community marketing: using customer & peer endorsement to lift conversions, generate leads, and...

Community MarketingUsing Customer & Peer Endorsement to Lift Conversions, Generate Leads, and Drive Engagement

Prepared by Chris Oquist, Percussion Software

August 09

Presenters

• Chris Oquist , chris_oquist@percussion.com– Marketing Manager

• Patrick LaPenna, Grand Rapids Community College– Director of Solutions

• Nate Barad, nate_barad@percussion.com– Director of Solutions

Follow Up:ed_michalski@percussion.com

781-438-9900

Agenda

• What Is Community Marketing?• Why Is It Important?• Best Practices For Implementation• Grand Rapids Community College• Percussion Community Marketing Solution• Questions and Answers

What is Community Marketing?

• The act of enabling your online visitors to behave how they were hardwired to – socially.

• Leveraging peer endorsement to drive action.

• User-Generated Content (UGC)Ratings Reviews

Polls

CommentsUploaded Rich Media

Third-Party Community Content

What is Community Marketing?

The Social Internet Is Not New– Newsgroups– ListServs– Chatrooms– Discussion Forums

What is Community Marketing?

It’s Not Going Away

What is Community Marketing

Community Marketing can generate:

Awareness

Conversions

Leads

Revenue

Trust

New Products and Services

Self-SupportEngagement

Loyalty

Why It’s Critical

1.The Web is pervasive and ubiquitous.

Why It’s Critical

2. Traditional “push” marketing is less effective than ever before.

60% of American consumers don’t believe that companies tell the truth in advertising (Source: Yankelovich)

However…

Why It’s Critical

78% of users say consumer recommendations are credible (Source: Nielsen)

84% trust user reviews more than “expert” reviews

(Source: MarketingSherpa)

56% of site owners say user-generated content lifts conversion levels; 77% say it increases traffic; 42% say it boosts consumers’ average spend.

(Source: eConsultancy)

Why It’s Critical

And it’s not just B2C users…

Why It’s Critical

93% consider ratings and reviews very valuable for business decisions (Source: Carlsson Research)

58% have removed a supplier as an option because of negative reviews (Source: Carlsson Research)

Why It’s Critical

3. Internet users are empowered.

However…

Why It’s Critical

Why It’s Critical

Communities Drive Results

Communities can increase revenue per customer dramatically - up to 50% (Deloitte)

Communities Drive Results

Communities can increase revenue per customer dramatically - up to 50% (Deloitte)

Communites Drive Results

You don’t need to be Dell or

Starbucks to engage your users.

Giving Your Users A Voice

• Ratings and Reviews• Polls• Comments• Rich Media• Third-Party Community Content

Ratings and Reviews

Ratings and Reviews

• Lift Conversion Rates– 79% of online UK retailers reported that consumer-

generated rating and reviews improved site conversion rates. (eMarketer)

• Drive Traffic through Search– When asked what sources they are "very likely" to

consult before making a buying decision, 62% named Web sites with user reviews as their top choice. (Marketing Sherpa)

• Buyer Satisfaction– Items on Petco.com with consumer reviews have a

20% lower return rate on average than items without. (Internet Retailer)

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

1. Make them familiar

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

1. Make them familiar

- Use Star Ratings

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

1. Make them familiar

- Use Star Ratings

-Show Date and Reviewer Info

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

1. Make them familiar

- Use Star Ratings

- Show Date and Reviewer Info

- Allow Users To Rate Ratings

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

1. Make them familiar

- Use Star Ratings

- Show Date and Reviewer Info

- Allow Users To Rate Ratings

- Summarize Review Information

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

2. Make them prominent

- Display in Search Results and Category Pages

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

2. Make them prominent

- Display in Search Results and Category Pages

- Allow Users to Narrow (or Sort) by Results

Ratings and Reviews – Best Practices

3. Ask for them!

- “Write a Review” Link On Product Page

Polls

Polls

• Gain valuable, real-time insights.

• Easy way to increase engagement and participation.

• Demonstrate market relevance.

Polls – Best Practices1. Make them familiar

Polls – Best Practices1. Make them familiar

- Clear Call To Action

Polls – Best Practices1. Make them familiar

- Clear Call To Action

- Use Radio Buttons

Polls – Best Practices1. Make them familiar

- Clear Call To Action

- Use Radio Buttons

- Allow Users to Vote and View Results

Comments

Comments

• Empower Your Readers– Users who post messages or contribute

reviews visit sites nine times more often than noncontributors do.

(McKinsey & Co)

• Source Their Insights

• Demonstrate Community

Comments – Best Practices1. Make it EASY

Comments – Best Practices1. Make it EASY

- Place Comment Form Below Comments on Permalink Page

Comments – Best Practices1. Make it EASY

- Place Comment Form Below Comments on Permalink Page

- Complete, open form

Comments – Best Practices1. Make it EASY

- Place Comment Form Below Comments on Permalink Page

- Complete, open form

- Call to action and clear instructions

Comments – Best Practices1. Make it EASY

- Place Comment Form Below Comments on Permalink Page

- Complete, open form

- Call to action and clear instructions

- Link to Blog Comment Policy

Comments – Best Practices2. Acknowledge

Participation- Display number of comments beneath blog post title

Comments – Best Practices2. Acknowledge

Participation- Link to commenter’s URLs

Comments – Best Practices2. Acknowledge

Participation- Respond.

Rich Media

Rich Media

• Generate Awareness and Traffic– HP “You On You” contest generated 300

entries, 2,300 subscribers, and 430,000 pageviews in three days.

• Highly Social– Inherently suited for sharing on social

networking sites (Flickr, Youtube, Slideshare, Facebook, Myspace)

• Source Compelling Content– TripAdvisor saw user-generated content grow

from 5m items in ’06 to 20m in ’08.

Rich Media – Best Practices1. Make it relevant

Rich Media – Best Practices2. Encourage Participation

- Clear call to action.

Rich Media – Best Practices2. Encourage Participation

Rich Media – Best Practices2. Encourage Participation

- Simple Title.

Rich Media – Best Practices2. Encourage Participation

- Simple Title.

- Short, concise instructions.

Rich Media – Best Practices2. Encourage Participation

- Simple Title.

- Short, concise instructions.

- Display examples right by call to action.

Rich Media – Best Practices3. Make It EASY

Rich Media – Best Practices3. Make It EASY

- Remind users what they’re doing.

Rich Media – Best Practices3. Make It EASY

- Remind users what they’re doing.

- Auto-Fill Information Whenever Possible

Rich Media – Best Practices3. Make It EASY

- Remind users what they’re doing.

- Auto-Fill Information Whenever Possible

- Clear Instructions

Rich Media – Best Practices3. Make It EASY

- Remind users what they’re doing.

- Auto-Fill Information Whenever Possible

- Clear Instructions

- Include disclaimers (eg. Intellectual Property) but make them non-threatening

Rich Media – Best Practices3. Make It EASY

- Remind users what they’re doing.

- Auto-Fill Information Whenever Possible

- Clear Instructions

- Include disclaimers (i.e. Intellectual Property) but make them non-threatening

- Allow Users To Preview Their Submissions

Rich Media – Best Practices5. Acknowledge Your Users’ Efforts

Best Practices

That’s great, but what about…

Best Practices

• Negativity?

– 80% of reviews are positive. (Forrester)

– Conversion rates are HIGHER for products with both negative and positive reviews.

• Users trust the process.• Weaknesses are known.

Best Practices

• Moderation?

– Purpose-driven moderation– Moderate lightly – transparency works– Link to your Moderation Policy

Best Practices

• Registration?

– Keep barriers low (don’t require registration unless you really need to.)

Pulling It All Together

Pulling It All Together

Pulling It All Together - REUSE

• User-Generated Content is an Asset– Use it to drive your goals

- Feature user questions on your homepage

Pulling It All Together - REUSE

• User-Generated Content is an Asset– Use it to drive your goals

- Leverage peer endorsement on your homepage.

Pulling It All Together - REUSE

• Enable content exchange

- Import content from across your web presence (Twitter, Flickr, Facebook wall.)

Pulling It All Together - REUSE

• Enable content exchange

- Import content from across your web presence (Twitter, Flickr, Facebook wall.)

- Automate the distribution of content

Pulling It All Together - REUSE

• Aggregate from external sources.

- Leverage third-party content that delivers value to your users.

Pulling It All Together – TAKE CUES

• Let Your Visitors Drive Your Content Strategy

Pulling It All Together - CONNECT

• Tie Your Site To Your Web Properties

- Prominently display social links on your homepage.

So Where Do We Begin?

• Make it purpose-driven– Vineyard: Wine Pairings– University: Course or Instructor Ratings, Alumni

Video Testimonials– Financial Site: Bull or Bear Thumb Ratings– Non-profit: User-submitted campaign guides– Healthcare: Patient Testimonials

• What information are your users looking for?– Let them provide it to each other.

Grand Rapids Community College

• Founded 1914• Serving the community’s education needs

– Two campuses in Grand Rapids and the Lakeshore area

• Rapid expansion of our downtown campus

– Technical Training and Workforce Development resources

• Non-credit classes

– Affordable transfer credit for students continuing their education at other institutions

• Accessible to all students

Grand Rapids Community College

GRCC’s Approach To Social Media

• Driven by the requirements of our students• Core group of early adopters among staff

for technology• Superb resources in video production

– College Television Channel– In house production facilities

Grand Rapids Community College

Testing The Waters

• Some departments and faculty have embraced social media like Facebook and Twitter

• Growing interest among student population• Other areas beginning to recognize power

of social media

Grand Rapids Community College

YouTube

• http://www.youtube.com/user/grcctv• Almost 1000 videos uploaded to date

– Award winning television productions– Class lectures– Advertizing and Marketing Promotions

• Can easily be used in classroom and website presentations

Grand Rapids Community College

Facebook

• http://tinyurl.com/d9esga• Pages for the college, alumni, and specific programs• Groups for student organizations, athletic teams, and issues

of interest– Created by students and others– Source of feedback on policies and programs

• Another mode of communication– Student questions – “How do I start a student

organization?”– Campus Events– Important dates from academic calendar– Highlights from YouTube

Grand Rapids Community College

Twitter

• http://twitter.com/GRCCadmissions• Admissions

– Important dates related to enrollment

• Communications– Marketing and community relations

• IT Help Desk– Service alerts and system status

Grand Rapids Community College

Future Developments

• Implement Percussion for Fall Semester– Access to timely and accurate information– Opportunity for social media integration– Reuse of user-generated content

• Blogs– Early adopters have created personal blogs– Requests for comments and feedback on content

• Collection and analysis of website statistics – Targeted development to optimize return on

investment

Grand Rapids Community College

Future Developments (cont.)

• User Feedback and Content Review– Improve transparency– Set targets for development

• Video Integration– Targeted at specific website audience– Video testimonials – User-generated content

Percussion Community Marketing Solution

Percussion Community Marketing Solution

Delivery TierCM Tier

CM Server

Existing WebApplications

WebServers

Online InteractionServices

Third PartyApplications

DatabaseSecurity InternalApplications

Dynamic Web

ExperienceBusiness Users

Community Marketing Solution

RSS Feeds Deliver content beyond your site

Capture external feeds

Blog Integration Leverage your blog channel both to and from your site

Publish using standard content types or integrate with third-party blogging platforms

External Content Capture Pull in any structured content from any site on the Web

User-Generated Content Allow site visitors to directly submit their own content

http://www.percussion.com/solutions/community-marketing/

Thank You

Questions?