTEDTED - once notoriously closed and

protective of their brand - first opened up talks on TED.com for the world,

THEN opened up the ability for anyone to organize local TEDx conferences.

They recognized the brand as a closed, protected entity couldn’t be

contained with the growth of the social web + participatory media. So they unlearned their tried and true ways

and collaborated with their audience to change.

In 2012, there were over 2,700 TEDx events worldwide. It hasn’t been

without bumps, but they remain agile.

An organization can and should be

perpetually reinventing its

constructs.

nine.design for sharing.

In 2012, artist Beck released his new album, but there wasn’t any performed music. It was sheet music and he let his fans interpret it. There are

14,600 results for ‘Beck Song Reader’ on YouTube and thousands more on SoundCloud.

ten.people don’t

share companies or products, they share

ideas, values + purpose.

Lululemon doesn’t sell athletic wear. It sells a ‘self-improvement’ lifestyle

Dove doesn’t sell soap. It sells a movement towards healthy body image and self-esteem.

Oreo isn’t about the cookie. It’s about promoting playfulness. It connects to things that matter to you.

Chipotle isn’t a fast food chain. It’s about promoting and supporting sustainable and local farming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMfSGt6rHos

these are brands people love to share.

eleven.(there are no rules)

forget everything I just told you.

The rules change daily (sometimes by the minute) in the social era. Accept that your job is to stay alert to what happens next to figure out what

assumptions need to be tuned.

thank you.

Nilofer MerchantAuthor. Speaker. Corporate Director.

www.nilofermerchant.com@nilofer