iMediaWorksConnect by @iMediaMichelle

Brands: Unlock Your Social Reach

Recently the CMO Club reported nearly two-thirds of chief marketing officers plan to increase their spending on social media marketing next year.  Their research found that more than eight in 10 respondents (81%) expect to link up to 10% of their annual revenues to social media investment next year.  That’s no small bet.

Despite this deliberate shift in media spending, many of these CMOs are unsure about their return from marketing on social networking Web sites.  TV, radio and print have all enjoyed the confidence and repeat investment by brand marketers for over half a century.  Yet there is still a pervasive perception that social media is not as legitimate or proven to garner the same level of consumer eyeballs and interest around a particular brand.  Given that the population of social networks like Facebook and Twitter are exploding, this comparison hardly seems fair.

In fact, the influence of the Social Web is quickly maturing and we’re now starting to see its direct impact on actual consumer purchase behaviors across the purchase funnel:

Most telling is the correlation between consumer social media exposure and their online shopping behaviors.  Social media is a bona fide traffic driver to brand websites.  With the expected growth of smart phone adoption and the mobile web usage, that linkage is certain to become even stronger.

Social media influence clearly matters, but how much of it is out there?

According to Facebook, the average user has 130 friends.  For Twitter, the average account has 40 followers.  While these figures may not translate into exact uniques, they do start to convey the potential reach and power of Facebook page and Twitter account audiences.  And for some Fortune 500 brands, their combined potential Facebook and Twitter reach are starting to rival some of the most popular television properties:

• 15 F500 brands have a potential social reach that exceeds a single episode of American Idol (29.5M),
• Another 2 F500s have more potential reach than an evening of NBC Sunday Night Football (20M),
• Another 5 have more than Glee (8.17M),
• And an additional 22 beat an hour of The Daily Show (2M)

Check out the Fortune 500 brands in the Social Power Top 50 for combined social reach:

 

Imagine being able to tap into these potential audience levels all day long, instead of just a 30-60 minute time block one night or one day per week.  While lots of large brands may have captured the initial interest of social consumers to “tune in” via channels such as Facebook, and Twitter, few have taken steps to capitalize on it:

Few are Part of the Real-time Conversation

For the average Fortune 500, barely a quarter of the brand share of voice directly comes from real-time status updates, which are quickly becoming a part of consumer’s daily routines.  Photo and blog posts still eclipse Twitter updates as primary sources of brand social mentions.

Some are Not Connecting Frequently with Fans

The average Facebook Fan audience for an F500 company is 75,000; for Twitter it’s almost 13,000.  Taking into account the reach factor of both channels, the potential combined social reach for an average F500 brand exceeds 10 million.  Amazingly, 43% of F500 Facebook Fan Pages and 41% of Twitter Accounts have remained inactive for more than six months.

Most are Not Integrating their Social Presence

Only 9% of Fortune500 brands feature any part of their social media presence on their website Home Pages.  Amongst those who do, typically only one social media channel is highlighted.  When it comes to cross-pollination of key social media channels within one another, the pattern is only marginally better at 12%.

Time to Unlock Your Social Reach

Still believe you shouldn’t get engaged on social channels until you have the perfect strategy?  Watch out…if you don’t start tapping into your brand’s social audience, someone else eventually will.  Here are three simple steps you can take to begin unlocking the power of your social reach to engage and potentially influence your consumers:

1. Stop Playing Hide and Seek - Make it easy for fans to find you.  If your brand already has a Fan page, then openly join, talk to the creators, start participating in the existing conversations and add a visible callout above the page fold of your Home Page, About Us and Contact Us pages.  Don't limit cross-pollination to just your blog page; include visible references to all of your key social channels within your YouTube profiles, Facebook Fan Page tabs and Twitter Account backgrounds.
   
2. Inspire the Crowd - Offer people something meaningful to do with their time.  Invite followers to help shape decisions on corporate philanthropic efforts.  Educate and entertain the crowd with demonstrations unique to your product or service.  Challenge fans to come up with their most innovative uses of your product.  Share some little known brand history or solicit past memories through brand nostalgia with classic tv spots, radio jingles, famous billboards or other memorabilia.
3. Feature the Best of the Best - Curate and promote valuable content.  Aggregate and feature the best consumer-generated "how to" videos out there for your product within your YouTube Channel.  Create Twitxpert lists of subject matter experts and known insiders within your industry field and tweet your favorites of the week.  Run Facebook Polls ala Digg style to uncover interesting bloggers and others posting content around relevant hot topics of interest to your fans and feature the results on your the Landing Tab of your Fan Page.
   

Superbowl season is fast approaching and with it a blitz of high-powered media for one of the single largest consumer audiences worldwide.  But with the potential social reach power of Facebook and Twitter, many brands may already have a superbowl size crowd just a click away.  No matter what you choose to do in these channels, maintain your human side.  Your customers and fans will thank you for it.

Research Note:  The Fortune 500 data cited in the above post was collected in 2Q2009 and represents the largest Facebook Fan Page and Twitter Account per brand on the individual day of collection.

RESEARCH: The Social Media Habits of the Fortune 500

We’re on the verge of 2010.  A decade ago the World Wide Web was starting to catch on within our society and soon after brand marketers claimed they “just needed a website”.  The rules of Web 1.0 boasted by self-proclaimed experts were straight forward and simple – “build it and they will come”.  Well, for those of us who were rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty with global content management systems and complex e-commerce integrations, that mantra quickly proved to be false.  Websites needed dynamic content and specific calls to action.  They also required intuitive search to drive traffic and smart interactive design and editorial programming to attract users and keep them engaged on sites.

Now ten years later, social media is on a similar rise, with most brands “just needing a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter Account”, believing their fans “will just come”.  But instead of a single digital domain that brands absolutely control, the Web has evolved into a multi-dimensional conversation with scores of voices and influence that brands no longer dictate.  The digital world is now run by everyday individuals, many of whom not only have access to, but actually have a direct hand in creating the innovative tools and rich content that are shaping the Integrated Social Web.  Hmmm…I’m starting to hear those familiar Twilight Zone sounds, are you?

Social media is the next frontier brands are aspiring to master and master it they should.  We are already starting to see that good social media habits matter in 21^st century marketing along several areas:

• Customer Satisfaction - consumers are increasingly using social channels such as Blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to express their satisfaction levels with specific brands and seek problem resolution. (Airlines in particular are learning this; some are excelling and others are learning lessons the hard way)
• Cost Savings - consumers freely share tips, best practices and other product and service how-tos with one another, helping to reduce strain on customer call centers as well as resources needed to create and maintain self-help content
• Direct Sales - consumers are proactively seeking out new channels within social to research, shop and purchase discounted goods and services. (Dell has demonstrated the power of social shopping with sales through its Dell Direct Twitter Account)
• Revenue Generation - unique social campaigns that become viral are sparking branded searches that help drive users to a brand's social as well as Web sales channels
• Brand Love - as social media increasingly becomes part of the mainstream, more consumers are relying on a brand's participation within social media to serve as a benchmark for its personal credibility and immediate relevancy (see my previous post, JCrew, Whoops: Your Personal Shopper is Socially MIA)
  

Earlier this summer, I became increasingly curious about how large brands are utilizing the Social Web and the audiences they attract through their key channels.  Were there thriving communities or desolate graveyards in the F500 social landscape?  Were F500 brands and their agencies learning anything, or just repeating the same patterns from Web 1.0?  To answer these and hundreds of other questions, I began an independent study on the Social Media Habits of the Fortune 500.  My research examines eight social media habit dimensions, within eight key social media channels, across sixteen industry segments.  Some interesting highlights so far on the F500:

• Over 6 million people are engaging F500 brands in key social media channels
• LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the most prevalent channels amongst F500 brands
• YouTube, iPhone applications and Podcasts are the most heavily used to promote product usage and sales
• Over one third of F500 key social media channels have been inactive for over six months
• Facebook Fan Pages drive 77% of the Fortune 500 audience within their key social media channels
• Photos and blogs are primary channel sources for brand mentions for 59% of the F500
• Facebook Groups are the largest source of negative branding for F500 brands
• Only 18% of the F500 are integrating their key social media channels
  

You can view more of my initial summary observations via my SlideShare Presentation.  Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing additional snippets of the benchmark data, along with my and industry peer’s analyses on the implications for brands on their road to social.  Stay tuned for upcoming segments on specific industries, channels and habit best practices – as always, your comments and questions are welcome.  For my readers, a little poll to kick off the discussion – which industry, do you expect to have the “best” social media habits and why?  Please tag your posts/tweets with #getsocial.

Tempurpedic’s Approach to Social is Right On Target

Normally I tend to ignore television commercials, but recently one by Tempurpedic Mattress caught my attention.  The ad features real customers discussing their Tempurpedic sleeping experience and invites consumers to use social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as part of their own bed shopping research activities.

Instead of the usual “Come to our Facebook Page” or “Follow Us on Twitter” calls to action in the video, Tempurpedic demonstrates that they understand the true power of the social web to connect and engage one another through Trusted Agents (ala Chris Brogan) to gain information, be entertained and share life experiences.  Hopefully we’ll see more of this attitude and approach in campaigns to come.

J Crew: Whoops, Your Personal Shopper is Socially MIA

If you’re like most people I know, you would consider clothes shopping to be a mostly social experience.  For me, getting advice, healthy encouragement to try something new and accountability for my pocketbook from trusted friends is an integral part of my semi-annual wardrobe upgrade.  So when retailer J Crew sent me a direct mail invitation to engage their in-house shopping expert, “Erica”, I decided to check her out.

My only options for contacting “Erica” were a toll-free phone number and e-mail address.  Before doing either, I wanted to get a better sense for Erica’s style and experience.  So of course, I immediately fired up my web browser to see what else I could learn.

My first stop was the J Crew Website.  Immediately I was introduced to “Jenna” and “Jack” on the Home Page, but Erica was no where to be found.  I scrolled down below the fold to the page footer, located the “Personal Shopper” link.  But when I clicked, instead of meeting a personal shopping expert, I got – a form.

Next, I went searching for Erica on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  Jenna (the creative director) and Jack (the style expert) showed up again on Facebook, Jack had his own YouTube video and none of the three appeared to be tweeting about their style knowledge or offering assistance to shoppers in search of Fall clothing staples.

Sorry, J Crew…but your personal shopper is starting to feel very “unpersonal”.

In about five minutes, I was able to search the social web and form an opinion about “Erica” and in this case, being socially MIA convinced me that she was likely a telesales operator who flipped through the catalog or made appointments with locally based personal shoppers in retail stores.  Umm, gee – I can do that myself.

Brands, especially retailers need to understand this key point:  not having an active social profile can be a huge deterrent in growing your relationship with your customers.  Now, just imagine for a moment if J Crew and Erica had done the following:

Establish her point of view as a personal shopper/styling expert:

• Blog/BlogTalk Radio – Erica would feature weekly posts/podcasts on what’s in/out and how to get the most out of your JCrew purchases with other items in your closet 
• Facebook Discussion Forums – Erica answering questions from the community about specific clothing items

Showcase how she’s helped other customers who might share similar style / shopping needs and challenges:

• Facebook and Flickr Photo Albums – Erica posting pictures of outfits she’s helped customers put together, plus ones of the actual customers she has helped 
• YouTube Channel – Erica posting reels highlighting best of personal shopping tips for each season

Provide a toolkit that shoppers can take on the go and get on-demand advice:

• iPhone app with different color palette matching, a set of Erica’s style rules and ability to text questions and send snaps of items while shopping

Of course, if Erica herself was actually on Facebook or Twitter and I saw that she had helped people in my network – that alone would have prompted me to trust her enough to seek her out.

Our world continues to move forward into a more open, real-time and connected social realm – brands need to think beyond the traditional marketing communication piece and get on board or get left behind.

Episode 5: Virtual Worlds: Build It, But Will They Come?

This series wouldn’t have been complete without a look at virtual worlds and massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs).  No longer a figment of futuristic science fiction, they have become reality today with over 40 3-d environments available for nearly every lifestyle and age demographic imaginable.  According to KZERO, there are roughly 579 million registered accounts within virtual world and MMOG environments, with a large concentration of these users in the under 18 age demographic.  These channels have come a long way since the initial explosion of Second Life and according to my guest, Reuben Steiger of Millions of Us, we can expect to see social networks like Twitter follow a similar pattern of adoption and growth.

In yesterday’s podcast episode, Reuben emphasized that purpose-driven, constructive and participatory experiences flourish in virtual worlds.  Entertainment and charity orientations are still king, but utility-driven efforts are also gaining currency.  In the past two years, organizations large and small have successfully conducted training, online education and recruiting efforts and Reuben predicts we’ll see more of these efforts over the next few years in the face of the rising costs of travel.

Reuben cautioned that consumers in these real-time environments cannot be targeted in the same way as other forms of traditional digital advertising.  Virtual worlds and social real-time platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, require brand marketers to approach their messaging strategy differently with a heavy focus on purposeful engagement.  When asked about upcoming trends, Reuben predicted user identities within Facebook and Twitter would become more avatarized and engaged in virtual merchandizing.  He noted that branded virtual goods are consistently in higher demand than non-branded ones – a good starting place for well-known brands to introduce themselves to the 3-d culture.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MichelleBatten_iMediaWorks

This brings us to the end of our series “Will They Stay, Or Will They Go?”  If you missed earlier episodes, please check out the recaps here on this blog.

Episode 7: Mobile: The Next Digital Frontier

To date, this series has focused on understanding how consumers and brands are adopting and evolving their communications with one another through various digital channels.  So far, we’ve covered ones that would be considered primarily “social media” channels.  In parallel, mobile platforms and their capabilities have come a long way and are now the central communications point for most consumers.  I think we’re at an inflection point for both the social real-time web to explode via mobile, so on yesterday’s podcast, I asked Steen Anderson, from the mobile agency 5th Finger, to share some of his perspectives on how these two worlds are converging and steps brand marketers should be taking to plan their moves in this next digital frontier.

In our conversation, Steen and I discussed a number of growth stats about mobile usage, noting that utility still slightly edges out entertainment.  In the top usage categories were: accessing mobile “directories” ranks at the top with consumers, followed by movies, entertainment, social networking and news.  Interestingly, North America is leading much of the mobile web usage due to the introduction and quick adoption of the iPhone and other smartphones.  While their penetration remains only a small portion of the overall population, Steen predicts that more and more consumers will make the transition to these more powerful mobile devices, especially as carriers like Sprint improve communication speed with the dawn of 4G networks.

So, what do these coming changes offer brands who are seeking opportunities to tap into the real-time mobile web?  According to Pew Internet Life, Twitter users are considered highly mobile, with 82% owning a mobile phone an using to send text messages.  While Twitter is quickly becoming a fantastic way to engage with consumers, Steen cautions that the targeting capabilities have yet to fully mature.  Facebook is much more of a near-term opportunity for brand marketers to target and reach specific demographics via mobile ad solutions now being offered. 

Towards the end of our discussion, Steen brought up the concept of “mobile loyalty programs”, which I think will be heavily influenced by the culture of social networking (especially if you’re a frequent traveler).  Brands, should prepare their engines for warp speed – the journey begins now.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MichelleBatten_iMediaWorks

The first part of this series will wrap up next week with my guest, Reuben Steiger, CEO of Millions of Us, to discuss, “Virtual Worlds: Build It, But Will They Come?” – please join us live for the conversation at 2pm (EDT).

Episode 6: Twitter: One Big Social Block Party

I resumed our series about brands and consumers in the digital world this week with Howard Greenstein, a fellow Social Media Club organizer and Principal at the Harbrooke Group.  Howard and I met recently at the 140 Characters Conference hosted by Jeff Pulver in New York City, where we came to hear stories and learnings from Twitter Characters from all over the world.  In addition to being a participant, Howard was also one of the featured Characters and gave an excellent presentation on the “Wisdom of Twitter”. 

The first part of our discussion explored the culture of Twitter and it’s uniqueness from other social media computing platforms.  The sea of conversation threads, life streaming vignettes and advocacy discussions easily thrusts users into one of the biggest social block parties on the web.  It’s vital to mingle, seek out and find the right corner of the party where people are talking about the topics you care most about.  If you are trying to create and pull people into a specific dialog, then messages must be succinct and serve up the essence of your cause with the widest appeal.  Within the Twitter community, people with a huge desire to support causes and help others take action are rapidly connecting and engaging with others.

Turning the discussion towards marketing and communications, Howard and I examined a number of examples of popular brands using the tool to effectively engage with their customers. When I asked Howard what made these brands successful within the Twitter community, he emphasized the following:

• Being human (or true to character ala Ms Green M&M)
• Engaging in real dialog with their customers as much as they can
• Making their customers happy through the Twitter exchange (or directing them to the most appropriate channel to do so)

Our conversation also touched on the interchange between Facebook and Twitter and the tools brands can use to manage them more seamlessly.  The time flew by so quickly that we were unable to cover all of the questions, so there will be a Part 2 of this discussion on a future episode.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MichelleBatten_iMediaWorks

The series will continue next week with my guest, Steen Anderson from Fifth Finger to discuss, “Episode 6: Mobile: The Next Digital Frontier” – we’ll be on live at 4pm (EDT).

Episode 3: The Social Network Promised Land: Welcome to the Data Stream

Last week I continued my series on brands use of social media with Peter Fasano, Principal and Lead Catalyst of Mass-Logic.  The early part of our conversation examined some of the history of social network usage by consumers and brands – Peter explained his view using a nifty magazine metaphor which I’ve captured below.

 

I won't tell you who we pegged as the "National Enquirer" of the Social Network world (hint, listen to the podcast), but it is interesting to see how some of these channels are becoming segmented.

Our discussion also touched on brands that were creating a positive relationship with their audience over the long-term as well as key missteps that marketers should avoid when approaching constantly evolving platforms like Facebook.  I asked Peter to gaze a bit into the crystal ball and provide some thoughts on the future direction of social networks and the potential role brands can play in it – I was not disappointed – he gave an excellent summary which I’ve highlighted here:

Bye, bye destination – hello data stream:  Brands need to get comfortable with being part of a data-stream by social aggregators such as FriendFeed in the real-time web.  No longer is their presence predictably published and controlled, but highly filtered and distributed (think RSS feeds).  Your messages need to be findable, sharable content chunks that stand out from the crowd.

Balance Community with Business: Like any good relationship, consumers want to get to know you first, then open themselves up to what you have to say and ultimately what you can offer them.  Designate elements within your social network space for community and others for promotions, branded marketing events and other business-oriented activities.  Brands can play a significant role by responding to the community’s needs and ensuring they are well nurtured before presenting their own messages and offers.

In order for brand marketers to successfully become a part of the data stream, Peter strongly recommends listening to the audience as a participant (so the brand can fully understand the where, what, when and how of the conversation), NOT as a remote eavesdropper.  But more importantly, he stresses the critical need to know the platforms and understand the development roadmap, potential outages and updates, less one become blindsided by rapidly evolving technologies.  Brands can achieve this by engaging the resident developer communities early on and learn about the data architecture and policies that will continue to govern their presence inside social networks.

But will brand marketers be able to truly tap in and realize the fruits of MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn?  Consumers, employees and partners alike have come to the virtual table, but in many cases the brand organization is silent.  Infrastructure and governance constraints appear to be keeping many brands from participating in communities that have already formed as Fan Pages, Groups and Profiles.  But in others, I sense plain old-fashioned unawareness about their brand presence may be the culprit.  If you are a brand marketer, I encourage you to type your brand name and sub-brand names into these networks.  At the very least, you need to be aware of what’s happening.  Based on my research to date, there is a good chance that you may not like what you find.  The only way to help change how your consumers engage with your brand is to become part of the community that is forming around it and participate.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MichelleBatten_iMediaWorks

Thirty-minutes barely gave us time to discuss the Three Majors, much less scratch the surface of many other social networks such as Hi5 and MyYearbook or social network enablers such as Ning.  I hope to have Peter back for a future episode so we can provide marketers a view into what is happening within these growing entities.

This week, our series continues with “PART 4: YouTube: Everyone’s Doing It So Why Not Me?”, at 4pm (EDT) on Thursday, July 2nd.  My guest will be Dan Greenfield (@bernaise) of Bernaise Source Media and board member of the Atlanta Chapter of The Social Media Club – be sure to listen in.  

 

The Digital Gold Rush: Is Social Media the New Flaming Logo?

Back in the late nineties, brands and mom and pop shops alike heard the promises of e-commerce gold and raced to launch their websites with the coolest, flashiest pages imaginable.  Anyone remember the e-business ads that IBM used to run?  My favorite is one about having a “flaming logo” instead of focusing on solving real business problems which I think perfectly captured the essence of this phenomenon – I’ve included it here:

Pretty funny, right?  Sadly, I can’t help but feel that the Web/Digital industry has come full circle and history is repeating itself.  Now, nearly a decade later, the “digital gold rush” has begun again, this time in search of the social media promised land.  From blogs, MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, to Second Life, iPhone apps and now Twitter – some brands are diving in, while others are watching from the sidelines and waiting for their golden opportunity.  But have we learned anything from Web 1.0, or are we destined to repeat the same patterns all over again? 

Yesterday, I caught up with Diane Deseta, User Experience Strategist at White Knight here in Atlanta, Georgia and a fellow member of the Atlanta Social Media Club on this topic.  We discussed the adoptions patterns by brands and their agencies within blogs, social networks and Twitter as well as what the potential impact has been on the social community’s perception of these brands.  Diane pointed out three key observations that I think brand marketers should keep in mind when hitching up their wagons to head into social media: 

• Embrace Transparency Inside and Outside Your Organization – Be careful of auto direct-messaging and auto responding services when using real-time channels such as Twitter.  These services can inhibit you from knowing your audience and forging a real relationship with them.  Also, give your employees a window to the channels and tools you are experimenting with so they can become audience members and participate.  Tony Hsieh at Zappos is an outstanding model for transparency.  He shares both company and personal personality when engaging potential customers and fans through Twitter.  Zappos employees are also trained and encouraged to utilize Twitter as part of their corporate culture.  Everyone can access the Twitter accounts of all their employees directly from their website.
• Focus on Solving People’s Problems Instead of Exploiting Them – Burger King’s Facebook Whack campaign correctly understood users’ were being overwhelmed by too many friends, but underestimated the backlash of instant, impersonal “de-friending” for the sake of a $3 sandwich.  Comcast proactively reached out to Twitter users who were expressing frustrations with their service and offered real-time assistance.
• Keep the Dialogue Going – Start small and make social media a part of a larger program or campaign.  Target asked Facebook fans which 10 charities they wished to receive $3 million as part of their Bullseye Gives program.  Fans and employees continue to discuss the merits of their favorite charitable organization long after the votes were in and the awards concluded.

You can listen to the full podcast episode here.

Next week, we’ll continue with “PART 2: The Rise of the Blogosphere: Now What?”, my guest will be Sherry Heyl of Concept Hub.  Listen in live on BlogTalk Radio, every Thursday at 4pm (edt) / 1pm (pst) and catch the episode recaps here on iMediaWorks Connect each Friday. 

 

Still Searching for the Rainbow

A month ago Mars, incorporated made a bold move when it decided to scrap its traditional brand website for tastemaker Skittles in favor of embracing the social cloud.  While I give props to their willingness to break from corporate convention and become a part of the evolving consumer dialogue; they really missed out on creating what could have been a game-changing consumer experience. 

The first thing I noticed when visiting Skittles’ new digital home was the lack of ownership by the brand – for anything.  I was greeted by a bratty little pop up that required me to input my birthdate and agree to their CYA disclaimer before being able to proceed.  Wow, since when does one need to be carded to browse the candy aisle?  Will there be a breathalyzer if I can’t click a straight line with my cursor or slur my ABCs backwards?  Okay, I digress, but my little pop up experience doesn’t offer much in the way of warm fuzzies.  Truthfully, I felt more of a “proceed at your own risk”…”don’t say we didn’t warn you” kind of vibe.  Hmmm.

Once I landed inside, I felt like I had just walked in on a bunch of people who were engrossed in their favorite TV episode or sports event.  The default YouTube channel background was doing its thing mindless of its new guest.  I noticed a hovering menu board playing intermittent messages that felt more like infomercials or the oh so sleepy elevator muzak you hear over and over.  Would have really appreciated a “what’s up” and “can I get you anything” message instead.  Scrolling through the menu board, I find the expected product info, a link to a Twitter search on “skittles” tweets and a link to the Skittles Facebook fan page.  Hmmm.  Maybe I’m missing it, but couldn’t I have found these on my own?  Besides aggregating the top 3 social hubs that mention their brand, I was still scratching my head to understand how Skittles was participating in the conversation.  What value were they adding?

 

You see, I was hoping to get to know Skittles – listen to their story and hope they wanted to hear mine – better yet, meet other people and listen, laugh, whatever to their stories.  Instead, I felt like I had just dropped by someone’s house, came through the garage, popped in, but not really made to feel welcome to stay and hang a while.  In contrast to the Skittles experience, I am fortunate to know some good friends of mine whom constantly have a stream of college, high school students and young professionals in their home.  When you walk in, you’re greeted, invited to sit down, visit and share a meal/drink with them.  There is real interaction amongst the guests and their hosts – in short, there is a sense of true fellowship and belonging that stays with you, long after you leave.  Why couldn’t Skittles have been more like them?

Hopefully, this is the beginning of an evolution for Skittles on the road to digital.  After all, you only learn by doing – so again, snaps to them for getting out there.  A few things they might consider as they tweak their strategy…move the furniture around so to speak:

1. Greet people – acknowledge guests when they show up not with a disclaimer, but with a friendly welcome.  Ask them what are they up to, can you get them anything and invite them to sit and hang awhile.  Integrating instant messenger or Twitter widget that I could text in or DM from my Twitter would be excellent way to start some dialogue.

2. Draw guests in – Offer guests to take some candy from the Skittles bowl or better yet, ask what their favorite flavor is and offer them to explore the Skittle’s home and meet fellow rainbowrati via signing in with Facebook Connect or Twitter Handle.  Suggest they might want to go to a specific space based on where their friends are or new people who share their rainbow interests.

3. Spend time with them in your crib – The best times/memories usually come from playing games or watching entertainment with friends.  Make the visit memorable by hosting a social game (incorporating mobile participants is a plus) or group rant fest on a new video.  Get visitors and regulars alike to tell and share some stories from the rainbow of daily life.

4. Walk guests to the door – When a user has to go, thank them for dropping by and invite them to come back again soon.  Ask if they would like any Skittles for the road.  Let them know how they can stay connected.

5. Be a thoughtful friend – in between visits, let your new friends/fans know you’re thinking about them.  Tweet or Facebook them a coupon for a free pack of Skittles to cure the Monday blues, get through another Wednesday math pop quiz or cruise with friends on another Friday night out.  If they are really having a bad day/week – a couple of movie passes work wonders.  Three guesses on what they will be snacking on at the theater.

Ultimately, people want to feel that they’ve discovered a pot of gold at the end of the elusive rainbow.  For now, I’m still searching.  Someone please pass the Skittles bowl.