Using social media for marketing:

Germany and the U.S.

Lou Heldman
Distinguished Senior Fellow in Media Management and Journalism
March 24, 2010

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 My path from newspapers to social media

• 24 years as a
journalist
• 11 years as a
newspaper & Web
site CEO
• Third year
teaching/researching
media transformation
at Wichita State.

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 An economic theory underlying social media

• Economic Exchange Theory: An ongoing

exchange of resources, with trust as a factor.
(i.e., arrangement between Berlin and Wichita
schools.)
• Social Exchange Theory: A mutual ongoing
relationship based on anticipated rewards and
costs. (i.e., becoming Facebook friends)

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Brian Solis: What is social media?

• “A shift in how people discover, read, and share

news and information and content. It's a fusion
of sociology and technology, transforming
monologue (one to many) into dialog (many to
many.)”
• “The democratization of information,
transforming people from content readers into
publishers.”
• “Our industrial revolution … we have yet to
realize its potential and promise.”

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 The marketing context

• People are increasingly learning about brands

from each other through social media, rather
than from traditional media sources.
• Information distribution is no longer controlled by
governments and industrial media companies
• “Word of mouth” has always been the most
effective brand promotion; consumers trust other
consumers more than they trust advertising.
• U.S. companies are shifting resources to social
marketing.

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 The SM formula for brand success

Listening + responsiveness (engagement with

consumers) leads to

TRUST

Trust leads to

SALES

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 SM’s importance to German business

• It’s where your customers are, or where they’re

headed. European SM Growth
• 60 of 100 biggest brands use.
• Only 5% have comprehensive
strategy for SM use.

Source: Oldenburg University study

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 Top 15 Web sites in Germany

Source: Alexa.com,
http://www.alexa.com/topsites/
countries/DE

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 Wichita case study: Auto dealer

• Wichita Suzuki sold three new cars per month in

2007, under previous owner
• In 2008, aggressive new owners adopted a bold
marketing strategy, with heavy use of social
media.
• In 2009, Wichita Suzuki sold 1,200 new cars and
became the leading Suzuki dealer in the U.S.

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 What makes Wichita Suzuki successful?

• Culture: hire salespeople without prior auto

experience; non-commissioned, low-pressure
buying experience; sense of fun.
• Message targeting: young and/or thrifty
customers.
• Media mix: social media and traditional media
used across a variety of platforms
• Measurement: Google analytics, multiple toll-
free telephone numbers

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 Wichita Suzuki social media tactics

• Numerous Web entry points: dominate Google

natural search and play big in paid search.

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 Wichita Suzuki active on social media

• Salespeople and managers regularly blog, post

on Twitter and Facebook – the human element.
• Every salesperson is given a mini Flip camera
and is expected to post on YouTube.

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 Social media trends to watch

• Growth of video use

• Growth of mobile social networking
• Growth of location-based services (geo-tagging)
• Development of corporate internal social
networks
• Use of social media for recruiting
• Privacy concerns

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 To contact me

• Blog: http://louheldman.posterous.com/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/louheldman
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/louheldman
• Email: lou.heldman@wichita.edu

Thank you.

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