Download - The Social Web for Small Business
The Social Web for Business
The Social Web for Small Business
Jonathan Crossfield15th September 2009
The statistics are exciting
• Over 70% of Australian internet users visited a social networking site in June 2009*
*comScore study, June 2009
Reported in Marketing Charts, August 17th 2009
The Social Web for Small Business
Online behaviour is evolving
• Twitter rose to over 800,000 users in June 2009, up from 13,000 in 2008*
*comScore study, June 2009
Reported in Marketing Charts, August 17th 2009
The Social Web for Small Business
The Social Web for Small Business
Twitter is seeing astronomical growth
*courtesy Hitwise Australia, July 2009 (Hitwise.com.au)
How can my business use Twitter (or Facebook, etc)?
The Social Web for Small Business
But businesses keep asking the wrong question
There is a better question
How can I use the social web to help consumers achieve
their goals?
The Social Web for Small Business
Deciding to use a tool is a TACTIC
I want to use a snow shovel to
benefit my business
http://www.flickr.com/photos/signifying/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
Helping people achieve goals is a STRATEGY
Clearing my driveway helps more customers get
where they’re goinghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/signifying/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
Knowing the customer goal may reveal a better tool
http://www.flickr.com/photos/signifying/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Wow! Cleanest driveway in the street!
The Social Web for Small Business
Why should my business care?
The Social Web for Small Business
Human behaviour is the key!
The Social Web for Business
The ANT Approach
The Social Web for Small Business
ANT businesses are taking over
The Social Web for Small Business
Google – designed for users, not businesses
The Social Web for Small Business
Twitter – tapped into social behaviour
The Social Web for Small Business
Amazon – made buying books easier
The Social Web for Small Business
So, what is the social web?
The Social Web for Small Business
You might think social media is this
The Social Web for Small Business
These are just tools – snow shovels
The Social Web for Small Business
The entire web is social – with many tools
The Social Web for Small Business
Sending an email is a social activity…
The Social Web for Small Business
Commenting on a blog is a social activity…
The Social Web for Small Business
Interacting with a website is a social activity…
The Social Web for Small Business
…and everyone has access to the toolshed!
The Social Web for Small Business
The audience is now the media
The Social Web for Small Business
But so are you!
The Social Web for Small Business
The web is a two way conversation!
The Social Web for Small Business
Let’s look at just one tool
The Social Web for Small Business
What is Twitter?
• A “microblogging” platform• Allows people to create posts
(“tweets”) of 140 characters or less• Users can “follow” others that
interest them
The Social Web for Small Business
Originally designed as a “broadcast” medium
The Social Web for Small Business
Evolved into an “engagement” medium
The Social Web for Small Business
The users transformed Twitter
The Social Web for Small Business
Word of mouth marketing
The Social Web for Small Business
WOM most powerful marketing around!
The Social Web for Small Business
Will someone recommend your product?
The Social Web for Small Business
Will someone recommend your shop?
The Social Web for Small Business
Wow! Now this is word of mouth!
The Social Web for Small Business
But then, so is this!
The Social Web for Small Business
Should we care what they say?
• Trib is followed by 4000+ people. I’d care!
The Social Web for Small Business
How should we use the social web?
The Social Web for Small Business
By providing “elegant organisation”
You don’t start communities. They already exist. They’re already doing what they want to do. The question you should ask is how you can help them do that better. Bring them “elegant organisation”.
Mark Zuckerberg – Creator of Facebook
Quoted by Jeff Jarvis – “What Would Google Do?”
The Social Web for Small Business
Identify the customer goal, need or problem
The Social Web for Small Business
Understand the route they prefer to take (behaviour)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyskis/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
Use the right tools to make it easier for them!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkransen/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
See how many customers choose your route!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grahamking/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
Direct sales via links & promotions
The Social Web for Business
Brand awareness / customer engagement
The Social Web for Business
Feedback & complaints management
The Social Web for Business
Customer service & support
The Social Web for Small Business
But where’s the ROI?
The Social Web for Small Business
*Source: Engagement db.com July 2009 Prepared by Wetpaint and Altimeter
Engagement to revenue – is there a trend?
• The top 100 global brands & the social web
The Social Web for Small Business
Show me the money!
Wallflowers (low – or no - engagement
in 6 or less channels)
Selectives (high engagement in 6 or
fewer channels)
Butterflies (low engagement in 7 or
more channels
Mavens (high engagement in 7 or more
channels)
*Source: Engagement db.com July 2009
Prepared by Wetpaint and AltimeterThe Social Web for Small Business
What about a small business case study?
The Social Web for Business
A fun, friendly website…
The Social Web for Business
…with a regularly updated and funny blog…
The Social Web for Small Business
…a popular newsletter…
The Social Web for Small Business
…quirky videos…
The Social Web for Small Business
…great use of Twitter, with a business account…
The Social Web for Small Business
…and a personal account!
The Social Web for Small Business
A casual, irreverent style
The Social Web for Small Business
…mixed with a sense of community
The Social Web for Business
The brand has PERSONALITY!
My tone seems to be novel in the retail world because it pulls no punches, but it's just me. It's not elitist and the humour is adult. It's free entertainment.
*Janet E leach – ArteryStore.com
All are connected. Many tools, one voice
The Social Web for Business
Sales & enquiries rise approx 200% after each email
The Social Web for Small Business
One email saw sales of Nooka watches rise 500%!
The Social Web for Small Business
Twitter provides 10% of all traffic…
• Nearly 2000 unique visitors per month
The Social Web for Small Business
…and fantastic word of mouth!
The Social Web for Small Business
Other blogs have picked up on the site
Each blog mention boosts traffic
• Hundreds of unique visitors per month• Positive word of mouth
Hasn’t sent a press release in 9 months!
The Social Web for Small Business
The strategy dictates the tools
I want to be the design store at street level, creating a community and being created by its community.
*Janet E leach – ArteryStore.com
The Social Web for Small Business
Nearly there…
The Social Web for Small Business
I grew up near a corner shop (not this one)
The Social Web for Small Business
They knew me, my family, our story…
The Social Web for Small Business
…and we knew them
The Social Web for Small Business
It’s gone now. But 30 years on I still remember them
The Social Web for Small Business
Corner shops gave way to supermarkets
The Social Web for Small Business
We scaled up production
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inju/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
We scaled up marketing
The Social Web for Small Business
We scaled up sales
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_beaver/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Social Web for Small Business
We couldn’t scale up relationships
“Do you want fries with that?”
The Social Web for Small Business
The social web scales up relationships!
The Social Web for Business
What does this mean?
The Social Web for Business
Listen and respond – don’t just broadcast
View everything from the customer’s position
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quaelin/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0The Social Web for Business
Treat everyone as individuals, not a mass market
The Social Web for Small Business
Be an ANT!
• Care about Anthropology, Not Technology!
The Social Web for Small Business
Thankyou
The Social Web for Small Business