9.1     INTRODUCTION

I would hope that by this stage of the book you are already used to looking up the various subject areas on my main site. However, for this chapter, its associated pages in tips, hints and advice and interesting articles are particularly interesting - though you will note a certain scepticism in my comments that I could not use in an academic text.

Perhaps some of the scepticism on the subject comes from articles like these - Social Networking Generates Leads, Closes Sales for Marketers and Half of Americans Don't Use Twitter, MySpace, Facebook - which seem to present conflicting statistics. For example, according to these articles, 86% of marketers use Twitter - but only around 5% of online users access it. From this we might assume that plenty of 'tweets' are sent, but few received. For an excellent commentary on the state of social media [at the time of the article], take a look at Social Media Generates Hype; Fails to Deliver Marketing Punch. Furthermore, social media marketers are not totally sure about the effectiveness of their practices, see Social Media Best Practices.

On the subject of defining social media, search engine expert Danny Sullivan suggests that there are five variants and it appears I am not the only one who has trouble with a definition, see Defining Social Media.

Mini-stat - the reasons people use social networking. May 09 saw Facebook overtake MySpace in the US top 20 social networking sites, and at Christmas of the same year the social networking site was the most visited site in the US [well, maybe].

This article - Web 2.0 is about giving up some control - is worth reading if only for the quote :
'But it is classic IT-thinking. As if the tool was the be all and end all, and the only purpose of life was to discover the right one. As if it was the type of quill that Shakespeare chose that made him the writer that he was.'
Brilliant - it is not the medium that is most important, it is the message.

For further comment on the online application of Granovetter's concept, see The Strength Of Weak Ties and Search by Gord Hotchkiss.

In chapter 2, I raise the issue of what is the 'dream team' for website development. Well, this article - Eight Things You Need to Manage Social Media - includes a similar list for social media marketing [note that the first comment - at the bottom of the page - is mine]. In more practical mode, take a look at the skills and experience necessary to do SM for the president of the United States, see Social Networks Manager Application. On a related subject is this one - Who should be responsible for social media — PR or marketing? My own view is that too often PR is divorced from marketing [in my own university they are taught in different faculties] and so is often seen as an independent aspect of business, and - wrongly - practiced outside of any marketing strategy. If PR is to take responsibilty for the organization's SMM - which I think it could - then it must align itself with other strategic marketing efforts.

Like any branding exercise [and some other aspects of marketing] determining the ROI from SMM is difficult. This paper - Ranking the Top 100 Global Brands - tries to put forward a positive argument, whilst this article - Does social media lead to better financial results for companies? - offers a good analysis of its content.

If you think SMM is for you, then consult this - Social Media Strategy Checklist - before you start. I think [hope] I address all of the issues raised in the chapter, but this list gets to the point in fewer words. This chart is from an interesting piece of research, but I have included it here as an example of potential objectives for SMM, whilst this quote sums up the ethos behind the concept.

Mini-stat - the alliance between retail and social media.

There is a tendancy for folk to think SMM is just for B2C markets. The stats in this article Social Initiatives: B2B vs. B2C - shows this to be a flawed assumption.

In the text I make the comment that hard data on the ROI for SMM was still lacking, and in each aspect of SMM in the chapter the 'decision time' considers the advantages of using that element - but I do not have a specific section on the overall ROI for SMM. Here's an article that goes some why to addressing that omission - Social media ROI: The best of British opinion.

For more of my views on what CGC can include, take a look at my musing on the subject.

At the beginning of the chapter I mention 'citizen journalism' - though I say little because it is not an aspect of marketing. However, to give an indication of its impact on both society and the news media, here are two examples of how it can work well and its significant flaw.

The title of this research says it all - Pre-Shop Customer Reviews Important to Online Customers, whilst this research suggests that customer reviews are favoured over marketing information.

Mini-stat - online confidence.

The title of this article - Consumers Want to Interact With Companies on Social Media - gives away its subject. However, it also include results of research into the subject - but you should also take a look at the responses. This subject, perhaps like most aspects of e-marketing, is not cut and dried.

As all marketers [should] know, different segments of the population act differently towards product - and social media is no exception. The title of this article - Boomers More Traditional Online - Not into Blogs, Social Networking - says it all.

'The social feedback cycle is a conversational loop that connects the experience of the past customer with the thought process of the next one' read more in - Four Tips to Put the Social Feedback Cycle to Work.

*pg 298* False reviews in the hotel industry: Let's start with Hotel review websites: a five-star scam and its follow-up - 'We're clean' pledges Tripadvisor. The issue doesn't [won't?] seem to go away, here's another article - Who’s really writing the reviews on TripAdvisor? - from June 2009. This one is from my own experience. Take a look at the following reviews for the Rio hotel in Athens. I do not know this hotel, I have never visited it - but the reviewers seem to be talking about two different places. What do you think? I took this screenshot in the summer of 2008 - why not take a look to see if the same reviews are still listed now on Tripadvisor. Now some examples of what not to do. It seems that at least one company has decided that identifying - and rewarding - good reviewers is a way to be proactive in CGM. Newsflash: it isn't, see Free cruise to spread good news whilst this one Belkin: a case study in social media sin catches out a company trying generate positive online reviews.

The opposite of trying to influence CGC - but equally disastrous - is just ignoring it. As an example of what can happen if an organization fails to respond to online criticisms, take a look at this story of how Sony BMG handled a blog from Mark Russinovich that revealed shortcomings in software placed on user's computers by Sony. Sony BMG's Costly Silence. Even worse, is this one where the 'good Samaritan' CGC writer is actually abused by a representative of the organization - Ryanair: "Lunatic bloggers can keep the blogosphere". And finally, Everything You Need to Know About Fake Review Optimization.

Not only is overt commenting a risky practice but in Europe under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations [2008] the practice is likely to be deemed an offence.

In the text I talk about the power held by e-fluencers - the online version of influencers. This article is on the same subject, though the term used to decribe such folks is Global Multipliers.

*pg 299* Duncan Watts' Is the Tipping Point Toast?.

Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff suggests that UGC [CGC] participants can be divided into six groups.

The seventh annual Edelman Trust Barometer - a survey of nearly 2,000 opinion leaders in 11 countries - headlined with "a 'person like me' is now the most credible spokesperson for companies". The report looks at the bigger picture, but for the e-marketer, the take-a-way is the power of consumer generated media. Note that this report dates back to 2006, the eighth, ninth and tenth annual reports are now available.

Mini-stat - Note that this research refers only one one demographic, but apparently Moms Place Trust in Other Consumers.

This article - Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute - is from Jakob Nielsen, so it is supported by research. Basically it is about consumer generated content, and is a must read if you want to get to grips with the concept.

The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, conducted by Nielsen Consumer Research [no relation to Jacob] shows the influence of review content on the web.

Ever had bad service and wanted to get your own back somehow? Well, social media provides a platform - and if you make your complaint into a song then millions of people might see it on YouTube. See, and sing along with - United breaks guitars.

If you are going to host CGC on your own site the facility cannot simply be set up and forgotten, it must be managed - or more specifically, moderated. Read the BBC's Editorial Guidelines for consumer [or 'user'] generated content.

Using pretty basic software [available free online, or more complex that you have to pay for] you can track entries on blogs or other CGM websites for keywords, like your brand or product name. This means you can be proactive in reacting to criticisms. Is this an example? See unintentional bait and switch by Argos. [Note that I have also included this link in chapter 2 where we consider the issue as part of online market research].

Here's an article on an element of CGC that I missed out of the book. It revolves around so-called 'social media deal sites', where sellers [mainly retailers] post special deals for products and the users endorse - or otherwise - the deal. In this way those deals that consumers feel are the best rise to the top of the listings. See How To Use Social Deal Sites To Promote Sales.

*pg 301* For more on the RapLeaf survey, see The Social Media Gender Gap.

If you thought it is all teenagers, think again - Women Over 55 Take Facebook by Storm.

*pg 306* Cyberbashing: It's rather ironic that the article I had a link to has been removed by legal action because one of those organizations that it criticized didn't like the comments - and sadly, I can't find another. However, just so you get an idea of what I'm talking about, here's one that's not cyberbashing exactly, but it is a good example of bad practice from a from a small business - Online Reputation Management of Offline Marketing Blunders.

For more on the way LEGO has used the web see this article - Five More Keys to Engaging the Customer to Produce Real Innovation: Lessons From LEGO.

*pg 308* Pop goes social marketing: Note that at the time of writing the book, the website thisis50.com focussed on the rap star 50 Cent - however, the site has now taken on a more generic 'pop community' role. More recently, 50 Cent has been identified [exposed?] as a ghost tweeter on Twitter - read more about this social media practice in - Lazy Twitter stars call in ghost writers.

*pg 309* Students beware - on the Internet, there's no place to hide: Here are a couple of examples of inappropriate 'twitters' - Twitter Search: Not Your Friend If You Tweet Something Bad and Be careful what you post, whilst these articles shows that HR depts do research applicants online - Job Candidates Both Hurt and Helped by Social Networks, Online SocNets Change HR Recruiting Game and this one which says that not only do 79% of US hiring personnel say they review online information about job applicants, but most admit to rejecting candidates based on what they’ve found.

This article - In Social Networks, All Friends Are Not Created Equal - focuses on students' use of social media, but it has a wider message for organizations that assume everyone wants a relationship with them [they don't, something I mention in chapter 8 - on page 255 - where I comment on CRM]. As a footnote to this - perhaps you should not try to hide online?.

*pg 310* Chris Winfield's guide and Glen Allsopp's 15 Fundamental Truths About Social Media Marketing.

*pg 310* The secret strategies behind many viral videos As I say on my own website where I link to this article: this could be the only one you need to read on this subject. I love both this article and the furore it causes amongst the folk commenting on it. My view? Did you really believe that the video that launched a new pop career [or whatever] was made by some girly on her mobile phone in her bedroom and then she put it on YouTube and millions of people just happened to see it? Yeah right - of course it was. Hello, welcome to social media marketing. The conclusion to this article says "You simply can't expect to post great videos on YouTube and have them go viral on their own, even if you think you have the best videos ever. These days, achieving true virality takes serious creativity, some luck, and a lot of hard work."

For an indication of how a brand can be 'marketed' by the general public on social media sites take a look at this research - Are Young Adults Really Brand-Resistant?.

It has long been an issue in business that employees might move on - to a new job, or set up their own business - and 'poach' customers. June 2008 saw one of the first cases go to court where the poaching was done via the Internet - in this instance, Linkedin, see - Ex-employee must disclose online contacts, rules UK court.

Before you all go out and pour resources into marketing on social networks, perhaps you should take a look at the results of this survey - Are Women Really Ignoring Social Network Marketing?.

Having reached chapter 9, I will assume you appreciate my conviction that the textual content of any website or email is the key to meeting your online marketing objectives. Well, that goes for social media too. This article - Twitter Postings: Iterative Design - shows examples of how to best use your 140 characters in a marketing 'tweet'.

At the end of this section [in the book] I make the comment that successful SMM is a strategic decision and that SMM that helps organizations meet their marketing objectives are '... not only well researched, planned and instigated'. This article - Five Tips for Building an Online Community - endorses this. Take particular note of tip number 1. Unless you determine your objectives - and I mean, really determine them, not pay them lip service - anything else is a waste of time.

This chart shows how a small business can use social networking.

In section 9.2 on consumer generated content I mention 'false' reviews and in section 9.5 the subject of bloggers being paid to endorse products. Well this one is little more sinister in that it involves youngsters, see - Children paid to plug junk food on Facebook and Bebo.

Perhaps confirming the view of a member of the older generation [me], this article - Real Kids in Virtual Worlds - suggests that it is kids who are playing in virtual worlds.

Apparently, 2009 was a Boom Time in Second Life. I can't see the attraction, and marketing opportunities are limited, but it does seem popular with some folk.

It would seem that selling virtual goods in a virtual world can equal real money, see - Virtual Goods Mean Real Dollars.

Technorati's latest State of the Blogosphere: 2008.

Some good statistics and comments on blogging in this article - Blogging Has Come a Long Way, Baby. With regard to the comment that '... users will read a blog at least once per month ...' I suspect that many of these will access a blog comment as the result of the search, so they visit the blog not as a 'continuous diary' but as a source of information. This research - Bloggers Few in Number; Wield Disproportionate Influence - however, offers a different view. Take note of the comment 'Yet, relatively speaking, very few consumers read or write blogs'. It's a good point, and should be considered carefully before committing resources to a blog [ie check potential ROI]. The FTC's interest in 'disclosure by bloggers of compensation by marketers whose products or services they review' is a legal response to my Practical insight; 'socially unacceptable'.

*pg 313* Read Jeff Jarvis' own account of his 'Dell hell' in the Guardian newspaper. And here's another example of how an ill-judged response to a - in this case well-meaning - blog can become a PR disaster - Ryanair freaks out at blogger, disses Wordpress, shoots foot.

*pg 317* The Grocer's Blog. There is also a wal-mart blog

*pg 318* WOMMA's 10 Principles for Ethical Contact with bloggers.

*pg 319* Get yourself a free copy of Unleashing the Idea Virus.

This article - Are Your Emails 'Shareworthy'? - lists why people might forward a message - and how e-marketers can encourage it.

So successful was the 'drumming gorilla' ad that Cadbury Schweppes' chief executive began his presentation of the company's results by dubbing 2007 'the year of the gorilla'. Here's the video.

The 'drumming gorilla' is an example of those videos are made for releasing as part of - hopefully - viral campaigns, this page has others - YouTube Brandwatch.

*pg 320* the Ford Ka 'eviltwin' viral ads: ad number 1 WARNING : NOT FOR BIRD LOVERS and On the subject of 'fake' or 'sub-virals' here is an article from the Guardian - Fwd: Have you seen this? and a later one from the Wall Street Journal J.C. Penney Faults Fake Ad on YouTube. Often quoted in sub-viral discussion is the 'Puma' ad - read the story - Experience the Message.

*pg 320* Grobe and Voltz's site and Mentos' response.

Happy meals go viral? 'At any one moment, there are 26,500 YouTube videos about McDonalds' says Jill McDonald, McDonald's chief marketing officer in the UK and Northern Europe in an interview with e-consultancy, July 2008. Read the interview in full.

*pg 322* Dove's Evolution viral, and its parody.

Here are two articles on the subject of viral marketing. The first is from David Meerman Scott, and the second is perhaps the only one you need to read on this subject in that it debunks the myth of viral being 'just something that happens' - The Secret Strategies Behind Many 'Viral' Videos.

Don't forget there are also viral marketing sections on my own website in tips, hints and advice and interesting articles.

It is worth noting that some elements of this section have relevants links in other aspects of the chapter - in 'blogging', for example, there is the 'Dell Hell' case study.

David Meerman Scott has an excellent book called 'the New Rules of Marketing and PR' that is well worth reading - here is an abridged version. Take particular note of the 'old rules of press releases' which supports my argument that 'journalists were gatekeepers of PR'.

That PR is now picked up by consumers [as well as journalists], see - How Journalists Use Social Media) is addressed in this article - Direct-to-Consumer PR Reflects Power of DIY - which offers tips for creating successful direct-to-consumer PR.

I make the point that online PR can create in-bound links to your site and so give SEO benefits this article suggests that the practice is an discipline in its own right.

This article - The Overlooked Strategy For Reputation Management - supports my views on the subject of PR control and being prepared for problems before they occur.

I make the point that organizations can 'manufacture' events which they can then publicize. This article - How To PiggyBack On Events (And Get Great PR) - follows the same tack.

In some countries it is a disclosure provision of publicly listed companies that they 'release' any and all information about the company and its operations. A decision - in July 2008 - by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to [under certain circumstances] accept website and blogs as meeting public disclosure requirements has increased the use of the Internet as the medium for press releases. Naturally, such releases will appear on a variety of websites - all of which will link to the corporate site.

*pg 334* Telecoms company appoint a 'Twitter-monitor': This article in 'Business Week' - Comcast's Twitter Man - describes Comcast's 'twitter guy' as 'the most famous service manager in the US'. A similar post is held by Guy Stephens, tweeter for Carphone Warehouse - and here is his advice for running a corporate twitter - Confessions of a corporate tweeter.

When I was in retailing, we had a maxim that if you could turn around a complaint then you had a customer for life. Well, this article - How to turn negative online feedback into a business advantage - has an element of that within its message as well as some good tips.

*pg 335* Managing away bad reputations on the SERPs: For a [probable] example of the practice, take a look at this page. Whilst this example uses organic SEO, you could address the same issue with advertising, see Beating back bad press with Google AdWords.

Here's a short video with some tips on reputation management. Note that the issue of personal reputation as well as that of brands and organizations is addressed. See Andy Beal talks about Google Reputation Management.

Here's some good data on methods used to minimize the impact of negative online comments.

Don't forget there are also online PR & reputation management sections on my own website in tips, hints and advice and interesting articles.

CHAPTER EXERCISE