MSL China Executive Whitepaper MSLCould China Whitepaper 1 Anyone Be Executive Your Brand Ambassador
Anyone Could Be Your
Brand Ambassador By Stephy Liu, Enson Hu, Phoebe Li and Catherine Cao
About MSL China
About the research
Following the union with Eastwei MSL, MSL China is
Marketing and PR experts acknowledge the
now a top 5 international strategic communications
importance of social media in creating a positive
agency in Mainland China. With 200 colleagues
brand image. Based on recent statistics, the total
across 4 offices, MSL China brings together over
number of Chinese internet users just surpassed
20 senior consultants with more than 12 years
500 million. According to a 2011 social media report
of strategic communications experience in this
released by marketing management company InSites
key global market. Part of MSLGROUP Greater
Consulting, over 50% of Chinese internet users are
China, the largest PR & social media network in
registered on social media platforms and over 70%
the region today, MSL China provides knowledge
of those users follow brands, and 39% of Chinese
driven, integrated campaigns and advisory services
social media users connect via mobile phone.
spanning nearly every industry and communications
With trends suggesting increased social and mobile
discipline. MSL China has received recognition from
media growth, many companies are doing more with
the International Business Awards, The Holmes
social media networks. Many company-run brand
Report’s “PR Agency of the Year,” the China
pages and weibos are thriving in this new marketing
International PR Association and China’s New Media
environment and are attracting a strong following.
Festival for its creativity and effectiveness in strategic
But there are also pages which remain desolate, and
communications and industry-leading social media
have failed to gain the support of users. So what is
offering.
the secret to building a successful, attractive brand
www.mslchina.com.cn
page for social media platforms? In August 2011, China’s largest domestic social
About MSLGROUP
networking services (SNS) platform Renren
MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe’s PR, speciality
platform would be free of cost and companies
communications and engagement group, advisors
flocked to the site to build their own brand pages.
in all aspects of communication strategy: from
In consideration of the sudden influx of brand
consumer PR to employee communications, from
pages, MSL China’s social media experts teamed
public affairs to reputation management and from
up with Renren to conduct a joint research project to
crisis communications to event management.
understand the most effective practices for operating
With more than 2,900 people, its offices span 22
SNS brand pages. The objective of this guide is to
countries. Adding affiliates and partners into the
provide you with effective brand page management
equation, MSLGROUP’s reach increases to 4,000
models, as well as a basic understanding of how
employees in 83 countries. Today the largest PR
online word-of-mouth can work for your company.
network in Greater China and India, the group offers
This paper is organized by a series of practical
strategic planning and counsel, insight-guided
descriptions and suggestions, such as ‘The Value
thinking and big, compelling ideas – followed by
of Social Media’, ‘Operating Your Brand Page’, and
thorough execution. Learn more about us at: www.
‘Measuring Results from Your Brand Page’. We
mslgroup.com+ http://blog.mslgroup.com+ Twitter+
provide case studies and examples of how to best
YouTube
manage, leverage, and measure the impact of your
announced that establishing brand pages on its
social media marketing programs.
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
The Value of Social Media
If your customers are not already on social media, then they are on their way P5 P5 P7 P7 P7
Social media and the different types of social media platforms Incorporating social media into your marketing strategy The value of brand fans A simple and effective marketing model for SNS Brand pages
Preparing Your Brand Page
Your company’s corporate management model and social media strategy should be complementary P8 Brands and brand pages P8 The steps in building a brand page P10 Setting up multiple brand pages for companies with several brands or product lines
Operating Your Brand Page
Finding the brand and consumer social media heartbeat P12 P12 P13 P14 P16
Brand page managers, and the duties and qualifications of the operations team What brand fans care about Ensuring that brand pages maintain a personality and achieve your business goals Responding to fan comments Responding to negative feedback and communicating with brand fans during a crisis
Promoting Your Brand Page
Attracting fans from the brand page to your store P17 P18 P19 P20
Quickly gain brand fans Integrating online and offline activities Finding and engaging opinion leaders Using your brand page to increase sales
Measuring the Results of Your Brand Page The input-output measures of social media marketing P21 Measuring return on investment (ROI)
3
The Value of Social Media If your customers are not already on social media, then they are on their way
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
Social media and the different types of social media platforms
Social media refers to web-based and mobile technologies that enable people to write, share, discuss, and communicate with others. SNS and microblogs (called weibo in China) are the two most common types of social media platforms, designed to accommodate different user needs. SNS are online communities centered on reallife relationships and are a powerful tool to build connections; they include sites like Renren and Facebook. On the other hand, microblogs are topic or subject matter focused, and are oriented toward information sharing rather than building and
Incorporating social media into your marketing strategy The popularity of social media is a global phenomenon, but there are few markets where it is as prevalent as China. According to InSites Consulting’s 2011 market report on global social media trends:
· 15% of people worldwide are connected to at least one social media, but the figure for China is 44%; · 62% of all Chinese social media users follow brands and 90% believe that information about brands on social media is reliable; · In China, 39% of social media traffic is via mobile phone; 78% of mobile users follow brands, and 12% of them use LBS (location based service) to share their location with friends when posting content.
SNS relationship circle
Microblog information circle Strangers
Common interests
Famous people Friends
Family Friends Me Schoolmates Friends’ Classmates Friends Close Friends Colleagues Public Pages
Relationships guide interaction
Celebrities
Public Pages
Information guides interaction
Renren.com, is China’s leading real-name SNS that is highly engaged by university students and young white collar professionals across the country. Renren provides powerful, feature-rich products including News Feeds, Blog, Album, Status Updates, Sharing, Music, Xiaozhan, LBS, Social Games, and Social Commerce to meet the communication, entertainment and shopping needs from over 220 million registered users.
maintaining relationships. Sina Weibo and Twitter are two popular microblog platforms.
Studies show that social media has a clear correlation with consumer purchases. Based on the AISAS marketing model, the process consumers use in deciding to make a purchase can be closely associated to social media. Companies looking to reach a larger target audience should infuse social media into their marketing strategies.
Consumer decision making process (Each step incorporates social media)
ATTENTION
INTEREST
SEARCH
ACTION
SHARE
information, advertising, community, marketplace, word of mouth, experience
information, advertising, community, marketplace, word of mouth, experience
comments, web search, reviews, trial
e-store, marketplace
community, word-ofmouth, sharing
5
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
The value of brand fans
Nielsen conducted an online survey designed to measure the value of brand fans in social advertising on Renren. In the report, Nielsen quantified the value of fans for 50 brands in the automotive, fast moving consumer goods, financial and IT industries. The report shows that: 路 Brand fans have a clear impact on business. Research has shown that brand fans are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow. This tendency is attributed to brand perception, preference and previous ownership. 路 Interaction with the brand on a social media is shown to influence future purchases by brand fans; moreover, brand fans for each industry are more likely to spend more on brand purchases than nonfans. For example, fans of a certain computer brand are more likely to make future brand purchases compared to non-fans and on average spend
A simple and effective marketing model for SNS
Brand fan estimated future spending (compared with nonfans) Banks: 4,424RMB more
IT (mobile phone, computer, appliances): 384RMB, 1,206RMB and 1,163RMB more respectively
Automobile: 24,000RMB more
Fast consumption: 180RMB more
RMB 1,206 more on the brand. This is true for other industries as well, with bank fans spending RMB 4,424 more, automobile fans spending RMB 24,000 more, mobile phone fans spending RMB 384 more, and fast moving consumer goods brand fans spending RMB 180 more. 路 Because of their increased loyalty and opportunities to sell to them, brands should continually interact and build closer relationships with their fans.
of-mouth marketing online. Many companies have successfully adopted the following simple and effective social network marketing model: 1) Build up a brand page, 2) Advertise to increase connections, 3) Publish via their network. 2: Place Social-ads, build connections with consumers, gather Brand Fans
1: Establish a brand page
Social media provides companies with a platform to connect with consumers. On a SNS platform, anyone could become your brand ambassador. One of the secrets to a successful SNS platform is being able to effectively stimulate word-
Brand pages
A brand page is an official public page belonging to a company, organization or celebrity on a social networking site. Companies use brand pages to
3: Use the News feed to send out brand info. and stimulate Word-of-Mouth
attract users interested in their brand and add them as brand fans. Brand fans have access to brand updates (news, product information, events) and interact with the brand and other fans at their convenience.
7
Preparing Your Brand Page Your company’s corporate management model and social media strategy should be complementary
Brands and Brand Pages
Brand pages aren’t exclusively for large brands. Small and medium-sized companies can also set up a brand page as a way to connect with consumers. The brand page enables companies to identify opinion leaders, initiate dialogue and develop online word-of-mouth. But first, before setting up an account, it is important to consider the following:
The Steps in Building a Brand Page
After one of our clients decides to set up a social media account, MSL China will prepare a “Company Social Media Execution Guide” for the brand and company. This guide includes: behavior models for typical fans, a social media map, KPI (key performance indicator) management, and guidelines on tone of voice, style and interactive techniques. This manual can help companies and their PR agencies to improve the effectiveness of
· Is your target audience using social media? · Is your brand or client currently dealing with bad press? If so, you may want to temporarily delay setting up a brand page – or create a dedicated page to deal with the issue. · Does your brand have enough content to discuss? Social media are based on daily, high-frequency communication. · Do you have someone capable of managing the brand page? It needs at least 1-2 dedicated individuals to maintain.
communication so as to ensure that the brand’s message reaches its target audience. Before launching your brand page, we suggest taking the following steps. Determine the brand’s social personality The brand page provides the brand with a direct, fast and effective social media platform for daily communication with target consumers. But to create a meaningful and effective communications channel, the company must determine the brand’s social personality: human traits
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
based on existing brand characteristics. For example, IKEA’s social personality is based on a 30 year old traditional Swedish woman: simple, honest, and familyoriented. These personality traits reflect IKEA’s business goals and target audience. MSL China will develop a customized “brand social guide book” for each client, which contains a variety of useful tips to help the company effectively establish and maintain a social personality for its brand.
Social media marketing depends on engaging and guiding fans to create individualized brand material. It is important to include interactive components, including discussion boards, voting, games and events. Often times, brand engagement inspires users to effectively and positively spread the brand by word-of-mouth. However, the design and preparation of successful interactive events requires intensive planning and coordination. Understand fans’ specific networking habits
Determine the brand’s style, tone and content On a social media site, the brand takes the form of a person, and frequently interacts with others. So in addition to the brand’s overall social personality, it is necessary to determine the brand’s tone and style. For example, the Singapore Tourism Board uses the personality of a young, mature, stylish, multi-cultural, enthusiastic and positive white-collar woman. Obviously, an immature or overly energetic tone of voice would not be consistent with this brand’s social personality. Developing social content is another major challenge for companies. For effective daily interaction, brand page content needs to be rich, interesting and sharable. Do not post traditional press releases on a social media! Press releases have little or no impact on an SNS site; to the contrary, users may feel that the brand is dry and outdated. Instead, companies should create a social media matrix. The social media matrix is a daily operations guide that is designed to ensure content is consistent and coherent, and tracks what kind of content most effectively connects with users. It also shows which brand properties are most effectively conveyed, while illustrating how the brand is presented to fans through quantitative statistics.
The brand should adopt different communication strategies for different social media, such as Sina Weibo and Renren. This is because Renren and Sina Weibo have different characteristics that meet different user needs. Sina Weibo caters to a more information-centric audience, while Renren focuses on real-life connections. Standardize interaction and site management In social media marketing customer relationship management (CRM) is critical. Appropriately responding to positive, neutral and negative comments is a technical art form; there are smart and creative ways of dealing with negative feedback and turning them into positive opportunities to promote your brand, but this sometimes requires help from the company’s customer support professionals. Staffing Since social media marketing is time and labor intensive, a brand page needs a dedicated team to maintain it. Depending on each company’s individual needs, companies can either use an in-house team or employ a PR agency to operate the brand pages.
9
Setting up multiple brand pages for companies with several brands or product lines According to “Social Business Forecast: 2011 The Year of Integration”, social media expert Jeremiah Owyang describes 5 social marketing strategy models. Any of these might be the right fit for your organization depending on your operations and objectives.
Five strategy models for social marketing by
Centralized
Decentralized
1) One department controls all efforts 2) Consistent 3) Less authentic 4) e.g. Ford
1) Organic growth 2) Authentic 3) Experimental 4) e.g. Sun
Hub and spoke
Multiple hub and spoke
1) One hub sets rules and procedures 2) Business units undertake own efforts 3) Spreads widely across the organization 4) Time intensive 5) e.g. Red Cross
1) Similar to hub and spoke, but across multiple brands and units 2) e.g. HP
Jeremiah Owyang
Holistic 1) Each employee is empowered 2) Employees are organized 3) e.g. Zappos
Public Page: Samsung IT World Type: Electronics and Digital Fans: 181,985 Public Page: Samsung Television Type: Electronics and Digital Fans: 99,311 Public Page: Samsung Mobile Type: Electronics and Digital Fans: 81,565 Public Page: Samsung Appliance House Type: Electronics and Digital Fans: 18,207
Public Page: Samsung Video and Photography Type: Electronics and Digital Fans: 29,732
Similarly, Nike has Just Do It and Nike Sportswear sub-brand pages, as well as product pages for running, female, extreme sports and basketball series.
Nike Sisters Apparel 20,368 Fans
Nike Running Athletics 25,071 Fans
· Centralized: Orders come from top down and tasks are assigned; · Decentralized: Decentralized organization, in a developing state; · Hub and spoke: A centralized unit decides and coordinates, while other units work independently; · Multiple hub and spoke: One unit coordinates several brands or sub-companies; · Holistic: Each employee has their own privileges and responsibilities; Companies need to incorporate their own internal management organization when determining which model to use. Once the company has implemented a suitable model, each social media platform can be coordinated together to ensure maximum efficiency. Companies who have many brands or product lines often use a multiple hub and spoke system on SNS. One department is responsible for coordinating many sub-brands or product lines and operates multiple brand pages. For example: Samsung has set up different brand pages for its IT, television, mobile, digital and home appliance brands on Renren.
Just Do It Apparel 53,073 Fans
Nike Sportswear Athletics 150,365 Fans
Nike Skateboarding Athletics 6,499 Fans
Nike Basketball Athletics 76,976 Fans
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
As of August 2011, brand pages can be created for no cost In this free version, Renren is preparing to open up an App Store. Renren and third parties will design apps that companies can use as free and effective marketing tools.
· Special features: video, voting, forum, rating, friends' album, “Renren like” (a third party application that allows users to share and recommend items on their news feed and allow them to become the public page’s fans with one click). · Renren App Store custom features:
Creating a Renren brand page is simple - Personalized tools: welcome tab, wallpapers, flash wallpapers;
If you do not have a Renren account: you can directly register a brand page account and go from there. If you already have a Renren account: Log in, apply for a brand page, select a brand page name, add a profile picture and description (Note: these will appear in the news feed, and your friends will see it. Use this to start gathering your brand fans), then apply for a URL (page.renren.com/your_ brand_name) and you are set. Afterwards, you can add various apps, customized themes and content to attract fans. Renren brand page allows the use of API for third parties Renren’s application programming interface (API) allows third parties to read and write network resources with permission from Renren by logging into their network accounts. Your company’s technical support staff can visit wiki.dev.renren.com for additional information. The main components of a Renren brand page · The brand page is built similarly to a personal page; however the brand page possesses several features that encourage fan interaction. A number of apps are also available to meet different marketing needs. · Basic features: news feed, comments, personal detail, status updates, album, blog, share, private message, mailbox, gift box, music, friends and related pages.
- Multimedia tools: video add-ons (Youku, Tudou), maps, LBS information sharing, customized themes; - Applied marketing tools: digital store, coupon downloads, product Q&A, online market research, group purchasing, grab-a-deal, brand member registration, auctions.
Custom themes stimulate fan interaction Companies can post videos, music, animated GIFs, and other multimedia features on their brand page. The brand page can also use flash and iframe features to increase interactivity with fans.
11
Operating Your Brand Page Finding the brand and consumer social media heartbeat
Brand page managers, and the duties and qualifications of the operations team In order to begin operations, the company needs a dedicated team of up to 2 or 3 people. For effective daily management, the brand page’s staff needs to:
· Track and analyze feedback: Companies can leverage user comments and messages to understand fans’ opinions about the brand. As the number of fans increase, it may be necessary for the site to manage several thousand messages per day and conduct analyses on consumers’ perception of the brand. Using this feedback, the company can then make any necessary adjustments to the brand page. · Release content: The brand page strategically and systematically releases fresh and interesting content for fans, including albums, blog and status updates. As the brand page develops, the company will strengthen the brand’s influence on consumers. Designing and organizing events that attract users to close the gap between the company and consumers and maintaining fan activity is an important daily task. Events require intensive planning, from wording and image selection to award design and management. · React rapidly: During daily operations, the brand will run into problems such as user complaints, as well as “trolls” – users who post inflammatory, extraneous or off-
topic messages that may be sent by competitors and need a quick and strategic response. Social media is gradually evolving into a catalyst for major news events. As every marketer knows, if these latent disasters or developing crises are not effectively dealt with in early stages, the consequences could be dire. · Pay attention to competitors: While maintaining your page, you should take note of competitor pages and analyze their interactions with fans. You can learn a lot by how they act as well. Operating a brand page requires in-depth knowledge and ongoing effort; it demands strong content production capabilities, market awareness, social communication skills and crisis management experience. PR agencies have experience managing multiple brand pages and can set up a completely new brand page in a relatively short time. PR agencies can also make quick and accurate strategy adjustments as new situations emerge. If the brand needs to simultaneously manage two or more brand pages or needs to coordinate with another social media platform, professional PR agencies often have the collective resources to coordinate them more effectively.
What brand fans care about
Maintaining brand fans is like keeping in touch with reallife friends. Consumers will want to know about the latest brand updates, share the opinions of other consumers, and be informed of upcoming promotions, events and new product releases.
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
Ensuring that brand Create a friendly pages maintain a relationship with target personality and consumers achieve your business goals · Plan posting frequency to prevent negative feedback from oversaturation;
Find the Social media heartbeat of your brand and target consumers
Social media marketing differs greatly from traditional media marketing. For example, consumers tend to be skeptical of sales promotions, but in social media marketing, users often enjoy promotions and are eager to participate. The key is finding the brand’s social media heartbeat. After a company determines consumer needs, wants and desires, it becomes easy to know what topics and content will deliver the best results. The company can use this content as a resonating point for both sides and ultimately form the company’s “social media heartbeat”.
Finding social heartbeat
Case study: Watsons brand page product classification Watsons brand page separately classifies content using special tags. Classifications include informational tags about products, promotions and events. Fans can comment or share information on these tags and generate word-of-mouth.
· Write material from the viewpoint of fans, posting information in a friendly and open style;
· Monitor and collect feedback, and make changes to the brand page accordingly.
However, when posting this type of information, it is important to note:
Promotions on a brand page work differently than in traditional marketing. Consumers’ tend to initially be skeptical when encountering a store promotion. However, when information is shared between friends, the level of trust is substantially higher. Social media provides brands with the opportunity to form a direct link to consumers in the form of a friend-to-friend relationship. Of course, this friendship requires long-term maintenance. Below are a few techniques to ensure that this relationship can take shape: · Daily greetings; · Timely responses; · Regular and interesting updates; · Helping fans resolve issues; · Seasonal and holiday greetings;
Watsons uses Sina Weibo to advertise in-store promotions, using tags for each category. Above, Watsons “Sharing Beauty” tag informs fans about a Labor Day promotion for club members.
· Discussions on common topics; · Following social hot topics, and appropriately participating in discussion.
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Responding to fan comments
Responding to fans requires tact. Below are a few techniques that will help you better interact with fans: · Regular responses: It is important to respond to fan comments in a timely manner, especially in the early stages of developing a brand page. We suggest maintaining a high ratio between fan comments and responses; even if it is a simple greeting, each reply cements the relationship with your consumer. · Respond within a set timeframe: brand page responses should be conducted against a set deadline. This cultivates fan habits of regularly checking responses from the brand page, and will avoid negative feedback due to late responses. Brand pages generally do not update on a daily basis, so we believe this is an opportunity to do better than the competition and suggest that at the end of the work day the brand page responds to user comments to ensure that they keep visiting the page. · Develop opinion leaders: Each brand page should have its own loyal fans. In the early stages of operations, the brand page should regularly comment on user status updates, and maintain communication with more active fans. Through daily interaction, these users will eventually develop into the brand page’s opinion leaders. · Carefully resolve crises: When fans post complaints or negative feedback, be careful how you deal with such comments. Try to avoid deleting comments. It is also unacceptable to publically attack or directly refute commentators. Instead, you may be able to deal with these situations by: - Responding to complaints or negative feedback with positive responses. - Leaving a response, and then if appropriate deleting the original comment after gaining the acknowledgement of the poster. - Using the brand page’s mailbox to actively keep in touch with fans, gaining the acknowledgement of those fans and then deleting the comment. Although it is not necessary to delete all negative comments, you do need to delete excessively negative comments by “trolls”, “spammers” or other destructive users.
Case study: Li-Ning – one journal entry leads to a comment war
One of Li-Ning’s sub-brand pages published a journal entry entitled “Summer Youth Dreams: MCC tide of new summer products”. Li-Ning had no idea that the entry would result in a comment war between fans. The day after the entry was posted a fan asked a question regarding the market position of Li-Ning in a completely neutral tone. Another user responded and said that there was no way that Li-Ning could boast the second largest share of the global market compared to other brands. This post was followed by a third user comment that LiNing boasts a large share of the Chinese domestic market and it is already good enough that China has a large domestic athletic brand that can support itself. On the morning of the third day, Li-Ning responded to the three users respectively in a polite and open manner to express its appreciation. Afterwards, the first fan responded that he hopes for Li-Ning’s continued growth and believes the brand can make Chinese consumers proud.
Li-Ning responds to each fan. Li-Ning notes a fan’s concerns and promises to consider their feedback to improve their product and brand. Li-Ning thanks the fan for their input.
In social media, brands will receive fan support and affection, and at the same time can be targeted with criticism and doubt. Brands should react quickly and use a positive tone to influence negative voices and work to convert them into potential brand ambassadors. Through this case, Li-Ning was able to turn negative feedback into positive brand support. Li-Ning’s brand page operations team responds to each and every comment on a daily basis. Li-Ning responds to product purchase inquiries, product
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
design suggestions, brand advertisement views and product quality complaints. Some fans will even talk with Li-Ning about personal matters, including marriage announcements. Of course, Li-Ning will congratulate the fan, just like a friend would.
Responding to a fan commenting that they prefer the company’s previous logo, Li-Ning explains the reasoning for adopting the new logo and its background.
A fan asks about Li-Ning’s newest product line, wondering if they carry a woman’s size. Li-Ning then points out which shoes are for men and women in the new line.
A fan is curious if Li-Ning will sign on tennis players for future promotions. Li-Ning responds that they already have deals with international and Chinese tennis players and lists them.
A fan makes an inquiry on sponsorship for an activity that fits with Li-Ning’s positioning. Li-Ning gives the fan an email address to send their plan to Li-Ning. Li-Ning thanks the fan for their support and says they will consider their plan.
Case study: Lufthansa responds to questions and requests
Lufthansa Airlines recently changed their Renren page name to “Lufthansa Flight Clan” with the goal of attracting Chinese users who are interested in, or live in, Europe. On Renren, Lufthansa provides fans with information on European tourism, study abroad, and other related topics. Fans can participate in monthly prize contests and promotions, and use the site to learn more about Lufthansa’s China operations. Lufthansa responds patiently to each user question and comment, from inquiries on special price tickets, flight routes, and luggage, to frequent flier programs. On the morning of the third day, Li-Ning responded to the three users respectively in a polite and open manner to express its appreciation. Afterwards, the first fan responded that he hopes for Li-Ning’s continued growth and believes the brand can make Chinese consumers proud.
Lufthansa provides the link for frequent flier membership for a fan inquiry.
A fan asks for student itinerary for a roundtrip flight between Shanghai and Edinburgh, Lufthansa redirects the fan to a page listing price and times for flights. A fan makes a complaint about the sizing and shape of Li-Ning shoes. Li-Ning responds by asking the fan to provide details on the problem and will redirect them to the sales department to resolve the issue.
A fan asks about luggage weight costs for a flight from France to China. Lufthansa responds saying that student tickets generally allow up to 30kg of luggage, but the program is not available France. Lufthansa then makes an apology. As mentioned, some fans will share their personal life with Li-Ning. One fan makes a wedding announcement on the Li-Ning brand page, and Li-Ning gives them a big congratulations!
A fan is having problems with their frequent flier card and their miles are not being counted. Lufthansa responds saying that the miles can be added on and provides the fan with a link to customer service.
A fan suggests adding a new direct flight between Nanjing and Dusseldorf, in addition to the Frankfurt route. Lufthansa patiently responds saying that it would regretfully not be possible due to a lack of infrastructure.
15
Responding to negative feedback and communicating with brand fans during a crisis
During a crisis, companies should take a calm approach and avoid panicking or lashing out. While interacting with fans, praise and criticism are two sides of the same coin. Once negative feedback or a latent crisis emerges, the brand should actively respond with positive feedback as best as it can, listen to fans’ opinions, and then works to resolve the crisis in a timely manner. Below is the general procedure for resolving social media crises.
A general guide to dialogue flow in resolving an issue/crisis Take reasonable actions to fix the issue and let customer know Positive No
No Response
Do you want to respond?
Negative Assess the message
Yes
Yes
Yes
Evaluate the purpose
Unhappy customer?
Does customer need more information?
Yes
Are the facts correct?
No
Yes
Are the facts correct?
No
Appropriately and carefully correct the facts
No Yes
Can you add value?
No
Dedicated complainer? No
Leave a wellthought response
Thank the person
Seeking attention? Yes
Yes Is the problem being fixed?
Yes
Explain what is being done to correct the issue
No Ignore and monitor complaint
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
Promoting Your Brand Page Attracting fans from the brand page to your store
Quickly gain brand fans · Social Ads: Social ads provide exposure and clicks, but more importantly they enable users to spread the advertisement themselves. Creative advertisements and user interactive features (sharing, liking, voting, downloading, attending, one-click purchase, etc.) can act as a trigger for word-of-mouth marketing. The brand page and advertisements should include sharing functions for fans, such as the “like” button, to enhance promotion. Sharing features provide greater exposure for your brand. The more fans the company has, the more advertisement exposure increases and the higher the ROI. Also, Flash Box allows users to directly interact in advertisements and post flash content in the news feed.
· Application encoding: Renren offers users with a number of social game apps and provides space for ad placements in each game. Companies can make use of the popularity of
certain apps to guide fans to their brand page. Your company can use the free game app and infuse advertisements into the game. Dell placed an advertisement into the popular Renren Restaurant app, and within four days attracted 104,398 new fans with 38,893 joining in one day alone.
· Integrate with other digital communication channels: You can use Renren brand page to post information from other platforms such as Sina Weibo. Conversely, you can use other platforms to advertise your Renren brand page, for example by adding a button on your company website. · Using offline communication channels: You can provide the address for your company’s Renren brand page on other promotional items such as coupons, brand publications and printed advertisements, and invite them to follow the brand on Renren. · Search engine optimization (SEO): Brand Page search engine optimization is similar to having a good URL; choosing a good name, description and keywords are essential for the success of the page.
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Integrating online and offline activities Closing the gap: let fans take the lead in offline events
Case study: Li-Ning is more than just an online friend
Social media provides a way to maintain connections for users and brands, but relations should not be limited to the internet. Social media gives brands and fans an opportunity to meet in person and build real relationships. Li-Ning invited brand page fans to attend an offline rebranding event. Attendees were given a voucher for limited edition Full-String line running shoes, met with the designers of Li-Ning’s Cross-Border line, and interacted with Play designer Rei Kawakubo and illustrator Filip Pagowski. Brand fans were able to witness Li-Ning’s brand in action, and many attendees also had their own personal experiences with Li-Ning. One member of the LiNing sponsored Tsinghua University shooting team was in attendance and shared his experience with the brand. Li-Ning also selected a few attendees and had them share experiences that changed their lives. Videos of their stories were posted on LiNing’s website and SNS site for the company’s 20th anniversary celebration.
“Renren LBS” motivates fans to shop In November 2010, Renren released “ Renren LBS”, a location based service for mobile phone users. Using its large number of mobile users, “ Renren LBS” is a powerful tool for social, local, mobile (SoLoMo) technology.
Case study: Master Kong Daily C ‘checkin and win a drink’ In June 2011, Master Kong Daily C used “Renren LBS” and Sina Weibo’s LBS service in 16 cities for a new beverage promotion. Mobile phone users could log on to the LBS service at any of the 39 drink sample locations in China and instantly receive event information and coupons. Once a user successfully checked-in, the system would send a news feed post to their friends. Within 12 days, over 10,000 users checked-in and over 90% of participants exchanged their coupons for drinks; 60% of users checked-in via Renren. Tip: If you want to use “Renren LBS” to attract customers to the store or an event, don’t forget to also promote it on the brand page. The brand page provides a forum for users to meet before going to the event.
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
Finding and engaging opinion leaders
Finding and engaging opinion leaders is key in developing a brand page. Opinion leaders provide reliable brand testimonials, and are often more effective at interacting with other fans than the company itself. There is a number of effective methods to discover and foster opinion leaders. Use daily observations and analysis to find the most active fans It is easy to find that there are a few particularly active fans on the brand page when you conduct your daily maintenance or use analytical tools. The company should pay attention to this group of fans and learn their interests and behavior. It is important to give these fans extra encouragement because they are likely to influence other fans. By doing so, you will help build brand loyalty and these fans will gradually develop into opinion leaders. Develop opinion leaders based on marketing goals Spontaneously developed opinion leaders have their own personalities. However, if the company wants to have some opinion leaders precisely convey corporate information, it can actively cultivate these types of fans. Employees, for example, often have the greatest understanding of company ideals and goals. By having real employees convey company viewpoints and communicating with others through a personal social media account, content becomes more credible for other fans. Use celebrities or grassroots figures who have a tone consistent with the company message Celebrities have an obvious and powerful effect in media. The company can invite a celebrity with an image and persona similar to the brand to participate in an online event. With continued celebrity support, the levels of fans will increase and negative comments tend to drop as spokespeople lend credibility through endorsement.
Case study: Watsons’ strategy for developing opinion leaders
During early stages, the brand page should set up a strategy to develop opinion leaders. Watsons monitored and evaluated fan participation levels, and developed evaluation standards as the number of fans increased. Based on data analysis, Watsons discovered which fans were opinion leaders for the brand. These fans had relatively similar characteristics: as a group, they were active, possessed a high understanding of personal care and Watsons products, and were willing to help other fans by posting and responding to comments. Watsons fostered dialogue and designed special interactive events for these active users, including a competition to determine the “best commentator� on its brand page. Through material and verbal encouragement, these loyal and active fans became opinion leaders for Watsons.
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Using your brand page to increase sales Renren provides brands with a platform for communication with fans, and in this self-defined space companies can post physical store information or promotion activities on the brand page. The key is figuring out how to generate fan interest and transform it into sales.
Case study: How Dell sells PCs on Renren
To facilitate sales, Dell moved its entire flagship store onto its Renren brand page. Currently, Dell maintains daily interaction with over 730,000 fans. Keeping close ties with fans has generated real sales.
enter each ambassador’s personal page. On the page, users can make inquiries, interact, and make appointments. Exclusive offers for fans After amassing fans through its representativeled activities, Dell initiated a series of exclusive offer events through the company’s brand page. In December, 2010, Dell launched a Christmas promotion combining an interactive game on their brand page with a coupon promotion, marking the first time coupons and an interactive event were combined on Renren. The event attracted many first-time fans to the page. Users played onsite games and earned points. Fans then converted their points into coupons for Dell products.
Building a flagship store Turning relationships into sales In order to encourage fans to interact with the Dell brand page, Dell set up a flagship store on its brand page. Fans can use coupons to buy products from the online flagship store, gather product information or talk with sales associates. Building up a network Accompanying the flagship store, Dell also set up an online “campus ambassador” page. Dell posted company agent information directly on the brand page which allows users to click on an icon and
In April 2011, Dell launched the “Dell Money Jar” program. The event took advantage of Renren’s reallife user relationships and converted them into actual sales. “Dell Money Jar” encouraged fans to use Renren to earn points and buy Dell products. Fans could complete tasks and gain the support of others to earn credits and then convert them into coupons. After 15 weeks, Dell gathered 125,179 new fans and successfully sold 3,887 computers, generating over $US2.88 million. Most surprising is that over 300 of the computers sold through the event were high-end gaming laptops—this reflects the purchasing power and brand recognition of social media users.
MSL China Executive Whitepaper Anyone Could Be Your Brand Ambassador
Measuring the Results of Your Brand Page The input-output measures of social media marketing
Measuring return on investment (ROI)
Many companies still use traditional methods of measuring ROI by using cost per mile (CPM) and cost per click (CPC) in social media. Actually, the value of social media should not be strictly limited to counting the number of clicks and views; there are also hidden values such as word-of-mouth exchanges and the inherent value of fans. Measuring the value of social media In November, 2010 Renren released “Renren Effect Standard Metrics for SNS Social Advertising” as a way to measure the values of Paid, Free and Owned Media. This model quantifies word-of-mouth exposure and view totals as a factor in ROI. Renren Effect shows that in social networking site real relationships are able to develop into a unique social advertising and communications mechanism and enables each fan to become a potential ambassador for the brand. Companies can pay for advertisement placement, establish free word-of-mouth exchanges through fans, and also use their brand page as a standalone advertising entity. The value of an Internet Advertising can no longer be
measured by simply adding impressions and clicks. This standard for Social Advertising must take into account the secondary transmission effects of users disseminating brand messages, as well as the new fans earned across Paid, Earned and Owned meida. Brand recognition, preference, pre-orders and recommendations Nielsen examined the results of several brands’ advertisement placements on Renren and noticed that the exposure and page views originating from word-of-mouth had a key influence on the brand and sales. Word-of-mouth has an obvious impact on brand recognition, consumer preference, pre-orders and recommendations that surpasses paid advertisement placements. The value of brand fans Apart from word-of-mouth, companies are particularly interested in the value of brand fans. Nielsen released a report on the consumer value of 50 companies’ brand fans to help companies precisely estimate the value of each fan. Synchronizing Renren’s brand page statistical report system with Nielsen’s findings allows companies to more effectively gauge the value of fans and better operate their Renren brand page.
Enhanced effects for different social-ads
Ad recollection Ad content recollection Based on 10 brands on Renren
Brand recognition
Brand preference
Brand preorders
Brand recommendations
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MSL China regularly publishes Executive Whitepapers with insights and comments on trends, the industry and society as a whole. To get information from MSL China or to subscribe to future whitepapers, as well as to contact us for any other matter, please send us an e-mail on greaterchina@mslgroup.com or call us +86 21 5169 9311 (SH) or +86 10 8573 0688 (BJ). MSL China Executive Whitepaper April 2012 Copyright 速 MSL China