Social Media Marketing + Social Capital

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So how do consumers exercise the power they have?

Through engagement, demand more authentic communication

Learn more about what companies are doing:

Google Think: http://www.google.com/think/

Wildfire Reports: http://www.wildfireapp.com/asset-library

Wildfire Monitor: http://www.wildfireapp.com/products/monitor

Crap detection & mindful infotention

Ignore the hundreds of thousands of social media "gurus" claiming expertise within the field

Be mindful of calls to action

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Chat with Wildfire

Elijah: How do you measure actual effectiveness?

Wildfire: Effectiveness depends on what client wants and how they want to achieve that goal. Sales, leads, and/or likes can be metrics; additionally, talking about the brand, if trackable, is useful. Some brands are simply more social than others, so it's important to keep that in mind for different clients. Measuring campaigns can point to social capital. Social media isn’t a fix-all; instead, we figure out how company operates and where social can fit in.

Elijah: Are customers fatigued by these efforts? If so, how do you plan to compete with that?

Wildfire: Social media marketing executed incorrectly can lead to fatigue, however, social media can be marketing without directly pushing sales or an action. It's important to teach clients to avoid saturation.

Elijah: Are you, and social media marketing, more generally, one step ahead of the consumer or vice versa?

Wildfire: There needs to be a balance of the two, but there are other factors at play definitely. Trends indicate that the proliferation of mobile devices inform the landscape. Consumer is a bit ahead and social media marketing is trying to catch up and develop its offering to incorporate such channels.

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Wildfire Interactive -

Wildfire, a division of Google, is one of the world’s largest social media marketing software providers, with over 21,000 paying customers worldwide, including 30 of the world's 50 most valuable brands. Wildfire's Social Marketing Suite combines best-of-breed social promotion and advertising software, robust mobile and desktop page management, messaging and sophisticated real-time analytics in one complete platform.  The combination of Wildfire’s technology with Google’s advertising solutions will help provide a more holistic way for brands to manage and optimize their marketing efforts and spend across all digital channels, including search, display, video, mobile, and social.

Here's an example of a Virgin Atlantic campaign:

Here's a campaign Wildfire did for Nivea:

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Chat with Google Plus

Elijah: How do you measure actual effectiveness?

Google +: Effectiveness depends on what exactly the company did, if the publicized their efforts actively, if they got the engagement they wanted, etc. Usually measured through number of views of the Hangout on Air, increase in the # of Followers, increase in the # of +1s. If they ran ads on Google, we would also look at the click through rate. Just one campaign doesn't indicate the social capital the company has, but seeing the levels of engagement is a pretty good indication of how many people recognize the brand and want to be involved with the brand. Another good way to measure this is to run more than one campaign and then to measure the change in the engagement.

Elijah: Are customers fatigued by these efforts? If so, how do you plan to compete with that?

Google +: I think consumers thrive off social media targeting and events. Consumers spend a lot of time on social media, it has become a part of their daily activity. I don't know if consumers will necessarily take the time to participate in a Hangout on Air or even watch a video, but they do engage very actively with pictures, short video clips, and text posts (by engage I mean they +1 or share). With G+ we are committed to showing the consumer the right content at the right time. We don't want to randomly show them something that is disconnected with their searches, or something that ruins an online experience. We very much believe in that. I think there are some competitors out there who show social media content at irrelevant times, which makes customers irritated at times.

Elijah: Are you, and social media marketing, more generally, one step ahead of the consumer or vice versa?

Google +: I definitely think that there is a balance between the two. We conduct social media because we understand human nature and the way people will react/respond to it.

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Google+ - Marketing Engagement

Google has focused on social media marketing from it's start, but G+ was launched in June 2011. A lot of businesses (small, medium, and large) use G+ to build an online presence.

Here's an example of Burberry's Google+ page:

Campaigns on G+ can vary, depends on the business. But typically businesses will use G+ to create an identity online, reach customers, and build relationships with customers. A campaign may include creating a G+ page, posting pictures/videos and other content on it. Usually campaigns are centralized around a specific product launch or important time for the company. Usually these campaigns include a Hangout on Air where there is an expert in the product on a Hangout and 9 other people to talk about. They broadcast this Hangout live and record so people can view later. You can see some examples of Hangouts on Air here. Usually the company will publicize the Hangout through online ads (with Google and with other platforms as well). The general goals of the campaign are to increase brand awareness, increase # of customers, and increase customer retention. 

Google+ Case Study

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Chat with Pixlee

Elijah: How do you measure actual effectiveness?

Pixlee: We look at the following: how much are they saving by not building a similar platforms, media ROI (i.e., certain number of impressions/CPM per photo), conversion rates – whether photo was liked/shared and did it lead to direct sale. However, engagement is the ultimate metric.

Elijah: Are customers fatigued by these efforts? If so, how do you plan to compete with that?

Pixlee: We haven’t seen consumer fatigue yet, but we see potential of that happening. One of our core beliefs, however, is that whenever you take a picture of a brand you love, you should be able to engage with the company.

Elijah: Are you, and social media marketing, more generally, one step ahead of the consumer or vice versa?

Pixlee: Consumers are more reactive than proactive. Eventually, we want to be less of a social media marketing tool and more of a company that manages data using social media. We simply see photos as a key part of enterprise marketing because of data it can provide.

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Pixlee - Marketing Companies Via User-Generated Photos

"Pixlee helps companies market using authentic customer photos. Our technology makes it simple to collect photos from existing social media platforms, curate them in a centralize location, an instantly publish on your website and other social media channels."

The company started as a collaborative photo-sharing means; further research showed organizations and businesses found the most use, revealing a huge untapped marketing opportunity. The company's platform centralizes and curates photos, uses photo intelligence to allow users to see photos most relevant to them, and provides actionable analytics and insights for the client.

Pixlee helps customers feel connected to a particular brand and helps promote authenticity by highlighting major and minor customers. Customer pages on client websites feature social links and encourage sales to gauge effectiveness. 

How It Works! | Pixlee Case Study: SF 49ers

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Trust & Authencticity

How do companies build the aforementioned trust and authenticity?

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What exactly is social capital?

Howard Rheingold offers the following in his book Net Smart: How to Thrive Online:

"Social capital is key to the power of online social relationships, where individuals and groups can cultivate, grow, and benefit from it."

"Social capital emerges from the interactions of groups and networks in relationship, nor from the insulated behavior of any individual."

"Social capital, unlike conventional capital, is a public good, and must often be produced as a by-product of other social activities."

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Research Questions

How are different companies operating in the social media marketing space?

How are companies able to gain or lose social capital via social media marketing and the affiliated exploitation of social networks?

How can improved crap detection and infotention abilities disrupt how social media marketing efforts happen?

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But is social media marketing real? 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/opinion/sunday/can-social-media-sell-soap.html

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So why be social? Our friends influence us more than any advertising or marketing campaign could ever dream of doing. They directly impact what we watch, read, and wear; where we live; and where we travel.

Shel Israel, Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers (2006)

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We live in a time when most people don’t trust big companies. Headlines gush with tales of malfeasance, abuse, and old-fashioned plunder, but that’s just part of the problem. There’s a general perception that large companies are run by slick lawyers and book-fixing accountants who oversee armies of obedient, drone-like employees. Companies are perceived as monoliths without souls. In short, we see no humanity.

Shel Israel, Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers (2006)