Virtual Identity AG: Social Media As A Success Factor For Companies

Virtual Identity White Paper
Social Media: Dialogue is a success factor for companies.

Dr. Nadja Parpart Director Consulting August 2009
© Virtual Identity AG
Index.
4 Executive Summary 6 What are Social Media?
Social Media is the internet What is behind the Social Media Why Social Media an
ticipate the future of the Internet
13 Relevance
Relevance of social media for businesses From e-Business for Social Business Mar
kets, talks and Social Capital The implementation of the company
20 Success Factors
Success factors for the use of social gain Media Strategic orientation ("Evaluat
e") understand information markets ("Listen") The right connections cultivate ("
Socialize") A flexible infrastructure build ("Build") develop a dialogic organiz
ational culture ("Manage")
28 Recommendations 30 Additional information 32 Contact
Management Summary.
Management Summary
VI White Paper: Social Media Management Summary.
The theme of "social media" is the trend and causes a stir - not only with an in
creasing number of private users, but also for professional players in corporate
communications, marketing and management. However, there is still uncertainty a
s to how it can succeed in companies that recognize them for relevant dimensions
of social media and successfully put into practice.
Challenge of social media are not a simple formula for success that can be admin
istered to all companies in the same composition and dosage. It applies in each
case to assess whether and to what extent this type of communication to fit thei
r industry and their target groups. Every company needs its own individual socia
l media road map. Potential of social media for producing the "Mitmachweb" chara
cteristic aura of authenticity, credibility and trust. For companies, they have
the potential of greater proximity to relevant information and consumer markets.
This can with the tools of social media will be opened and edited. Take advanta
ge of social media companies seek greater visibility and impact in their target
groups. These benefits may come in different dimensions come into play: as opini
on leadership in relevant topics, as sales growth and market leadership or a bet
ter employee identification in-house. Social Media are an innovative form of com
munication that promises a lasting contribution to communication and business su
ccess of companies.
4
What are Social Media?
New media realities, new challenges.
With the social media promise to come true, which existed in the invention of th
e Web: realize that in this medium to new dimensions in digital communication an
d interaction would be. This vision has become an empirical reality. We are witn
essing not only an astonishing increase in the intensity of communication, but a
lso significant changes in information behavior. In particular, the younger Inte
rnet users, "Google generation" driver of a new digital lifestyle.
6
What are Social Media? How they can be understood from the evolution of the Web
out? >> 1989th The Read-Write Web created. Already for Tim Berners-Lee, inventor
of the Web, is the idea of the WWW as a communication and collaboration medium
in the center: "The original thing I wanted to do was to make it a collaborative
medium, a place where we (could) all meet and read and write. "1 In the first y
ears after its creation, however, the Web is primarily perceived as a platform f
or digital publication and not as a medium for dialogue. >> 1999th The digital m
arkets are becoming more intelligent. The authors of the famous Cluetrain Manife
sto, Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls and David Weinberger notice of b
eing an emerging power of the consumers and giving out about the new medium begu
n hearing: "A powerful global conversation has. Through the Internet, people are
discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding sp
eed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter - and getting smarter faste
r than most companies. "2 Yet this movement has not enough strength in order to
gain a broad degree in business hearing. >> 2004th Despite the new economy crisi
s, the web has developed. Tim O'Reilly predicts the "Web 2.0" the next evolution
of the Web. "... far from having 'crashed', the was more important than ever, w
ith exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity we
b. "3 The new Web services or" Rich Internet Applications "run the Web front as
a social interaction space and create a new creative and dialogical culture. Web
20 as the new guiding concept of innovation on the Web. >> 2009th From Web 2.0
to Social Media. Originally initiated by developers discussion has developed int
o a comprehensive debate on the role of new media. The web stands for a "renaiss
ance" of communication. The author Brian Solis describes it thus: "In the era of
the social Web, communications is evolving back to its origins of communicating
with people, not at them." 4 If the Web in the early days primarily as a platfo
rm for publication of content and for staging
1 2
http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=20 http://www.cluetrain
.com 3 http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/Tim/news/2005 / 4 09/30/what-is-w
eb-20.htm http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/41005
VI White Paper: Social Media What is Social Media?
Check out monologues, it now appears more in its significance as a network, the
authentic relationships and genuine dialogue between individuals. The message of
Cluetrain has arrived and the noise of the digital conversation has become unmi
stakable. What empirical evidence for this? The use of the Internet and - more r
ecently - including Social Media is an established area of the market, media and
communication research. Recent studies show an impressive way that the general
patterns of media use are shaped more by the Internet: the spread of the Interne
t continues. >> Today in North America use about 5%, Europe 50%, Germany 6% of p
eople use the Internet 5>> 59% of Germans use the Internet (several times) a day
, the average daily time spent is 120 minutes 6 Social Media follow this trend a
nd set new accents. Worldwide>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> From the active Intern
et users ... visit 83% of video portals (the fastest growing platform), read 3%
regularly Blogs operate, 33% own a blog, or 5% in an online community and get re
gistered there a tie content, 23% of community members and get a 34% widgets RSS
feeds. Of the active Internet users in Germany are using ... 51 % occasionally,
21% regularly occasional video portals, 60%, 25% regularly occasionally free, 2
3%, 4% regularly occasional photo collections / communities, 3%, 1% regularly oc
casionally bookmark collections, 6%, 2% regular professional networks and commun
ities, 25 % occasionally, sometimes 18% of regular private networks and communit
ies, 6%, 2% and 5% regularly blogs occasionally, 2% regularly virtual game world
s. 8 The German users of social media have started late, but catching up. The so
cial networking will be highlighted in recent studies as a major global trend of
Internet usage. In Germany, the activity of communities with a certain
5 6
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Media Research Guide, Kirchner & Rob
recht (2008), ACTA (2008): Changes in Information and Communication Culture Soci
al Media Tracker Wave 3, Universal McCann Global Research (2008) 8 ARD / ZDF Onl
ine Study (2009)
Delay starts, but has since admitted to driving. A recent study by Nielsen Onlin
e shows that online communities in Germany in 2008 the strongest growth recorded
haben.9 The companies are beginning to show interest. In the field of marketing
, most companies are still on traditional instruments: A survey among German com
panies in 2009 to 85% share of usability optimization and search engine friendli
ness, e-mail marketing and Web-Controlling;% switch text ads on Google Adwords .
10 Interest in Social Media Marketing is available, but is still used rather hes
itant. One U.S. study from 2009 that just 2% of marketing personnel and, most re
cently with the first social media marketing activities have begun. 85% of asset
s already specify the process that Social Media has positive effects on their bu
siness, in terms of better retrieval, higher traffic, more leads and generated a
better empirical Suchmaschinenrankings.11 What are the trends to be evaluated?
The Internet has become everyday life - and social media to write on this succes
s story. Today the Internet is no longer as a digital extension of traditional p
rint media. It is a relevant interface, over which people organize their persona
l and professional life. It is a digital information infrastructure and services
that we use on a very natural way. Multimedia applications are included as well
as a growing number of Web-based (and mobile) services,just learned in the lei
sure sector Konsumund a high demand. Here is lined with the conversational servi
ce of a Social Media, which focus on contributions, conversations and collaborat
ions of users in the center. Successful models like Wikipedia, Flickr, YouTube,
Del.icio.us, Facebook or Twitter have created a unique world of social media, co
nfirming the everyday relevance of the Internet and continue to deepen. Internet
users today are not "nerds" anymore - and the users of social media there have
never been. Just a few years, the research represent a type of "Internet users",
which established the technical and media elite of the Internet population (mal
e, under 30, with higher education, technically interested). Recent studies on t
he Internet show, however, that the people representative in Western societies a
re accessible via the Internet. The classic Internet users are no longer there.
Even former "fringe groups" such as young people ("Google Generation") or senior
("Silver Surfer") are now present on the Internet as a target and move the focu
s of communications and marketing. Overall, the Users can no longer be regarded
as passive recipients, but are seen in natural way as an active collaborator of
the medium. In the past was often barriers in access to the Internet, the speech
and was to optimize the usability and accessibility as the highest goal, we reg
istered today reversed a real pull of social media. The accessibility of Interne
t applications has reached a dimension
8
9
Nielsen report on Social Networking's New Global Footprint (2009) Source: Online
Marketing Trends, ABSOLIT - Dr. Schwarz Consulting (2009) 11 Source: Social Med
ia Marketing Industry Report, Stelzner (2009)
10
in a massive onslaught and the voluntary use of these media (including the Arts)
are a living reality. Social Media seem "human", are exciting and everyday-and
therefore attractive. They are part of a development and a catalyst, in which th
e media will be social spaces, where people care for a digital lifestyle. Social
media is everywhere - and point to the future of digital communication. You are
not a singular phenomenon, but describe a basic principle of today's Internet,
where almost every user of the Internet is also a potential user of social media
. It does not, therefore, the question of whether people will use Social Media,
but rather the question of when, why and in what intensity. As the answer is, no
t least depending on the innovation of the applications that are developed for S
ocial Media. If we succeed in convincing offers for the real communication needs
and problems to make the people, so they are now a significant knock-on effect
of digital media will increase further. In this respect, social media are not Ni
schenoder special topic, but describe a future trend, a phenomenon which is in i
ts importance to the media landscape as well as for communication, marketing and
management, not to be underestimated.
9
How Social Media are still kept.
Social Media are available for a lively theoretical discourse, but also a realit
y in the lives of media users. How to integrate people - and businesses - Social
Media today in their everyday communication?
Applications in the home environment are already familiar to many of us: That we
, for example, to retrieve messages Spiegel Online, in addition to articles, pho
to galleries and watch videos, comment or subscribe to news, is now nothing more
sensational. We are interested for specific topics, is close to the reading of
weblogs that are maintained by both lay and professional journalists. As consume
rs we are accustomed to go to before a pending purchase, a consumer forum to che
ck the availability on an auction such as Ebay or at least retrieve price compar
ison services in the network. Particularly ambitious share purchase preferences
on so-called social shopping platform with other power shoppers and sometimes th
is can be compensated by the manufacturers. In private e-mail communications, SM
S and Skype are now mostly here to stay. Acquaintances also be staged more often
in communities like Facebook: This social exchange transparent and there is a "
perceived" participation in social life of others.If you go to this colorful an
d moving field of Social Media holds for the participation of companies lookout,
then shows a more diffuse picture. The reputation of the Cluetrain authors have
in a professional communication and marketing personnel, although been heard, b
ut participate in the "talks" on the Internet or not a given. Where companies ar
e trying this, they also appear often in a negative light. Anyone who deals with
social media, will inevitably face once on one of the many reports that deal wi
th the perceived inability of the Company in dealing with the social media commu
nity, how they refuse to open a dialogue, not directly but by proxy (eg lawyers)
communicate opinions on critical issues hopelessly late or trying to infiltrate
the community in covert identity with comments or Wikipedia articles. >> German
railway. The most recent example from Germany is the communications meltdown of
Deutsche Bahn, which had in early 2009 with the threat of legal action against
the blogger Mark Beckedahl caused a significant loss of image. Beckedahl had pub
lished an internal memo of the Berlin State Supervisor for Data affair of the ra
ilway in full length on his blog, and had been warned netzpolitik.org then by tr
ain. The company made a betrayal of official secrets claim and demanded Beckedah
l the cancellation of the memos from his blog. Beckedahl again made the warning
public immediately, sparking a wave of collective anger and solidarity in the bl
ogosphere. The case was discussed on blogs and forums as well as distributed at
Twitter. Its output is still always open - though Beckedahl be announced that he
is the pressure of the Deutsche Bahn will not bend. Even if it had to do so, it
would have already emerged as the clear "moral" winners from this affair.
10
>> Johnson & Johnson. Another popular example of the inappropriate behavior of f
irms in social media, the reaction of the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johns
on is to criticisms of his commercial for painkiller Motrin ® in the fall of 200
8. The message of the commercials - that the wearing of babies of mothers leads
to back pain and promise effective relief Motrin Johnson & Johnson brought in a
few days a communications disaster of significant proportions. Countless mothers
expressed at Twitter, YouTube, in blogs and forums their displeasure with this
campaign and made it so public a breeze. On the part of the pharmaceutical compa
ny was responding too late: a public apology from Kathy Widmer, vice-president f
or marketing, could not stop the storm of indignation. The campaign had to be st
opped - after she had already caused significant damage to their image. >> The e
xample of Ford Ford, also of 2008, however, shows how such a surface fire can be
prevented by an adequate response from the company representatives. Here, too,
was the starting point of a warning letter from the company - this time represen
ting the address of privately operated fan sites, the use of Ford logos from the
perspective of a company's trademark infringement. Ford's lawyers demanded comp
ensation - or, alternatively, the closure of the fan sites. The reaction of stak
eholders in relevant blogs and Twitter did not last long in coming. It was the m
erit of Scott Monty, the Social Media executives at Ford, to have intervened in
the affair before they cause major damage. Monty responded promptly, listened to
the critics on Twitter and to the fansites and pushed for a clarification of th
e matter with Ford's legal department. So he managed to calm the tempers before
it could reach an epidemic spread of the matter in social media. Similar cases c
an be relevant to social media sites search in large numbers. In the end, remain
s an ambiguous impression: companies seem in many cases no safe use of the new m
edia and tend to have a crisis to misconduct - with serious consequences. Other
hand, show examples of how Ford, how to reverse a perceived communication proble
m through careful action on quite easily in a successful communication. Here is
a sign that the "talks" to the social media strength is a big, can use the compa
ny for themselves. Reason enough to consider the issue systematically and to ide
ntify opportunities for action for companies.
11
Relevance.
From e-Business for Social Business.
The success of the Internet demanded by companies in the "E-business to invent"
new. Social Media imply: E-Business as "Social Business" think again. What exact
ly does that mean?
Dealing with the future potential of digital information and communication techn
ologies is not unknown for businesses. The success of the Internet in the 1990s
had provided the company with the challenge to systematically address the potent
ial of e-business. The result was a plethora of approaches and responses to the
question of how the Internet can contribute to adding value to a company. These
dealt with various dimensions of the digital business communications - from the
image communication, marketing, sales, CRM through to the general perspective of
internal processes. The business issue of e-business while circling around the
problem, such as increased productivity through digital networks, but can also r
educe transaction costs.
13
Prospects
Supplier Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Marketing & Sales Custo
mer Service
Customers Technology
Administration & Management
Potential Employees
Procurement
Stakeholders (Investors, Press, NGOs ...)
Human Resources
Employees
Portal / Intranet Applications Site (s) Product, marketing site (s) Corporate Si
te Transactional Webapplications
VI White Paper: social media relevance.
Was it the influence of digital media on the e-business in the core to the devel
opment of new digital infrastructure along the value chain of the company, is sh
ifting to the question of social media and its influence on the "Social Business
" the perspective of the infrastructure to network. Now win the points, frequenc
y and quality of communication in importance. It continues to digital interfaces
and networks, but the perspective has changed. In this age of social media has
the realization that it takes not only to build the right infrastructure for com
munication and business ", but that one in particular, developing the right stra
tegy and tonality in order to play on it. There will be new questions about the
intensity and quality of relationships that result in a network. Thus, the persp
ective shifts from efficiency to effectiveness of communication.
14
Prospects
Supplier Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Marketing Logistics Marketing & r
Sales Customer Service
Customers Techn logy Technology
Ad Management Administration & n
Potential Employees
Procurement Procurement
Stakeholders (Investors, Press, NGOs ...)
Human Resources
Employees
Social Networks Communities Topical Blogs Expert Career Customer Communities Com
munities Social Intranet Wikis
The Social Business is about the communicative dimension of productivity of netw
orks. How can a company ensure that it has the right networks and uses them effi
ciently and effectively? In business perspective it is in the professional devel
opment of the communicative "Buzz" to an investment project. The engagement in s
ocial media is not primarily an instrument for reducing transaction costs, but c
an be understood as an investment in the sustainability of customer relationship
s and communication. Social Media processes do not initially slender and also re
duce any expenses. By multiplying the nodal points of communication, they genera
te more demand for new skills and resources to build social relationships with c
ustomers, opinion leaders and partners and maintain. At the same time social med
ia promise but also a new form of communicative productivity that justifies the
investment required.
15
Markets, talks and Social Capital.
In many companies still skepticism over the Produktivitätsversprechen of Social
Media. The fact that they generate "buzz" seems plausible - but they also provid
e a clear declarable value? In fact, today there is still no accepted measure or
indicator system for the valuation of dialogues (though this is currently being
negotiated in the meta-theoretical discourse of social media).
16
At the same time the basic problem, as the soft skills of communication are more
likely to attack, but is nothing new for companies. In the area of brand commun
ication are given the challenge to grasp the intangible value of a brand and to
make bilanzierbar, a variety of brand valuation models emerged.This answer is q
uite a different focus on the question of how to measure the performance of a br
and. Cost-and profit approaches focus on monetary aspects, while consumer-orient
ed approaches to assess in particular the perceptions, associations, and binding
of the target groups. Common models were inter alia developed by Interbrand, Se
mion, Aaker, Nielsen. The evaluation of dialogues in social media is about very
similar things. In the end, here are companies interested in assessing the impac
t of their business, personal or product brands in talks - and ultimately to tra
nsfer in an ROI analysis. However, the perspective is even more complex, in that
the communication is not always proceeds from the company but can also occur in
dependently of this. In addition, the perspective is on the company is not purel
y passive ("how others speak about me") but applies to the company with an activ
e ("how do I behave in a dialogue with the stakeholders"). The question of the v
alue is identified through comments and reactions of the target groups and in th
e quality of the relationship that builds a company to its target groups and con
ditions. Based on the expanded notion of capital (after Pierre Bourdieu) can be
said that the value dimension of dialogical relations of "social capital" (or "S
ocial Capital"). The "Social Capital defines the value of the network enterprise
and makes the dialogue as a tangible factor of production. How this value is de
termined? He needs to fix the dimensions in which realized the dialogue: the med
ia platforms, the actors involved and the content, we are talking about.
Level of the media "Where plays the dialogue?">> What types of media media play
a role in the company? The channels of social media were very much in motion. Th
e "Conversation Prism" by Brian Solis and JESS3 differentiated rising already 22
different types of social media - and the trend. The recent "Social Media Track
er study by Universal McCann (2008) identifies 10 major platforms, however: The
most common types in demand here, video platforms, blogs, photo platforms, socia
l networks, podcasts and RSS are credited. The "Social Media Marketing Industry
Report" (2009) calls specifically Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs are as popular Fac
ebook social media Anwendungen.12>> What media relevance criteria are particular
ly important? The relevance of these platforms today - taken in the tradition of
the Media Research - in the extent of its range. The range defines the demand f
or media services, quantifying them in the number of participants in the dialogu
e and contact frequencies of the dialogues. In the social media plays in determi
ning the range of the number of contacts and their degree of networking and mult
iplier effect a special role. >> What consequences follow from this for the comp
any? To optimize each company's own social capital is faced with the task to det
ermine for its communication and marketing tasks relevant channels. An important
consideration will be also on whether and how the company brings in external so
cial media communities, and whether it makes sense their own communities, blogs
or topics portals to develop and operate.
1
Comment & Reputation
Disqus, sezwho ...
Social Bookmarks
diigo, magnolia ...
Crowd Sourced Content
newsvine, hubdub ...
Pictures
Flickr, zooom ...
Blog Platforms
Blogger, movable type 4 ...
Live Casting Video & Audio
qik, kyte ...
Blogs / Conversations
Technorati, Ask.com ...
Wiki
TWiki wetpaint, ...
Blog Communities
MyBlogLog, Shyfti ...
Music
odeo, pandora ...
Micro Media
The Conversation
The Art of Listening, Learning + Sharing
twitter, Utterz, friendfeed ...
Events
socialize, zvents ...
Life Streams
facebook, ping, social thing! ...
Documents
scribd. Docstoc ...
Specific toTwitter
Twemes, Summize ...
Video Aggregation
magnify ...
SMS / Voice
pinger, pingme ...
Video
YouTube, viddler ...
Social Networks
facebook, hi5 ...
Location
brightkite, TripIt ...
Niche Networks
linkedin, plaxo ...
Figure: Types of social media applications within the Conversation Prism
Customers Service Networks
yelp, yahoo groups, google ...
12
See http://www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis/2 354 011 5 /; Social Media Tracker
Wave 3, Universla McCann Global Research (2008), Social Media Marketing Industry
Report, Stelzner (2009).
Level of the players, "Who says playing with whom with what effect?">> What type
s of actors dialogue partner for the company matter? Classic are social actors b
y sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender,Education, differentiate
d social background and lifestyle. These categories are also used in the study o
f media used and allow the differentiation of various socio-demographic types of
media users. In the analysis of social media this is the level of activity of u
sers added as an essential category. Newer types such as the model of 'Social Te
chnographics Ladder, "according to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff users classified
as" Inactive "," Spectators, "" Joiners "," Collectors, "" Critics "and" Creato
rs. " This reflects the change against the users of old passive recipients into
active participants of the media. >> Why these actors relevance criteria are imp
ortant? The relevance of the actors in a social media community is clear from it
s positioning in the discourse as well as their activity level. In the case of p
assive recipients to active or contributors, presenters, lawyers and opinion top
ics? The mode of participation is to make it both quantitatively and qualitative
ly. Data on the frequency of visit, frequency of recurrence, length of stay and
drop-out rate are equally important parameters such as the dialog strength of th
e actors and their effect on other participants in the dialogue when it comes to
set themes to motivate other dialogue participants to do or to change their att
itude. >> What consequences follow from this for the company? Dialogue is not th
e same dialogue - its quality and effect arises from the decisive influence to t
ake the actors are able. For companies that are active in social media, it is im
portant to recognize them for relevant actors and to activate selectively. A few
strong opinion leaders can be more important than a large community of passive
listeners for successful communication.
18
Creators
Publish a blog, publish your own Web pages you created upload video, upload audi
o / music you created Write articles or stories and post them Post ratings / rev
iews of products or services Comment on someone else's blog Contribute to online
forums Contribute to / edit articles in a wiki Use RSS feeds, "Vote" for Web si
tes online Add "tags" to Web pages or photos
Critics Collectors Joiners Spectators Inactive
Maintain profile on a social networking site Visit social networking sites
Read blogs, Listen to podcasts, watch video from other users read online forums,
Read customer ratings / reviews None of the above groups include consumers part
icipating in at least one of the activities indicated at least monthly
Figure: Typology for users of the Social Technographics Ladder 13
13
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2513136 @ N05/2955 26 053
Level of content "What is said in what way?">> What types of content contributio
ns play a role for the company? The thematic range of "conversations" in the Soc
ial Media is basically unlimited and depends on the communication and marketing
needs of the company. Typically, in the context of public relations, above all p
eople and issues in the marketing of particular products of interest. These cont
ents are to be taken in relevant keywords and structure in a semantic field. >>
What content relevance criteria are important and why? In the analysis and evalu
ation of content are search engines and automated methods of analysis in recent
years it has become strong in the field of view. For social media, there are now
already able to evaluate a growing number of specialized search engines, media
sources based on keywords systematically. As relevance criteria are as a rule th
e frequency of keywords, the positive or negative evaluation by the dialogue par
ticipants, the frequency of responses or the degree of linking of content. That
automated content analysis also allows for reliable qualitative information abou
t the dialogues is to doubt, however. All the more important one downstream inte
rpretation of the data collected, in respect of the previously defined problem.
The relevance of measurement of contributions can not exist alone in pointing of
intensities, but rather, must include the importance of content their semantic
context, and evaluate meaning. Here, above all, human intelligence and interpret
ation of performance is needed - and this probably also be the "semantic Web and
the next generation of elaborated search algorithms change anything. >> What co
nsequences follow from this for the company? Social Media interested in a compan
y should carefully for communication or marketing major issues and select edit.
The consistent definition of the issues is an important condition for the releva
nce of analysis as well as for the strategy and the meaningfulness of active dia
logue.
19
Value proposition for companies.
The Social Capital realized in the interplay of the dimensions of media players
and content. The resulting value proposition includes the following aspects:
20
Abstract value (Image effects)>> Direct communication does approachable and auth
entic>> Dialogic Communications appears credible>> Social Media communication is
more effective in Measurable value (network effects)>> Improving access to the
market with new, high coverage media channels>> Direct response and activation o
f opinion leaders>> Targeted Agenda Setting and control of issues and dialogues
monetization (business models)>> Increasing the monetary brand equity through So
cial Media Branding>> increasing sales by Social Media Marketing and Sales>> if
necessary. new revenue models through specific social media services is importan
t is the involvement in social media should not be reduced to the question of th
e use of conventional media and to trivialize it ("Do we need a blog?"). Rather,
the commitment applies to the real communication and marketing needs of the bus
iness to be considered here ("Who can we reach with a blog and why?"). Relevant
Social Media will only be when they reveal new vielsprechende approaches to meet
the communication and marketing functions of the company.
Success factors.
Strategic Orientation win "Evaluate".
The starting point is how a company to engage in the field of social media? In m
any cases, there are strategists, communications or marketing managers who are a
ware of consumer and trade media, at conferences or through their specific busin
ess networks to this trend. A first own approach to the topic has made them curi
ous or deterred. has the same time they became aware that the external pressure
to behave on this issue and assess its relevance for our own company, rose sharp
ly. The protagonist of the decision maker will first want to gain strategic focu
s on "social media" and thereby create a basis for concrete plans. Typical Quest
ions>>>>>>>>>>>> What ever are Social Media? Are social media for my business an
d my business relevant? What media and applications can play a role? With which
old (and possibly new) target groups we could contact? There are issues, people
or products that are particularly important? What concrete steps have to be done
? In the tactics of an audit, companies should conduct a systematic potential fo
r use of social media. These include a brainstorming how social media for busine
ss and business model fit an evaluation of the relevant issues, target groups an
d the media, a comparison with activities of the competition an analysis of regi
onal and sector-specific factors, the formulation of strategic objectives and "S
ocial Media Performance Indicators" As a result of the analysis applies it to de
velop an action plan in which the premises for dealing with Social Media formula
ted, pointed out concrete action and a roadmap for future action will determine.
How open or binding it should be, in a particular case to decide. Often, it can
also be useful to collect in (internal) projects first experience with social m
edia, before a master plan is developed. Nevertheless, it is fundamentally impor
tant to develop a strategic perspective on the subject in order to provide a rel
iable basis for all short-or medium-term decisions. Success>> Get general and ab
stract value proposition to solve Social Media and look for the concrete for the
company. >> Orientation create and design a "Big Picture" for dealing with the
subject. >> Experimentation and zeal in the organization not slow, but useful ch
annel.
22
>>>>>>>>>>
Information markets to understand "Listen".
Starting point after the general pattern of engagement in the field of social me
dia is defined, should conduct an in-depth and ongoing attention to the relevant
information markets. These are strategically active communication and marketing
managers, but also operationally acting webmasters to be involved: the former i
n order to substantiate business-relevant decisions, and the latter to make the
success of their social media projects visible.Both types of managers need to d
o their job a sufficient empirical data base .. Typical Questions>>>>>>>> How ha
rd should I deal with my information markets? How do I gain meaningful informati
on? How can the relevance and measure the ROI of my activities? How do I make su
re an efficient reporting? Tactics>> based on a social media monitoring are deri
ved from the potential priority themes, target groups and objectives. >> During
setup of the monitoring will take place alongside the preparation of the issues
defining the search spaces and tools. The range of potential instruments is larg
e: it ranges from simple "manual" searches on the Web through the use of open so
urce solutions to the use of expensive rights-managed search engines. >> The imp
lementation of data collection and analysis should be continuous. Depending on t
he type and range of data it can be useful to make these available via web-based
interfaces in real time. >> Is important is regular reporting to be in the main
results of the analysis processed and compressed strategically. The result form
at management reports, which contain both empirical findings and concrete recomm
endations for action. Success>> The setup must be tailored to the situation and
the specific requirements of the customer. >> More important than the quantitati
ve, the qualitative dimension: not comprehensive data, but erkenntnisrelevante d
ata that say something about the information markets, are important. >> Signific
antly, a careful interpretation of the data and the derivation of recommendation
s for further action. >> Due to the high dynamics of information markets is a co
ntinuous survey and evaluation important.
23
Maintain the right relationships "Socialize".
The starting point for social media monitoring company opens an access to a bett
er understanding of information markets and lays foundations for participation i
n the "talks" with the target groups. Now it's an analytical turn of the concret
e and constructive. Now we need communication and marketing executives proceed t
o contact with information markets to define projects, and share issues, build r
elationships and maintain. The aim must be to a significant part of the relevant
communities to become or to initiate new communities. It's about not only liste
n, but really to talk to the target groups and actively to encourage it. Typical
Questions>>>>>>>>>> How do I access my information markets? Should I take part
in existing communities to build or own? How do I meet the right tone in convers
ation with the target groups? Should I get involved in experiments? How big is t
he risk? Tactics>> Seeding: An important starting point is the targeted "sowing"
and placing messages in relevant "breeding grounds" such as theme portals, blog
s and forums. These activities are designed to raise awareness among relevant st
akeholders and opinion leaders and make contacts. Ideally, the seeding to trigge
r the effect of a massive "viral" spreading the message (without any further act
ion of the transmitter). Such campaigns promise a remarkable success in communic
ations at relatively little expense. This communication effect is only partly pr
edictable. >> Community Building: Safer and more promising is the direct process
ing of information markets through a strong and sustainable relationships. Throu
gh dialogue with opinion leaders of the carrier are as authentic and credible pa
rticipant (or host) profile of communities. >> Application Design: In addition t
o social networks, it is the wide variety of interactive web-based applications
that justify the success of social media. Creative and value added applications-
giving can be an important part of his social media strategy of a company. Succe
ss>> The sound of music: Only if it is possible to speak the language of others
and take them seriously, the dialogue can be successful. >> Credibility is creat
ed through sustainability. The relations with the target groups may not be a fla
sh in the pan, but must be developed medium and long term. >> Creativity rather
than routine: The acting via Social Media Marketing is a task that requires a hi
gh degree of human intuition, spontaneity and originality.
24
A flexible infrastructure to build "Build".
The starting point for engagement of business in social media moves - especially
in the phase of the first approach - usually at the project level.The concepts
or campaigns have the cutting of temporary measures with a reasonable investmen
t risk. If the first experience gained and is distinguished from a medium-term s
trategy in dealing with social media, so the issue is also at the level of infra
structure and Corporate Services to negotiate. Here come the talks on digital ba
sic - Social Media is the matter of the used in the enterprise social software.
The leaders are challenged to make sustainable decisions about the shape of thei
r specific "Enterprise 2.0". Typical Questions>>>>>>>>>> Where investment in soc
ial software make sense? What budget do I need? How flexible and scalable soluti
ons have to be? As the acceptance on the part of the internal and external users
is estimated? What are the correct criteria for sustainable investment decision
s? Tactics is the short term it more of an evaluation of the appropriate use of
Social Software: What tools can promote knowledge management and collaboration i
n your company? Common approaches include:>>>>>>>> authoring tools (blogs, wikis
) collaboration platforms (social networks are forums) practices of indexing (ta
gging) information tools (feeds, alerts). In the long term social media must be
involved in the planning of communications and IT infrastructures. Even if they
can play a dialogue by definition, not only on corporate (Intranet or Internet)
sites, but also to "foreign" sites, so thinking on their own applications, servi
ces and community platforms will play a major role. As initiators and operators
of social media companies have the opportunity to tie their own calls to make an
d to use sales-effects. Therefore it is expected that a considerable part of soc
ial media engagement in the future will also refer to their own Web sites or app
lications. Success>> transparency requirements: To keep the investment risk to m
anageable, the profiles and success of the activities are defined. >> Flexibilit
y and scalability of solutions: Given the dynamics of today's information market
s are called mobile infrastructure that can adapt and expand as needed.
25
A dialogic organizational culture develop "Manage".
Point a company has a promising way to deal with Social Media found, it remains
a common problem: that the people have a hard time in the organization with new
ideas. In the case of social media, the divide between passionate supporters and
objectors be considerable skepticism. Not infrequently revealed here also a gen
eration gap in the use of the internet medium. While some - mostly the younger o
nes are looking for - the playful approach and are attracted just by the experim
ental nature of many applications that are opposed to the other - often the elde
rly - Social Media from as little effective gimmick, perhaps, to their own diffi
culties and fear in dealing with the new requirements to hide. Managers in compa
nies have the task of reducing existing barriers and incentives to create meanin
gful use of Social Media. Not least, they should lead by example. Typical Questi
ons>>>>>>>>>> How open I guess my one organization to accept the issue? Is the g
roup of potential users rather homogeneous or heterogeneous? How much space and
time must take the subject in the daily lives of users? What are the guidelines
and rules of the organization needs? How can the decision makers act as role mod
els? Tactics>> Education and Training: Social Media bring the development of spe
cific training formats with it. Classical activity profiles of Kommunikateuren o
r marketing professionals today need to be in the direction of the new type of "
community manager" development. It is the employees' awareness that new symbiosi
s of expertise and editorial, dialogue and moderating skills are required. >> Gu
idelines and Rules: In order to take the corporate governance of social media ac
counts are to develop editorial, behavioral or legal guidelines and anchor in th
e organization. >> Change Management: If required by the use of social media by
a restructuring of organizational units, the change management processes set up
in which the new strategies and their application shall be evangelized among tho
se affected. In the long term social media must be involved in the planning of c
ommunications and IT infrastructures.Success>> Turning stakeholders involved: t
he people in organizations should be curious and there "will be picked up" where
they stand. >> It regional, cultural and generation-specific characteristics pa
rticular to the communication cultures. show>> Tolerance: Social Media are the o
pposite of communication routines, and require of the actors involved in the for
mation of a personal style. It should be granted leeway and allow deviations fro
m the standard.
26
Recommendations for action.
VI White Paper: Social Media recommendations for action.
What recommendations are derived from the previously outlined tasks and success
factors? What can be concrete steps for a company that wants to develop his "Soc
ial Media live fire" and?
28
The theme of thinking through and planning>> The relevance of social media for t
heir own business>> The specific "Buzz" estimate in the industry trace>> A strat
egic objective for the use of social media gather to define in concrete projects
experience. >> Initiate pilot projects for activities in external communities a
nd networks initiate>> Pilot Projects on their own networks and applications>> r
esults according to the defined strategic objectives verify the creation of cond
itions in the organization. examine define>> Appropriate internal tools and infr
astructure>> The need for training and guidelines for employees to>> The need fo
r structural changes in the organization in the implementation of specific steps
to evaluate each company will have to collect his own experience. In the end, m
ean a social media experiment, whose potential can be tapped only in the applica
tion. But the experiment is promising. Social Media is not only a source of know
ledge but also the location of the market itself is taking place here and here o
pinions are buying prepared and implemented. Social media offer the chance of a
direct marketing sustainably contribute to the success of the company.
Further information.
VI White Paper: Social Media More information.
Fish, Martin and Gscheidle, Christopher (2008): "Join Network Web 2.0: only acti
ve participation in communities. Results of the ARD / ZDF Online Study. URL: htt
p://www.media-perspektiven.de. Faces and Places Global Networked. A Nielsen repo
rt on Social Networking's New Global Footprint. (2009): URL: www.nielsen-online.
com. Web 2.0. New Perspectives for Marketing and Media (2008): Edited by Berthol
d Hass, Gianfranco Walsh and Thomas Kilian. Berlin and Heidelberg.
IBM Institute for Business Value (2008): Innovation of the media. Web 2.0 discer
ning consumers to force media companies to restructure their business models. UR
L: www-935.ibm.
30
com/services/de/gbs/pdf/2008/medienstudie-2008.pdf.
IBM Institute for Business Value (2009): Beyond Advertising. Choosing a strategi
c path to the digital consumer. URL: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/index.ws
s/ibvstudy/ gbs / a1031045? Cntxt = a1000062.
Rushkoff, Douglas (2006): The new Renaissance. Towards a networked, social econo
my. Bielefeld. Solis, Brian (2009): New Communication Theory and the New Roles f
or the New World of Marketing. E-book. URL: http://www.docstoc.com/search/brian-
solis/. Stelzner, Michael (2009): Social Media Marketing Industry Report. How Ma
rketers are Using Social Media to grow their business. URL: http://www.whitepape
rsource.com/ social media marketing / report /. Tapscott, D., Williams, A. (2006
): Wikinomics. How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. New York. Universal Mc
Cann Global Research (2008): Social Media Tracker. Wave.3. Power to the People.
URL: www.universalmccann.com/Assets/wave_3_20080403093 50.pdf. Zerfaß, A., Welke
r, M., Schmidt, J. (2008): communication, participation and effects on the socia
l web. Volume 1: Principles and Methods: From the society to the individual. Col
ogne. Zerfaß, A., Welker, M., Schmidt, J. (2008): communication, participation a
nd effects on the social web. Volume 2: Strategies and applications: prospects f
or the economy, politics and journalism. Cologne.
Contact.
VI White Paper: Social Media Contact.
Dr. Nadja Parpart Director Consulting nadja.parpart @ virtual-identity.com Phone
Fax 0049th 0049th 61.20 5841 61.20 5801 Virtual Identity AG green forests 10-14
9098 Freiburg http://www.virtual-identity. com Virtual Identity connects brands
and businesses with the networked society. Founded in 1995, the Agency develops
Web-based solutions for brand management and business communication and employs
more than 0 employees in Freiburg, Munich and Berlin. Our customers include All
ianz,Evonik, HypoVereinsbank, Haufe Media Group, Infineon, Lufthansa, MAN, Nova
rtis, Roche, Siemens and TUI.
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