An educational presentation delivered as a webinar to members of the Product Management Consortium on June 30, 2009.
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B2B Social Media Framework for Product Managers
1. A B2B Social Media
Framework: Transforming
Practice In
The Web 2.0 Era
Sponsored by the Product Management Consortium
Presented as a webinar on June 30, 2009
2. 2
Today’s agenda
Topic: A social media framework for product managers
and product marketers in B2B environments
Content: Theory, strategy, tactics and evidence
Q&A with the experts
Host and presenter
Dan Sears – Principal, Performant Consulting
PMC Advisory Board Member
Email: dan@performantconsulting.com
Twitter: @dansears
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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The era of social functionality
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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B2B uses for social media
Listen and monitor the online conversation
Gather product requirements and feedback
Alert customers of new product features, upcoming events
Introduce products to prospects
Develop advocates and industry influencers
Reposition products and brands
Share information during tradeshows or events
Create communities of interest and practice
Generate awareness and exposure (press releases)
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Debunking social media myths
Myth #1 – Social media is cheap or free
You need to pay for the time and expertise to brand, promote, and develop quality
content
Myth #2 – Social media gives away ideas and content that you should charge for
BUS
Quit thinking your content is proprietary; you must prove your “expert” status
Myth #3 – You can make a big splash quickly
As with all marketing tools, it takes time to build a conversation
TED
Myth #4 – Social media is a fad that will fade
It is a fundamental shift in communication – not just new “tools”
Myth #5 – People will find you if your message is good
You must advertise and promote your social media content to drive interest
Myth #6 – The customer controls the relationship
Relationships exist based on mutual benefits; listen, respect and value customer input
Myth #7 – You can't measure social media
Social media shows huge ROI through increased SEO alone
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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It’s not only about the tools…
Social media are just tools;
‘a means to an end’
Listening
Monitoring
Promotion / Awareness
Engagement
Interaction
Targeting
Filtering
Measurement
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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It’s about communication…
Practice good fundamentals
use ‘voice of the customer’
ask lots of questions and listen
converse ‘with’, not ‘to’
walk the talk
keep it fresh, relevant and
interesting
share and provide real value
Give your best customers a stage
to talk and share with you and
other customers
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Its about dialogue, not monologue
NEW OLD
Conversation Discussion
Transparent Controlled
Inclusive Exclusive
Dynamic ‘On-message’
Vibrant Organized
Customer-driven ‘Marketing’-driven
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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And practice, lots of practice…
Good social media is 99%
practice, 1% theory
Choreographed trial-and-error
efforts
Lots of small experiments
Don’t be afraid to fail; it’s
cheaper upfront
Find customer champions, enlist
their participation
Make social media part of your
daily ‘to-do’ list
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Potential barriers to adoption
Technical
Financial
Social
Cultural
Business process
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Not all customers are created equal
Jacob Nielsen's 1/9/90 rule: “participation inequality”
1% of your population will contribute a lot
9% will engage and comment from time-to-time
90% will primarily observe, browse and not participate
In other words…
90% of postings from 1% of users
10% of postings from 9% of users
And no postings from 90% of users
Red flag: unrepresentative sample
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Profile and classify your
audience segments
Who are the actors?
Creators – they publish content for themselves or others
Critics – they respond to content from others
Collectors – they organize content for themselves or others
Joiners – they connect to others using social networks
Spectators – they consume content but don’t participate
Inactives – they neither create nor consume content
Source: Forrester Research
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Align your communities
Source: Performant Consulting
Objective: delivery of social experiences
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Map your communities to the market
development cycle
Source: Performant Consulting
Know your influencers for each phase
Involve your sales channel(s) in the conversation
Use the appropriate SM tool based on the phase
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Your brand is key
Even in the B2B space,
customers are talking to
each other—online, in the
hallways, everywhere.
How do you harness and
help shape those
conversations to grow
your brand?
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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From Social Media to Social Brand
Use social media as a
platform to build a
social brand - a brand
that cultivates deep
relationships which can
influence product
innovation, product
development and
product marketing.
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Social branding
Social media can be a
useful tool to listen and
engage.
A social brand creates Listen
live and virtual customer
communities where
Participate
influencers can help and Lead
shape conversations, Source
products, and the
meaning of the brand
with others.
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Build and engage
Start with your best customers—those that have the
power to influence others
Build a mutually beneficial customer community that
gives them a voice and engages them in the process
of product development
Provide tools and opportunities for them to engage
their networks
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Explore and listen
Use social media tools to listen to broader
conversations about your industry
Identify potential new groups or individuals
to target, gain insight from and monitor
Participate in conversations whenever
appropriate and seed with ideas and
content that drive them to your
community
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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SM measurement framework
Attention. The amount of traffic to your content for a given period of
time. Similar to the standard web metrics of site visits and page views.
Participation. The extent to which users engage with your content in
a channel: blog comments, FB wall posts, ratings, widget interactions.
Authority. Ala Technorati, the inbound links to your content - like
trackbacks and inbound links to a blog post or sites linking to a video.
Influence. The size of the user base subscribed to your content. For
blogs, feeds or email subscribers; followers on Twitter; Facebook fans.
Sentiment (Affinity). The ‘x-factor’ or spirit driving user participation.
The net result creates a social media engagement score.
Brand trust is hard to measure outside of $ sales.
Source: Peter Kim
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
33. A case study
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Social media is opportunistic …
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
34. A case study
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… can be immediate …
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
35. A case study
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… and makes a difference!
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
36. A case study
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How to get started
My advice: You need a
passionate insider.
Blogging and Tweeting are
good places to start.
Both are easier than you
may think.
Once your blog takes off,
you won’t want for content.
Revel in your first-mover
advantage.
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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A few B2B software examples
Adobe: Blog directory |Tagging: Del.icio.us
Amazon: Amazon Web Services blog
Avaya: Contact Center Insights blog
Blendtec: YouTube (helps sell B2B products to consumers)
BreakingPointLabs: Corporate Blog | Twitter
CapGemini: NetVibes Universe Community (blogs, bookmarking,
online video, slide sharing, virtual worlds and wikis)
Cisco: 12 Corp blogs
Dell: Ideastorm (crowdsourcing) | Twitter
EMC2: Employee blogs | Friendfeed | YouTube | Flickr
IBM: 125 Corp blogs | Forums | Twitter | Wikis | Podcasting
…and many, many more
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Getting started in 6 steps…
1) Join the popular social media tools and play with them
2) Set-up an RSS feed reader and subscribe to feeds
3) Start blogging; reading and writing
4) Start social bookmarking with your team(s)
5) Start Twittering; follow the experts in your industry
6) Hire a social media specialist
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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A few suggested resources
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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‘Thanks’ to our guest presenters
Andy Boyer – Principal, Spring Creek Group
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/SCG-FB
Twitter: @SpringCreekGrp
Blog: SpringCreekGroup.com/blog
Jen Travis – VP, Online Experience, Parker LePla
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/PLPFacebook
Twitter: @ParkerLePla
Blog: IntegratedBrand.com
Joe Hage – Director, Marketing Communications, Cardiac Science
Twitter: @cardiacscience
Blog: cardiacscience.com/blog/
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Upcoming events
Scheduled PMC events:
Aug ? – Using Social Media in B2B: Deep Dive (tell us what
you want to learn / discuss)
Oct 10: Product Camp in Seattle –www.pmcnw.org
Other upcoming events:
July 15, 22, 29: Agile PM Teleworkshops – hosted by
SDForum & PivotalPM – www.sdforum.org
Sept 30-Oct 1: Product Management Intensive –
www.pivotalpm.com
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Summary and Conclusions
Social media is here to stay as a key component of
product and marketing communication strategy
Start now, no matter how small of an effort; experiment
Invest smartly in areas that move the needle; measure
Seek advice from experts
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09
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Q&A
Sample questions…
What’s the single most important thing to consider
when using social media?
What are the best tools to start using at first?
How do I develop a budget and social media plan?
Without results yet, how do I build a business case for
my Executive team?
Product Management Consortium | www.pmcnw.org 6/30/09