Social Media’s Duel Edged Sword:The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Presented to the Cause Marketing Forum on February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 2
About Geoff
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 3
Why a Duel Edged Sword?
• Affiliating with causes has never been easier
• $• Citizens can not only
participate, but they can provide feedback
• Requires a deeper level of authenticity in CSR
February 15, 2011Image by Guitarwarlord
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 4
Examples: The Good (AMEX)
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 5
AMEX: Post Mortem
• Good: Integrated media relations, influencers online to drive traffic
• Good: Strong use of Facebook application. Used Twitter, etc. to drive to application.
• Good: Call to action: Like = dollars • Good: Call to action: Sign up, spend, get a discount• Good: Used Wall to share small business stories,
encourage engagement.• Bad: Moment in time, has not sustained.• Bad: Not enough traffic driving back to AMEX site.
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 6
Examples: The Bad (Groupon)
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 7
Groupon: Post Mortem
• Bad: Calls to action to help charities were not obvious.
• Bad: Web site for people to participate and donate was never highlighted on the ads!!!
• Bad: Blogosphere blew up, Groupon did not address concerns, instead justified on their blog
• Bad: Groupon did not engage bloggers directly, disregarded feedback
• Bad: Groupon didn’t message effectively on social channels
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 8
Examples: The Ugly (Komen/KFC)
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 9
KFC/Komen: Post Mortem
• Bad: Komen web site contradicted the campaign with its research
• Bad: No social media component, but… social media ended up being a key medium.
• Good: Blogosphere blew up, KFC engaged directly
• Bad: Komen ignored it
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 10
Dos and Don’ts from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Do: Use Facebook, Twitter as direct channels to enage, drive traffic to cause marketing site.
• Do: Expect online engagement. Use social media tools to empower people to participate in the cause activity.
• Do: Have a socially enabled web site that explains the action (authenticity), even if SM has small role in promo. Consumers do not distinguish.
• Don’t: Ignore bloggers and criticism. Address it, lest it escalate. Plus necessary for search.
• Don’t: Let Facebook own your traffic.
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 11
The Current State of Authenticity
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 12
Infusing Authenticity to Reflect Culture
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 13
Authenticity Example: Haagen-Dazs
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 14
Dos and Don’ts from Make a Bee
• Do: Have your own site to drive traffic to from Twitter, Facebook, traditional comms
• Do: Use SM to empower people to participate as individuals: Make and send a bee
• Do: Explain your company’s interest in the cause
• Don’t: Forget to integrate Twitter and Facebook into your site, so outbound sharing can happen
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 15
The Importance of Tying Back to Culture
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 16
Ripples of Kindness
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 17
Dos and Don’ts from Ripples of Kindness
• Do: Use influencers to seed the campaign ideas (400 people, $100)
• Do: Give people a way to sound off, participate• Do: Explain your purpose (Could have tied better
to the mission)• Do: Integrate Facebook and Twitter outbound
promo, even if you are Yahoo!• Don’t: Forget to integrate traditional comms! It
works better if you do.
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 18
Pepsi Refresh: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 19
The Good
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 20
The Bad
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 21
The Ugly
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 22
Do’s and Don’ts from Pepsi Refresh
• Do: Empower people to act on behalf of the cause on your own site
• Do: Integrate traditional PR and marketing into online influencer programs
• Do: Use Facebook and Twitter as primary inbound/outbound channels
• Do: Address criticism head on • Do: Acknowledge wrongs, change and evolve• Don’t: Over focus on the company promo. • Don’t: Fail to clearly state the cause. In this case, no
specific causes, so theory of change?February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 23
Summary Points
• Civic media is the great opportunity to embrace customer voices
• It can also turn on us• To avoid worst case
scenarios, cause marketing campaigns need better engineering
• Authenticity mapping to corp. culture, ethos
• Use the tools to connect dots for stakeholders
• Have your own site, use Facebook Twitter for In AND Outbound
• Empower stakeholders to participate, embrace and own your story
• Be prepared for the ugly, and evolve (two way dialogue)
February 15, 2011
Social Media, a Duel Edged Sword 24
Questions?
February 15, 2011