2014 Social Media Strategy

VisionsLive - Social Media Marketing Strategy 1

VisionsLive Limited

Social Media Marketing

Strategy

2nd September 2013

By

Ben O’Hanlon

Jack Ramsay

Barry McLeod


1. Introduction – ‘Jump the curve’

VisionsLive has an excellent opportunity to promote what the company sells by implementing a

focused and integrated approach to its social media marketing. The plan focuses on presenting our

brand identity as an influential online space where experts come to share ideas and insights. In

addition, we will be able to use elements of our strategy to facilitate discussions that experts want to

share in. VisionsLive will then be better positioned to promote its products and services to the online

market and research community with both gravitas and authority.

Fig 1: Social Media Strategy Alignment with Business Strategy


The diagram illustrates a mirroring of strategic considerations that fits with both the marketing and

business strategy; where our overall aim is ultimately to become an authoritative and leading brand

in our defined market space.

Tactically and with additional reference to Fig 2 on

page 7, both diagrams demonstrate our need to

define our activities, manage the process of

engagement and capture / measure the resultant

feedback and output. In terms of classical marketing

activity this approach will allow VisionsLive to

capitalise on effective and efficient communication channels which mirrors exactly the same

principles as its products. There are operational benefits that will be gained in our use of social

media in terms of efficient and effective product and brand messaging, colleague collaboration and

market and competitor activity monitoring.

Although we will have a presence on most major social networks, it will be Google+, LinkedIn and

Twitter that form the core of our activities because

these platforms can be indexed by search engines.

The Hangouts are ‘cooked’ which involves freeing

the information from its original medium and

creating podcasts (audio), highlights (video), PowerPoint personas (visual) and blog posts (text).

The addition of a WordPress hub serves as repository for comments and activity and acts as an

anchor to the information. This then turns a short shelf life on ‘social’ to long tail on traditional SEO,

as well as serving as a direct support site for the main company website.

Google+ ‘shares’ and ‘+1s’ are direct signals to Google regarding authority:

• Hangouts are vehicles which are aligned with the interests of the participants (who have

authority in their space) and their ‘shares’

• Guest speakers’ Google+1s’ (as well as their followers) possess authority and give us authority

(superior to PPC).

The synergies between what we do as a business and how we should / could leverage increased

levels of customer acquisition and sales can be seen in Fig1. Essentially, operating and

Authority comes from not just saying

but doing: "Traditional marketing is all

about solving a channel and message

problem, whereas social media is a

behaviour identification and response

problem"

‘Our sales materials and demos tell.

Our social activities ‘show’.


demonstrating our authority and prowess in an online environment will provide a compelling case

for clients to feel confident in doing business with us.

In addition, a sound social media strategy will assist in overcoming one of the key business issues,

which is that our customer base don’t have a

reason to talk to us when they are not working

directly with us. Having gone to great lengths to

actually acquire a client, more often than not we

do not have a reason to continue the relationship beyond individual projects and thus do not

capitalise on their satisfaction with our team’s / product’s performance after the initial project has

been completed.

Finally, competitor and key market activities can be monitored through listening techniques enabled

by Sprout Social and twtrland for example. The internal knowledge base can be grown as part of our

integrated approach to the market place and more importantly disseminated and acted upon more

efficiently, due to the nature of the medium. Again, we practice what we preach to our clients.

Our Hangouts and discussions will

strengthen client relationships between

projects.


2. Aims

The aims of the VisionsLive Social Media Strategy are as follows:

This is a medium to long term strategy and requires constant input and activity. There is no quick fix

to achieving traction and recognition. Any overt pitching of or over selling of the VisionsLive brand

and its products will have the opposite effect to that which is required; therefore, a steady

programme of monitoring the spaces we are targeting to identify the questions being asked in order

to supply the right information, and engagement within the industry via the various networks, will

generate the reach that is needed to compliment traditional forms of sales and marketing activity.

Business development support and bought in databases are expensive. A database built from the

ground up, with a sound and robust data capture methodology, is a more considered and

appropriate approach. Our strategy will inherently build a quality database as a bi product of our

engagement tactics through social media channels.

A large proportion of our client accounts lie dormant for some time. Improved, relevant and more

regular contact will be achieved through our increased authority, credibility and share of voice in the

online environment.

2.1 Brand Awareness and Development

To ultimately achieve brand awareness and establish online authority by association with key

voices/ players in the online qual research and online community space. Increase the breadth

and depth in terms of the reach of our marketing messages.

2.2 New Client – Acquisition

To acquire new clients, advocates and partners organically as part of our approach by

identifying new people entering decision making roles and monitoring industry conversations.

2.3 Existing Client - Increased Use of Product

To encourage and promote stronger bonds with our existing client accounts, encourage

discourse, increase contact points in order to ultimately increase the use of our products and

services.


Reporting that compliments the activities of the Sales team with an emphasis on the ‘Top 5’

(competitors, spaces, hashtags, websites etc…). Each Sales person will pick one target which we’ll

report on for them per week, which will then be reported on and shared (the idea being if they have

a big decision coming up we can arm them with intelligence).

One version of the data at any given time, supplemented with immediate and additional insight via

our social media/ monitoring tools, will provide a significant step forward and one which gets the

business away from a spreadsheet mentality.

2.4 Improved Competitor and Prospect Insight

Incorporate and extend our monitoring of competitor activities and the industry landscape

online to provide a joined up approach to our marketing management activities - Offer

competitor and marketing insights internally

2.5 Improved Operational Effectiveness and Efficiency

Utilising connected, synchronised and intelligent software tools will ultimately mean improved

efficiencies across all customer facing and support colleagues.


3. Strategy Platforms and Objectives

The platforms and strategy that we will use are identified in the infograph pictured below:

Fig 2 Social Media Strategy Diagram

Connecting & collaborating will drive our social optimisation and we can then further define our

metrics as follows:

• Keywords - need to be defined and further refined so that we can:

3.1 Google+

Objective – Baseline Target: 1K following us personally (first milestone)


o measure shares

o G +1s

o YouTube views

o Social optimisation as well as SEO results (long tail)

• Monitor, lead, and facilitate conversations and connections in circles – Yet to be defined

Google+ Hangouts are a vehicle to promote our partners interests and derive information in

response to questions being asked, that in turn promotes our own interests.

3.2.1 Branding: VisionsLive Google+ Hangout

• Brand Name: V+ Hangout

• Key Attributes: Knowledge base for

• Tone: Friendly, authoritative and professional

• Style: BBC Question Time

• Duration of session: 1hour

• Script: Opening, facilitation style, closing

• Pre and post communication

3.2.2 Pre Hangout Activities:

• Map out Hangout briefs and the discussion points to be discussed. Keywords which we want to

target will be a factor in this discussion. The topic of the blog post which will support the

Hangout will be an important factor and defined by listening to the questions being asked in the

spaces we target.

• Identify influential thought leaders relevant to the discussion for the next Hangout; identify

where the value might be in terms of connections the participants will make while taking part.

This activity results in a list of invitations to send.

• Invitations take the shape of an initial email however it is essential we get the buy-in from a face

to face conversation via Skype or Hangouts in which the Hangout is pitched because increases

commitment.

3.2 Google+ Hangout

Objective – To conduct a minimum of 12 G+ Hangouts per annum.


• Set-up of the area the Hangout is going to take place in. It is important we have reliable

equipment, that the back ground looks good and that we’re using good equipment (highlights vs

hangouts)

3.2.3 During

The BBC Question Time format will be adopted, whereby VisionsLive staff/ representative manages

the time, prompts the questions associated with the agenda and probes the discussion where

appropriate.

The style can be described as follows

• VisionsLive adopt a stance of secondary importance to guests

• Relaxed formality

• Authoritative but never arrogant

• Humorous and friendly without assuming overfamiliarity

• Inclusive and open; ensuring that all attendees in the Hangout get a chance to air and represent

their views

3.2.4 Post Hangout Activities:

• The content of the Hangout is reviewed and a blog post is written around the themes (this

requires a discussion that results in a good title and agreement on the best way to package the

value gained in the Hangout)

• The Hangout video is broken up into segments which support the WordPress hub - each

segment can be shared and G+1’d

• The shares and +1 are direct signals to Google from people with influence that we have authority

within that space

• Podcast: the Hangout is stripped of the video and the audio produces a podcast (may require a

little editing). The podcast is put up on iTunes/ SoundCloud (which can be embedded in). People

can listen to this on the move and frees the information up from the visual mediums

• The blog post and is shared via social media and the ‘shares’ link back to the hub - People can

also subscribe to our newsletter

• Contact the thought leaders and ask them to share the blog post and the content that has been

produced

• Process of ‘cooking’ must be polished, fast and professional

• All activities are expected to take 14 working days of resource per month


3.2.5 Benefits for viewers/readers

• The blog posts filter the discussion and deliver the value to the reader/viewer

3.2.6 Benefits for Thought Leaders

• Connections with other thought leaders. A lot of value in the hangout for a thought leader can

be found in the other thought leaders they meet during the discussion

• Their values and expertise are promoted and their names and messages are shared

3.2.7 Benefits for VisionsLive

The Hangouts are a vehicle to promote the values and interests of the thought leaders because they

will share and promote the content themselves. This yields real value from experts and once

‘cooked’ to make it more easily digestible; the information will be freed from a single medium and

therefore more likely to be shared

• Google+ shares from influential people on the G+ platform and +1s will give direct signals to

Google that the content has authority and give SEO benefits

• The hub & Hangouts build real authority and credibility in the online community / social media

space (We’re not the expert we’re the space the experts go to! Identity)

3.2.8 Measurement and metrics

• Shares & +1s (shares are worth most)

• YouTube Views

• Re-tweets

• Google Analytics

A lead is a contact who has agreed to discuss what we can do; they will be in a decision making role

and this will be qualified, it will always be passed over with an email and usually with a telephone

number and a time that the contact is happy to speak.

The number of followers on LinkedIn is not important as an ultimate target.

3.3. LinkedIn

Lead Generation - 35 qualified leads per annum.


The number of connections we have is only important in terms of the yield we get from saved

searches etc. This will increase naturally from putting the lead generation processes in place. The

expectation with LinkedIn is not to be set around numbers of followers or connections.

The value lies in leads and opportunities that are created as a result of the activities and processes.

To gain a foothold within the spaces that we want to influence, we must first monitor # (hashtags/

spaces) for questions that provide key pieces of information.

These will be:

• Followers (social proof if you have a good ratio): Mentions (proof of engagement / trend)

• Include Competitor monitoring: who competitors are talking with so we can align with them

and report to sales.

This activity will provide vital visibility and intelligence from our key targets and will thereafter

define and assist the sales process as we go along.

4. WordPress Hub

The Hub will be a branded, informative and entertaining repository for all VisionsLive social media

activity outputs and as a centre for formal and considered engagement with the market research

and social (professional) online community.

3.4. Twitter

Create a virtuous process of refinement that results in a baseline target of1K following us

personally (individually) and 1K on our company Twitter. Collectively, this figure would be

between 3-5K depending on who is tweeting while representing VisionsLive.

4. 1 VisionsLive WordPress Hub

The VisionsLive WordPress hub will act as a key tool for driving traffic to the company main

website.


Whilst our Google+ Hangouts provide a key framework for our strategy, our hub provides the

foundation on which it is supported and it is important to understand that any content posted via

social media has a very short shelf life.

The content that is posted via our WordPress site will have an indefinite shelf life and will ultimately

provide a substantial SEO benefit to VisionsLive which can be measured and tracked:

• The +1s and shares increase the authority of the post

• The keywords we target will increase our prominence within our target searches

In summary, the VisionsLive Blog will act:

• As our information hub from which we can communicate material further

• As an anchor to the information we share capturing the authority gained from +1s, shares and re

tweets

5. Market Research Events

Although not ‘social media platforms’ in their own right, most conferences and exhibitions have a

hashtag and their own online communications feeds to enable interaction with event exhibitors and

attendees. By aligning our own hashtags and on line presence with these spaces, we can ensure that

we leverage value and even lead the way when ‘plugging into’ communication and event partners’

hashtags. We are simply applying the same strategy to a different space/tone.

Key industry partners are:

• ESOMAR

• Merlien Institute

• Institute for International Research

• QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultants Association)

• MRMW (Market Research in the Mobile World

• Market Research Society

• American Marketing Association/ Market Research Association

5.1 Conferences and Exhibitions

We will attend 8 major market research events/ conferences per annum


6. Resource and Budget

6.1 Proposed Marketing Spend

Item Number

Unit

Cost Total

Laptop 1 £500 £500

Desktop Computer 1 Existing -

Webcams 2 £100 £200

Microphones 2 £100 £200

Video Editing Software Adobe Premier Pro 1 £120 £120

Social Media Tools

Sprout Social 1 £1,600 £1,600

Feedly 1 £30 £30

Twtrland 1 £1,200 £1,200

Buffer 1 £100 £100

Online Ads

Google AdWords 1 £2,000 £2,000

LinkedIn Advertising 1 £2,000 £2,000

Direct Cost of Social Media Strategy £7,950

Costs include capital spend, directly associated advertising, social media tools subscription as well as

video editing software to ‘cook’ content for onward and additional marketing use.

Additional costs are associated with resource where both Rebecca and Barry (perhaps occasional

other) are required for the following activities:

• Creating WordPress Blog

• VisionsLive Blog content and update

• Creating Blog posts

Jack and Ben will be directly responsible for ‘cooking’ and working the output from Google+

Hangouts.

Ultimately success will be measured against the investment detailed as above.


7. Wider Impact - Future product development

There is no doubt that honing our social media skills will bring a bigger share of voice in our market

space. However, the wider impact on product development will mirror the company’s success with

BizCrowd and in turn provide additional opportunities to extend the online qualitative product set.

7.1 BizCrowd Strategy – Lancaster Chamber of Commerce (Draft Proposal)

An overview of how we might approach the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce has already been

provided as follows:

Freemium/Premium Model: The platform would be all inclusive because we’d offer a no cost, entry

level functionality where expertise and help could be sought. This would cost the user nothing

however it would get them familiar with the platform and they’d be able to see the other posts that

were being made and resolved which would act as social proof and help to justify the cost of

becoming a member. We create two levels, one is Freemium and one is premium:

• Freemium (not a member of the Chamber) can post ‘Needs’ and ‘Questions’ (these can

represent real leads to the members). They can create a profile and rate when they have an

issue resolved. Freemium draws people in.

• Premium (a member of the Chamber) can post and they can respond to ‘Needs’ and ‘Questions’.

The benefit of being a member is that you can respond to the ‘Needs’ and ‘Questions’.

Creating value and on-boarding: we identify when ‘Needs’ or ‘Questions’ are being asked in

local/business spaces and we invite the posters to make a post on the Chambers site as there are a

lot of businesses who will be able to help them (this is free!). We match leads/posts to businesses

who are members so that they can solve them. If we don’t have a member who can solve the issue

we can source this to non-members inviting them to respond:

• Twitter – listening for triggers and matching leads (on-boarding to the platform)

• Google Alerts – listening for triggers

• LinkedIn – listening for triggers and matching leads (on-boarding to the platform)

7.1.1 Very Scalable: The platform, the boards, the moderation is one job however we can package it

up as a separate job when we sell it. The different Chambers are in fact different verticals and we

can offer to connect them if they so wish. This means each Chamber can be paying us an annual


subscription and set-up for each notice board/vertical that we create however it is only actually one

job for us (though it might get better).

This could be very easy to sell once we have it set-up. Perhaps the pricing can be based on members

who join (so the Chambers can see we’re confident in it working).

7.1.2 Leads: The Chamber often gets leads and requests for help by phone and by email. We set-up

a process where every lead is leveraged to create value; the process is all leads are posted on the

platform. The posts can be shared and +1’d and will help SEO and the posts themselves are

structured questions/search terms (i.e. often the title will be a search term). It is important to get

the most out of these leads/requests so that they can act as social proof. Every time this doesn’t

happen the Chamber is missing an opportunity to prove its value to its members.

7.1.3 Benefits: The benefits of the platform to its users are that they don’t need to be monitoring

social networks because their Chamber is. It means the Chambers are cutting edge, listening to

social for needs and questions it’s members can resolve (in reality this means all B2B

questions/needs get spotted by us).

Notes:

1. The Chamber of Commerce already has the community built up; it’s just about transporting and integrating

it onto our platform. We have the know-how they have the community as will ALL Chambers.

2. SME Communities – Align with Lancaster University in terms of their expertise

8. Summary

In summary, VisionsLive’s marketing/ social media strategy will mirror its own products and services

to an extent that it proves to its customers that it is confident, proficient and authoritative in its own

market space. The Market Research Society and ESOMAR have both published white papers and

documents related to ‘the business of evidence’ recently. With direct reference to these, successful

integration of this plan into our business activities will ultimately provide ‘evidence’ that we (as a

business) are who we say we are and in the process will ‘jump the curve’ by using our stated

methodologies.

Document Ends

2014 Social Media Strategy

Marketing

Transcript of 2014 Social Media Strategy