1. Sharing

Social media is built on the foundation of exchanging information. Or, as Wikipedia defines it:

And sharing is instinctively social. Whether it’s sharing advice, a funny joke or the latest gossip, people want to come across to others as helpful, knowledgeable or simply the first to know about something.

see: viral videos, chain emails, gossip, social currency

2. Status

A double meaning! It can indicate “What am I doing right now” (as in Facebook status), or represent a person’s prestige within their personal and professional circles. A person’s online status could range from informational, to too much information (“our baby just threw up the rug – how cute!”), to outright bragging (“I’m poolside at some tropical resort in January while you are all back home buried in 3 feet of snow – suckers!”). This has evolved into the realm of game mechanics, where users are motivated to gain “status” (or some embodiment of how influential or special they are) based on the social actions they take and achievements they reach.

see: status updates, tweets, Badges, Mayorships, Klout scores, “social capital”

3. Support

Another “S” with more than 1 definition. On a consumer level, it means real-time customer service conducted in public view, or consumer-to-consumer support via support forums where others have already found a solution . On a personal level, it means seeking the support or encouragement of others in times of need (loss of a loved one or job, motivation to stay on diet, or simply seeking sympathy because one woke up with a sore throat this morning). Social media has made people realize that the social web is one giant support group.

see: Twitter, customer support forums, Get Satisfaction, insight panels, Wikis

4. Shopping (and Savings!)

Social media relates to shopping in 2 ways – leveraging research and recommendations to make purchase decisions, and the emergence of new commerce models.

Social media has shifted consumer behavior from the traditional “sales funnel” to what McKinsey refers to as the “Consumer Decision Journey”, where once a consumer decides they are going to buy a product, they move into a stage called “active evaluation”, where the number of brands they are considering *increases* (the opposite of the premise of the original funnel). This is the stage when the consumer is intent on purchasing and they are actively researching the product, and begin to rely on reviews and ratings, comparing prices and tapping into their social circles for advice.

Shopping in itself has become more ‘social’, with a number of copycat Flash sales, group buying, location-based “deals” and coupon code aggregation/sharing sites popping up over the past few years. Who pays retail anymore?

see: Online reviews, Groupon, Gilt, group buying, flash sales, Foursquare deals

5. Search (and SEO)

A secondary benefit of UGC (user generated content) is that social media driven content is weighing more and more heavily in search result rankings. Social SEO is defined as traffic to your website via search engines, based on the relevancy of consumer-generated content on your site to keywords. You can apply all sorts of SEO to a product page on your ecommerce site, but all of the “likes”, shares, and consumer-submitted reviews and ratings will play a big factor in your content’s relevancy. And the relevancy of that content can be short-lived as trends/memes come and go and your content isn’t dynamic and gets “stale.”

see: Google +1, social seo, Facebook Likes, twitter trends, reviews and ratings, Social Mention

6. Sweepstakes

Who doesn’t like winning stuff? In the social landscape (especially on more light-touch touchpoints such as Facebook and Twitter), an easy way to quickly amass lots of fans/followers is to conduct a social media-driven promotion. Brands are running contests and product giveaways, and those entries in turn virally promote the promotion to others (as well as increase exposure the brand). For other brands, they are seeing the opportunity to leverage social promotions as way to begin developing larger scale CRM and loyalty initiatives.

see: Facebook contests, Twitter giveaways, product samples

The final four “S’s” deal with the darker side of social media…

7. Scandals

It’s not that people’s behavior has changed much over the past 100 years so much as technology has brought into the public eye what has traditionally happened behind closed doors. And more often these days, social media has been the medium in which the scandals occurred. Politicians and athletes have always had affairs. Band groupies have always been around. But with the prevalence of camera-enabled smartphones, the public has become a mass paparazzi who can snap a compromising photo and post in real-time.

Also, social media has provided a direct way for celebrities/public figures to engage directly with the public, which has historically been a tightly controlled PR machine. Many of these forms of social media scandals are the result of spur of the moment actions – an insensitive tweet or a public message meant to be private. These public figures need to be given social media training in the same way they are trained to handle press conferences and interviews. Imagine if Joe DiMaggio, Bill Clinton, Robert Plant or John F. Kennedy had Twitter or Facebook around during their heydays?

But at the end of the day, the biggest social media “scandals” really didn’t become such until they were picked up by more mainstream media. How many actual consumers actually got worked up about the whole “Motrin Moms” controversy?

see: Wikileaks, Anthony Weiner, Brett Favre, Kenneth Cole, TMZ

8. Stalking (and over-Sharing)

Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that most people were afraid to use their real name or even post a real photo of themselves online? The social web has lifted the guise of online anonymity, as people have shifted from using online personas/usernames to their real identities. By connecting a user’s online profiles and social media-based actions with other data, companies can mesh your social data with online behavioral data so they could, for example, better target ads based on your gender, age, number of children, or interests you have shared through any number of social media touchpoints.

Law enforcement, collection agencies and prospective employers are now using this information as well to track people down, conduct background checks and catch people lying (“I can’t pay my credit card bill, but here are photos of me on a luxury vacation!”)

For minors, there are legitimate concerns for parents about their children’s use of social media, what information they reveal and who they interact with.

see: Facebook privacy, Spokeo, Rapportive, PleaseRobMe, check-ins, online bullying, online predators

9. Sex

The adult industry has always been on the bleeding edge of technical innovation because, quite simply, they’ve had to be. They pioneered anti-credit card fraud checks in the 90′s, online subscription models, online dating, video delivery (including secure video, video chat systems, etc.), anti-piracy and even were a key player in the success of the Blu-Ray DVD format winning out over HD DVD. Any new innovation that gains wide adoption was most likely pioneered in the adult space first. While the “old” guard adult publishers are fading out of existence, the online industry has grown to a multi-billion dollar industry. “Innovate, or die” indeed.

see: chatroulette, webcams, online dating

10. Scams (and Snake Oil Salesmen)

Not to end on a downer, but it was only a matter of time before unsavory types would jump on the social bandwagon and figure out ways to make a quick buck off of others.

While historically online scams involving Nigerian princes looking to share their wealth or phishing scams that would trick people into sharing their banking info were done my mass-emailing people and playing a numbers game (assuming that even 1/100th of 1% of people were fooled, that would still translate into millions of dollars), scams can now spread at scale by leveraging the social web and the trust of users among their social media peers (from “Free iPads” to fake Japan charity scams).

In marketing circles, an entire cottage industry of social media ‘experts’ have emerged who have little previous experience other than reading Mashable or some presentations on SlideShare (what the heck is a “Twitter coach”, anyway? Were there “email coaches” 20 years ago?). “Books! Speaking engagements! Consulting gigs!” Don’t buy into the hype. Check their CV and see what they were were going 5 years ago (most likely flipping real estate). Ask to see actual work and case studies, and less jargon and hand waving.

At the end of the day, if you come across something that is too good to be true, then it most likely is. Caveat Emptor.

see: social media scams, phishing, botnets, fake charities, consultants, Twitter coaches

What does social media mean to you? Do you have any additions to this list? Leave a comment below or drop me a tweet!

Here’s a summary of our discussion:

Random House | The Building Blocks of a Successful WOM Platform

Through its “Random Buzzers” online community platform, Random House is facilitating conversations between the publisher, authors, and Millennial readers. In this session, you’ll not only learn the mechanics behind this program (2010 Gold WOMMY Award Winner), but also find answers to questions like; How do I best utilize a ‘Give to Get’ philosophy to drive WOM? How can I sell that concept internally? How can brands act cross-functionally to maximize consumer experience and program ROI? How do I employ segmentation strategies to optimize engagement? What are optimal content development and frequency strategies? How important are engagement incentives? How can I report on and measure online and offline WOM?

Visit the School of WOM site for more information as well as registration details. Hope you can make it!

(click the image for an easier-to-read version. Note that this a ‘living’ chart that I have been soliciting feedback/input on – if you have any suggestions/additions/changes, just post a comment below or at the SlideShare page!)

I’ve already noted how social media is not the same as Word of Mouth. And as the social landscape broadens, it’s simply causing more confusion as the term “social” gets slapped on just about anything to make it sound cool and relevant.

Above is a chart I’ve been working on that tries to illustrate the “social” landscape in terms of tactics and goals. You should be able to take any social touchpoint/tactic/business model (brand community, Twitter profile, blogger outreach, CGM sweepstakes) and plot them on this chart.

Essentially, this chart segments the social landscape into four quadrants… as a function of:

• CRM (social CRM or sCRM)
• Marketing (social MARKETING)
• PR (social PR)
• Media (social MEDIA)

The horizontal axis represents “owned” social channels (that you own/control) versus “leased” ones (i.e., paying a company for access to their network of consumers willing to try and/or talk about your product). The “partially owned” area represents social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook where yes, you can establish a brand presence but you don’t own any underlying data and are at the whim of the service provider in terms of metrics or even having your account suspended. The vertical axis represents the depth of engagement from very 1-to-1/personal to impersonal/3rd-person – i.e., “engagement” vs. “reach”:

In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with leveraging the social web to facilitate high-impact, quick hit consumer promotions, but at the end of the day was your goal to “reach” 1,000,000 consumers with a message about your product, or simply “acquire” a 10,000 email addresses into your company’s email database? As the social landscape broadens, marketers need to ensure that their success metrics are in line with the tactics they are leveraging. And that unfortunately can’t happen until you have properly educated the folks holding the pursestrings.

Tip #1: Motivation

If you are truly starting “from scratch,” with no existing customers (let alone an existing CRM system or even an email list), you’ll need to think about what will motivate a group of consumers to want to learn about your new product or service. Consider the use of an incentive to attract a group of prospective consumers. An incentive could be tangible (free T-shirt, entry into a sweepstakes), or intangible (the chance to help test out a new product, the opportunity to interact directly with product developers and like-minded consumers). Think about the type of consumer you are trying to attract and what they would value (what would wealthy middle-aged men care about more – a free T-shirt, or some frequent-flier miles?) You can build an experience around your product or service by providing an exclusive online community to allow these like-minded consumers to interact and share in the experience.

(Note that at this point you are not “rewarding” word of mouth; the up-front incentive is simply a way to get consumers to “hear you out.” They shouldn’t be obligated to do anything beyond this step. The consumers who stick around are the ones who truly want to learn more, be engaged and become product experts.)

Tip #2: Education

Discovery is a key element in triggering conversations. People want to be “in the know” – education provides them with “social currency,” since they will have valuable information/knowledge that their peers do not. Education also allows you to articulate your key selling points and better ensure that they are accurately passed along. Quizzes are a great way to engage and interactively educate your consumers. If you have a prototype/beta version of your product, provide a set of testing instructions and solicit feedback through the use of surveys.

Tip #3: Co-creation

The best way to develop an emotional bond between consumers and your brand is to involve them in the process as early as possible. Activities such as providing feedback on packaging and marketing materials, helping come up with names and taglines, or submitting photos documenting brand interaction or product use are just a few examples. Provide ways for consumers to show off (and share) their creativity and newfound passion, and gain recognition for their work. Encourage them to make it “their” product. Consumer-generated content is a valuable by-product of co-creation and can build awareness for your product or service months in advance of any traditional advertising initiatives.

Tip #4: Anticipation

As you approach product/brand launch, you should have a group of passionate consumers who have developed a strong emotional connection to your product (in some cases, without having actually used or experienced it!). Continue to feed their passion – continue to involve them in product testing, chats with product managers and developers, first-look sneak peeks and insider information. The trick is to release information in “bite-size chunks” – enough to feed their enthusiasm over a period of time and reinforce your selling points, but not so much as to overwhelm them.

Tip #5: Recommendation

Congratulations – your new product or service has launched! This passionate group of people you have fostered are no longer “consumers” – they are your customers. Treat them well; they are your early adopters and evangelists. They will be the ones sharing their enthusiasm for your new product or service (chances are they have already been doing so for quite some time).

Publicly acknowledge and provide these customers with special status in your customer community since they have been with you from the beginning. Be on a first-name basis with these customers. Invite them to special events. Send them birthday cards.

Lastly, don’t consider this the end of your WOM “campaign” – consider it the beginning of your long-lasting WOM program!

It is awesome (and for us at Affinitive, very validating) to see how many different elements that are key to a brand’s success are considered to be grown positively the most by Social Media (outlined in the chart below) over other tactics like advertising, direct marketing, POS promotions, etc.

“More than 90% of companies believe that social media is most effective in building brand reputation and awareness. That result is followed closely by goals for attracting website visitors, according to exclusive research in MarketingSherpa’s new Social Media Marketing and PR Benchmark Guide.”

Indeed.

Hmmm…What does this mean? I’m interpreting it as they are trying to help coach small business owners to utilize their technology in the best way to provide an optimum consumer experience for their customers yielding maximum profitability and hopefully, if they’re lucky, an increase in consumer retention.

While I appreciate Microsoft’s entrepreneurial economic resurgence desire, I am not convinced that this 20,000 square foot facility located conveniently (ahem) in Redmond, Washington at Microsoft’s HQ was the way to really reach out to the American people.

You would think that during these “challenging economic times” people would be shutting down stores not opening them, and I can’t help but be pessimistic about the self-promotional nature of this endeavor.  While many services that are provided to help people are certainly self gratuitous in some shape or form, it seems like Microsoft could have taken the show on the road, setting up a moving exhibit showcasing their services in multiple markets that would have reached a much larger (and much more representative) demographic.

If the show wasn’t made for the road and if the objective really is to help their average consumer, creating a “store experience” that would best help people “cut costs, create efficiencies, streamline operations, and drive customer loyalty through connected experiences” shouldn’t they have setup shop somewhere on 5th Avenue here in the NYC, in the Mall of America, Union Square in San Francisco, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Tyson’s Corner in Virgina, or perhaps in the Grove in Los Angeles, all prominent (and highly trafficked) consumer retail markets?

Instead of taking their “showcase of new and emerging technologies” to the average consumer, they are keeping it homeward, which seems to clearly decrease the reach and magnitude of this endeavor.

How much of an impact that this “Retail Experience Center” has on Microsoft’s image, sales, and how helpful it is for the average consumer within this target demographic remains to be seen.

One thing that resonates with me from Microsoft’s press release is how important consumer loyalty is.

I’m not certain what Microsoft’s tactics are for addressing that need, but I hope to make it over to the National Retail Federation 98th Annual Convention and Expo here in NYC where Microsoft says it will be showcasing this center at booth no. 637, so I can find out.

What are the best ways to utilize technology to hang on to your consumers while concurrently generating new ones?

Now this is the million (multi-million?) dollar question, one that I constantly work to address as I build relevant CRM tactics, programs, and initiatives for many of my clients that integrate with their overall CRM strategy.  Obviously there is no clear-cut answer, but there is a resounding theme that echos through: you absolutely have to talk to your consumers.

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft)

The Groundswell authors break down the opportunities within social media to mirror corporate structures, providing an easy way for people in research, marketing/PR, customer support, product development to find their path into social media initiatives.

This is a solid approach because it brings clarity and structure, leading to actionable initiatives. It’s also a good approach for a brand that is making their first foray into the space so they can clearly define objectives and measurable goals and ultimately come away with a success story to justify additional investment.

But what about the brand that has experience and is ready to take a more holistic approach? Or what about the brand that wants to leapfrog their competitors who have already been experimenting for the past year?

Social media and word-of-mouth are not about corporate “silos” – the most effective and sustainable programs cut through silos and have touch points across departments. Does this approach make getting a program off the ground more challenging? Absolutely, but it also accelerates corporate learning, improves results and sustainability of the program.

When did you say the Groundswell 2.0 bus was arriving?

Your product is being talked about everywhere by everyone.  A single product review can be seen by millions.  This realization can be terrifying, or it can inspire you to take advantage of this powerful word-of-mouth opportunity.

1.    Harness the power of positive. Your product isn’t going to satisfy 100% of consumers.  People are going to dislike it or have a bad experience, it’s inevitable.  But chances are there are customers who love your product, who have gone as far as writing a positive review or telling a friend about their experience.  They don’t have to do that.  That’s a conscious decision to take time out of their day to promote you.  These are your advocates.  Identify them, support them, and encourage these actions.  If you can’t find advocates, create them.  Find a consumer who has had a terrible experience and go above and beyond anything they would expect to make things right, for example.  Chances are that brand detractor becomes your brand ambassador.

2.    Energize. What better place to start the Word-of-mouth movement than on your home turf?  Invite your advocates to join a conversation together with you.  Reward them for their contributions.  Not only  does  this empower your customers to spread your message, it  facilitates a dialogue with your most loyal customers to gain insights and research into purchase decisions and habits.  Create a Groundswell.

3.    Cultivate and amplify the message. Use this groundswell as your opportunity to create a unified voice among your advocates.  Educate them and supply them with the resources to educate others, and the tools and means necessary to spread the word!

Apply this method effectively and let your customers do the rest. This assuming that your product doesn’t suck.

The first, Is the Tipping Point Toast, discusses challenges being made to the “influencer” model made famous in WOM101 books The Tipping Point and The Influentials. In it, Duncan Watts, a researcher at Yahoo! with a background in network theory (who has conducted a series of experiments, both physical and computer-based, to model the spread of “trends”) argues that highly connected people are not crucial social hubs and a trend’s success is completely random.

“It just doesn’t work… A rare bunch of of cool people just don’t have that power. And when you test the way marketers say the world works, it falls apart. There’s no *there* there… If society is ready to embrace a trend, almost any one can start one – and if it isn’t, then almost no one can.”

The second, Customer advocacy metrics: the NPS theory in practice (published in Admap magazine), provides a critique of Net Promoter Score (NPS) (made famous in the book The Ultimate Question)and proposes ways the metric can be improved. NPS…

“is based on the question ‘Would you recommend [Brand/ Company X] to a friend or colleague’, answered on a scale between 0 (not at all likely) and 10 (extremely likely). The actual score is computed by subtracting the percentage of detractors (those giving 0–6 answers) from promoters (9–10s). The middle section, between 7 and 8, is so called passives.”

The article argues that while NPS tries to be a “one size fits all” metric, marketers need to understand its advantages and limitations for different types of uses, and that is it better suited as a loyalty metric than an indicator of future business growth. Among the critiques:

“Critics, however, do not like the fact that useful scaled information is later lost in conversion. Are people giving a 0 rating equally detracting as those with a 6? Intuitively: no. Similarly, once percentages are calculated, is an NPS of 40, consisting of 70% promoters and 30% detractors, the same as the same NPS consisting of 40% promoters and 0% detractors?”

So, where does this leave us? Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on regarding these issues, it’s great to see that people are challenging WOM-related theories and metrics (I personally find flaws in some of the methodologies used in some of Watts’ experiments and feel that NPS isn’t intended to be a hard, de-facto research metric versus a rallying cry for employees at organizations looking to make a commitment to customer satisfaction).

To be honest, there is still a lot of “hand-waving” that occurs in the industry in terms of metrics, and as our clients increasingly put us to the task of proving the value of our programs, it’s becoming even more important for us to be able to support and back up our findings.

Related links:
Is the Tipping Point Toast? (Fast Company)
Customer advocacy metrics: the NPS theory in practice (Admap)
The Tipping Point (via Amazon)
The Influentials (via Amazon)
The Ultimate Question (via Amazon)