This document provides an overview of social media marketing. It defines social media as internet platforms that allow people and organizations to interact and participate with one another. The document notes that over 1.7 billion people use social networks and spend over 10 hours per month on social media. It then debunks some myths about social media, such as that it will replace all advertising or that it is free. The document outlines common business uses of social media and provides 10 principles, or "Commendments", for effective social media marketing. It concludes by outlining an 8-step process for developing a strategic social media marketing approach.

1. MAKING FRIENDS AND
INFLUENCING PEOPLE
WE ARE SOCIAL’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
we are social • JANUARY 2013

2. 2

3. MAKING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING PEOPLE
SOCIAL MEDIA DEFINED
THE STATE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
DEBUNKING SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS
HOW CAN MARKETERS HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?
USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS
THE 10 ‘COMMENDMENTS’
8 STEPS TO STRATEGIC SUCCESS
FINDING OUT MORE
3

4. ?!
WHAT EXACTLY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA?
4

5. “ Social media are internet-powered
platforms that make it easy for individuals,
groups of people, and organisations to“
converse and participate with one another
in a wide variety of social activities.
5

6. The concept of social media has been around for thousands of
years – even early cavemen wrote on each other’s walls.
However, the internet has scaled social media to a whole new
level. Today, more than 1.7 billion people around the
world have signed up to a social network, and that number is
still increasing by more than half a million every day.
SOURCES: BASED ON FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD 6

7. JAN
2013 SOCIAL MEDIA PENETRATION
EASTERN EUROPE
48%
NORTH AMERICA WESTERN EUROPE
54% 41% 8%
CENTRAL
ASIA
19%
23%
28% MIDDLE EAST
ASIA
CENTRAL AMERICA
5% OCEANIA
36% AFRICA 35%
SOUTH AMERICA
SOURCES: BASED ON THE LATEST FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD (AS AT JAN 2013), COMPARED TO DATA FROM THE US CENSUS BUREAU (JAN 2013) 7

8. It’s not just the total number of users that’s impressive though.
Facebook reports that more than half its users sign in every day,
while ComScore data indicates that, worldwide, people spend a
combined average of more than 10 hours each month using the
top social channels. Indeed, social media have become so popular
that they are now responsible for more than 1 minute in every 6
spent on the internet – more than any other kind of activity.
SOURCES: COMSCORE; FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD 8

9. AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
TUMBLR: 89 MINS PINTEREST: 89 MINS
TWITTER: LINKEDIN:
21 MINS 17 MINS
MYSPACE: GOOGLE+:
FACEBOOK: 405 MINS 8 MINS 3 MINS
SOURCE: COMSCORE, AS CITED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. DATA REPRESENTS THE AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON EACH SITE WORLDWIDE, NOT INCLUDING MOBILE USAGE 9

10. Social media are a global phenomenon too: Facebook has users
in more than 200 countries, with India, Indonesia, Brazil and
Mexico all in the top 5. China’s QQ messaging platform alone
claims more than 710 million registered users. What’s more, with
interest in social media driving internet adoption in many parts of
the developing world, we can expect continued growth in the use
of social platforms over the coming months.
SOURCES: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES 10

11. JAN
2013 SOCIAL NETWORKS BY REGISTERED USERS
FACEBOOK 1,000 M
QZONE 712 M
TENCENT WEIBO 507 M
TWITTER 500 M
GOOGLE+ 500 M
SINA WEIBO 400 M
PENGYOU 246 M
HABBO 230 M
VKONTAKTE 196 M
SOURCES: BASED ON FIGURES REPORTED BY TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS AROUND THE WORLD 11

12. DEBUNKING SOME
SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS
12

13. “SOCIAL MEDIA WILL REPLACE
ALL ADVERTISING MEDIA”
This assertion continues to surface even in leading business
literature, but it’s unlikely that social media will actually
replace anything. Rather, social media are simply one more
– albeit very powerful – addition to the array of
communications channels at the marketer’s disposal.
13

14. $0
“SOCIAL MEDIA ARE FREE”
This is another common misconception. The media
space itself may be considerably cheaper than it would
be in newspapers or on TV, but the time involved in
creating effective content and interacting with audiences
means social channels still require financial investment.
14

15. “MARKETING HAS NO PLACE IN SOCIAL MEDIA”
Marketers that try to shoe-horn interruptive
advertising into social channels may believe this to
be so, but brands that strive to add value to their
audiences’ world will often find that their activities
are actually very welcome in social media.
15

16. SO HOW CAN BRANDS
HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?
16

17. If marketers are to seize the opportunities offered by social media,
they must first decide what they will use it for. Will it simply be
another advertising channel? Is there an opportunity to use social
media to deliver real-time customer service? Could the brand
generate revenue directly through social media channels?
Only once these questions have been answered should marketers
start to plan their specific social media activities.
17

18. COMMON BUSINESS USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING 57%
INTERNAL COLLABORATION AND LEARNING 39%
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT 29%
SALES 25%
HUMAN RESOURCES 21%
STRATEGY 16%
R&D 14%
OTHER 31%
SOURCE: EMARKETER. ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’ INCLUDE SOCIAL NETWORKS, BLOGS, CHAT, DISCUSSION BOARDS, MICROBLOGS, RATINGS, VIDEO SHARING SITES AND WIKIS. 18

19. 10
THE!
‘COMMENDMENTS’
19

20. 1: FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY
Social media marketing is not a digital discipline – it’s a human discipline that
is powered by digital channels. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
have all achieved success by satisfying our desire to connect and interact with
other people, but no matter how impressive it is, the technology is only ever a
means to an end. So, in order for brands to ensure lasting relevance and
engagement in social media, it’s critical that marketers build social media
strategies around people’s motivations, not the platforms’ technology.
20

21. 2: BUILD CONVERSATIONS, NOT CAMPAIGNS
Broadcast advertising works much like a pick-up line: it’s a great way to make
an introduction and capture people’s interest. However, it’s very difficult to build
a long-term relationship with pick-up lines alone. Social media allow marketers
to engage audiences beyond introductions and deliver more meaningful
exchanges of value. These exchanges are often smaller and less spectacular than
traditional advertising, but – just like in a good marriage – these smaller
interactions add up over time to form the basis of a much deeper relationship.
21

22. “ Content is not king. If I sent you to a desert island
and gave you the choice of taking your friends or
your movies, you'd choose your friends - if you chose
the movies, we'd call you a sociopath. Conversation
is king. Content is just something to talk about.
“
Cory Doctorow
22

23. 3: CONTENT IS A MEANS, NOT AN END
Social media content is less about creating a stand-alone spectacle, and more
about inspiring and fueling on-going conversations. Because of this, content can
take on different forms and roles: activities like asking questions, posting simple
pictures, or even sharing links to third-party content can all help to engage an
audience. However, it’s critical that this content all contributes towards a broader
‘conversation agenda’, and marketers need to give special attention to
sequencing different activities to ensure conversations evolve as desired.
23

24. 4: ADD VALUE TO THE AUDIENCE’S LIFE
A brand’s social media activity has to compete with a wide variety of compelling
content: updates from family and friends, entertainment, news, and activity from
other brands. Because of this, the interruptive ‘broadcast’ approach no longer
works. Instead, brands must consistently deliver activities that engage the
audience – activities that people will actively seek out, and choose to share with
others. Critically, brands need to add real value to the audience’s life by going
beyond statements about product attributes to understand the benefits that
matter to the audience, and finding relevant ways to bring these benefits to life.
24

25. 5: LISTENING IS THE NEW SHOUTING
People use social networks to talk about the things that matter to them. In doing
so, they share a wealth of information: their interests, their habits, their moods;
even their brand preferences. This publicly available information is often worth
just as much as – and sometimes more than – traditional market research.
Critically, it can help marketers to understand which platforms their audiences
use, and why. This understanding can then inform a powerful, multi-channel
strategy that engages people in different ways at different times.
25

26. 6: SPREAD THE WORD
It’s unlikely that people will accidentally stumble upon a brand’s social media
presence, so raising awareness of social media activities is a key part of success.
Advertising is a perfectly legitimate way of getting the word out to the intended
audience, but it’s vital that it demonstrates how the brand’s social media
activities will add value to the intended audience’s life. Simply inviting people to
‘Like’ a page is rarely enough; people need to understand what they’ll get in
return for their time and effort.
26

27. 7: ALWAYS BE PREPARED
Social media provide frequent reminders that you can’t please all of the people
all of the time. Most brands will need to deal with discontent at some point or
other, so marketers should prepare for such situations in advance. Similarly,
brands should allow for nice surprises too, and have plans in place to capitalise
on social serendipity and unexpected opportunities. A clear ‘3As Process’ – alert,
assess, act – can help marketers prepare for these situations, ensuring the right
people can deliver the right responses in the right places at the right times.
27

28. 8: MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS
Social media marketing is a business investment, and marketers must be able to
demonstrate how it adds value to the brand’s bottom line. Social media ROI is
not restricted to increasing sales though; improving the frequency of referrals,
reducing the cost of customer service, and even helping to track competitor
activity are all ways in which social media can contribute to a brand’s overall
success. Measuring ROI needn’t be complicated either; simple before-and-after
measurements of metrics tied to original objectives can provide rich insights into
whether activities are delivering on expectations.
28

29. 9: OPTIMISE AS YOU GO
Unlike the ‘ready, aim, fire’ paradigm of broadcast media, social media offer
marketers the opportunity to stop, start, or change elements of their activities in
real-time, depending on the audience’s response (or lack thereof). As a result,
marketers can adopt a ‘test-and-learn’ approach, trialling different approaches
and adapting their strategy based on their results. Consequently, regular
reporting should play a key part in any social media strategy.
29

30. “ You can’t hurry love,
No, you just have to wait;
Love don’t come easy,
It’s a game of give and take
The Supremes (1966)
“
30

31. 10: BE IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM
Deep, meaningful relationships take time to build, and marketers need to take
things at a pace that the audience is comfortable with. Sometimes the audience
will initiate the conversation, but other times, it may take many months to build
the desired momentum. Either way, brands can’t achieve lasting success in social
media by dipping in and out; they must adopt a long-term, committed
approach. This usually involves building a dedicated social media team –
whether internally, or with the help of a partner agency – that can take
advantage of every social opportunity, however unexpected, tactical or transitory.
31

32. 1. FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY
2. BUILD CONVERSATIONS, NOT CAMPAIGNS
3. USE CONTENT AS A MEANS, NOT AS AN END
4. ADD VALUE TO THE AUDIENCE’S LIFE
5. LISTENING IS THE NEW SHOUTING
6. SPREAD THE WORD
7. ALWAYS BE PREPARED
8. MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS
9. OPTIMISE AS YOU GO
10. BE IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM
32

33. SO HOW CAN YOU GET STARTED WITH
STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
33

34. 8STEPS TO
STRATEGIC
SUCCESS
34

35. STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
35

36. STEP 2: MONITOR AND INTERPRET
YOUR AUDIENCE’S CONVERSATIONS
36

37. STEP 3: UNDERSTAND YOUR
AUDIENCE’S MOTIVATIONS
37

38. STEP 4: IDENTIFY HOW YOUR BRAND CAN
ADD VALUE TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S WORLD
38

39. STEP 5: SELECT
YOUR PLATFORMS
39

40. STEP 6: STRATEGISE
YOUR CONTENT APPROACH
40

41. STEP 7: TEST
AND LEARN
41

42. STEP 8: RINSE
AND REPEAT
42

43. 8
1: SET YOUR OBJECTIVES
2: MONITOR CONVERSATIONS
3: UNDERSTAND MOTIVATIONS
4: IDENTIFY HOW TO ADD VALUE
5: SELECT YOUR PLATFORMS
6: STRATEGISE YOUR APPROACH
7: TEST AND LEARN
8: RINSE AND REPEAT
43

44. FIND OUT MORE AT
WEARESOCIAL.SG
44

45. WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,
AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S
TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING UNILEVER, ADIDAS, INTEL,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LOUIS VUITTON.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU
TOO, CALL SIMON KEMP ON +65 9146 5356, OR
EMAIL US AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG.
FIND OUT MORE AT WEARESOCIAL.SG.

46. WE ARE SOCIAL SINGAPORE
@WEARESOCIALSG
+65 9146 5356
SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG
WEARESOCIAL.SG