how brands can harness social networks

Jamie RiddellDirector

Jamie.riddell@cheeze.com

How brands can harness social networks

Introducing Cheeze

• UK based Digital Direct Marketing Agency

• Part of Digital Marketing Group plc

• Offices in London & Ipswich

• £20m billings

• IPA, DMA & SEMPO Accredited

• Clients including Budget Car Rental, BUPA, Pokerstars, AXA, Canterbury of NZ, Monarch Airlines, CAF

What is a Social Network?

“a social structure made of individuals or organizations that are connected through various familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds. In the Internet, social networking refers to a category of applications that connect friends,

business partners, or other individuals together using a variety of tools. “

But what does it mean for you and your brand?

http://opencontent.wgbh.org/report/glossary.html

Why should brands be interested in social networks?

Social Networking is international

Map courtesy of http://www.oxyweb.co.uk/blog/socialnetworkmapoftheworld.php

They are highly consumed across Europe

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% Total Internet Penetration

Hungary

Poland

Russia

Romania

Netherlands

UK

Denmark

Austria

Germany

Spain

Italy

Switzerland

Greece

Czech Republic

France

Global Average

“Thinking about using the Internet, which of the following have you ever done?” – “Create a profile on a new social network” Wave 3 Universal Mcann

Across Europe, consumer take up of social networks is on the rise. In some countries including Hungary, nearly 80% of all online users have registered with a social network.

Consumers spend time here & connect with others

• Consumers are spending increasing amounts of time on social networks.

• Over half Facebook users return daily, spending an average 20 minutes per session* The average session on a social network is 79 minutes.

• These consumers are actively creating, consuming and sharing content. They could be interacting with your brand and content.

• With an average friendship 75 friends per person on social networks & the potential uplift for a brand that harnesses social networks is huge

*Facebook** Pew

So how can we harness them?

Two initial routes

Build your own social network

• Use tools like ning.com to create your own branded social network

• Manage all elements of the design, and interaction

BUT

• Build an audience from scratch

• Continually promote

Harness an existing social network

• Take advantage of existing networks with large audiences

• Work to integrate your brand within the confines of each network

BUT

• Compete with other brands for audience

• Develop different strategies & invest in different networks

Dedicated Social Networks

Create your own social network

www.ning.comwww.techcrunch.com/2007/07/24/9-ways-to-build-your-own-social-network/

US Social Network on

the Ning platform

http://www.imsaturn.com/

Work with existing social networks

Different Types of Online Social Networks

Friends Photos BusinessMusic Videos

Least Consumer Engagement

Greatest Consumer Engagement

Brand Monitoring

Targeted Advertising

Partnership

Dialogue

Contribution

Integration

Brand Monitoring

• Being part of a social network will help you to understand consumer opinion in a way a basic advert will never achieve.

• This gives brands the opportunity to fast track product testing and learn more unprompted brand information

Targeted Advertising

• Consumers are actively telling you what they like and don’t like.

• Brands have an opportunity to understand this and harness this.

• Myspace launches Hypertargeting – the ability to target advertising based on multiple consumer provided details including music preference.

• We have the opportunity to target not just location but also emotionally – an important step for online advertising.

Sponsorship

•Nikon partnership with Flickr.

•Taking the relation between cameras and photography to the next level.

•Fully branded space allows users to share pictures and learn about the latest models.

•This page demonstrated obvious benefits for both brand and consumer.

•Currently 21,650 members, updating content every hour.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikondigitallearningcenter/

Dialogue

• A presence on a social network offers the opportunity for brand dialogue. This dialogue can help fast track promotion activity but combining the marketing and the dialogue in the same place.

Royal Navy

• Royal Navy Recruitment on Bebo

• Royal Navy pilot Brendan Spoors became the face of Navy Pilots on Bebo.

• Connected with friends and started sharing information about life as a pilot.

• Open channel for people to ask questions and for Brendan to answer them.

• This page has been the single biggest traffic driver to the Royal Navy recruitment site.

http://www.i-level.com/case-studies/only-a-sailor-can-recruit-a-sailor

Contribution

• Social Networks have the opportunity to empower the consumers to work with the brand.

• In this case, the TV programme has become interactive offering the consumer the opportunity to share their content and experience with the show.

• This opportunity harnesses the ‘two way’ nature of web 2.0.

Integration

• Harnessing all elements of social networks

• PDSA Facebook Fan Page has become the central channel for supporter communication

• Additional content is now channelled through YouTube and Flickr

• Planned rollout to other networks in 09

Accountability

• Working with social networks can remain fully accountable.

• External tracking from network to size will help understand traffic and business generation.

• On site tracking will help understanding KPI’s relevant to each network.

What are the risks?

• Unleashing your brand to social networks means you become the shepherd of the brand no longer brand guardian

• Consumers may start to discuss your brand in negative ways

• Once you start on this path, you may not be able to stop

• With careful planning, none of these risks are a problem

5 Tips for Brands & Social Networks

1. Pay attention to what is being said about your brand. Use Google Alerts ; Blogpulse and search on Facebook, Myspace etc.

2. Look for a reason why your business should be in social networks. What can you offer the consumer.Review what content can be used within a social network. Do you have content, can you easily create some?

3. Plan for the downside - this is important before you go live!

4. Buy some ads on Facebook - low cost, easy entry.

5. Consider building a Facebook Fan Page - a basic one is free - BUT consider this for the long term

Further Reading

http://www.universalmccann.com/Assets/wave_3_20080403093750.pdf

http://www.slideshare.net/agentwildfire/agent-wildfire-cheat-sheet

www.cheeze.com/blog

Get the presentation, connect with me!

• An electronic copy of this presentation is available at www.cheeze.com/blog

• Connect with me:

• www.twitter.com/jamieriddell

• www.linkedin.com/in/jamieriddell

Any Questions?

www.cheeze.com

jamie.riddell@cheeze.com