(CLICK THE "MORE" LINK TO SEE THE FULL SPEAKER NOTES) AUDIENCE: Advertising professionals VENUE: Seattle Ad Club November 2008 luncheon SYNOPSIS: Last year we gave an intro into social tools. This year we're showing how brand communications can use these tools to be part of the consumers' solution rather than an obstacle in their paths. SPEAKER NOTES: (For the sake of this presentation, I will use "consumers" as a generic term that would include B2B "customers.") SLIDE 1: Last year, Publicis' Laura Porto Stockwell and I presented to you. Those of you who attended remember that we discussed demographics, trends in culture leading to the emergence of social media as a powerful communication/community channel, and walked through numerous social tools such as Twitter and Facebook. A lot has happened in the past year. We're assuming most of you are using social tools and our discussion today will be more about where we go from here. SLIDE 2: Since our last presentation, one in four of you has a new employer. Bloggers are regularly cited both on broadcast news as well as in the traditional press. Facebook has shot past long-time social network champ MySpace to become the largest social site. In fact, if Facebook were a country, it'd be the 11th largest, between Japan and Mexico. Many brands have taken to social sites and engaged in social marketing programs. Starbucks, Dove, AllState, and many more have embraced these tools in fantastic ways. Also, the Obama campaign has proven the true power of this medium. SLIDE 3: Forrester Research created their Technographic model to categorize the various levels of participation in the social space. (for more about Technographics, go to http://www.slideshare.net/jbernoff/social-technographics-explained) SLIDE 4: This year, Forrester updated their data and we can see several trends over the last 12 months. First, the number of people creating content has only grown marginally. But a large percent of the Inactives have become Spectators and Joiners. Critics and collectors are up as well, indicating significant numbers of Inactives are moving into the social space and participating, meaning the notion that social media might be a "fad" is clearly a falsehood. Once consumers have discovered the utility of collecting or joining, once they've found value in being able to express themselves or consume information, they will NOT relinquish that. SLIDE 7: Last year I showed a Google search on the word "Comcast". Comcast's official sites showed up at the top, along with this hilarious and very critical video, at position #7, made by a disgruntled Comcast customer. The video, showing a Comcast technician sleeping on the customer's sofa, had garnered 1.2MM views. [ LINK: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6958342899875420422&hl=en ] SLIDE 8: This year, Comcast has moved from target to participant, and is using Twitter to service customers. As people encounter problems with their service, they can interact directly with Comcast's Frank Eliason and get their problems resolved. SLIDE 9: Last year, Starbucks often appeared to sit on the sidelines of the social space. Many were perplexed by their seeming avoidance of social tools. This Twitter user is clearly curious as to why Starbucks is not active on Twitter. SLIDE 10: This year, Starbucks took to the social space in a huge way, opening up MyStarbucksIdea to solicit operating ideas... SLIDE 11: ...as well as creating an online community centered around doing good and volunteerism. They clearly are a social wallflower no more. SLIDE 12: So....should you be advertising on social sites? Not exactly. Here's why. SLIDE 13: Advertisers initially approached social sites like grazers at a buffet table. Each site looked like a juicy morsel of captive audience. 120-million actives! High disposable income! High literacy demo! Insane growth rates! These appeared to be perfect venues in

1. Beyond Social Media:
from tools to trust
ERIC WEAVER
AD CLUB
NOVEMBER 2008

2. PAGE 2
Since our last chat…
 On average, one in four of you has a new employer.
 Bloggers are regularly cited in the media.
 Facebook (124MM users) has surpassed MySpace
(114MM)
 Brands have taken to social sites
 Starbucks, Dove, AllState, Virgin America, Comcast, H&R
Block
 The Obama campaign has proven that social
networking has incredible power.

3. PAGE 3
Forrester’s
Technographic
Model

4. PAGE 4
IN THE LAST
YEAR: "
Fewer non-
participants,"
creators the
same, and "
far more
spectators

5. PAGE 5
So what was initially a way to connect with
friends and others with shared interests...

6. PAGE 6
…has become much more impactful.

7. PAGE 7
LAST YEAR:"
seventh-
highest
Google
result for
“Comcast”
was a
sleeping
technician

8. PAGE 8
THIS YEAR:
customer
service via
Twitter

9. PAGE 9
LAST YEAR

10. PAGE 10
THIS YEAR:"
soliciting
operational
ideas

11. PAGE 11
THIS YEAR:"
online
community for
social good

12. PAGE 12
So I should be advertising on social sites…?

16. PAGE 16
Let’s look at consumers.
 Attention-deficit
 Fragmented by niche
interests
 Feeling time-starved
 Girl Scouts merit badge
 Cell phone in the john
 Distrustful of advertising
 Spoiled by customization and
media options
 “Snack-media” consumers

17. PAGE 17
Power has shifted.
 SEARCH lets consumers
find people, products,
information and media of
interest & relevance
 EXPRESSION through blogs,
podcasts, opinion sites,
online communities
 SHARING items of value or
interest – globally
 Items they (we) love…. and
hate
THE REALITY:
To get what they want, consumers
generally don’t need marketing,
advertising or PR.
!

18. PAGE 18
Working toward his goal, he was confronted by a
daunting array of skyscrapers, interstitials, video pre-rolls
and pop-unders.

19. PAGE 19
This means the
days of
“controlled voice”
are over.
OLD SKOOL: the Pyramid of
Influence
Opinion-Forming Elite
NEW SKOOL: a Sphere of
Cross-Talk

20. PAGE 20
With so many voices, who do you believe?
People turn to peers for
recommendations
They also do this when:
 Risk is higher
 More choices to review and filter
 They have less time to research

21. PAGE 21
Social endorsement trumps marketing
60%
believe what “a
person like me”
says about an
organization (up
from 51% in 2007)
LEAST CREDIBLE: corporate or
product advertising (22% of ages
25-34)… hey, that’s us!
SOURCE: 2008 Edelman Trust Barometer

22. PAGE 22
Endorsement isn’t just influential. "
It’s widely shared.
56% of those aged 35-64 and 63% aged
25-34 were “likely to share their opinions and
experiences about companies they trust or distrust
on the web.”*
*SOURCE: 2008 Edelman Trust Barometer

23. PAGE 23
Ultimately, social endorsement drives trust.
78% of those surveyed
aged 35-64 and 83% aged
25-34 were “likely to trust what
they have seen, read or heard
about a company if someone
they know has already
mentioned it to them.”*
*SOURCE: 2008 Edelman Trust Barometer

24. PAGE 24
And trust drives preference.
88%
of opinion elites
choose to buy from
companies they trust.
85% refuse to buy
from companies they
distrust.*
*SOURCE: 2008 Edelman Trust Barometer
The boFom line:
Trust drives transac.ons.

25. PAGE 25
Build trust through Social Marketing.
The use of peer-to-peer engagement, dialogue
and connective tools to help your offering be
found, be relevant, be authentic and be
promoted.

26. PAGE 26
1. Be found.
 Optimize presence and content for search
 Place it in many relevant venues, fully tagged and
described (“social media breadcrumbs”)
 Podcasts on Utterz, videos on YouTube, bookmarks
on Delicious, valuable updates on Twitter
 Join multiple communities - wherever your brand
makes sense
 Be in the end zone

27. PAGE 27
2. Be relevant.
 Listen and engage
 Participate only in communities where your
offering would be of direct value
 Join as a person and member, not as an
advertiser
 Avoid the urge to push message

28. PAGE 28
3. Be authentic.
 Avoid glitz and high production values
 Demonstrate transparency and honesty
 Update frequently with less-than-perfect
content, rather than less frequently with highly
vetted material

29. PAGE 29
4. Be promoted.
 Make content easily shared
 Provide content or functionality with true value
rather than self-interest
 Don’t fight time starvation: keep content short
and sweet.

30. PAGE 30
Which tools to use?
BLOGGING
 Product manager insights
 CEO media/investor relations
MICROBLOGGING (Twitter)
 Special offers
 Event buzz
VIDEO (one-off virals or recurring
podcasts)
 Product how-to’s
 Personality pieces
 Company storytelling
 Humor
WIDGETS
 Content distribution/sharing
AUDIO (podcasts)
 Company storytelling
 Thought leadership
WIKIS
 Event planning
 Product development
 Shared learnings
 Distributed work-in-progress
SOCIAL & TOPICAL NETWORKS
 Brand awareness
 Community/CSR discussion
 Community building
 Feedback/testing/trials

31. PAGE 31
And a final note: consider your “lens”
Boomers/Tweeners
 Trained in formalities
 Don’t offend anyone
 Be the most acceptable to
the largest number of
people
 Privacy highly valued
 Interested in tech
functionality but often
overwhelmed by speed of
change
Gen X/Millenials
 Formalities ignored
 More interested in finding
those with like minds than
worrying about turning off
others
 Less privacy means more
ability to be found
 Digital natives – tech is
ubiquitous and easy

32. PAGE 32
Power has shifted.
 EMPOWER CUSTOMERS TO BECOME ADVOCATES
 EXTEND YOUR BRAND WITHOUT HIGH COST
 YOUR CONTENT APPEARS IN MORE PLACES
 Lives on your sites, on enthusiasts’ sites, on cell phones,
PSPs
 INCREASE GOOGLE RANKINGS
 BE FOUND WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT TO
GO
 LEVERAGE THE EXISTING TRUST BETWEEN
PEOPLE rather than trying to buy it

33. THANK YOU.
facebook.ericweaver.com
branddialogue.com
twitter.com/weave