Facebook Era, the: Tapping Online Social Networks to Market, Sell, and Innovate, 2/e

369 Pages·2010·7.546 MB·English

by  O'Reilly for Higher Education (Firm), Shih, Clara

Praise for
The Facebook Era
“Shih clearly articulates the opportunity for businesses on the social Web,break-
ing it down into simple,actionable steps for companies to reach and connect
with customers and prospects from around the world.”
—Sheryl Sandberg,Chief Operating Officer,Facebook
“Looking to create a loyal ecosystem of customers,partners,and others online?
Check out The Facebook Era,a timely compendium of tools,tips,and ideas to up
your game—with authenticity.”
—Keith Ferrazzi,author,New York Times#1 bestsellers,
Who’s Got Your BackandNever Eat Alone
“As Facebook grows to 500 million worldwide users and beyond,it’s becoming
increasingly clear that the social graph is transforming how business gets done.
Executives and practitioners should read The Facebook Eraand take its insights
to work the next day.”
—Justin Smith,founder,Inside Network;editor,Inside Facebook
“Social media has created a new world of transparency in business.Those who
ignore it do so at their peril;this book tells you not just why but how you
should change—or pay the consequences.It is a fundamental resource for any-
one interested in the emerging discipline of ‘digital influence.’”
—Miles Young,CEO,Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
“This is one of the most comprehensive and useful books on the market for
understanding how Facebook and Twitter are changing business and technol-
ogy,regardless of your industry.”
—Timothy Kasbe,CIO,Sears Holdings
“The Facebook Erais insightful,comprehensive,and practical,whether you are a
marketer,a salesperson,or a user.Read it.And tell your friends (and weak ties)
about it.”
—Andrew Robertson,President and CEO,BBDO Worldwide,Inc.
“The Facebook Eranot only provides one of the most complete descriptions of
the social times we are experiencing today,but also lends practical guidance on
how to leverage the social tools and services for businesses large and small.”
—Derek Overbey,Sr.Director of Marketing and Social Media,Roost
“Social business is the next wave for competitiveness of global businesses.The
business that reads this book and learns first how to capitalize on its power for
better reaching clients will win the next frontier.”
—Sandy Carter,Vice President,SOA and WebSphere,IBM
The Facebook Era
Tapping Online Social Networks
to Market,Sell,and Innovate
Clara Shih
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The facebook era :tapping online social networks to market,sell,and innovate / Clara Shih.
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— 2nd ed.
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ISBN-13:978-0-13-708512-5 (pbk.:alk.paper) Publishing Coordinator:
ISBN-10:0-13-708512-5
1.Business enterprises—Computer networks.2.Online social networks.3.Facebook Olivia Basegio
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First printing July 2010
To my parents,James and Sophia Shih;
my brother,Vic;
and my best friend,Daniel
This page intentionally left blank
vii
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvi
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Part I Why Social Networking Matters for Business
1 The Fourth Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Today’s Social Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Facebook Versus Twitter and LinkedIn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Why Facebook Won . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Google Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Private Social Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Social Network Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
A Promising New Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
2 The New Social Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Identity,Sharing,and Influence on the Social Web . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
The Importance of Being Customer-Centric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Transitive Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
3 How Relationships and Social Capital Are Changing . . . . . . . .45
What Is Social Capital? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
New Modes of Communication on the Social Web . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
The Power of Weak Ties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Supplementing Offline Networking with Online Interactions . . . . .56
The Flattening Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Creating New Value from Network Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Part II Social Networking Across Your Organization
4 Sales in the Facebook Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Transforming the Sales Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Social CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
viii The Facebook Era
5 Customer Service in the Facebook Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Thinking Holistically About the Customer Experience . . . . . . . . . . .92
Five Steps to Successful Social Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Calculating Your Cost Savings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
6 Marketing in the Facebook Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
The New Rules of Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Hypertargeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Social Distribution and Word-of-Mouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Engagement Is King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Challenges and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
7 Innovation and Collaboration in the Facebook Era . . . . . . . . .135
Concept Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Prototyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Commercial Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Continual Iteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
8 Recruiting in the Facebook Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Which Social Network Is Best for Recruiting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Sourcing and Screening Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Candidate References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Employer and Recruiter Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Keeping in Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Advice for Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Be Aware of Employee Poaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Part III Step-by-Step Guide to Social Networking for Business
9 How To:Develop Your Facebook Era Plan and Metrics . . . .183
Listening First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Establishing the Business Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Defining Your Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Mobilizing the Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Framing Your Strategy in Terms of the Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Getting Started on Facebook and Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Contents ix
10 How To:Build and Manage Relationships on the
Social Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
Personal Versus Professional Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
Interacting on Facebook and Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
Networking on the Social Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208
Connecting with New People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210
11 How To:Engage Customers with Facebook Pages
and Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Overview of Twitter and Facebook Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Setting Up Your Facebook Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
Getting (and Keeping) Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228
Advanced Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235
The Best of Twitter and Facebook Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
12 How To:Advertise and Promote on the Social Web . . . . . . . . .251
Building Your LinkedIn DirectAds Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Creating Your Facebook Ad Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
Which Attributes Should You Hypertarget On? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266
Selecting Your Ad Creative and Call to Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
Tying Back to Your Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
Engagement Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Twitter’s Promoted Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
Part IV Social Networking Strategy
13 Advice for Small Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279
1.Start Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279
2.Consider Using Your Personal Profile Instead of a
Facebook Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
3.Take Advantage of Location Targeting and Geolocation . . . . . .282
4.Build Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283
5.Build Your Sphere of Influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
6.Consider Ditching Your Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
7.Have a Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .288