Social Media Working Knowledge

An Executive Guide
to Social Media
Edwin Lee with Scott Friedmann
Social Media Working Knowledge
An Executive Guide to Social Media 1

A Battlefield that Matters

Social media has rapidly become a battlefield that matters, as brands fight for share in the
marketplace. Companies are realizing that social media is here to stay and its adoption
for marketing purposes has already reached critical mass. The ability to execute social
media strategies effectively will be a crucial differentiator, but as often happens with the
acquisition of any new skill, many large organizations are stumbling badly. By investing
the time and energy to craft a thoughtful social media strategy, companies can avoid a
painful journey along the learning curve.
Make no mistake: social media is not an ephemeral, flash-in-the-pan trend. It taps into
our basic human instincts to share and discuss, and today’s technology amplifies this
tendency as never before. In fact, it’s likely that the ‘social’ in social media will become
redundant, as the social aspect is beginning to permeate the media landscape. Simply
put, it will be a given.
To be clear though, social media is not about the technology...not just about blogs,
forums, social networks, etc. It’s about how the technology enables the 4 C’s that apply
to consumers: connectivity, conversations, co-creation and community. The train has left
the station and long gone are the days when companies wielded near absolute control
over their messaging. Consumers are holding their own discussions about your brand
and re-mixing the message as they please.
There is an enormous opportunity for marketers to integrate social media into their
marketing strategy and engage constituents in a meaningful, relevant way. It’s up to you
whether you join the conversation or sit powerless on the sidelines (and by the way...
some of your competitors are already in the conversation).

Underestimating the Power of Social Media

The arrival of social media signifies an important shift in how public and commercial content
is created, shaped and consumed. This in turn shapes what we collectively experience as
shared knowledge. With respect to brand marketing, the command and control paradigm is
dead; it’s given way to a nation of active, educated consumers who are no longer content
to sit and listen to whatever corporations had to say. We are now a nation of participants
and influencers.
From the early days of consumer ratings and reviews to today’s twitterverse, consumers
are talking about your brands, products and services, and the message is being distributed
faster and more widely than ever. Everyone has been given a voice, be it through blogs,
microblogs, forums, video-sharing sites, social networks and other channels. And since
brands have become part of people’s lives, they serve as fertile ground for discussion and
co-creation.
Marketers are realizing that they do not wholly own their brands. Far from it, in fact. Social
media tools have enabled a distribution of the brand such that everyday consumers share
custody and shape each other’s perceptions.
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An Executive Guide to Social Media 2

Traditional brand communications run the risk of becoming irrelevant, as more and more
consumers listen to one another instead. In many cases, the hyper-managed and overly-
manicured brand messages on conventional brand websites are giving way to a new frontier
of distributed, consumer-driven content. This is a new world where your brand is on display
in high definition – warts and all with nowhere to hide.
Understandably, this is a frightening proposition for many marketers. Ceding so much control
of your message to your consumers is seen as risky and even irresponsible. However, the
reality is that you no longer have control over the messaging, whether you like it or not. The
smart play is to adjust to the new rules of play and join the conversation so that you can
exert influence (not control).

Marketers Should Stream Social Media into

the Heart of their Plans
Marketers should stream social media into the heart of their marketing plans; the motivations
are plenty. In today’s world of digital video recorders, pop-up blockers and banner blindness,
many conventional ads are simply not getting through. Many companies are still spending
tremendous resources and money on what is amounting to shouting at a brick wall.
Using a more savvy and subtle approach, marketers can employ social media to reap
the benefits of amplified brand exposure, strengthening relationships with customers and
prospects, and ultimately driving purchase. It is no secret that the influence of social media
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An Executive Guide to Social Media 3

now flows through the classic purchase funnel of awareness, consideration, purchase and
post-purchase. Choosing not to participate is often a mistake, as there is a good chance that
your brand is being actively discussed and re-mixed whether you have consented or not.
This is why, for a growing number of companies, traditional, paid media is ceding ground to
earned media in the media mix. This is not to say that social media will immediately replace
traditional brand messaging activities wholesale. Instead, it should serve as an important
complement and a key piece of the new marketing toolkit.
As well, there is no requirement that brands jump in with both feet right away. Embracing
social media often requires a massive organizational shift, and a staged approach is often
the most prudent step. Invest the time to listen and learn before embarking full out.

Bumps On The Road – Lessons Learned

The Web is littered with examples of half-baked social media initiatives that fizzled and
disappeared, ultimately damaging their brands. Companies were not originally invited to the
social media party, and so many made the mistake of violating the new norms and rules of
play. Attention must be paid to these mistakes.
First and foremost, authenticity is prized while fakery is reviled and swiftly punished.
Consumers are very savvy these days (in large part due to social media itself), and want
honest and open conversations. Using deception to gain entry into the conversation without
disclosing your identity and motives reflects short-term thinking. You will undoubtedly be
unmasked by the audience, who will not react kindly. An ill-fated example from the early days
of the Social Web was the ‘Wal-Marting Across America’ episode. This was a less-than-
authentic blog featuring a couple’s journey across America in an RV, encountering many
Wal-Marts along the way. The blog was quickly exposed and the ensuing fallout damaged
the Wal-Mart brand.
Another misconception is to regard social media as simply new outlets for your conven-
tional advertising messages. Offering the same one-way messages will get you lumped
into the ‘noise’ category and you will be ignored. Some marketers have fallen into this trap,
as evidenced by the fairly recent outbreak of twam (spam messages on twitter). Again, it’s
important that you were not originally invited to this party...you assume no entitlement to
having your message blindly heard. Instead, you need to earn trust by providing value first
before expecting anything in return.
And if you’re seeding your own media (e.g. starting up a blog), make sure that the content
is refreshed regularly. In today’s non-stop information-at-the-speed-of-light environment,
consumers do not have the patience for stale content. Many social media experiments
failed for this very reason, so the editorial calendar needs to be thought of well in advance
(during the planning process).
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An Executive Guide to Social Media 4

A Blueprint For Social Media Success: 7 Key Steps

As with any business initiative, success with social media rests on a sound strategy. Many
marketers make the mistake of fixating on the technology first (e.g. ‘We need a blog’) without
investing the time to formulate an appropriate strategy. Trigger-happy tacticians let the tail
wag the dog, with disastrous results.
Discipline is required to see past the allure of the newest, shiny technological object.
Discipline is required to look before you leap unprepared. With this in mind, the strategically-
minded marketer would do well to follow the seven steps below:

1. Understand the environment

Environmental analysis is critical to the strategic planning process. Within the context of
social media, this includes an analysis of your customer and their behaviors. Are they
even engaged by social media? (Hint: not everyone is...yet). How do they feel about your
brand now? What are the opportunities?

2. Define your business objectives

Once you’ve scanned and understood the environment, you’ll have a better sense of
the possibilities. Then it will be time to define realistic business objectives. What do you
hope to achieve?
Do you want to use social media for listening or for outreach?
Do you want to leverage your brand assets to maximize presence in
the social media environment?
Do you want to use social media to get input on your product development?
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An Executive Guide to Social Media 5

Do you want to use social media to create new levels or forms of

customer engagement?
Do you want to engage your key customer advocates?
There are myriad possibilities and clear objectives need to be set before you begin to
develop a social media plan.

3. Assess your resources and capabilities

This is reality-check time. A great strategy without the requisite resources and capabilities
will die on the vine. Take an honest look at your company’s resources and capabilities
for making social media work. The checklist is lengthy, and below is but a sample of the
questions that should be asked:
Do the members of your marketing team understand social media?
Do your advertising agencies have any social media capabilities?
(Hint: ask them to prove it)
Do you have relevant brand assets that you can bring to the table?
Do you have any creative ideas to encourage consumers to create more assets?
Do you have the people power to successfully implement the strategies?
Do you have support at the executive level?
Do you have the budget?
Is inter-departmental co-operation going to be an issue?
Will you be able to make timely decisions?
If you’re not quite there yet in terms of your resources and capabilities, you’ll need a plan
to bridge the gap.

4. Identify the risks

There is no getting around the fact that social media marketing involves risk. This is
especially true for those companies in highly regulated industries. You will be joining a
very public conversation, and so you need to be clear on what you can and cannot do.
The astute marketer will bring these issues to the surface so that he or she can develop
mitigation plans, such as the development of corporate social media policies.
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An Executive Guide to Social Media 6

5. Formulate the strategy

The stage is then set to formulate a tightly-integrated strategy that ties the factors above
together. This strategy is a plan to utilize your resources and capabilities to achieve the
business objectives that you have set, given your operating environment.
The strategy should be both focused and realistic (hint: do a few things really well
vs. trying to do everything at once). For example: create a platform where Starbucks
customers can suggest ideas for improving the store/product experience (see www.
mystarbucksidea.com). The strategy will consist of supporting tactics; it’s ONLY at this
stage that technology is in play. Only at this stage do you select the best instruments for
the job, be it blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc. Not beforehand.

6. Execute like you mean it

Strategy without vigorous execution is wasted potential. Once you have your social media
strategy, execute like you mean it. Yes, you will likely be navigating through uncharted
waters, but now is not the time to be timid.
Commit to following through and bringing your strategy to life in the real world. Be
prepared for some hiccups along the way (this is normal). And again, ensure that you
have the people power to build and maintain momentum for your initiatives. Make sure
that you are setting the stage for success internally by allocating sufficient resources
(people, time, technology) so that your efforts will scale effectively.

7. Measure and evaluate

Performance measurement and evaluation are essential activities in any business
endeavor, and social media initiatives are no exception. However, clear thinking about
Return on Investment (ROI) is today’s biggest gap in this realm.

Simply put, an astonishing number of companies have committed to social media efforts
without first establishing clear-cut metrics. This is an egregious error – after all, how would
they know how their initiative is performing if they’re not measuring? Not only are they
foregoing the opportunity to refine and re-shape their tactics based on performance
feedback. They are also putting themselves in unenviable positions when the time will come
for them to account for their spending to top management.
The classic measures of reach and frequency are vestiges of the old media world; they
no longer suffice. Unfortunately, given the relatively nascent nature of the social media
phenomenon, there is no widely accepted set of metrics that can gauge marketing
performance. However, this is no excuse for not taking the first steps to define success
measures. After all, metrics can be refined over time.
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An Executive Guide to Social Media 7

The digital nature of the Web provides a wealth of data that can be analyzed and tracked.
Unfortunately, this wealth of data can be overwhelming, and marketers may not know where
to begin. De-mystifying Social Media ROI begins with deciding on the shape and form of
the expected return, based on the business objectives (e.g. new sales leads, quality of
customer engagement). With this lens, marketers then need to familiarize themselves with
the options for metrics and track them back to those desired behaviors that are aligned with
their objectives (e.g. positive blog mentions for their new product). Once the appropriate
metrics are selected, target goals for each should be estimated so that the marketer can
track relative progress.
Once armed with all of the data above, marketers need to then compile a performance
dashboard that they will review regularly, in order to monitor and refine their efforts on an
iterative basis.
Social Media Working Knowledge
An Executive Guide to Social Media
Edwin Lee
Edwin is Director of Strategy at Idea
Couture, where he leads strategic
planning engagements for initiatives
spanning business innovation,
digital experience design and call
center optimization. His specialities
include development of business strategy, digital
experience roadmapping, process re-engineering and
performance measurement.
Edwin holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School
at the University of Western Ontario.
Scott Friedmann
Scott is VP Partner at Idea Couture,
where he oversees the firm’s
multi-disciplinary teams in the
development of innovative solutions
for Fortune 500 clients. He is a
dynamic executive-level thinker who
operates at the intersection of business model
innovation, social media and service design. Scott holds
an HBA from the Ivey Business School at the University
of Western Ontario and a Masters
in Management of Hospitality from Cornell University.
8
Idea Couture
Idea Couture Inc. is a strategic innovation, experience
design and social technologies firm. The company
brings together multi-disciplinary thinkers to fill a void
in the marketplace between strategic consultants,
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extensive experience at the cutting edge of the
increasingly connected world, we understand the
subtleties of how social technologies are changing
the business landscape.
IC engages in innovation programs and leverages
deep customer insights and social technologies to
radically challenge the status quo and create new
business ideas that lead to economic value creation.
Driven by a singular passion for understanding
customer unmet needs and social technologies, our
multi-disciplinary innovation process, a.k.a. Noodleplay,
uncovers valuable consumer and market insights
and inspires lasting, humanizing solutions.
Learn more about Idea Couture’s innovation process
at www.noodleplay.com.
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