Coffee Brake! Lessons from top brands.

At this week’s Business Development Institute event, “Social Integration – Harmonizing Social Channels into the Marketing, Communications & Service Platforms,” I was able to participate in some roundtable discussions and listen to several leading corporations present case studies regarding their use of social media.

Going into it I questioned whether or not I would gain any insight outside of the use of Facebook and Twitter.  Us media folk aren’t fond of the 8 a.m. start time.  Happily, I left with a great amount of new perspective and knowledge about the thought process behind leveraging social media tools, both on a ground level and at a macro level.

While there’s no way to truly communicate all of what I garnered, I thought I’d share a small summary of points made by each speaker.  Each of them saw and made use of new opportunities to improve consumer engagement, incite customer loyalty and action, and propel their brand forward.  I hope this helps flip a switch for you in some way, whether you work in media, corporate communications, non-profit fundraising or all of the above.  And if you’re interested in hearing the case studies, BDI (#bdi) is providing a 2-part recording of the conference through Blog Talk Radio.  Click here for Part 1. Click here for Part 2.

Again, these are my takeaways from each speaker, not to be confused with actual quotes they made.  Here it is, from some of the biggest brands in the world.

Marketing 2.0: Harnessing the Cloud to Build a Sustainable Brand – Presented by Michael Mendenhall, CMO, HP

• Think about social media as amplified word of mouth, done on much a larger scale.
• Social media has turned interruptive marketing into engagement marketing.
• Social media enables brands to:
  • listen to consumer insight which affects marketing,
  • invite consumers to participate in research & development, helping to bring new products to market faster,
  • invite consumers into social issue conversations, helping to build a more sustainable society.

Connecting Online and Offline With Social Media – Presented by: Joshua Karpf, Senior Manager, Digital Media Communications, PepsiCo

• Consider a vision of moving from online impressions to actual connections.
• Aim to spark sharing and drive participation and conversations.
• Use social media to help drive “earned media,“ or positive publicity that hasn’t been paid for.

The News Engine that Powers All of Your Social Media – Presented by: David Patton, Vice President, Editor in Chief, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

• Thinking like a publisher means you put out good content, not just content.
• Each piece should provide a new opportunity to provide additional context to your company’s broader story, not rehash the same material.
• Content becomes a community-building tool, and good content begets more content.
• Think editorially, gathering all your content first and then strategically deciding what parts will further your story best (similarly to how during production, we shoot 8 hours of footage to edit it down to a 2 minute piece).

Social Media makes the grade at Harvard Business School – Presented by: Brian Kenny, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Harvard Business School

• Social media helps build new channels of communication with students, alumni and others, as well as generate buzz about the school.
• Technology is not the social aspect. People are.
• Students are given twitter handles and become Harvard ambassadors in a larger way.
• Losing some level of control over the brand is part of the game if you want to be part of it in an authentic way.

#NHL Tweetup – Presented by: Michael DiLorenzo, Director of Social Media Marketing and Strategy, National Hockey League

• Use social media as a social inducement; get your audience excited about your brand through things like trivia, giveaways and contests.
• Listen to your constituents for free ideas that will engage them and their circles of influence.
• Think about creating on-the-ground versions of your online engagements to connect to constituents more profoundly.
• Find media outlets that cover the social media beat and invite them to cover the real-life conversion of your social media effect, creating a longer shelf life for the event via online press for your brand.

Michelin Man Saves the Day: No Cape Required – Presented by: Lynn Mann, Director of External Communications, Michelin North America

• Brands with “mute” spokespeople (the Michelin Man in this case) can still find a voice through social media.
• Think about how to give more inaccessible people a way to communicate (i.e. C-level executives, behind-the-scenes decision makers, undercover critics and reviewers), giving constituents an authentic insight into the company without compromising identities.
• Being inauthentic in the use of social media will push consumers away.

Organizations use Social Media to Listen to Stakeholders and Respond – Presented by: Richard Pesce, Social Media & Digital Communications, Sprint Nextel

• Social media can move your relationship with your audience away from being transactional, occasional, impersonal and short-term, and more towards being passionate, constant, personal and loyal.
• If you wouldn’t ignore a customer calling you and complaining, why ignore them online where they have more power?  Join the conversation.
• In approaching social media, stop – look – listen – and respond.
• Remain human, respectful and responsive.

Were you at the event?  What were your takeaways?  Did I miss something important?  Tell me!

What are your most effective social media stories?  What works or doesn’t work for you?  Add your comments below!  And feel free to write to me at maureen@mopedproductions.tv.