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.

• 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

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.

Primitivi analyseert de meest populaire sociale media zoals Hyves, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc. Ook de meer doelgroep specifieke sociale omgevingen – zoals communities en weblogs – worden onderzocht. Meer hierover…

Studiedate koppelt scholieren die zich aan het oriënteren zijn op een studie bij INHolland aan studenten. Studiedate.nl is een open social network waar studenten de regie zelf in handen hebben. Op basis van een speelse interactieve matchmeter koppelt Studiedate.nl scholieren aan studenten. De meest populaire social media zoals Hyves, MSN, YouTube, Flickr, Last.fm en Slideshare zijn volledig geintegreerd op Studiedate.nl. Participerende studenten kunnen via een persoonlijke profielmanager zelf bepalen welke social media zij willen inzetten om hun verhaal te vertellen.

Ter ondersteuning van de launch heeft Primitivi ook enkele middelen ontwikkeld zoals een poster en een banner.

Digitale Pioniers is volledig gestoeld op het Open Source gedachtengoed. Zie hier de nieuwe website van de Digitale Pioniers die vorige week live is gegaan. Op de nieuwe site staan erg leuke maatschappelijk interessante innovatieve projecten.