Global brands find value from engaging in social media. Twitter seems to be very popular with 65% of the brands having a presence here. Notable is that European brands have the same Twitter presence as the US brands, 70%.

Facebook and Youtube channels are also valued as important by half of the top brands because the use them quite seriously. Most brands use multiple accounts, channels, blogs, fan pages, names when using these social media. Most striking is that they really engage in conversations with their audiences in different varieties of conversations styles.

For an effective business approach to social media, they suggest the following approach which also reflects the way we at PRIMITIVI like to embedd social in your organization:

1. Monitor your own, and your competitors, social media presence.

2. Get top management “buy-in”.

3. Develop a social media strategy.

4. Define and publish a social media policy.

5. Develop internal structure.

6. Contribute to the community.

7. Participate in good times and in bad.

8. Be perpared to respond in real time.

9. Beyond monitoring, measure the impact of social media engagement.

Check the slideshare underneath for more details on this social media survey.

A deluge of ideas include Tony Hsieh (Zappos.com), Jason Fried (37signals), Gary Vaynerchuk (garyvaynerchuk.com), Chris Anderson (Wired), Gina Trapani (Lifehacker) and Tim O’Reilly (O’Reilly Media) is the result. Get the book for free here

What Matters Now

Some brands wonder in which manner the can apply social media & communications to their business-to-business marketing strategy and operations. Businesses start to realize that they need more than the latest CRM software update to be effective in their relationships. Luckely social business-to-business marketing works essentially the same as social business-to-consumer marketing. The only differences between B2C and B2B are represented specifically by the influencers, communities, conversations, questions, interactions and their place within the buy and value cycles.

To get a deeper view at B2B social media marketing in 2010, eMarketer graphed the results…

Conveying thought leadership is a clear and promising chance for social brands. 60% of polled B2B marketers reported that thought leadership was at the top of the list for reasons they would engage in social networks. Generating leads and customer feedback served as the second and third top motivators for participation with 49% and 46%.

We can conclude that the dynamics of doing business and the role of influence share similar attributes that significantly benefit from socialized media and participation. So start being a social brand with thought leadership today.

Since 2007 it’s possible to create Facebook Brandpages. According to a just released report titled Inside Facebook Pages most Facebook brandpages look like normal profile pages. The difference is that social brands added functionality.

According to this report, the average Facebook page has 4,596 fans, and only 4% of the 600,000 pages analyzed have more than 10,000 fans.

Only 300 Facebook Brandpages have more than a million fans and those pages have three times as much owner-generated content than an average page.

Successful Facebook branding isn’t easy. So, don’t forget to really add something brilliant to your fans.

With this feature social brands can target multiple countries and languages. Smaller, localized and more effective branding trough Facebook is made possible.

Check this Mashable article on the steps you should take when you want to position your brand on a Facebook Brandpage.

• 65% of consumers have had a digital experience change their opinion about a brand
• Branded experience is replacing advertising
• 73% have posted a review on a social network/website
• 40% of consumers “friended” a brand on their social network
• 26% follows a brand on twitter
• After deals the main reason consumers “friend a brand” is because they are really a fan
• Majority of consumers who engage with a social brand change from passive receivers into brand advocates almost instantly!
• Mobile internet use skyrocketing
• Multiple positive brand experiences build and make a brand
• Connected Consumers are the new Mainstream

Download the full report here

Briefing: Spread the word on the opening of a new IKEA store in Malmo on a tight budget

Campaign
A Facebook profile was made for the store manager, Gordon Gustavsson. On this social profile images were uploaded from IKEA showrooms to his Facebook photo album. Then they put out the word that the first person to tag their name to a product in the pictures, won it.

Results

Thousands of people saw the promotion and spread the word to their friends and family through sharing links on Facebook, through email and word-of-mouth. Sharing on Facebook was also done by using the newsfeed and of course people putting it on their profile. A successful social media campaign with a huge viral effect and for very low cost.

• Gordon made a 1000 Facebook friends helping him spreading the word
• Lots of free PR on IKEA Malmo. Check news overview
• Enough conversations to get it done
• Successful opening of the new store.

And the buzz continues…

Wat valt op? Adverteerder geven aan onvoldoende kennis te hebben van social media en ze verwachten deze kennis niet aan te treffen bij bij de bureaus die ze op dit moment ondersteunen. Nederlandse merken zijn overtuigd dat social media een cruciale rol gaan spelen in de totale mix. Merken realiseren zich dat ze nu moeten gaan investeren om niet de boot te missen. Bij Primitivi zien we duidelijk dat onze opdrachtgevers naarmate ze enige ervaring opdoen met social media marketing ze overtuigd raken van het potentieel.

Uit het onderzoek blijkt verder dat maar liefst 81% verwacht de totale marketingstrategie aan te passen aan de mogelijkheden van social media marketing. Naar onze mening de enige juiste aanpak. Bij Primitivi/Social Media Creatives – starten we altijd op strategisch niveau om te komen tot creatieve en effectieve inzet van social media marketing. Lees hier meer over het onderzoek.