Marketing Through Social Media: Case Study

Transcription

1 Marketing Through Social Media: Case Study Joe Cannata - Brocade

2 Agenda Social media as a marketing tool Our goals for social media uses How we implement social media marketing Metrics and measuring success Lessons learned Q & A 2

3 What to Use, What to Choose? 3

4 A Social Media Bombardment 4

5 A Social Media Bombardment 5

6 Why Use Social Media? Audiences everywhere are tough. They don t have time to be bored or brow beaten by orthodox, old-fashioned advertising. We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in & be what people are interested in. CRAIG DAVIS CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, WORLDWIDE J. WALTER THOMPSON (WORLD S 4TH LARGEST AD AGENCY) Leading firms understand that being behind the curve on the strategic use of digital technologies weakens their ability to interact and strengthen relationships with customers, employees, and partners. PwC's 4th ANNUAL DIGITAL IQ SURVEY 6

7 Industry Guidelines for Engagement The Principle Creators create content from scratch and drive vast majority of content 1% - Creators 9% - Editors Editors modify content or make a comment Lurkers read and observe only 90% - Lurkers 7

8 Call to Action: Get Them in the Game 2 nd BASE Following 1+ outlets, 3 rd BASE inviting friends Regular contributors and influencers 1 st BASE Subscribe to at least one outlet HOME RUN: Full engagement with the audience 8

9 Our Certification Program The program began in September of 2000 It is a global program Assesses skills that cross multiple networking disciplines About credentials awarded to people We offer web-based exam delivery for low-stakes exams We have external proctored delivery of high-stakes exams Our volume is about 4500 exams/year We use(d) traditional marketing methods Web pages blasts Instructor messaging in classes 9

10 Our Social Media Goals Put a face to the organization Today s learners like to collaborate Many people don t go to the main website first Residual effect of mobile devices Spark ideas; gain mindshare with potential customers Start/monitor discussions; identify influencers Build loyalty and value; establish authority and credibility Mine posts for quotable comments and testimonials Engage with customers on a personal level Dialogue is worth more than market research Find if people are using our information 10

11 Using Social Media to Market Each social media outlet has its own style and nuances Brocade Communities (MyBrocade) Good for blogs, lengthy content, announcements, discussions Works well with all audiences; medium engagement Facebook Good for short posts, pictures, polls, discussions, fun items High engagement, largest population from US, India Casual audience, not all Brocade customers LinkedIn Good for short to medium posts; medium engagement More formal audience, mostly Brocade customers/employees Twitter All audiences, short messages, URL call to action included YouTube Used for 1½ 3 minute videos promoting Brocade University 11

12 MyBrocade 12

13 Facebook 13

14 A Multi-pronged Approach MyBrocade We post across multiple outlets, driving people to MyBrocade In MyBrocade, we have the most latitude, and can update content dynamically We also drive people to other Brocade assets Brocade.com Brocade Knowledge Base Brocade micro sites 14

15 The Art of Social Media Marketing What we post to keep audience interest Announcements Study materials Technical challenge questions Opinion polls Trivia games Interesting pictures Giveaways and contests Responses to questions or queries Discussion starters An occasional Brocade marketing piece Celebrations of people s achievements Individual welcome messages Exclusive content for the Facebook/LinkedIn page fans 15

16 Fun with Pictures 16

17 The Art of Social Media Marketing Post between 8 PM & 7 AM, when they are not busy Considerations should be made if your audience is global Post 1-2 times per day, but avoid exceeding 7 posts per week Keep it short and use 80 characters or less Use photos or text-only status updates to increase interaction Use questions to drive dialogue in the form of fan comments Ask people to Share or RT if they like the content Put questions at the end of posts for higher comment rates Use caption this and fill in the blank to drive more comments Use calls to action to direct your audience s interaction Use the Pin to Top feature in Facebook Use Manager s Choice on LinkedIn 17

18 Art of Social Media Marketing When is the best day to post for maximum impact? 18

19 MyBrocade Analytics 19

20 Facebook Analytics 20

21 LinkedIn Analytics 21

22 Our Impact Metrics Number of followers Going up constantly Quality of the posts Getting richer Number of shares increasing slightly Engagement threshold Reached 143 potential new customers through an exclusive promotion Cost savings 75% of our marketing budget saved Inbound marketing vs. outbound Slight bump in exams delivered, course enrollments Had the #1 most-viewed document on MyBrocade A hand-built, at-a-glance training schedule 22

23 Lessons Learned Have a strategy before launching Research company social media policies and guidelines Running the social media program for Brocade University is like producing a variety show Guests; comedy bits; video clips Hooks to keep the audience (promotions, interesting content) It will not explode over night; have patience for nurturing Our successes have built the credibility of Brocade University With our customers Within Brocade Asked to be early adopters on projects like gamification There is an art to keeping the audience engaged Use all means available to promote your social media 23

24 Recent Customer Comments Brocade goes above and beyond in the online community to help individuals become certified I have the feeling that you always have someone there - whose name you know - available to clarify your doubts supported even in FB I usually get all updates regarding certifications from Facebook link. Quick response. I think that the brocade certified facebook page its a differentiator 24

25 Low Hanging Fruit An signature Welcome message from our certification management system Training classes Exam vendor confirmation notices Joe Cannata Sr. Manager of Certification Brocade University 2050 Marconi Drive, Suite 300, Alpharetta, GA (T) (M) Join the Brocade University Education group on LinkedIn view Follow us on Facebook Join our Community Follow us on LinkedIn Contact Us Enroll in a training class Exam Fraud Policy and NDA Register for a