A simple guide to using social media for brands

1. make friends
how to
influence people
and
BBH Asia‐Pacific’s guide
to harnessing the power
of engagement marke;ng

3. THE RATIONALE
Social media con;nue to a>ract more buzz than a stadium full
of vuvuzelas – here’s why:
• Social media sites have more than 1 billion users worldwide 1
• Facebook alone has more than 640 million users 2
• QQ is nearly as big, with 635 million users in China alone 3
• In March 2011, Facebook has nearly 150 million
users across Asia, with 1.5 million new users
joining in the past month alone 4
• Consultancy Vitrue calculated that each one of a
brand’s fans on Facebook is worth the equivalent
of US$3.60 in earned media value 5
SOURCES: 1. ESTIMATE BASED ON REPORTED USER FIGURES FROM VARIOUS SOCIAL NETWORKS; 2. FACEBOOK; 3. TENCENT; 4. SOCIALBAKERS; 5. VITRUE.COM

4. THE NEXT FRONTIER
With compelling numbers like these, the key ques;on has
evolved from ‘why should we consider social media?’ to ‘how
can we harness its potenPal?’
The first step is to see social media for what they are:
an addi@on to all the exis;ng ways we can interact
with people and share value with them.
Cri;cally, they’re not a silver bullet: social media
won’t replace other media, won’t make a bad
product good, and won’t perform any ‘magic’;
they’re simply one more (albeit very powerful) tool
we can use when it’s appropriate to do so.

5. 10
commandments
of engagement
marke@ng

6. ENGAGEMENT MARKETING 101
1. Start with people, not technology
2. Create conversa@ons, not campaigns
3. Use content to inspire discussion
4. Deliver real value to audiences
5. Listen before you talk
6. Tell people about your efforts
7. Be prepared for awkward situa@ons
01
8. Be responsive and adapt as you go
1
9. Take things slow and steady
10. Be in it for the long term

7. 1. PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY
Facebook, Qzone and TwiUer aren’t the answer; they’re simply
ways of implemenPng the answer.
People flock to these social networks because they perceive
value in what they offer.
That value is most likely social engagement: the
opportunity to talk with their friends and share
things that ma>er to them – photos, videos, links,
their moods and observa;ons on the world, etc.
Understanding their mo;va;ons is key to understanding how
we can add value to our audiences and be a welcome
part of their social media experience.

8. “Content isn't 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. Conversa@on is king.
Content is just something to talk about.”
Cory Doctorow

9. 2. CONVERSATIONS NOT CAMPAIGNS
The tradi;onal brand communica;on model relies
on a>en;on‐grabbing tac;cs to win people’s
a>en;on, but does li>le to sustain that a>en;on
once the ‘campaign’ is over.
However, this leads to periods of diminished engagement,
when brands can lose value and compe;tors can close in.
However, by supplemen;ng these ‘fireworks’ with
more in;mate ‘campfire’ conversa;ons*, brands
can sustain engagement over longer periods of
;me, while adding addi;onal value to
rela;onships with their audiences.
* More on this topic from John Willshire (@willsh) here: hUp://bit.ly/1sLMjM

10. 3. CONTENT AS INSPIRATION
Having said that, content is s;ll as important as
ever, but its role must evolve to help us take
advantage of new opportuni;es.
Its contribu;on shibs to inspiring conversa;ons –
crea;ng ‘water cooler’ moments that give people
something to talk about and enrich their own
rela;onships.
We can s;ll share content in tradi;onal, mass‐
broadcast channels when appropriate; the key
change is crea;ng that content with an end goal
of conversa;ons in mind.

11. 4. SIZE ISN’T EVERYTHING
As we shib our focus away from an ‘interrup;on’ model,
brands will no longer need to rely on high‐impact ac;vi;es.
Something as simple as a short status update can s;mulate
considerable levels of conversa;on and build brand affinity.
Similarly, short video clips with modest produc;on quality are
perfectly suitable on social sites, dependent on the task they’re
designed to address. Even ‘user‐generated content’ can work.
The trick is to share only content that adds value from
the audience’s perspec;ve, and recognise that
there are many poten;al ways to do this – from
epic TVCs through to simple replies to Facebook comments.

12. 5. LISTENING IS THE NEW TALKING
In spite of some latent fears around privacy, ac;ve
users of social networking sites tend to share a
wealth of valuable informa;on about their interests,
habits, and brand preferences.
Such informa;on is oben worth just as much (and some;mes
more than) expensive market research. And as with many areas
of social media, the only cost in taking advantage of it is the
;me it takes for someone to collect and analyse it.
However, to con;nue to benefit from these insights,
brands must earn the trust of their audiences, and
only use shared informa;on to mutual advantage.

13. 6. LET THEM KNOW YOU EXIST
No ma>er how well though‐out or engaging a brand’s social
networking presence is, it can’t achieve its objec;ves unless
people know it’s there and how to find it.
Raising awareness of your social media property and
highligh;ng the value it can add to its intended audience are
the cri;cal first steps on the path to success.
Crucially, people need to understand why they
should give you any of their ;me – as with
everything else in marke;ng, that must be about
their needs first, not the brand’s.

14. 7. BE PREPARED
Brands can’t expect to please all of the people, all of the ;me.
Inevitably, something, somewhere will go wrong.
The trick is to accept this reality, and be
prepared for when it happens.
This means having a clearly ar;culated alert
and response process that ensures the right
people can deliver the right reac;ons in the
right places at the right ;mes.
Although such processes won’t prevent problems, they can
mi;gate the risks, and avoid molehills becoming mountains.

15. 8. READY, FIRE, AIM
Because they are a ‘real‐;me’ medium, social
networking sites allow brands to become highly
responsive in their communica;ons.
Best of all, social media provide the perfect environment for a
‘test‐and‐learn’ approach – trying a variety of different
approaches and tac;cs at minimal cost, and adap;ng the
overall strategy to make best use of the subsequent results.
Building an experienced, dedicated team to look
aber the brand’s social media ac;vi;es ensures
it can take advantage of every opportunity,
however tac;cal or transitory.

16. MEASURING UP
The key to making the most of that ‘test‐and‐learn’ opportunity
is knowing what we set out to achieve in the first place.
While there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ metrics when it comes to
measuring social engagement, every brand should set clear
and realis;c goals for what it expects its social ac;vi;es to do.
Simple before‐and‐aber measurements of the relevant metrics
will provide enough insight into whether ac;vi;es are doing
what you hope – and best of all, you can gain these insights
through the same social channels at only a modest cost.

17. “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)

18. 9. ONE STEP AT A TIME
Few brands (if any) will achieve overnight success in social
media; deep, meaningful rela;onships take ;me to build.
However, the rewards are well worth the effort.
Crucially, though, we need to take things at a pace
the audience is comfortable with. Some;mes, they’ll
ini;ate that rela;onship for us, crea;ng their own
brand ‘fan’ pages.
Other ;mes, it may take many months to build the desired
momentum. However, this is a long‐term
medium, so that’s fine – provided
the audience perceive value in what
you’re doing, it’s all worthwhile.

19. 10. SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IS FOR LIFE…
Brands can’t achieve success in social media by
dipping in and dipping out – it’s a long‐term
commitment that requires con;nuous effort.
However, as with all valuable rela;onships, that extra
commitment will likely deliver correlated rewards too.
$
Cri;cally, though, brands should remember that social
media are a business investment, and must ul;mately
build the brand’s value if they are to jus;fy their place
in the marke;ng mix.
As such, it’s paramount that brands iden;fy the best people
and partners to help bring their ac;vi;es to life.

20. Simon Kemp
Engagement Planner, BBH Asia‐Pacific
simon.kemp@bbh‐asiapac.com.sg
@eskimon