Fickle Friends:

Moving Beyond Fans and Followers

Robin Hamman

@Cybersoc

I’ve had a few jobs. Thankfully, the last three have shared a common

colour scheme

And have learned a few things…

“I know you’re interested in it,

but I really don’t think there

are any proper jobs doing,

well, that…”

Since then, I’ve worked with a handful of clients you might have heard

of…

Some things I’ve learned… about audiences, communities and

“engagement”

There must be an opportunity here for brands, right?!

fickleˈfɪk(ə)l/

adjective

changing frequently, especially as regards

one's loyalties or affections

Follow me, like me, fan me… please please please just bloody click

something!!

master brands

differentiated products

individual properties

“Today we’re celebrating our

100,000th Facebook fan!”

• Fortune 500 client* with a global footprint

• Approximately 80% of revenue from B2B

sales, predominantly in the infrastructure and

manufacturing sector

• For six weeks, they ran an F1 ticket

competition on Facebook, boosting their fan

base dramatically

• A quick look at the new fans and their

comments, however, told us the vast majority

of them were 19 year old petrol heads, not

decision makers in the manufacturing

industry

* it wasn’t the brand shown right

“I don’t think innovation is

working for us - everybody is

innovative these days…”

I’d asked the Global Head of Communications

and Marketing to walk me through his brand*

values.

I didn’t expect him, during that very meeting, to

throw out “innovation” for “integrity”.

* it wasn’t the brand shown right

“The CEO Googled his/her name…”, “we know it will be important

because our competitors are there…”, “we’re all about recruitment…”

[insert name of CEO here]

…yet few brands (and fewer social consultants) ever talk about ROI…

The AVE Isn’t Dead

But it should be!

“Overall, we achieved good performance in February…”

Fans

Last Month

Fans

This Month

User Actions

Last Month

Agency

Output

Facebook 22,536 24,202 +4% 25 updates

Twitter 12,003 13,425 +3% 25 tweets

Instagram 8001 8560 +5% 10 updates

YouTube 450 520 +1%1 video;

3 comments

Organic reach is (nearly) over

Facebook, which has been tweaking it’s

algorithm for some time, has recently announced

the end of “free advertising” for page owners.

What this means is that brands will soon have to

pay to reach their own fans.

http://social.ogilvy.com/facebook-zero-considering-life-after-the-demise-of-organic-reach/

Which has (maybe) been

good for shareholders…

This graph suggests a correlation between

Facebook’s share price and the “reach-

apocalypse”- what’s bad for brands, might just be

good for Facebook.

http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-tools/this-chart-explains-the-

reachpocalypse-and-why-facebook-is-laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank/

What Options Does This

Leave Brands?

• Abandon Facebook - but other services

will probably follow Facebook’s tactics as

they seek to monetise

• Pay - but that will get expensive

• Focus on advocacy - because your brand

advocates won’t get throttled by the

Facebook algorithm in the same punitive

way as a brand page

• Do something that’s actually strategically

meaningful - because then you’ll be

creating value

strategystrat-i-jee

noun

a plan, method or series of manoeuvres for

obtaining a specific goal or result

Your brand needs a clear purpose. Keep it simple.

It’s about people, stupid

• Brand success in social has very little to

do with technology

• Almost nothing to do with technology

• Almost nothing whatsoever

• It’s about understanding human behaviour

and motivations for it, then linking those

directly to business objectives

Silos Don’t Work in Social

Don’t force your customers to navigate your

organisational complexities - it won’t work.

Social is Everyone’s

Responsibility

Define the strategy and establish

processes to implement

Business

Objectives

Functional /

Market

Objectives

Personal

Motivations

Customer

Objectives

Stra

tegy &

Go

vern

an

ceU

p-s

kill

& E

xecute

Engage & Reward

Inve

stm

en

t & T

oo

ls

Measurement

Learn

& I

mpro

ve

Social

Brand

Guid

elin

es &

Pro

cesses

Alignment

Follo

w &

Lead

Shareholder value, personal achievement, to make a well considered

purchase… mostly it’s about fame and fortune and/or social currency

Audiences + Motivations (Business

Functions + Objectives) = Strategic

Approach

Channel Core Audience User Motivation Internal Owners Measurable Objectives

FacebookCustomers &

Prospects

Offers and

Competitions (Paid)

Marketing, Brand (PR),

Employer Brand (HR)

Conversions, Click-Throughs,

Brand Awareness/Preference,

Retail Footfall

Twitter CustomersCustomer Support

and Announcements

Customer Care, Media

Relations (PR), Brand (PR)

Reduction of call centre costs,

customer satisfaction rates, #

coverage generated

InstagramCustomers &

Prospectsxxx Inspiration Brand (PR)

Brand Awareness/Preference,

Click-Throughs, Conversions

LinkedInEmployee,

Industry, Investors

Professional

Insight/Opportunities

Employer Brand (HR),

Thought Leadership (PR/IR)

Job seeker preference,

applications

YouTubeCustomers &

Prospects

xxx Inspiration /

ConsiderationBrand (PR), Marketing

Awareness/Preference, Click-

Throughs, Conversions

“Social Media” = fickle friend

“Social Business” = BFF

Xвала Robin Hamman

@Cybersoc