eMarketer Webinar: Social Media Marketing for Verticals—What Works for Key Industries

JULY 19, 2012

Social Media
Marketing for
Verticals—What Works
for Key Industries

Victoria Krista
Petrock Garcia Sponsored by:

©2011 eMarketer Inc.

Talking Points

• How are marketers in key vertical
industries using social media to achieve
specific goals, and why?

• Which social media tactics are a good fit for
some industries but not for others?

• How can marketers in regulated industries
make the most of social media marketing?
• What can marketers in different verticals
learn from each other?

Twitter: #eMwebinar © 2012 eMarketer Inc.

Social Media Has
Become Integral to
Marketing

© 2012 eMarketer Inc.

Social networking is growing both in the
US and worldwide

eMarketer forecasts that there will be 157.8 million US social
network users in 2012, rising to 170.7 million in 2014.

Worldwide, there will be nearly 1.4 billion users in 2012, rising to
more than 1.8 billion in 2014.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Companies
in many
industries
are
charging
ahead with
social
media...


…and using it in a variety of ways

“There’s no one specific
use for social media. It
serves many
masters. ...You want to
shore up brand loyalty.
You’re trying to promote
engagement with the
online properties and, of
course, awareness and
conversation.”

—Andy Murdock, US digital editor at
Lonely Planet (Americas)


But one size does not fit all

Image: Carlos Porto/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net © 2012 eMarketer Inc.

Different social media make more sense
for different industries

Scale image: vichie81/FreeDigitalPhotos.net © 2012 eMarketer Inc.

How and Why
Industries Use Social
Media Differently


Factors that help determine social
media strategy

• What am I trying to accomplish?
• Who is my target audience and what are their online
habits?
• What type of offering do I have?
• How well does it lend itself to online discussion?
• How much education must I do to market it?
• How good is my company’s reputation? My industry’s
reputation?
• Are there privacy concerns that might make discussion in a
social forum difficult?
• Are there regulations or other restrictions on discussing it?


Different tactics are more suited to
different industries
(But the most effective are the ones that tap the “ME” in
Social MEdia)

“Certain categories work better
in social media because social
is all about the creation of an
identity by posting, then
sharing those posts to create
community.”
—Jon Kubo, chief product officer at social commerce
platform 8thBridge


Some
company
types are
much more
likely to be
“liked” on
social
media
than
others


That’s why
different
industries
choose
different
tools and
approaches


Automotive:
Building Upper-Funnel
Brand and Model
Awareness


Auto shoppers go online for research and
recommendations...

“We know that
more than 90%
of folks are doing
their auto
research online.”
—Jon Brancheau,
VP of Nissan marketing
at Nissan North America


...and are
influenced
by social
media in a
number of
ways


Automakers have found particular
success in building product awareness

“Social works best in the upper
part of the funnel. That’s not to
say there aren’t specific
initiatives you can apply in the
lower funnel, but we find social
is great to build brand
consideration with different
audiences.”
—Carolin Probst-Iyer, manager of digital consumer engagement at
Chevrolet


Auto brands use social media to drive
conversation and build excitement


The Nissan Versa Road Trip contest
supported the model’s launch

“The level of engagement has
exceeded our expectations in
terms of the numbers of people
who have engaged and shared
with their friends.”

—Jon Brancheau, VP of Nissan marketing at Nissan North
America


BMW’s “0 to Desir3” encouraged
aspirational interest and brand advocacy

“It depends, but
predominantly [social
media] is more about
engagement, sentiment
and building a base of
brand advocates than
it is about a lead to a
dealer.”
—Kate Alini, social media and
emerging technologies manager
at BMW of North America

Image courtesy of BMWBLOG.com


Travel:
Building Loyalty
Through Outreach
and Customer Service


Travel
brands
must
directly
and quickly
address
reputation
and
customer
service
issues


They were early adopters in using social
media for customer outreach

Image: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Airline and hotel brands focus on
customer service to build loyalty


Reviews
on social
sites carry
weight
with
travelers;
hotels
monitor
them
closely


Hyatt and Marriott use social media to
engage with valued guests


The airline industry is already among the
most responsive on Twitter…


KLM used a “Surprise” campaign to
build goodwill and loyalty

“Treating customers
as actual ‘friends’ by
being open,
transparent and
authentic, we hope to
receive valuable
feedback, co-create
with followers and
answer their questions
with our 24/7 support
on social.
—Anna Ketting, manager of
social media at KLM

Image courtesy of KLM

Retail:
Inspiring Shoppers
and Rewarding Fans


Among US
retailers
on
Facebook,
promo
activities
are far
more
common
than
commerce
efforts


Most major retailers have closed down
Facebook commerce operations


What went wrong?


More than half of consumers are
concerned about safety


Oscar de la Renta and Bobbi Brown
Cosmetics use Facebook exclusives


Younger users could hold the key to
success on Facebook


The death of Facebook commerce may
be greatly exaggerated


Pinterest holds potential for retailers


Image-sharing is powerful, but the path
to monetization is unclear


Regulated industries face a unique set
of social media challenges

“Brands that have more
restrictions and
regulations need to be
more creative with the
way they’re leveraging
social media channels
than some consumer
product companies.”
—Paul Dalessio, senior vice president
at Fleishman-Hillard


Financial Services:
Building Strategic
Personal Relationships


In the financial industry, it’s all about who
you know

Image: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot/FreeDigitalPhotos.net © 2012 eMarketer Inc.

Financial
reps are
using
social
media to
establish
stronger
relation-
ships


Financial brands are also using social
media to cultivate new business


Financial services firms put high priority
on personal-relationship development


Charles Schwab uses @Schwab4RIAs to
communicate with investment advisors

“Before we launched
the Twitter channels,
we partnered closely
with our compliance
and legal teams to
assemble policies and
procedures that
would keep us within
regulations.”

—Lindsay Tiles, director of
corporate public relations at
Charles Schwab


Guardian Life works with SocialWare to
help agents use social media

“We have offices
around the
country that are
coming back
saying that the
No. 1 source of
new referrals into
the business is
social media.”
—Steve Holstein, CMO of
Guardian Life Insurance
Company of America

Image courtesy of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Pharmaceuticals:
Fostering Education,
Information and
Community


Internet users seek health-related
information and community online


But the pharmaceutical industry faces
tall regulatory hurdles online

“The adage ‘everyone wants to be second’
is still at play, as brands watch each
other and observe the FDA’s reaction to
various social experiments.”
—ComBlu, “The State of Online Branded Communities”

Image: scottchan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Pharma companies are using social
media to educate and inform


Pfizer introduced the “Get Old” project to
raise awareness of aging issues

Image courtesy of Pfizer


The “Lilly Pad” blog supports
government affairs and policy initiatives

“We don’t talk about products or
even have an in-depth disease-state
conversation without getting
special permission through our
lawyers and other powers that be.”
—Greg Kueterman, director of corporate communications at Eli Lilly

Image courtesy of Eli Lilly & Co.


Sanofi tapped its influencer network
during an insulin pen recall

 Outreach to carefully cultivated influencer community of
bloggers, community managers and advocacy organizations

 Communicated details about the recall of the Apidra®
SoloSTAR® Pen and where to go for more information

 Integrated efforts with other online media, including Twitter
and paid search and sent email and direct mail to
prescriber base and pharmacists

 Reached 25,000 people within 24 hours


Though uses may differ, social media
best practices cut across industries

• Listen first and listen often

• Create a solid strategic plan

• Be honest and transparent

• Involve the whole organization

• Develop good relationships with legal and
regulatory advisors

• Give careful thought and effort to measurement

Image: Danilo Rizzuti/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Key Takeaways

 A shotgun approach won’t work. Strategies and tactics are
industry- and company-specific. Do what works best
for you and focus on doing it well.

 Campaigns are consolidating around top platforms, but
there is room for growth. Look beyond Facebook and
Twitter if and when it makes sense.

 Campaigns that add value get the most traction. What
does the audience want and how can you give it
to them?

 Best practices cut across industries. Strive for
consistency, transparency and measurability.


WHY PINTEREST?

BY THE NUMBERS
Extreme Growth
According to ComScore, Pinterest is the fastest growing social network in both unique visitors and clicks from
search engines. The network saw +4377% growth between May 2011 and May 2012. Pinterest users were
found to spend more, buy more items and conduct more online transactions than other social media buyers.

Site Engagement
Pinterest ranks behind only Facebook and Tumblr for user engagement time. Many users describe Pinterest
sessions as addictive, leading to 98 minutes per month for the average user.

Traffic Referrals
In June Pinterest scored its highest referral traffic yet, surpassing Bing and Google (referral) for the first time.
It now ranks only behind Facebook, Yahoo, and Google (organic).
Additional Source: Tech Crunch, Shareaholic

LOWE’S HOME IMPROVEMENT
Lowe’s does an excellent job segmenting their boards for specific user needs and
interest areas. Holiday themes (Christmas & V-Day), passion subjects
(Pets & Crafts), product/room specific (Lighting, Bedrooms, Bathrooms). They
even leverage sponsorship by featuring NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson’s
Instagram pics.

U n iq u e
F e a tu re
Gift card board
drives retail
connection with
8K+ followers.

PINTEREST FACEBOOK INTEGRATION

THANK
YOU
ABOUT VITRUE

Vitrue is the global leader and innovator of social enterprise software. It

offers the industry’s most scalable and secure cloud-based social marketing

solution, enabling brands to harness the full marketing potential of social on

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and emerging platforms. First-to-

market with Instagram and Pinterest modules, the award-winning Vitrue

SRM platform collectively manages more than one billion social relationships

in over 100 countries across more than 4,500 social accounts for its clients.

For more information, visit www.vitrue.com, Like on Facebook and follow

on Twitter.

Q&A Session Learn more about digital advertising with
an eMarketer corporate subscription
Social Media
eMarketer publishes more than 120 reports
Marketing for
each year. The following are just a few
Verticals—What Works reports about industries and social media:
for Key Industries
 Social Media for Industries: Assessing Opportunities
in Automotive, Travel, Financial Services and
Pharmaceuticals

 Facebook Commerce: Reaching Shoppers Where
They Socialize
Victoria Petrock
Krista Garcia  Social Media for Travel Marketers: Cultivating
Conversation to Capture Customer Sentiment
You will receive an email
tomorrow with a link to  Worldwide Social Network Usage: Market Size and
view the deck and Growth Forecast
webinar recording.

Sponsored by: To learn more: www.emarketer.com/products
800-405-0844 or webinars@emarketer.com
Vitrue
©2012 eMarketer Inc.

eMarketer Webinar: Social Media Marketing for Verticals—What Works for Key Industries

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eMarketer Webinar: Social Media Marketing for Verticals—What Works for Key Industries