Leveraging Social Media to Drive B2B Influence
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Learn about how to create a social media influencer program by developing the social media skills of your own employee subject matter experts to drive demand.
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Leveraging Social Media to Drive B2B Influence
- 1. Leveraging Social Media to Drive B2B Purchase Influence Alex Flagg Director, Customer & Market Insights Hewlett-Packard © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 2. • Enterprise insights, marketing and advertising for HP, Sun, AT&T, and Microsoft • Passionate about cracking the code to B2B marketing • Trivia: Grew up in NYC, Broadway actor, fluent in Italian Alex Flagg Director, Customer & Market Insights Email.: Alex.flagg@hp.com linkedin.com/in/alexanderflagg Twitter: @alex_flagg © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 3. • Social Media Strategy and Planning for HP, Intel, Nike and Disney • Love developing fresh, new ideas for complex business challenges • Trivia: Bass Player, ex-Vermont Park Ranger, Pop Culture Junkie Rebecca Hill Director, Social Media Email: rhill@doremus.com LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/r ebeccahillsf/ Twitter: @rebeccer © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 4. Businesses have a finite amount of money and time; therefore they must identify the most connected people they can to help expand their reach. Dr. Bernardo Huberman Director of HP Labs Social Computing © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 5. Social media is becoming increasingly important in influencing B2B purchases “Which of the following sources of information influence your decision-making?” Support forums, discussion forums Professional social networking sites Blogs Virtual events Online videos LinkedIn Facebook Twitter 5 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 6. A small, influential segment produces most of the social media content… Mass Mavens 1.64 billion influence posts 176 million online adults MM 6 13.8% of Online adults 80% of posts, comments, ratings © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Base: US online adults - Source: North American Groundswell Heroes Online Survey, Q4 2009 MM
- 7. B2B social media influencer outreach strategy B2B customers Industry Influencers Social Channels Goals • • • • • BE where customers are Ensure brand is top of mind Human connection Shorten buy cycle Maximize consideration and lead conversion potential Subject matter experts engaged in HP communities 7 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 8. Direct engagement to the most important conversations 8 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 9. Connect with key influencers [HP Influencers] 9 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 10. The strategy HP Thought Leadership Relevant Influential People Custom Content Influencer Outreach KPIs (External and Internal) 10 Share of Influence, Engagement, Lead Generation © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 11. Christian Verstraete Chief Technologist, Cloud Solutions Case study: Making a star The Star Maker Program raises the profile and influence of HP thought-leaders. Criteria for selection: 1. Dedication 2. Personality 3. Topic focus 11 Paul Muller VP Software Marketing, HP Software © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Rafal Los Senior Security Strategist, HP Software
- 12. The Star Maker Program PHASE I: The “Makeover” PHASE II: Cross-Platform, Episodic PHASE III: Creating Business Impact 12 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 13. Phase 1: The Makeover • Custom content • Consistent publishing cadence • HP brand support Video (2x Mo) LinkedIn (1x Dy) sm Tweet (3x Dy) 13 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Blog (2x Wk)
- 14. Phase 1: The Makeover CHANNEL BASICS • Follow external influencers on Twitter • Re-tweet external influencers when appropriate • Connect via LinkedIn to all top external Influencers • Join and post in non-HP groups • Follow external influencers via blogs (RSS feed, Google Alert) • Provide a YouTube playlist for each Star • Write blog posts that ladder to high profile content • Reply to all Blog Comments, Likes, etc. • Invite external influencers via Twitter to read and respond to Blog. 14 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 15. Phase 1: The Makeover Passive Content-sharing Promotional Corporate 15 Passionate Conversational Provocative Charismatic © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 16. Phase 2: Cross-Platform, Episodic “This Week in the Cloud” Six Weeks To Answer six Key Questions on Cloud Computing 16 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 17. Phase 2: Cross-Platform, Episodic 17 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 18. Phase 2: Cross-Platform, Episodic 6, one hour Twitter Q+A’s with external influencers at 1pm EST on Thursdays 18 Cloud Tweaks sponsored blog posts and Twitter syndication © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Cloud Skype chats with the Christian, Paul and Rafal
- 19. Phase 2: Cross-Platform, Episodic Custom Content / Direct Engagement 19 Drive to Topic Hub on HP.com © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Syndication / Promotion
- 20. Phase 3: Creating Business Impact Establish a clear way for enabling HP’s earned and owned media to drive engaged audiences to lead nurturing programs 20 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 21. Phase 3: Creating Business Impact 21 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 22. Phase 3: Creating Business Impact Briefing 22 Content Tracking © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Distribution Analysis
- 23. Phase 3: Creating Business Impact Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Averages 1-2% Stars’ Blog Posts with Inbound Averages 4% 23 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 24. Events 24 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 25. Events HP / Non-HP Events Stars External Influencers Syndication / Distribution 25 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 26. Results © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 27. Results: How we measure success Share of Influence Engagements Prospects 27 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Measurement and Insight: • Social Listening • Web Analytics • Marketing Automation
- 28. Results: Optimizing activities to reach influencers TOPICS • Cloud Strategy • Big Data • Security and the Cloud ACTIVITIES BIO HP Chief Technologist, Cloud Strategy – Curator – Spokesperson – Social Media Influencer 28 • Twitter, Live Chat Host / Moderator • Hosted Video Topics • Event Video Host • Event Video Interviewee • Writer, Blogs and White Papers © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Scorecard
- 29. Results: Media / PR took notice 29 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
- 30. Why all this matters - meet the new homepage June 23, 2011 – “Google Hits the Billion Monthly Unique Visitor Mark” 30 © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. ©2012 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
- 31. Questions? Alex Flagg Director, Customer & Market Insights Rebecca Hill Director, Social Media Alex.flagg@hp.com linkedin.com/in/alexanderflagg @alex_flagg rhill@doremus.com linked.in.com/in/rebeccahillsf @rebeccer © Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
Editor's Notes
- Thanks Electronic Arts for hosting the event and for having us. I have a 5 and 7 year old and so far, the most we’ve let them play is Aliens vs Zombies, so I was hoping to get my daddy fix of Command and Conquer while I was here at EA. I have a new role at HP in our customer and market insights team focused on helping our Enterprise business units understand their target market including social media. I’m going to talk today about my former role focused on driving social media results with our B2B audience. Today, I’m going to talk a bit about the importance of digital influencers in the marketing mix.
- I grew up in NYC, I love B2B because I like the challenge of figuring out how to influence a complex buy cycle with a maze of stakeholders.
- Bernardo Huberman who is HP Director of HP Labs Social Computing has done a lot of research on how social media can be used. For example, he came up with an algorithm to predict box office sales for Movie theaters based on Twitter sentiment. Bernardo says that Businesses have a finite amount of money and time; therefore they must identify the most connected people they can to help expand their reach. In social networks, brands can connect with everyday people who are the celebrities of their networks.
- LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform for B2Bs with an 83% adoption rate. 65% have acquired a customer via LinkedIn.34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter.Brands using the “+1” button on their content increase referral traffic by 350%.
- Forrester did a survey of 10,000 US online adults and found that a very small number of individuals, less than 14% account for 80% of all social media activity. These mass mavens as they call them control a disproportionate share of the conversation. They typically have amassed a large following and hold a certain credibility, informational or entertainment value.
- And so if you carry this notion of digital influence into the B2B space, one of the strategies we use to reach our customers is through these mass mavens who have enormous influence over the topics we want to be known for such as Cloud Computing and Enterprise Security. From our research, these influencers have 36x more Twitter followers than the general population of folks participating in these conversations.So one of the ways we reach our customers is through these digital influencers whom we know our customers follow. We do this by encouraging our subject matter experts to engage through social media channels with these Mass Mavens, the influencers in areas like Cloud Computing and Enterprise security. The goal is to ensure that HP is top of mind, that we establish a human connection with the brand and of course by engaging regularly with these industry influencers we hope to shorten the buy cycle and maximizing conversion to lead potential by being engaged where are customers are.
- In order to find these influencers, we use social listening tools that create a network map of these conversations. These clusters of networked individuals are commonly referred to as a tribe because they have like interested and language. The folks in the middle are the most influencial.
- Our goal is to try and get our influencers as close as possible to the center of these conversations. And as they begin to engage with these influencers, they also get more connected and their traffic increases.
- So now that we know who the influencers in the middle are how do we engage them. Well step one is to make sure we have something interesting to day. We have an editorial team to help create custom content such as articles and videos which might be relevant in these conversations, then we find HP employees who can act as our ambassadors and promote HP’s thought leadership and drive share of influence, engagement and ultimately lead generation.
- We created a program call Star Makers. The idea is to take the raw talent of our subject matter experts for given topics, welcome them into the program, and raise their profile and social media footprint. To select these individuals, we looked for individuals who had already been participating in social media via blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn.We also looked for people that would be able to:Dedicate time and interestHave the personality to be mavens, in front of videoAnd be able to drive thought leadership around a topic focus (e.g., big data)
- There are three phases of the Star Maker program.
- The first phase (or, the Makeover) is focused on set up and training for each of the Stars.This includes content / publishing, channel, and personality / tone of voice/Content needs to be posted on a consistent schedule:2 video posts per month2 blog posts per week (HP / ECF)Start conversations on LinkedIn and Twitter by @replying, asking questions, posting simple, open ended questions and polls, most of which should be related to and aligned with video programming.Blogs: 2x / week (HP.com). Michele may be able to extend blog posts to CIO.com. For ECF, looking to do 3 posts / month.
- Basic platform training across the social media platforms.
- We started with a content, channel and syndication audit. What’s working? What’s not? How can we set and meet success benchmarks?Directly connect with the community via the Social Media channels, with an active and conversational tone and a real personality. Shift from passive to active voice and have personality and conversations, don’t just post links to your contentHashtag useTone of Voice(from organization to personal)@replies, mentions, retweetsWho to followName of BlogPlaylist set upNames:Cloud SourceCross the StreamsFollowing the White Rabbit
- 6 weeks 6 key Cloud themes6 videos featuring the “3 Amigos” discussing the key themes and their POV’sAdditional video content, integrating CIOs and bloggers from Australia Integration of IDG and other influencers (e.g. Dana Gardner) to support interactive discussions – Twitter QA, Skype chats etcPromotional plan to maximize awareness of “3 Amigos” and the Cloud Strike
- 6 weeks 6 key Cloud themes6 videos featuring the “3 Amigos” discussing the key themes and their POV’sAdditional video content, integrating CIOs and bloggers from Australia Integration of IDG and other influencers (e.g. Dana Gardner) to support interactive discussions – Twitter QA, Skype chats etcPromotional plan to maximize awareness of “3 Amigos” and the Cloud Strike
- 6 weeks 6 key Cloud themes6 videos featuring the “3 Amigos” discussing the key themes and their POV’sAdditional video content, integrating CIOs and bloggers from Australia Integration of IDG and other influencers (e.g. Dana Gardner) to support interactive discussions – Twitter QA, Skype chats etcPromotional plan to maximize awareness of “3 Amigos” and the Cloud Strike
- 6 weeks 6 key Cloud themes6 videos featuring the “3 Amigos” discussing the key themes and their POV’sAdditional video content, integrating CIOs and bloggers from Australia Integration of IDG and other influencers (e.g. Dana Gardner) to support interactive discussions – Twitter QA, Skype chats etcPromotional plan to maximize awareness of “3 Amigos” and the Cloud Strike
- Clear Way: A detailed, repeatable, and scalable process that outlines roles, responsibilities, inputs and deliverables E&O Media: For the purposes of this pilot includes – Project Insight Star blogs, Discover Performance, IT Experts Community, Enterprise CIO Forum, Technology @ Work, SEM and HP.comEngaged Audiences: Leading with highly-relevant content provides the context that will prepare prospects to dive deeper into HP’s POVLead Nurture: Use a call-to-action within content to drive prospects to a fated asset that serves as the entry point for a series of nurturing touches
- Benchmark current influence of Star Maker Program.They stars were ready – through research, we found that they all had enough cred and trust in the space to be able to provide deeper pull through to lead nurture opps with their community influence.
- Develop a coordinated, scalable workflow across the organization
- Assign benchmark contribution #s to Star Maker content.
- Another activity we do on a regular basis to supplement the virtual events is live blogger technology days where we invite the most influential bloggers to meet our own HP bloggers and check out demos of some of the latest technology. By bringing them to gether we create long lasting relationships that get carried on much more effectively once they’ve had that personal contact together. A big benefit of doing this is also that it produces a great deal of buzz and content that we can leverage, it increases our star maker influence scores and reaches a new audience with our thought leadership content.LEADReal-time content and conversations with HP Evangelists, External Influencers and HP Customers during eventENGAGEThrough high value video content and real-time event coverage and Twitter Q+AsGALVANIZEConnect and promote through HP Social Media Channels to pull back to HP.com ecosystem for lead nurture opportunitiesCreate long-lasting relationships with external influencersGenerate buzz and user content during and post-eventIncrease influence and authority of Stars and HPExpose new audiences to HP thought leadershipBackstage site used to support HP Discover 2012 in Frankfurt, leveraging YouTube, HP and external blogs, Twitter, etc. Videos were created to connect those who could not attend, as well as connect big hit / big bet editorial themes to external thought leadership. Video content featured Star Makers Paul Muller and Rafal Los as well as interviews with HP customers.Leveraged HP Software social channels, as well as the extended HP thought leaders to encourage traffic and viewership to the Backstage site and video series via YouTube, respectively. The HP Software team also piloted a new live video event from the showroom floor through platform partner Live Stream that integrated live video with virtual/social integration (Twitter, etc.).
- Bernardo Huberman who is HP Director of HP Labs Social Computing has done a lot of research on how social media can be used. For example, he came up with an algorithm to predict box office sales for Movie theaters based on Twitter sentiment. Bernardo says that Businesses have a finite amount of money and time; therefore they must identify the most connected people they can to help expand their reach. In social networks, brands can connect with everyday people who are the celebrities of their networks.
- Share of InfluenceFollowing / Growth / Mentions / Keyword AssociationsExternal InfluencersEngagementsConversation / Comments / SharesReader / Viewership / External InfluencersProspectsOpt-Ins to HP NewsletterCTR from Blogs and SM to Gated AssetsForm Completes
- Huge growth in Christian’s personal engagement and influence scores.
- I think a better metric are the other results he’s getting such as the regular citations in technology Pubs. During this time Christian was listed as number 16 among Forbes Top 20 influencers in Big Data. Many of the influencers in the space refer to his articles or posts. So we can say that he’s gone from having a decent sized following at the beginning to emerging as an influencer in the space.
- So why is growing influence important? Event if our customers aren’t reading these blogs, we know that Google is picking up social media more and more. We know that over 90% of our customers use google as a form of research so if nothing else, we need to make sure we maximize every opportunity to be where our customers are.