MBA Workshop, University of Southampton

1. Social media: why now?
Lisa Harris
University of Southampton
15th May 2012

2. About me
Lisa Harris runs the MSc programme in Digital Marketing and is
co-chair of the University’s Digital Economy Research Group. She
is an accredited tutor for the University of Liverpool online MBA
programme. Lisa is working on projects investigating how small
firm ‘early adopters’ of new technology are using social
technologies to ‘punch above their weight’, integrating digital
literacy into the curriculum, the interaction of ‘real’ and ‘virtual’
space in learning and event management contexts.
• https://digitaleconomy.soton.ac.uk
• http://lisaharrismarketing.com
• www.twitter.com/lisaharris
• www.slideshare.net/lisaharris
• www.delicious.com/lisaharris1
• http://uk.linkedin.com/in/lisajaneharris

3. WHY IS THIS HERE?!

4. Social Media Trends
• Eric Qualmann (3 minute video, statistics of
social media growth)
• B2B (blogpost from Socialmedia.biz “How
sales and marketing can cooperate in social
business”)
• Where will we be in 2016? (from the
SmartInsights blog)

5. http://www.socialnomics.net/2011/12/28/infographic-every-60-seconds-on-the-web/

6. Social media for business
• Engaging with customer fan base
• Resolving customer service issues
• Effective, real time internal communications across
the enterprise and hierarchies
• Tracking trends and testing the “zeitgeist”
• Crowdsourcing of new product development or
market research
• Networking to source expertise or business partners
• Improves search engine visibility

7. Applications across the business
Kunert, B. (2011) Social Media Study Switzerland: From Web 2.0 to Online Dialogue.
Zurich: Bernet PR

8. It’s all about doughnuts 
• Here’s why

9. B2B
• Online and offline behaviour affects level of trust
• Online interactions are far less costly than offline. B2B
firms can reduce their cost of sales by using social
platforms to:
– discover and qualify prospects
– get meetings
– share breaking insights with existing clients
– research prospects through their alumni
– introduce firm experts or existing clients in online
discussions
– build relevance and reputation of individual sales
professionals and the firm.

10. EMC Community

11. The Scope of Twitter
• Customer service Become known as a reliable and informative source of help
@comcastcares @albionsoven
• Special offers @delloutlet
• Get Feedback. Ask for advice and you’ll receive ‘collective intelligence’ from
your community @ibmresearch
• Direct traffic. Include links in a tweet to direct traffic to your blog or to the
recommended posts of others.
• Read News. subscribe to feeds for specific websites/conferences, or from
content providers such as the BBC.
• Network for business benefits. Interact with other like-minded people, or
experts in your field. Develop relationships for future mutual benefits such as
testimonials or peer recommendations.
• Find Prospects. Twitter can be used as a means to find potential customers or
clients online.
• Provide Live coverage. For example to provide real time coverage of conference
keynotes, or travel information @tubeupdates
• Set Up Meetings. An informal and casual way of arranging adhoc meetings.
• Satire @fakesamcam
• Fundraising @bletchleypark

12. AVG Free: over 1 million ‘fans’
• Provides useful information about online security
• Shows the team behind the community
• “Superfans” get VIP treatment – invitations to
offline events, profiles showcased
• Awards for fans who answer the queries of others
• Activists can be called upon to publically support
the company in times of crisis
• More details here

14. Research in the finance industry
• ‘late adopters’ in terms of their own presence
but customers are still googling them!
• Research online then buy offline
• People trust recommendations from friends
and even strangers online more than supplier
messages
• Majority would appreciate financial firms
engaging in discussions and answering
questions directly on platforms

15. Social Media business objectives in the
Finance industry (Swiss data)
• Customer dialogue (64%)
• employer brand (59%)
• image and reputation (52%)
• public relations (41%)
• customer relations (35%)
• recognise crisis (35%)
• not missing trends (31%)
• create trust (28%)
• distribution and product information (21%)
YouGovPsychonomics (2011) Social Media in Financial Service
Industry

16. How can SM add specific customer value?
• Establish product reviews and ratings as well as information exchange among
customers
• Interactive explanation using pictures and slides or video of how to fill‐in forms
• Make complicated customer cases public and share experiences with all customers
• Offer free advisory services via a public forum
• Product terms and conditions of (small print) are explained in short videos.
• Provide information about new legal requirements and taxes
• Suggest products that other/similar customers have bought
• Run an information channel providing essential information associated with
categories such as legal advice, tax advice and health advice

17. Opportunity or threat?
• Allow interaction and engagement between business and
customers
• Allow customers to engage with each other
• Customers now more likely to take recommendations from a
stranger than one directly from the supplier
• Companies can no longer control the content of their
message, but can influence the dialogue to some extent
• http://mashable.com/2009/09/22/social-media-business/
“Businesses who choose not to adapt to the new culture will be at an increasing
disadvantage…we are now in the age of open communication, engaged dialogue,
and transparency, and business success has less to do with the size of ad budgets
than the quality of interactions with customers.”

18. Summary
• Businesses cannot avoid social
media...conversations about the brand will be
taking place online regardless
• Social media is moving beyond an
experimental marketing strategy to impact
upon all areas of the business
• Significant structural and cultural change may
be required to realise the benefits