One aspect of the concept we have come to know as social media is that it is dif- fi cult to differentiate its various elements – and making a distinction between social networking and online communities is perhaps the most diffi cult. In his book Marketing to the Social Web (2007), expert on the subject Larry Weber contests that online communities are ‘online sites where people aggregate around a common interest area with topical interest and often
includes professional content’, whilst social networks are ‘member-based communities that enable users to link to one another based on common interests and through invites’. It strikes me that those could almost be transposed and I for one would not like to go down a list of ‘com- munities’ and ‘networks’ and categorize each. Suffi ce to say that the digital marketer should concentrate on how to use all such sites rather than getting involved in pedantic defi nitions. It is also worth reminding readers at this point that we are considering these sites as potential elements of the organization’s online marketing mix and not as a social phenomenon. Having said that, having some understanding of the nature of com- munity and network sites is essential if the marketer is to make effective use of them.
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it is diffi cult to differentiate its various elements – and making a distinction between social networking and online communities is perhaps the most diffi cultWeber (2007) suggests there are three tiers of communities. They are shown in Figure 13.1.
These are built around what customers talk about most and care about most: school, profession, disease, hobby, sports passion and dating. Those communities that customers visit now and then. They are not as important or as immediate as those in the first tier, but are of enough interest to visit occasionally.
Customers visit these when they have something specific in mind. These would include financial issues such as a mortgage, or holidays/vacations where travel tips are sought for a planned big trip.
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Figure 13.1 Three tiers of communities.
Although some communities and networks have developed organically from groups of individuals getting together online, the big name brands in the fi eld are all business models in their own right – where the provision of online space for people and groups to communicate is a way of generating income – Facebook and LinkedIn being the most popular and best examples of these. Indeed, it seems the public prefer their community to be on a neutral, third- party, platform. Wal-Mart’s ‘Hub’, Anheuser-Busch’s ‘Bud.tv’ and KLM/Air France’s Bluenity.com are examples of high-profi le brands that failed with their own social network sites. However, this is not an absolute and it is likely that as Facebook – and others – change the nature and terms and conditions of use of their platforms, brands will be tempted to move their social media to sites that they own. Coca-Cola, who also had an early false start in own-site social media, now describes its new ‘Journey’ website (coca-colacompany.com) as a ‘rich, socially-enabled digital platform’.
Although many other online communities and social networks exist – particularly in B2B markets – it is Facebook which has developed into the social media website for large audience segments to socialize online. Facebook (and other social networks) offer marketers access to highly-segmented cus- tomers and a natural platform for interactive promotions and the opportunity to actively engage with their customers. As author of the best-selling book Search (2005), John Battelle commented on the subject: ‘previously, the very idea that our relationships with others (our social network) or our relationships to goods and services (our commercial network) were anything but ephemeral was presumed: without the internet, how could it be otherwise?’ Through social networking sites like Facebook, customers have come to expect that relationship to be anything but ephemeral.
152 Operational social media marketing
As was discussed in Chapter 4, for the marketer, social networking and online communities can be used to market the product, brand or organi- zation in two very different – although related – ways: as a medium for the dissemination of a marketing message or as an aspect of customer care and support. They might even be identifi ed as ‘above the line’ and ‘below the line’ marketing where one is more obviously a form of promotion and the other brand development through service and support. Note that although these are now presented as two sections of this chapter, it is inevitable that there will be elements of both that will overlap into the other.
A fi nal point is really nothing to do with social media marketing per se, but with how effective social media marketing can have a positive impact on other aspects of digital marketing. From the end of 2010, all of the major search engines have included community sites (predominantly Face- book) in their algorithms. In other words, having a large amount of ‘friends’, ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ can increase your search engine ratings. Sadly, some organizations see this as being the online objective for developing a social media presence – and fail because they do not have the culture to be recognized by users as being genuine in their intentions.
There is a reasonable argument that – as has been identifi ed earlier in this book, and not least that I have dedicated a chapter specifi cally to service and support – social media is most effective for retaining existing customers, not recruiting new ones. That said, in the digital age potential customers do use the web as part of their buying decision-making process – and content
featured on Facebook (for example) might infl uence that decision. This will be in one, two or all of three ways:
1. Information presented on the social media site by the brand, product or organization might sway a choice (the product is bigger, faster, etc. than rivals). However, this kind of information is normally sought on manufacturers’ or retailers’ websites.
2. The nature, culture and ethos of the presented content encourages the potential buyer to feel an affi nity to the product, brand or organization. This is more likely to be a service than a tangible product, but there are many products where the brand’s ‘personality’ is a selling point – Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, for example.
3. The input of the ‘followers’ is so positive that it encourages purchase. This can impact on either of the fi rst two points in that customer reviews or endorsements add to the validity of the product’s claimed capabilities or the ‘banter’ between customers and the product, brand or organization enhances the affi nity felt.
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social media is most effective for retaining existing customers, not recruiting new onesBecause it is an issue raised throughout this book, it should go without saying that any product, brand or organization that goes on social media solely ‘because everyone else is’ is likely to actually achieve the opposite of these – and so works only to help the potential consumer decide that they should buy from a competitor.
A further consideration is just what – in marketing terms – a Facebook account is. In another book (Internet Marketing: A Practical Approach; Charlesworth 2009) I made the argument that, particularly in the early days of the Internet, websites were actually adverts. I think it is reasonable to assert that even now some websites are little more than ‘any public notice . . . designed to sell goods, publicise an event, etc.’ (the Collins English Dictionary defi nition of ‘advertisement’). Could it be, then, that the marketing Face-book page is actually little more than an advert, albeit a sophisticated and interactive one?
My own research has led me to cast some doubt on the value of the marketing social media site. Certainly, as described previously in this section, a social media presence might infl uence a buying decision – but I have yet to fi nd anyone who has been introduced to a product via (for example) Facebook. It is far more often the case that if a person has a problem, need or want, they will fi rst resort to a search engine, not a social media site. Having identifi ed a product, brand or organization, then a social media site might help in the decision-making process. A prominent example of this (particularly for the majority of readers of this book) would be the choice of university where both off- and online sources would have helped identify universities that ran the courses sought, then as the list is narrowed down the would-be student uses social media to seek out the views and opinions of existing and ex-students. But wait. Will those views and opinions be on the Facebook page developed by the university’s marketers, or will they be on the Facebook pages of perhaps individuals, clubs, societies and so on that are associated with the universities? I use this as an example of the fact that social media marketing, like all market- ing, is not as simple as some people would make it out to be.
A caveat to this notion of using social media to seek out a product or service is the often quoted phenomenon that potential buyers seek out the opinion of their online friends when making a purchase decision. However, asking all of your contacts on Facebook if they can recommend a plumber, tyre for your car or ingredients for a ginger cake is not marketing, it is a friend asking for advice. If someone was to reply ‘try this plumber’ it is more likely the friend will then add a phone number or website address. Or simply leave it to the person seeking the plumber to put their name into a search engine. Of course, the plumber may have a Facebook page, but is that likely to include all the information sought, or would the plumber-seeker end up clicking on a link from the Facebook page to the plumber’s website?
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I have yet to fi nd anyone who has been introduced to a product via (for example) Facebook154 Operational social media marketing
An addendum to this notion is that the social media marketer can actually try to ensure that adverts for plumbers are featured on the Facebook pages where the original poster is asking for advice on plumbers (see Chapter 14).