This document discusses how to approach social media successfully from a social, rather than technological, perspective. It argues that to thrive in today's world, businesses need to accept that consumers are empowered social beings and transform business processes into social processes. Specifically: - Companies should find the "tribes" of people, both inside and outside the organization, united by passions, lifestyles or needs, and get tribes to help one another across areas. - Proper incentives like feeling purpose, status, and material rewards can motivate tribes to engage in social processes that are not just running traditional programs on social media but get others to help do the company's job. - Designing social processes requires recognizing that social

1. IT’S NOT ABOUT BEING ON SOCIAL
IT’S ABOUT BEING SOCIAL
Indian School of Business
February 3, 2012
Prof. Chris Dellarocas
Boston University
www.dellarocas.com

3. Digital marketing is the future
But 50% of projects fail to produce tangible
results
Because they approach social media in the
wrong way

4. A revolution is underway
But it’s not (mainly) about the technologies

5. In the beginning - all business was social

6. Then business starting scaling
Then business started scaling

7. But social could not scale
so it disappeared from business

8. Corporations started to develop
some really bad habits
Targeting
people
Segmenting
people
“Campaigning”

9. It‘s like companies are at war
with customers

10. It‘s like companies are at war
with customers

11. Then came the Internet and Social media

12. And because humans are hardwired to be social
Social re-entered business and commerce with a vengeance

13. So to understand how to do business in a
world of social media
You do not need to understand the …as much as you need to understand
technologies… humans – not as consumers, but as
social creatures

14. People need a sense of purpose
and have an innate desire to be
helpful to others

15. People value fairness and are
willing to spend a lot of effort to
punish unfair treatment
United breaks guitars

16. People like to do what others do
Iphone 4 debut, Paris
Ipad 2 debut, Beijing

17. Some people love status more than money

18. Homo economicus is dead
Long live homo sociologicus
People want a sense of purpose
People want to help and be helped
People want to be treated fairly
People want to do what others do
People crave for recognition and status

19. So, to survive and thrive in the world of social media,
you need to…
Accept that consumers are now
(re)empowered to act as social beings
So, you need to…
Transform your business processes
into social processes

20. A social process is NOT…
Running
traditional
programs using
social media
platforms

21. A social process IS…
 Engaging human passion, reciprocity and sense of
fairness to get others, whose “job” it isn’t to do so, to
help you do your job
 For example…

24.  Twelp Force Video

26. How to design a social process?
Find your tribes
Both inside and outside the org
And get them to help one another
Across functional areas

27. Find your tribes
Both inside and outside the org
And get them to help one another
Across functional areas

28. How to find your tribes
Identify passions, lifestyles or needs that
people form groups (tribes) around and
where your products can play a useful role

29. The product

30. The tribe

31. The store

32. The tribe

33. The company

34. The tribe

35. Find your tribes
Both inside and outside the org
And get them to help one another
Across functional areas

38. Find your tribes
Both inside and outside the org
And get them to help one another
Across functional areas

40. Provide
proper
incentives
And get them to help one another
Identify
genuine
needs

41. Incentive design framework [Dellarocas 2012]
Design Design Design
intrinsic status material
incentives incentives incentives
“Love” “Glory” “Money”
Feeling of purpose
Competitions
Reciprocity
Points and ratings
Monetary rewards
Fairness
Membership levels
Virtual currencies
Relationships
Honor badges
Perks and privileges
Sheer Fun
Leaderboards and
rankings
Manage interactions among incentive features

42. Gamification and badges

43. The SAP Developer Network
Stats:
1.4 M users
400K+ business experts
Original Incentive System:
Point system leading to
personal rewards
Results:
Bullying behavior in the
community
New Incentive System:
Point system leading to
donation to good cause
Results:
No more bullying in the
community
Source: Francois Gossieaux

44. Find your tribes
Both inside and outside the org
And get them to help one another
Across functional areas

45. Is this marketing?
Is this customer support?
Is this knowledge management?
Is this recruiting?

46. Social media is not
just about marketing

47. Social media are blurring the lines across many
previously distinct functions
Marketing
Public Relations
Sales
Customer Service
Product Development
Consumer Research
Recruiting
Knowledge Management
…

48. And yet…
Source: Tribalization of business study, (Beeline Labs, Deloitte et al. 2009)

49. To summarize…
Find your tribes
Both inside and outside the org
And get them to help one another
Across functional areas

50. Designing social processes
requires a leap of faith for most
organizations

51. Where do you start from?

52. My suggested social pilot project approach
 Step 1: Think tribes (not segments) - their passions and needs
beyond just your products
 Step 2: Think how you can help them (not sell to them, not get them
to do something you think is worthwhile, even if it’s charity)
 Step 3: Figure out how you can best offer this help through online
communities, twitter, facebook, youtube etc.
 Step 4: Assign joint responsibility for this project across departments
(marketing and customer support is a good start)

53. Remember
It’s not about being on social
It’s about being social

54. Inspiration – Further Reading

55. Questions?