I presented this deck at a Social Media Leadership Forum event in London in February 2012 to put some context around what The Economist is doing in the social media space.

1. Social
media
in
a
global
economy
February
2012
Nick
Blunden
|
Global
Managing
Director
&
Publisher
|
Economist.com
E:
nickblunden@economist.com
|
M:
+44
7968
838933
|
T:
@nickblunden

2. It
is
a
parOcularly
appropriate
Ome
for
us
to
be
talking
about
the
role
of
social
media
“There
are
reasons
to
bet
Facebook
will
jus5fy
the
hype,
for
it
has
found
a
way
to
harness
a
prehistoric
ins5nct.
People
love
to
socialise,
and
Facebook
makes
it
easier.”
The
Economist
(Feb
2012)
Source:
The
Economist

3. Clearly
The
Economist
is
not
the
only
major
internaOonal
organisaOon
interested
in
this
space
“400
billion
tweets
and
not
one
useful
bit
of
data
was
ever
transmiCed.”
Onion
News
Network
Link:
h3p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ380SHZvYU

4. But
let’s
start
with
some
history:
The
Economist
was
first
published
in
September
1843
To
take
part
in
a
"severe
contest
between
intelligence,
which
presses
forward,
and
an
unworthy,
5mid
ignorance
obstruc5ng
our
progress"
Source:
The
Economist

5. It
has
taken
us
169
years
for
our
global
circulaOon
to
top
1.5m
Global
Print
CirculaOon:
1,487,010
Global
Digital
CirculaOon:
100,000
Combined
Total
CirculaOon:
1,587,010
Data
source:
ABC
UK/US
July-­‐December
2011

6. But
less
than
5
years
to
reach
more
than
1.5m
Twi[er
followers
@TheEconomist
established
May
12th
2007
Source:
The
Economist

7. As
a
‘tradiOonal’
media
business
this
could
be
seen
as
something
of
a
surprise
“Among
the
audience
the
‘here’s
the
way
it
is’
tone
appears
to
be
the
an5thesis
of
the
idea
of
par5cipa5on”.
The
Economist
New
Media
special
report
2006
Source:
The
Economist

8. However
The
Economist
has
always
been
a
parOcularly
social
brand
“Carrying
The
Economist
is
sort
of
like
wearing
a
shirt
that
says
‘I’m
smart
and
worldly
and
interested
in
knowing
things
about
Ghana.”
Ezra
Klein,
Washington
Post
Picture
credit:
h3p://www.flickr.com/photos/schlunzi/80251464/

9. We
are
leveraging
this
inherent
socialability
to
build
a
social
ecosystem
not
just
a
news
site
The
world’s
most
valuable
community
for
intelligent
analysis,
discussion
and
debate
Source:
The
Economist

10. We
are
doing
this
because
we
believe
that
social
media
is
transformaOonal
not
just
a
fad
“A
revolu5on
doesn’t
happen
when
society
adopts
new
tools,
it
happens
when
society
adopts
new
behaviours”
Clay
Shirky,
Here
Comes
Everybody
Picture
credit:
h3p://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2011/09/16/social-­‐media-­‐why-­‐its-­‐useless-­‐for-­‐democraYc-­‐poliYcs-­‐usipblogs-­‐arabspring/

11. Indeed
social
media
is
clearly
already
transforming
the
news
and
current
affairs
business
Top
Twi[er
hashtags
of
2011
1.
#egypt
2.
#Ogerblood
3.
#threewordstoliveby
4.
#idontunderstandwhy
5.
#japan
6.
improudtosay
7.
#superbowl
8.
#jan25
Picture
credit:
h3p://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/dec/13/guardian-­‐weekly-­‐news-­‐review-­‐2011

12. It
is
also
beginning
to
radically
change
the
markeOng
landscape
for
our
adverOsers
“We’re
going
through
a
revolu5on
a
whole
lot
like
the
Industrial
Revolu5on.
The
change
is
that
profound.”
John
Hayes,
CMO,
American
Express
Source:
h3ps://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_we_see_it_Three_senior_execuYves_on_the_future_of_markeYng_2835

13. And
although
disrupOve
for
us
social
media
is
unlocking
the
extraordinary
potenOal
of
ideas
“Thinking
really
is
connec5ng.
It’s
connec5ng
ideas
together
into
a
network.
So
that’s
why
it’s
so
fun
that
we
live
in
the
age
of
networks.”
Richard
Ogle,
Smart
World
Video:
available
from
The
Economist
on
request

14. As
a
result
we
have
changed
the
way
we
think
about
the
content
creaOon
process
“The
blog
is
strong
on
reasoned
argument,
links
to
evidence
and
avoids
the
nasty
and
fruitless
polemics
that
bog
down
so
many
other
parts
of
the
Web.
Most
posts
have
a
sharp
and
thoughQul
point
about
a
public-­‐
policy
issue...
And
if
that
weren't
enough,
the
comments
sec5on
aCracts
educated,
intelligent
remarks.”
Tyler
Cowen,
’25
Best
Financial
Blogs’
Picture
credit:
www.economist.com

15. And
we
have
started
to
break
down
the
barriers
between
our
journalists
and
our
audience
“The
role
of
journalists
in
this
new
world
is
to
add
value
to
the
conversa5on
by
providing
repor5ng,
context,
analysis,
verifica5on
and
debunking,
and
by
making
available
tools
and
plaQorms
that
allow
people
to
par5cipate”
Jeff
Jarvis,
What
Would
Google
Do?
Picture
credit:
www.economist.com

16. This
enables
us
to
harness
extraordinarily
levels
of
social
engagement
and
parOcipaOon
"I
enjoy
your
comments
sec5on
because
of
how
well
moderated
it
is.
It
is
a
much
more
civil
place
than
most
news
sites,
it
comes
as
close
to
true
discussion
than
any
other
news
site
(I
generally
just
avoid
the
comments
most
places
-­‐
reading
them
or
making
them!)"
Economist.com
user
Picture
credit:
www.economist.com

17. There
is
no
such
thing
as
a
social
media
expert
but
we’ve
learnt
some
lessons
along
the
way
“A
journey
of
a
thousand
miles
begins
with
one
small
step”
Chinese
proverb
Picture
credit:
h3p://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfagerdotcom/6023062691/

18. Social
media
is
a
truely
global
phenomenon
not
just
a
western
one
designed by rikard.andresen@gmail.com
Russia
The Netherlands 26.06m
6.30m
56%
45%
62%
42%
46%
Canada 18%
11.72m
UK Poland Japan
54% 12.03m
19.27m 13.66m
43% 48%
44% 16%
26% 46%
40% 16%
28% 26% 8%
Germany China
155.29m
18.81m
47%
USA 47%
114.55m 53%
38%
34%
South Korea
51% 32% 10.93m
51%
23%
20% Italy
33%
France 12.66m
15.92m 38% 11%
57% 49%
Hong Kong
45% 36% 2.56m
28%
39%
Philippines
56%
14.43m
Mexico Spain 33%
10.10m India 60%
12.80m 35.08m 73%
47%
52% 50% 46%
45%
63% 64%
37%
36% Malaysia
49%
11.50m Indonesia
18.93m
Brazil 54%
57%
33.49m 63%
66%
54% 41%
52%
51%
34% Singapore
1.96m
Australia
48%
7.05m
57%
Global Map of Social Networking 2011
50%
32%
48%
27%
About the Map Global Social Network Penetration
This shows the universe size of active
social networkers for each market and
80%
then segments users into three behaviour
types: Messagers, Groupers and Content
Sharers. This behavioural data is based 70%
on a number of detailed questions we
conduct into the way that consumers use
% Active Online Users
60%
social networks. Because social
networking is now so big and touches
50%
every aspect of our internet experience,
this detail is essential for the effective Behaviour Types:
planning and implementation of 40%
marketing activity across social active social networkers (millions)
The most detailed study on the consumer adoption of the
networks. This data reveals that users 30% internet ever compiled:
across the world are very different in how messagers and mailers
they utilise their network, with more focus PC /// Mobile /// Tablets /// TV sets /// Gaming
on messaging and less on content 20% 100K+ surveys a year /// 3 waves a year /// 36 markets
sharing in established markets like the content sharers
US and UK but more focus on content
and groups in fast growing markets like
10%
Find out more /// www.globalwebindex.net/
joiners and creators of groups mail /// globalwebindex@trendstream.net
Indonesia and China. 0%
do s
M sia
ia
ng a
ut any
a
Po e
n
th UK
M d
ng co
ds
Fr n
G nce
ng
ve A
Ca e
da
Au ina
lia
ly
Ru il
ia
az
ne
or
Si ndi
re
pa
ai
lan
g
l A US
Ita
ss
ys
ra
lan
Ho exi
Ko
na
ne
ra
Sp
Ch
Ko
ap
Br
pi
So rm
a
Ja
ala
st
I
ilip
er
e
h
In
Ph
Ne
ba
lo
Facebook
fans
top
10
countries
for
The
G
Economist:
US,
India,
UK,
Canada,
Pakistan,
Italy,
Brazil,
Germany,
Turkey,
Indonesia
Source:
Global
Web
Index

19. But
Facebook
and
Twi[er
alone
do
not
consOtute
a
global
social
strategy
Fastest
growing
social
networks
1.
Sina
Weibo,
2.
Pinterest,
3.
Google+,
4.
Tumblr,
5.
Instagram
Source:
Sina
Weibo

20. Technology
clearly
has
a
criOcal
role
to
play
in
realising
the
global
social
media
opportunity
“The
Economist
has
a
highly
ac5ve
and
engaged
audience
in
terms
of
both
clicks/
Tweet
and
Retweets/Tweet,
sugges5ng
a
high
level
of
alignment
between
content
posted
and
aCen5on
users
are
willing
to
provide.”
Social
Flow
Source:
The
Matrix

21. But
social
engagement
is
as
much
an
art
as
a
science
so
human
involvement
is
essenOal
“When
I
looked
at
tweets
from
@TheEconomist,
I
could
tell
immediately
that
they
were
handwriCen,
with
a
variety
of
approaches
–
some5mes
incorpora5ng
a
headline,
but
not
always
–
and
frequent
use
of
hashtags.”
Poynter.org
Picture
credit:
h3p://www.flickr.com/photos/nodivision/3907667713/

22. There
are
no
hard
and
fast
global
social
rules
so
everything
should
be
tested
and
opOmised
PosOng
frequency
The
use
of
hashtags
Headlines
v
body
copy
Picture
credit:
h3p://www.flickr.com/photos/nodivision/3907667713/

23. But
understanding
what
success
looks
like
from
a
social
perspecOve
is
sOll
fundamental
Global
page
views
from
Facebook
up
148%
Global
page
views
from
Twi[er
up
226%
Picture
credit:
h3p://www.flickr.com/photos/drewm/468436732/

24. A
good
place
to
start
is
to
forget
about
adverOsing
and
start
thinking
about
value
exchange
“You
can’t
just
buy
aCen5on
anymore.
Having
a
huge
budget
doesn’t
mean
anything
in
social
media…The
old
paradigm
was
pay
to
play.
Now
you
get
back
what
you
authen5cally
put
in.
You’ve
got
to
be
willing
to
play
to
play.”
Alex
Bogusky,
Founder
CPB
Source:
Facebook

25. Because
in
the
world
of
social
media
complete
control
is
just
an
illusion
“Conversa5ons
among
the
members
of
your
marketplace
happen
whether
you
like
it
or
not.
Good
marke5ng
encourages
the
right
sort
of
conversa5ons.”
Seth
Godin,
Permission
MarkeOng
Source:
LinkedIn

26. Some
types
of
content
confer
instant
social
currency
so
are
naturally
more
social
than
others
37k
Facebook
likes,
2k
Tweets,
762
LinkedIn
shares,
732
recommends
Picture
credit:
www.economist.com

27. And
not
all
social
planorms
perform
the
same
role
Facebook
=
comment
Twi[er
=
share
Tumblr
=
like
LinkedIn
=
discuss
Reddit
=
link
Source:
h3p://theeconomist.tumblr.com/

28. Despite
our
successes
we
sOll
have
plenty
more
lessons
to
learn
“The
doorstep
to
the
temple
of
wisdom
is
a
knowledge
of
our
own
ignorance.”
Benjamin
Franklin
Source:
Google+

29. But
we’ve
seen
enough
to
know
that
the
social
media
opportunity
is
too
good
to
waste
Picture
credit:
www.economist.com

30. Social
media
in
a
global
economy
February
2012
Nick
Blunden
|
Global
Managing
Director
&
Publisher
|
Economist.com
E:
nickblunden@economist.com
|
M:
+44
7968
838933
|
T:
@nickblunden