Fun Matters in B2B Social Media

Fun Matters in B2B Social Media

All rights reserved 2010. Klotz-Guest

Kathy Klotz-Guest MA, MBA, MLA

Marketing Strategist, Storyteller, Improviser

[email protected]

1

Marketing is Storytelling; Fun Connects

Today we focus on social media

– What is fun? Why do we care?

– Who is doing it right?

– What lessons can we learn?

All rights reserved 2010. Klotz-Guest 2

What is Fun? Why do we care?

• Customer delight –fun surprises, engages, humanizes

• Funny is great – fun is a larger value that serves, connects people

• Fun is a people-centered strategy; jargon and biz-speak isn’t


Cluetrain Manifesto:

Markets are ConversationsPeople communicate in language that is natural, funny, even shocking. The

human voice can't be faked….a sense of humor does not mean putting some

jokes on a corporate web site. It requires big values, humility, and straight talk.


Relationships happen

between people

B2B fears losing control

– but it’s changing

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We want the FUN!

External customer interaction, marketing and Gen Y recruiting*

Internal “fun” social media (most happens inside the firewall)

Applications:

Video (sncr video study

launches April ‘10)

Facebook/social networks

Twitter

Blogs

Others?All rights reserved 2010. Klotz-Guest 5

Gen Y

wants fun

FUNdamentals: Who Has It Right?

• Adobe

• IBM

• Serena

• Scofield Edit

• Intuit

• Cisco

• Approva

• Hubspot

• HP (Cohn & Wolfe)

• MailChimp

• What else? Let me know!All rights reserved 2010. Klotz-Guest 6

Lessons: Invert Expectations

• Go for fun, not just funny (Cisco, Approva)

• Make your customers smile – a kneeslap is great, but not necessary to

make a difference

• Authentic, organic, less-PR spin (Cisco)

• Universal truth is funny (Scofield Edit, Cisco, Intuit)

• Unexpected surprise – ongoing (IBM, Grasshopper.com)

• Part of culture that values delight (IBM, Cisco, Grasshopper, MailChimp)

• Breaking down complexity, jargon (Cisco, Serena)

• Fun as experience, engagement, community – what will people to do?

FUN is icing, but you better have a GREAT cake


Your FUN Goals

• Humor is great

– Go for universals (can it be understood with the sound off by

different groups?)

– Allow for cultural humor (geographies will need “own” spin)

– Avoid sarcasm (easily misconstrued)

• All it really takes is to make customers “smile”

• Unscripted, honest and real is best, FUN by MBO puts FU

in FUN (not good!)


IBM’s Art of the Sale (6 serial stories)

• Objectives: New mainframe value prop, humanize brand

• Outcome: 25X increase in blog traffic, huge coverage

• Why: Fun and unexpected for IBM

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSqXKp-00hM (lesson 1)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSqXKp-00hM



IBM: It’s About People


Grasshopper.com:

We Celebrate Entrepreneurs

• Sent 5000 chocolate-covered grasshoppers to influencers

• Asked to watch a video that supports entrepreneurs

• Unexpected that they did NOT push a brand message


Grasshopper

Celebrates

Entrepreneurs

Cisco’s FUN Chambers

Not the Duck Call? Yes, the duck call!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuDnm77wb0M

Unscripted, fun and top-down!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuDnm77wb0M

Cisco’s FUN Chambers

What the heck is cloud computing? No one knows.

The truth is funny. Can’t define complexity with complexity.

Great way to open a conversation that leads to clarity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g9penyLM5Q


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g9penyLM5Q

Approva and The Singing Accountant

Steve Zelin, the singing CPA showed that

accountants and SOX issues aren’t boring! (Ok,

they are, but fun makes it easier to deal with)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ylBKOURtw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ylBKOURtw

Cree Lighting


Stories work –

they are fun

and real

Serena Software: Business Mashup

• Built awareness of mashup software (what the heck is it? New

concept)

• Tripled traffic and spiked mashup software 200%, 2008

OMMA

• Funny – play on what we THINK they said; but it’s innocuous


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLTs6jlbkjE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLTs6jlbkjE

The Truth IS Funny

• Scofield Edit: Video poking fun at client-vendor

relationships and crazy client expectations

• http://vendorclientvideo.com/

• 1 millions viewings in 1 month

– Demonstrated truth

– Also showed off what they could do with video


http://vendorclientvideo.com/


HP’s Datacenter Monster Fan Page

• Engagement is low. Why?

• Wasn’t kept up, too co-opted by PR


Sodexo Recruitment: Gen Y, We’re Fun!


SodexoCareers on

Twitter

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Blogs

• IBM and Adobe employees, Sun’s former CEO, Jonathan Schwartz

• About personality and humor is conversational

• Let your smart, talented employees “talk”



Compendium

Software CEO

Got it Right but Didn’t Maintain It

Intuit Quickbooks: Jingle Generator was great but faded

– Why? Mainly technical issues, novelty factor wears off

– It was successful: hit major objectives for buzz, traffic


What You Can Do to Use Fun in B2B

Social Media

• Ask Yourself:

“how can we increase the delight factor in the experience?”

“how do we surprise (good way) our customers?”

“how do we keep surprising, delighting customers and employees?” (ongoing

commitment)

“how do we use fun to educate and to serve?”


Thank you

• Newsletter signup at Powerfully Funny

• You can download my article, Creating Fun Facebook Fan

Pages that Work from articles section on Powerfully Funny

• B2B book. Send fun examples: [email protected]

– We’d love to hear them!

• Video storytelling survey (SNCR) – look for that soon!

Let’s continue the conversation online!


mailto:[email protected]

Services


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Tactics•Web and print

•Collateral, articles

•Social media

Speaking

•Marketing

•Marketing and humor

•Levity, creativity, and innovation

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Contact

Kathy Klotz-Guest MA, MBA, MLA

P/F: 408.578.8040

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: kathyklotzguest


Documents

Fun Matters in B2B Social Media