This is a presentation I made recently to a group of communications professionals from UCLA. Annotated for reading.

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JOSHLEVINE
REBELINDUSTRIES.COM
@JLEVINE

3. SOCIAL
MEDIA
IS
LIKE
A
BILL
COSBY
JOKE...

4. SOCIAL
MEDIA
IS
LIKE
A
BILL
COSBY
JOKE...
I SAID TO A GUY, "TELL
ME, WHAT IS IT ABOUT
COCAINE THAT MAKES IT SO
WONDERFUL," AND HE SAID,
"BECAUSE IT INTENSIFIES YOUR
PERSONALITY."

5. SOCIAL
MEDIA
IS
LIKE
A
BILL
COSBY
JOKE...
I SAID TO A GUY, "TELL
ME, WHAT IS IT ABOUT
COCAINE THAT MAKES IT SO
WONDERFUL," AND HE SAID,
"BECAUSE IT INTENSIFIES YOUR
PERSONALITY."
I SAID, "YES, BUT WHAT IF
YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE?"

6. SOCIAL
MEDIA
IS
LIKE
A
BILL
COSBY
JOKE...
I SAID TO A GUY, "TELL
ME, WHAT IS IT ABOUT
COCAINE THAT MAKES IT SO
WONDERFUL," AND HE SAID,
"BECAUSE IT INTENSIFIES YOUR
PERSONALITY."
I SAID, "YES, BUT WHAT IF
YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE?"
A
LOT
OF
BRANDS
ARE
BEING
FORCED
TO
ASK
THEMSELVES
THE
SAME
QUESTION
AS
WORD
OF
MOUTH
BECOMES
MORE
IMPORTANT.

8. THE
REAL
GAINS
ARE
NOT
PAGE
VIEWS
AND
CPMS,
IT’S
THE
OPPORTUNITIES
THAT
COME
OUT
OF
BEING
AWESOME
AT
WHAT
YOU
DO.
—
MERLIN
MANN

9. ?

10. ?
WHAT ARE
YOU
AWESOME
AT

15. TRY TO IGNORE IT AND HOPE IT WILL GO
AWAY...

17. TRY TO SHOUT LOUDER THAN THE
NOISE...

19. TRY TO INTIMIDATE CONSUMERS WITH
SWAGGER AND BRAVADO…

20. TRY TO INTIMIDATE CONSUMERS WITH
SWAGGER AND BRAVADO…
INSTEAD OF WHAT THEY SHOULD BE
DOING...

21. LISTENING

22. LISTENING
IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT
PIECE OF THIS
WHOLE PUZZLE

23. LISTENING
IS THE PART
MOST
COMPANIES GET
WRONG

24. LISTENING
IS NOT ONLY AN
OPPORTUNITY,
IT’S ALSO AN
OBLIGATION

25. LISTEN TO LEARN WHO IS TALKING ABOUT YOU, WHAT THEY’RE SAYING, AND
WHETHER IT’S POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, OR NEUTRAL. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK THROUGH
DIRECTLY TO THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND ENGAGE WITH
THEM.

28. DON’T JUST LISTEN FOR PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOUR BRAND. YOU CAN LISTEN
IN ABOUT COMPETITORS OR TOPICS OF INTEREST TO YOUR AUDIENCE. YOU’RE
LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE. YOU’RE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE IN
NEED OF WHAT YOU’RE AWESOME AT.

29. AS THE WEB BUZZED WITH THOUGHTS, OPINIONS AND SPECULATIONS ABOUT THE
MINI 9, DELL STRATEGICALLY ADDED TO THE CONVERSATION WITH BITS OF
PRODUCT INFORMATION OR CORRECTIONS ABOUT MISINFORMATION. THEY WERE
CAREFUL, HOWEVER, TO ALLOW THE CONVERSATION TO HAPPEN AS ORGANICALLY
AS POSSIBLE.

30. THEY SAW CONVERSATION INCREASE 10-FOLD IN THE MONTH BEFORE LAUNCH. IF
THEY DO THIS ON AN ONGOING BASIS, THEY CAN CREATE BENCHMARKS FOR
OTHER PRODUCTS AND TRACK HOW CONVERSATION CORRELATES WITH SALES
OVER TIME. THEY ALSO IDENTIFIED KEY INFLUENCERS AND BUILT RELATIONSHIPS
WITH THEM. THEY GOT A TRUE READ ON THE COMMUNITY.

32. DELL USES THE SOCIAL SPACE NOT
JUST TO PROMOTE PRODUCTS, BUT TO
SHOW THAT THEY GET IT AND
DEMONSTRATE THEIR COMMITMENT TO
THE SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMER.

34. RED CROSS LISTENS IN A
DIFFERENT WAY. THEIR JOB IS TO
RAISE MONEY AND RECRUIT
VOLUNTEERS, AND BEFORE THEY
STARTED LISTENING THEY HAD A
NOTION OF HOW THEY WERE
PERCEIVED IN THE PUBLIC...

35. RED CROSS LISTENS IN A
DIFFERENT WAY. THEIR JOB IS TO
RAISE MONEY AND RECRUIT
VOLUNTEERS, AND BEFORE THEY
STARTED LISTENING THEY HAD A
NOTION OF HOW THEY WERE
PERCEIVED IN THE PUBLIC...

36. BUT WHAT THEY FOUND WAS
THAT THE CONVERSATION WAS
ACTUALLY QUITE DIFFERENT. AND
AS THEY DUG DEEPER, THEY
WERE ABLE TO GET A TRUE
PULSE ON THEIR BRAND AND
TAILOR THEIR MESSAGES
ACCORDINGLY.

37. BUT WHAT THEY FOUND WAS
THAT THE CONVERSATION WAS
ACTUALLY QUITE DIFFERENT. AND
AS THEY DUG DEEPER, THEY
WERE ABLE TO GET A TRUE
PULSE ON THEIR BRAND AND
TAILOR THEIR MESSAGES
ACCORDINGLY.

39. A GOOD EXAMPLE
OF HOW TO
LEVERAGE THE
CONVERSATION
THAT’S OCCURRING
ORGANICALLY.
THEY’VE
AGGREGATED ALL
OF THE
CONVERSATION
HAPPENING ONLINE
INTO ONE PLACE
USING TAGS AND
KEYWORD
SEARCHES, SO A
USER CAN COME
AND SEE ALL OF
THE DISCUSSION
ABOUT WINDOWS 7
ON TWITTER,
FACEBOOK, BLOGS,
YOUTUBE, ETC.

41. A SIMILAR PAGE FOR WHOLE FOODS. IT SHOWS THE
CONVERSATION HAPPENING IN FACEBOOK AND
TWITTER, AND ALSO HAS A DIRECTORY OF TWITTER
ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OF THE LOCAL STORES, WHICH
COULD BE USEFUL FOR THE DIFFERENT
DEPARTMENTS AND SCHOOLS AT UCLA.

44. YOUTUBE
PAGE LOOKS
GREAT! LOTS OF
CONTENT, LOTS OF
VIEWS.
BUT ASK YOURSELF HOW
THE CONTENT MATCHES THE
CONVERSATION HAPPENING
ONLINE. ARE YOU GIVING
PEOPLE THE CONTENT THEY
WANT, OR SIMPLY THE
CONTENT YOU HAVE?
ARE YOU CREATING MULTIPLE CHANNELS
THAT WORK TOGETHER IN AN ECO-SYSTEM?
YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE THE
STRENGTHS OF EACH CHANNEL TO BUILD MOMENTUM
WITH YOUR AUDIENCE, IF YOU’RE LISTENING TO THEM.

46. LOOKING AT FLICKR,
THERE ARE A BUNCH OF
UCLA PROFILES, SOME
LOOK LIKE THEY’RE
CREATED BY THE SCHOOL
AND OTHERS NOT.
BUT YOU’LL NOTICE THAT
SOME OF THEM HAVE NO
CONTENT IN THEM, AND
OTHERS HAVE CONTENT
BUT NO CONTACTS.
INSTEAD OF JUST
UPLOADING PHOTOS,
WHAT IF WE WENT AND
FOUND THOSE PEOPLE
AND LET THEM KNOW
THEIR PICTURES ARE UP
THERE? YOU COULD
PROBABLY DO A LOT
MORE TO CREATE
RELATIONSHIPS THAT WAY.

47. LOOKING AT FLICKR,
THERE ARE A BUNCH OF
UCLA PROFILES, SOME
LOOK LIKE THEY’RE
CREATED BY THE SCHOOL
AND OTHERS NOT.
BUT YOU’LL NOTICE THAT
SOME OF THEM HAVE NO
CONTENT IN THEM, AND
OTHERS HAVE CONTENT
BUT NO CONTACTS.
INSTEAD OF JUST
UPLOADING PHOTOS,
WHAT IF WE WENT AND
FOUND THOSE PEOPLE
AND LET THEM KNOW
THEIR PICTURES ARE UP
THERE? YOU COULD
PROBABLY DO A LOT
MORE TO CREATE
RELATIONSHIPS THAT WAY.

49. YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THERE’S BEEN AN EXPECTATION SET AND NOT
DELIVERED.

51. GOOD PHOTOS HERE, BUT THIS COULD BE A LOT MORE POWERFUL IF WE
LEVERAGE THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF FLICKR AND ADD THE SUBJECTS’ NAMES AND
CONNECT WITH THEM.

52. Clear Principles are a must to insure
everyone is aligned…

53. Clear Principles are a must to insure
everyone is aligned…
COKE IS DOING GREAT THINGS FOR ITS BRANDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA. THIS PAGE IS AT
THE CORE — POSTING ITS SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY FOR ANYONE TO SEE. A LOT OF
PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING THIS, AND IT CAN MAKE A BIG
DIFFERENCE. SEE MORE IN THEIR CASE STUDY HERE: HTTP://
WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/ISTRATEGY/COCA-COLAS-SOCIAL-MEDIA-STRATEGY

54. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

55. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
•SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectives
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

56. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
•SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectives
•These platforms change frequently and can be very disruptive
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

57. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
•SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectives
•These platforms change frequently and can be very disruptive
•Silly to start from zero…
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

58. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
•SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectives
•These platforms change frequently and can be very disruptive
•Silly to start from zero…
•Always work with pros… There is no “sticking your toe in the water”
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

59. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
•SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectives
•These platforms change frequently and can be very disruptive
•Silly to start from zero…
•Always work with pros… There is no “sticking your toe in the water”
•Moderation is a must!
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

60. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…
•SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectives
•These platforms change frequently and can be very disruptive
•Silly to start from zero…
•Always work with pros… There is no “sticking your toe in the water”
•Moderation is a must!
•Test, Learn, Share, SCALE & REPEAT…Again, and Again, and Again
MORE VALUABLE LESSONS FROM COKE’S CASE STUDY.

62. ONE MORE FROM MERLIN MANN...

63. ONE MORE FROM MERLIN MANN...
DON’T
DO
SOMETHING
THAT
SEEMS
PROFITABLE
AND
POTENTIALLY
MESSES
UP
THE
REASON
THAT
PEOPLE
LIKE
YOU.

65. UCLA HAS A TREMENDOUS
OPPORTUNITY TO UNLEASH A MASSIVE
VOLUNTEER ARMY TO EVANGELIZE ITS
BRAND.
THINK ABOUT THE HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI, STUDENTS,
FACULTY, AND STAFF WHO LOVE UCLA.
YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO WHAT THESE
PEOPLE WANT, AND THEN ENGAGE
THEM.

66. THANK YOU
JOSHLEVINE
REBELINDUSTRIES.COM
@JLEVINE