social media and events - mea

thinktank mediasocial media for events

social media for event planners

brought to you by: MEA and thinktank media - Jan 2011


Expectations.....

Interactive presentation

The more you give the more you get back

Share your experiences and frustrations

Questions and Answers

Smiles

Conversation

Real Life Examples

Take Away Tips

Some writing and group work


What we will nail this morning!

>>>> 2010 - The year in review

>>>> Best platforms and the best tactics to use to maximise your returns within the social media space!

>>>> Best campaigns in 2010 and why they became so successful.

>>>> Perceived trends for 2011 and how to be reactional to these.

>>>> What you need to do to either get your social media program up and running or tighten up your efforts so far.

>>>> Make critical changes (if necessary) to your current communication and marketing strategies to continue down a successful path.


“Australia is the country with the second largest reach (behind Brazil), with 72% of their Internet population active users of social networking/blogging”

“Australians spend the most time on social networks/blogs, averaging 7:19:13 hours per month”

Source: Nielsen Wire Survey June 2010


What does that mean for YOU...in the events industry!

A HUGE opportunity to tap into a network - eg.

1. potential customers that are waiting to hear what you have to say

2. potential customers who are actively looking - realtime!

3. people who trust, like and respect you and will market the brand for you (unconsciously)

4. an opportunity to stand out from your competitors and tap into an untouched market

5. an opportunity for you to be listened to by your target market...if you have 1. solid strategy, 2. exciting/meaningful creative and 3. execution wisely

6. to spend a quarter of the costs on traditional media and have a bigger impact!


Let’s take a look at Australia.......

Stats 2010


Around 1/3 of SMBs in Vic (32%), Qld (32%), SA (27%) & NSW (27%) are

already active in social media.

30% of SMB social media users are based in capital cities and 26% are

based in regional areas.

SMBs in the services area (31%) are more active in social media than the

goods industry (21%)

47% of social media users have sold products or services through social

media sites. 58% of sellers have sold through Facebook.

Stats: 2010 - Australian SME’s - Source Optus


80% of businesses allocate, or plan to allocate, less than 20% of their marketing budget to social media.

5% allocate more than 50% of their marketing budget to social media.

Benefits of social media include:

-networking 78%

-increasing sales through engaging customers 82%

65% of those planning to use social media are unsure of its benefits.

14% of those not planning on using social media consider it a fad. 52% feel its not appropriate for

their industry.

Stats: 2010 - Australian SME’s - Source -Optus


The game is changing with more people shifting their focus to social networks for :

Trusted referals from their friends and online connections.

Social channels for recruitment - gaining insight into a possible candidate

Closer contact with the brand

Increased touch points to sell products/service

Another communication channel

Another marketing channel and special online/social deals

Organic search rankings

Real time news

Networking with highly targeted audiences - and advertsing to these also


Facebook Statistics, Stats and Facts for 2011

Facebook is now used by__________________with over 250 million of them (over 50%) who log in every day. The average user still has about _____ friends, but that should expand in 2011.

48% of _____ year olds check Facebook when they wake up, with 28% doing so before even getting out .

The 35+ demographic is growing rapidly, now with over 30% of the entire Facebook user base. The core 18-24 year old segment is now growing the fastest at ______ year on year.


Over _________ minutes a month are spent on Facebook, 20 million applications are installed per day and over 250 million people interact with Facebook from outside the official website on a monthly basis, across 2 million websites.

Over ______ million people access Facebook via their mobile phone. 48% of young people said they now get their news through Facebook. Meanwhile, in just 20 minutes on Facebook over 1 million links are shared, 2 million friend requests are accepted and almost 3 million messages are sent.


What does that mean for meetings and events...

>>> People have more options than ever to select a meeting/conference, event , experience.

>>> People have more ways to find out about your event and more ways to share this with others

>>> Incorporating social media into your planning can increase content relevance, drive participation, assist in measurablity and drive positive ROI


Look at your current marketing strategy: %’s on....

Print

Radio

TV

SEO

Social Media

Email

Guerilla advertising/Ambient/Outdoor/Street Media


2011 Trends: Social media marketingWhat we saw in 2010:

a) Putting greater focus on data bias in social media – people increasingly point out the difficulty of using easily obtained measures, such as pageviews, bounce rates and so forth.

b) Defining your audience and learning to join conversations are key – most experts agree it is becoming increasingly more critical to produce content that has real value and relevance for your target audience.

c) A huge % of businesses opeing up a facebook page, yet not having a clue why...apart from the fact that “everybody else is”

d) A 32% increase in social media spend from 2009

e) Indentifying that a brand can leverage their awareness/leads/sales further, yet doesn’t have a clue where to start

f) A s$#t load of social media gurus/strategists...but who do we trust?

g) The importance of social media strategy


So what’s in store for 2011 ?

What is a Facebook fan worth?

Social media marketing is becoming a significant driver of consumer product discovery.

Clicking ‘Like’ on a brand’s page is one thing, but regularly returning to that page or reading its content is another matter.Trends incude:


What’s possible on facebook.......

Apart from the community building capacity on the worlds largest social network

Countless applications to assist in value, awarness and growth

Stats and highly targeted advertising - gender/age/ocupation/location

And more...

Tracking ROI via apps - measurable platform

Selling event space/products/services/booking system (third party site)

Incentive based marketing - eg. downloadable customised coupon/vouchers - facebook connect


What you need to do to get your social media program up and running?


Goals/objectives that are measurable

Developing a strategic goal suited to you

eg. SM should help improve client and potential customer engagement

Developing comprehensive objectives takes time.

Formulate up to three KPIs that would align with your SM strategy

For this you need to define objectives that address these issues:

- what objectives need to be accomplished (spell it out)?

- what quantity is expected?

- what time-frame will be looked at?

- what quality level represents acceptable performance (define quality, please)?


Objective for SM: We want to improve the number and quality of blog comments we get in the next four months. We budget about four hours to write and prepare each blog post (i.e. we post twice a week).

Identify what you mean by quality regarding comments. For instance, is it based on the number of words in each comment, links to posts or white papers elsewhere on the web, or something different?

In order to monitor your KPIs, you need a baseline to start with, which is a picture of your blog and its ‘vital’ statistics at a certain point in time.

Using the wrong benchmark measure is expensive!

ROI measures how effectively the brand is using its resources to generate a financial profit.


1. Use statistics to compare to traditional media: Remember, clicks seem to get the most appreciation from the c-suite for what Social Media can give in terms of cost-benefit analysis.Look also at eg.facebook insights/goals set in google.

2. Set 2-3 comprehensive goals for 2011 - clicks, views, sales, re-tweets (RTs), facebook likes, lead generation etc – establish a baseline for Febuary and watch the trends go in the right direction.

3. Cost-benefit analysis is required: Use quantitative as well as qualitative/soft measures. Develop KPIs that make sense and the “powers that be find” relevant.


5 best practice steps to help you develop useful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will result in actionable metrics for your social media activities.

Ensure management understands the difference between operating and financial metrics. What are important drivers or operating metrics - success/failure?

Define, write down and agree on the operating metrics you want to use and stick with them.

Know your customers and derive everything, including social media activities, from that knowledge.

a) provides information that helps customers do their work smarter, and

b) empowers readers to get more out of event space they purchase from the company.


Choose a social media tool that at least 20 percent of your current and potential clients already use themselves. Provide content that is perceived as useful and adding value.

Establish how a particular social media channel can drive cost reductions and/or new product/service uptake. eg. facebook app (ecommerce)

ROI is the outcome, but we need to understand how social media efforts contribute to operating metrics. Hence, we must establish how the input – social media – drives the desirable output, such as lowering marketing costs or improving customer satisfaction.


Focus on the 3 to 5 KPIs that represent the most important drivers of value creation for your social media activities. KPIs must fit your company’s needs!

Assure KPI buy-ins from your stakeholders, including your team, superior(s) and possibly key clients and/or investors.

Establish a baseline and timeline.

A baseline is a measurement used as a point of comparison. In turn, it can be used to asses progress against the budget or set of other objectives, including KPIs

So it is advisable to first collect data whenever one begins social media monitoring to see where you stand.

Benchmarking against your own past performance is the only completely relevant measure. Therefore, improvement over the course of several months is what really matters.


Bottom line

“Surely nobody tries to quantify the ROI of air conditioning. Having it when outside temperatures reach 35 degrees Celsius helps office productivity, making it a mediating factor for, though NOT a cause of, ROI. Similar reasoning applies for social media measurement” Urs E. Gattiker


Social Media Resources:


Assigning tasks:

What Who When

SM Policy

Monitoring+ Analysis

SM Strategy

SM Tools Strategy

SM Style guide

SM Crisis Management

SM calendar/timetable

Tools set up, branded

Resource allocation on roll out

Monthly Measurment and Reporting


Social Media Strategy:


Social Media Tools Strategy:

Most popular - facebook - twitter - linkedin - youtube - blogs

Becoming increasingly more utilised - mobile devices - eg.iphone/ipad

What that means is people can access information at anytime, from anywhere.

Who’s your best friend right now???


Social Media Policy:

What’s needed.....


Social Media Crisis Management:

What’s needed....


Facebook Applications:

Eg. Richmond FC

Eg. Fit n Fast

Eg. South Pacific

Eg. Jones Soda


Facebook Places:


Case Studies:

Vodafone’s Power Pinata Facebook Challenge

Case study:

An Airline That Uses Social Media To Create A REAL Smile! KLM

1. It’s not about social media - it’s about human relationships.

2. It’s not about the numbers - it’s about one person.

3. It’s not coming from “ROI” - It’s coming from giving value and making people happy.


General:

Qualities of a successful social media campaign:

Tactics of a successful social media campaign:


Get in touch!

Thanks for attending today’s session. We trust you took some value away with you.

If you’re keen to speak with us further then:

Contact : 03 90231487

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @thinktankmedia or @sammutimer

Facebook: http://facebook.com/thinktankmedia.au

For a downloadable presentation please contact [email protected]

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