Fishburn Hedges

13.02.2012

At Fishburn Hedges we often talk about the volume of chaotic voices that populate our world now that social media is the free to air pathway for opinions, views, news and updates from virtually every citizen on the planet.

It’s worth putting this is in to some context, these statistics were published in the August 2011 update on Personalize Media 

- 30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook each month Source Jul-11

- 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute Source May-11

- 1 billion tweets are sent per week Source Mar-11

- YouTube per day has over 3 billion video views Source May-11

- Google users pressing +1 over 2.5 billion times every day Source Jul-11

It really is hard to imagine that a media spend or brand-led campaigns could cut through the noise isn’t it?  However, there is a vast learning that brands and agencies can take from this, and throughout 2012 and beyond, we will be talking more about the value of understanding the trends and personalities behind the stats as well as the sweet spots and levers which make or break communications campaigns.  We call it FH Applied Social Media and it is the demystification process we use to sift through the valuable information available to us in our new ecosystem of media such as twitter, the blogosphere, social networks and other spaces on the social web.

FH Applied Social Media is our latest comms innovation.  It’s a methodology for creating insightful, intelligent social strategies for businesses and helps inform the delivery elements which are required when engaging with influential individuals and broader stakeholder publics through the various traditional and newer platforms available. Simply put, it’s about applying and expediting best in class communications across the wide array of channels made available to us by the new digital and social landscapes.  It brings with it many benefits; it’s a way of eliciting a creative brief inspired from complex data sets and actionable insights which help solve real business problems.  It may also help resolve reputation issues, customer service flaws and catalyse product development.

So what does it mean for you and your business? 

Can this help business operations?

Yes it can.  Blogs and twitter are fast becoming the flexible and dynamic channels to us in times of emergency to keep interested parties informed.  Travel companies, banks, and retailers have been among the first to turn to social media to serve and support customers during events such as volcanic ash cloud, earth quakes and product recalls.  However there is a need for risk assessment and viability for social media in business operations.  Dependencies and anomalies must be considered for each business scenario is unique; applying the methods of others does not necessarily work as an out of the box solution.

What can we do with social commerce?

There are plenty of ways to employ and create social commerce for businesses. The ROI of social media is a matter that is constantly up for debate but companies are creating real value by putting social at the core of their business models; GiffGaff is a great example of this with its socially driven business model. ASOS, the dynamic fashion brand, famously launched the first retail Facebook page because it made sound business sense to fish where its customer base is.  Exploring case studies and applying business consulting will result in a relevant and bespoke solution for your business.

Can we solve business issues with social media?

Social media offers small businesses a free to air service and can add value, especially when funds and resources are in short supply.  NGOs are always competing for cut through, especially in the current economical climate, yet Save the Children and The British Red Cross have raised global awareness and funds using social media with low investment and high returns.

Applying social media and social technologies to business issues is ultimately when the innovation begins.  This becomes more pertinent when traditional companies and organisations find their models are eroded by new and more interesting players in their field.

Facing fierce competition from licensed taxi companies who are differentiating using technology; London’s community of self employed black cab drivers needed to compete, but how?  Addison Lee has a fast performance iPhone app which finds you and Green Tomato Cars has a free in car wireless network while you travel, for example.  The London black taxi found a creative solution in @tweetalondoncab; a perfect example of how social networking tools can be used to match and activate communities without increasing R&D, manpower or overheads.  The added bonus for tweetalondoncab was that the novelty of the new service also got it lots of free editorial coverage in the media as well.  Ultimately it has turned the concept of the old London cabbie on its head – instead of standing on the street and hailing a taxi you can now book one using twitter. 

How does this have an effect on public relations?

Consumer behaviour has changed quite radically over the last few years and this requires new thinking and new techniques for Public Relations and Marketing Practitioners.  Social technology is no longer the zeitgeist; it’s ubiquitous and has been at the heart of evolution and revolution over the last few years both as an enabler and a comms tool.  Essentially, social media is the ‘people part’ of the digital world which means algorithms and finite formulae are not necessarily going to work.  Understanding the mindset of influencers and having close working relationships with social networks is a key way of ensuring the ‘people’ element keeps prominence.  It is therefore important to cultivate relationships with your advocates online and in the real world.  While online influencers have followings on twitter and enviable numbers of readers of the blogs, it’s important to remember the power of the individual too.  We live in the time of the 360 degree ‘review and recommend culture’ and it’s important to understand that customers now have a voice online and are able to influence brands and communities too; think crowdsourcing, trending topics on twitter, Amazon customer reviews, TripAdvisor opinions and so on. 

What if we have a social media crisis – will it be the end of our business?

Crises have been a major driver of consumer uptake of social media and this is no different for companies.  Natural disasters such as the volcanic ash cloud and earthquakes have been a game changer for many travel and retail banking organisations.  Domino’s Pizza however, was hit by a major crisis as a result of an employee prank which recorded on video posted to YouTube.  The company’s reactive strategy resulted in a very fast learning in how to handle a viral issue and reassure customers and regain its reputation.   The CEO, Patrick Doyle filmed a YouTube apology while the organisation made commitment to greater transparency which it has capitalised on.  Two successful subsequent campaigns have led to double digit sales growth; the first called “Pizza Turnaround,” showed real focus groups describing the pizza’s “cardboard crust” and likening the sauce to ketchup. In the advert featured CEO Patrick Doyle who vowed to do better and introduce a new version of the pizza.  This level of honesty shows just how well companies can perform when the business and marketing are interwoven and in tune with the consumer.  A second integrated campaign called Tracker ad campaign featured good, bad and neutral customer comments streamed on a 4,630 square-foot billboard in Time Square.

So what’s next?

For the corporate professional, these are soul searching times.  What should I use Facebook for?  Is Twitter just for chatting?  Is LinkedIn for job hunters?  What if people say bad things?  What would we do if….?   Consumer driven content and conversation have created a living lab which we can draw telling conclusions from.  By building a thorough body of research it really is possible to architect a living, breathing solution which fits consumer and brand requirements.

If you’d like to know more about FH Applied Social Media, do get in touch.

Posted by Eva Keogan