#manship4002 the power of user-generated social media content - lecture 19

Corporate PR: The Power of User-Generated Social Media Content#MANSHIP4002

Don’t Sabotage your brand online

YES, “professionals have lost their jobs, been evicted, or even been arrested for things they've done on social networks.”

First impressions, for both brands and individuals, happen online.

So?

http://mashable.com/2010/02/11/avoid-sabotage-personal-brand/

http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/social-media-misuse/

http://mashable.com/2009/04/14/facebook-evicted/

http://mashable.com/2009/10/10/facebook-poke-arrest/


Don’t Sabotage your brand online

1. Don’t ignore brand mentions: “The viral nature of social networks, as well as their new ubiquity, should encourage you to start listening in on what people are saying about you.”

2. Don't Spread Yourself Too Thin: focus on the best networks / platforms for you or your brand (Are you visual? Do you break news?)

3. Know Your Audience: Is your audience mostly local? Or global? What are their values? Their concerns? What do they like to share? Are they younger or older? What is their average education level?

4. Limit Self-Promotion: “If you're helping people 80 or 90% of the time, then people will be much more accepting of your self-promotional messages the other 10%. You will also start to notice that other people will promote you — and their endorsement is even stronger than your own proclamations.”

5. Be Consistent



The Effect of Social-Media Communication on Consumer Perceptions of Brands

“The social Web is changing traditional marketing communications. Traditional brand communications that

were previously controlled and administered by brand and marketing managers are gradually being shaped by

consumers.” - Bruno Schivinski and Dariusz Dabrowski

Has social media reduced our control over brand management?

Social media has allowed customers to interact with other consumers… companies are no longer the sole source of brand communication.


“Social networking through online media can be understood as a variety of digital sources of information that are created, initiated, circulated, and consumed by Internet users as a way to educate one another about products, brands, services, personalities, and issues.”

Can we think of some examples where social media was the primary influence of awareness or opinion on a brand, personality or issue?

Which social media platforms do this the most?


User-generated content (UGC) is a rapidly growing vehicle for brand conversations and consumer insights (George Christodoulides, Jevons, and Bonhomme 2012). • UGC = i) content that is made publicly available over the Internet, ii)

content that reflects a certain amount of creative effort, and iii) content created outside professional routines and practices.

What motivates user-generated content?• self-promotion, intrinsic enjoyment, desires to change public perceptions…


Brand equity◦ “a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its

name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or to that firm’s customers”.

◦ = brand awareness and the strength, favorability and uniqueness of brand associations that consumers hold in memory

Brand attitude = “consumer’s overall evaluation of a brand”

What are the effects of social media communication on consumer perceptions of brands? What do YOU think?


We expect the following:

H1a. Firm-created social media communication positively influences brand equity.

H2a. User-generated social media communication positively influences brand equity.

H3. Brand attitude positively influences brand equity.

H1b. Firm-created social media communication positively influences the brand attitudes of consumers.

H2b. User-generated social media communication positively influences the brand attitudes of consumers.

H4. Brand attitude positively influences purchase intention.

H5. Brand equity positively influences purchase intention.


Remember brand equity = brand awareness and the strength,

favorability and uniqueness of brand associations that

consumers hold in memory

Summary “Because consumers typically judge the information provided by other individuals to be trustworthy and credible (Pornpitakpan 2004), user-generated social media communications have a greater effect on consumers’ overall perception of brands than firm-created social media communication. This effect is noticeable in that UGC was found to positively affect both brand equity and brand attitude.”

- firm-created social media content only serves directly to build awareness of and positive associations with a brand but does not affect consumer perceptions of brand value.

- it is strongly recommended that managers illicit user-generated communication by marketing action programs while maintaining an active profile of social media advertising.

Discussion How can social media managers / PR professionals attract or encourage consumers to generate content that reflects support for the brands and products of their companies?

How can we encourage user-generated content?

User-generated Content

Jump to the beat – Hotelsbycity.net

Coka-Cola: More “story” than marketing messages

Contests Are Only the Start

There’s tons of data showing that consumers want to hear from other people like them more than the companies trying to sell them something. That helps explain why […] consumers trust user reviews three times more than professional reviews. Video make consumer reviews and testimonials even more effective because they are more trustworthy (hard to be anonymous on video) and better to share. Think about how a hotel chain could leverage customer-created video: People on trips (not just vacation) are already creating tons of short videos on their phones and tablets and posting them to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Why not get them to create some content about the experience they're having? Once they share it across their social networks the hotel will have an incredibly powerful piece of content that is both authentic and trustworthy.

Source: Brands Should Encourage User-Generated Video Content to Spread the Word http://www.reelseo.com/brands-encourage-usergenerated-video-content-spread-word/#ixzz2xgi00aDw

http://www.reelseo.com/brands-encourage-usergenerated-video-content-spread-word/#ixzz2xgi00aDw



Trust Your Customers

Your best, most loyal customers are your fans. They love your brand and your products. Let them show it. Video gives them a chance to show how they use your product, how your brand is part of their life, what it means to them. A clothing retailer could create a powerful loyalty and influencer program all in one by having their best customers show off how they wear the clothes, how they incorporate them into their own style. They may not hit all the marketing points of a professional pitch but the authenticity of a real fan and customer will have far more impact.

Source: Brands Should Encourage User-Generated Video Content to Spread the Word http://www.reelseo.com/brands-encourage-usergenerated-video-content-spread-word/#ixzz2xgiKJSQ9

http://www.reelseo.com/brands-encourage-usergenerated-video-content-spread-word/#ixzz2xgiKJSQ9




Case Study: Tourism Australia

In mid-2011, Tourism Australia chucked its usual Facebook tactics and decided to hand the page over to fans. Who better to tell others about Australia than the people experiencing its beauty?

“The whole process is organic because people love to share what they’re doing.”

The Power of a #hashtag: Hashtags provide an easy way for you to track content and bring fans together around a common purpose or interest.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/encourage-fans-to-create-share-visual-content/

http://www.tourism.australia.com/



http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/hashtags/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/encourage-fans-to-create-share-visual-content/

http://www.slideshare.net/TourismAustralia/the-worlds-biggest-social-media-team-16545786

http://www.slideshare.net/TourismAustralia/the-worlds-biggest-social-media-team-16545786