In her BlogWell New York presentation, Michelin North America's Digital Consumer Experience Manager, Carrie Woodward, talks about how they took fans of the brand and created a new level of ambassadors. Based on her experience, she shares her do's and don'ts for finding and empowering your true brand advocates.

1. SocialMedia.org
Video Case Studies
Carrie Woodward
“Social community” on the micro level
This video is from
BlogWell
San Francisco
June 20, 2011
socialmedia.org/blogwell
SocialMedia.org
Case Studies
This presentation is from
BlogWell
New York
April 2, 2014
socialmedia.org/blogwell

2. Title / Author / Date / Confidentiality - D?1
“Social Community”
on the Micro Level
Carrie Woodward
@woodwardcarrie
Brand Community Manager
April 2, 2014
BlogWell – New York
#MichelinAPEX

3. Brand Social Communities
We wanted to bring it in closer…

4. Influencer For Michelin:
An individual that is part of a larger organization
that has greater than average reach or impact when
it comes to conversations related to the
purchase of tires.

5. There are different types of influencers, requiring a broad and
diverse base of individuals to engage
Media
Representatives
Motorsports
Partners
Third Party
Testers
Dealers /
Counter Reps
Car Clubs,
Forums, Driving
Schools

7. Our brand community
guiding principles
• Create a space where members are
encouraged and empowered to participate.
• Seek to recognize, curate, and elevate
brand/community-sourced content.
• Share and communicate both on-line and off-
line.
• Give our members a sense of purpose and
reason to connect; yielding sense of belonging.
• Make members Brand Ambassadors who will
be the SME’s on the Michelin Brand.

8. Five Stages of the Influencer Strategy

9. Give the Brand Communities
an Identity

10. Where we found Brand Ambassadors
Our current
social channels
Car Tuners/OE2
partners that use
our products
Motorsports
Partners
Forum Owners &
Moderators
Car Club Leaders

11. Launched the Platforms
• Original Purpose: tools, resources, brand
content
• What it became: a forum where influencers
posted blogs, wrote reviews, shared life
experiences and connected on a personal level
• Why it benefited the program: personal side of
these tools led to personal engagement and a
desire for influencers to be a part of this
community

12. Empower with experiences

13. Current Status – 2013 year end
Members of APEX: 303 (300 = 2013 Goal)
Members of FORCE: 254 (150 = 2013 Goal)
Content created within platform:
– Mi = 223 pieces
– BFG = 187 pieces
Brand Mentions YTD (Web):
– Mi = 96,448
– BFG = 43,094
Product Recommendations (Web):
– Mi = 5% (2013 Benchmark to be set this year) (PSAS3)
– BFG = 14% (2013 Benchmark to be set this year) (Rival)

14. The Musts Moving Forward
• Keep content constant!
• Recruit those with bias for the brand
• Keep enforcing our messages both
on-line & off-line
• Benchmark, track & measure

15. Measurement
• Look at the success of our influencer efforts
holistically: mentions and recommendations
• Goal is to increase % of recommendations as
result of our efforts with ambassadors
• On-line metrics to do so are:
– Product recommendations/product mentions = X%
– Change in brand mentions Y1/brand mention Y2
• Off-line metrics for measuring recommendation:
– Net promoter score

16. Do
• Set baseline measurements using historical stats - set
goals
• Look both on and off-line for people already favorable
towards Michelin and bring them closer to the brand
– Look for “hand-raisers”: People who like/follow us on
social channels
» Deepen the relationship to drive
recommendations
– Find more credible people on target forums and make
them ambassadors
• Make it personal! Get to know these people
• Keep content constant: user-generated and brand
created
• Create on and off-line tools that promote “talk-ability”

17. Don’t
• Build it and expect people to come
• Think consumers will share content without asking
“What’s in it for me?”
• Just make it about Michelin
– Let them share their own passions/stories
• Underestimate the resources/effort involved to be
successful and sustainable
• Remember that not all those who follow us on social
media are racing enthusiasts
– Focus on car enthusiasts with broader “lifestyle”
themes

18. Contact Information
Carrie Woodward
Brand Community Manager
@woodwardcarrie
carrie.woodward@us.michelin.com

19. Learn more about past and
upcoming BlogWells
socialmedia.org/blogwell
This video is from
BlogWell
San Francisco
June 20, 2011
socialmedia.org/blogwell
SocialMedia.org
Case Studies
This presentation is from
BlogWell
New York
April 2, 2014
socialmedia.org/blogwell