Developing the Social Media Value Chain: A Conceptual Framework for the

Measurement of Social Media Prof Geoff Bick, UCT GSB

Kerry Littlewood, MBA ECSM 2015

Table Mountain, Cape Town: One of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World

UCT Graduate School of Business

THE STUDY Social Media Measurement

The Growth of Social Media

Source: Search Engine Journal Infographic, 2013

Source: Stats courtesy of World Wide Worx & Fuseware. Infographic by Gullen & Gullen.

Social Media Snapshot in South Africa

Challenge of Measurement Analytics Leadership Organization Jobs Social Media Performance Spending Growth Marketplace

Half  of  all  firms  haven’t  been  able  to  show  the impact of social media on business

42

Figure 5.5.. Which best describes how you show the impact of social media on your business?

49.2%

34.8%

15.9%

We have proven the impact quantitatively

We have a good qualitative sense of the

impact, but not a quantitative impact

We  haven’t  been  able  to show the impact yet

Source: CMO Report, 2014

Research Problem

To develop the social media value chain and provide a

conceptual framework for the measurement of social media.

Literature Review Author Model Details

1 Murdoch, 2009

Social media measurement process linking measurement to objectives

Link KPIs to objectives to establish social media targets to gauge success.

2 Hoffman & Fodor, 2010

Relevant metrics organised by social media objectives

List of metrics per social media application including blogs and social networks broken down by brand awareness, brand engagement and word of mouth.

3 Peters et al, 2013

S-O-R framework for social media metrics

Holistic framework using logic of stimulus (marketing inputs such as price), organism (social media motives, content, network structure and social roles & interaction) and response (precise success measures such as awareness) to guide measurement and metrics.

4 Larson & Watson, 2011

Firm/Customer social media dyad Framework to understand what matters to the firm and which activities are work investing and monitoring. A simple set of customer and firm activities linked to motivating consequences including awareness, persuasion and collaboration.

5 Luo & Zhang, 2013

Conceptual framework to investigate the effect of “consumer buzz” on the value of the firm

Framework to explore the influence of “consumer buzz” (UGC) on consumer connections, resulting in an expanding consumer base, increasing margins and consumer value with the ultimate effect on the performance of the firm.

6 Kietzmann et al, 2011

Honeycomb of social media Honeycomb framework to identify social media functionality and the implication of user experience of the functionality on the firm.

7 Farshid et al, 2012

Chernoff faces Provide a comparison of the changing mood in social media conversations. A limitation is the snapshot view of a brand at a particular time.

8 Hoffman & Fodor, 2010

4 C’s Consumer oriented framework (control, connection, creation and consumption)

Approach to understanding customer investment and considerations of customer motivations and investment for a long-term return of social media.

Theoretical Framework: Brand Value Chain

Source: Keller & Lehmann, 2003

Q1: What is the strategy and investment of firms in social media, i.e. what do firms do?

Q2: What is the role of the customer in social media programmes, i.e. what do customers think and do?

Q3: What is the return of social media investment and how is this measured, i.e. what do firms get?

Research Questions

•  Modified Delphi method: –  First round = in-depth interviews –  Second round = feedback

•  Population –  Social media experts in South Africa –  Majority agency & consulting

•  Analysis –  Mixed coding strategy –  Inductive themes identified –  Deductive addition of relevant data

Methodology

Findings Question 1: Strategy & Investment Themes

Strategic focus of social media

Marketing

Customer Relationship Management

Social business

Start with social media objectives

To drive awareness and stay top of mind

To listen and engage with customers

To realise business returns

Social media investments

People and training

Content and creative

Technology (CRM platforms, analytics tools)

Influences on social media campaigns

Moving towards integrated communications

A good content strategy is key

Finding the right tone and persona of the brand

Choosing the right platform

Targeting the right audience

Findings Question 1

Findings Question 2: Role of Customer Themes

Focus on the individual customer

The rule of 90, 9 and 1: 90% like your page and never come back and unless you are boosting your content, don’t engage; 9% are in the middle, they look, they watch, but they don’t comment or like and then 1% are active, the engaged 1% - if you can reach and build relationships with 1% it works, if you foster that 1%, they do your marketing for you and your word of mouth.

The rise of the influencer Influence is not how many followers you have but influencer tribes. Leveraging others to do marketing and pocket together.

What are our competitors doing?

We do have online monitoring and based on the competitors, see what they are doing in their space. Competitor is an influencer to all.

Social listening

Listening to someone is like a really good friendship, if I’m going to do all the talking in the relationship and don’t really listen to you, you’re not going to be friends with me, so a brand has to listen back.

Findings Question 2

Findings Question 3: Return of Social Media Themes

Social media return

Measure against objectives

Word of mouth

Trust and loyalty

Authentic business

Metrics that matter

Reach

Engagement

Brand mentions

Sentiment

Business outcomes

Additional metrics – ROPO (research online, purchase offline)

Maximise success

From obscurity to attention

Timing is everything

A budget for paid media

Findings Question 3

The Social Media Value Chain

Recommendations

geoff.bick@gsb.uct.ac.za | kerrylittlewood@gmail.com