Turn Social Media into Sales · 2012. 2. 18. · Executive Summary Turn Social Media into Sales Every sales and marketing manager is aware of social media’s rising impact as a resource

TurnSocial Media

into Sales

Proven Ways That WorkA SPECIAL REPORT FOR SALES EXECUTIVES

PBPExecutiveReports

Turn Social Mediainto Sales

PBP Executive Reports are straightforward, fast-read reports designed for time-pressed upper-level executives and managers. PBP Executive Reportsexcel at cutting the fluff, eliminating jargon and providing just the informationtoday’s executives need to improve their organizations’ performance.

This PBP Executive Report was compiled and edited by the editorial staff of What’s Working in Sales Management, one of the most respected newslettersserving the Sales profession. Not only does this report include effectivetechniques and strategies used by real practitioners on the front lines, it alsodelivers the best and latest thinking on value-added selling from some of themost respected sources in business today, including: BusinessBrief.com,BusinessWeek, Constant Contact, EyesOnSales, H&R Block, Harvard BusinessReview, Hewlett Packard, HubSpot, MarketingSherpa, McKinsey & Company,MoreVisibility, The New York Times, Sales and Marketing Update, Sales andMarketing Management Magazine, The Selling Advantage, Technology Review,U.S. News and World Reports and many more.

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Executive Summary


Every sales and marketing manager is aware of social media’s rising impact as aresource that can potentially boost sales, loyalty and satisfaction. Yet there are twomain challenges every manager faces when developing (and assessing) a socialmedia campaign. The first is how to consistently engage buyers in a way that boostsprofits. The second is how to measure the effectiveness of your efforts.

In this executive report, we provide answers to both of those questions, as well as proven examples of how companies have used social media to attract new buyers and keep the old, while promoting their brand on a regular basis.

Although it’s true that every company caters to a different audience, several ofthe tactics we explore in this report translate to almost any pool of prospects,provided they use sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube on a regularbasis.

Included in this Executive Report: ! What social media users want (and how to attract them)

! Who’s using Twitter and why

! What the top 10 tweets of 2010 say about social media

! Top 10 reasons for using Facebook

! Best time to engage customers via social media

! 4 ways to boost sales, loyalty via Facebook

! Email and social media: A one-two punch

! Social sharing: New trend boasts huge ROI

! 3 keys to posting tweets that turn prospects into buyers

! Connect with buyers on two levels

! 5 ways to reach more buyers via social media

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EXECUTIVE SU

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! Why email may be more valuable than social media

! Embedded links: A resource that drives 93% more click-thrus

! C-level buy-in: One of the keys to social media success

! How today’s companies are using social media

! Proven ways to turn social media into a sales goldmine

! Key takeaways

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EXECUTIVE SU

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The Executive Report


Over the past five years, social media has evolved from a mild curiosityto one of the leading resources sales organizations depend on to attract andengage customers.

More than 85% of sales organizations now have some type of socialmedia strategy in place, and 75% plan to expand their efforts in themonths to come, according to a recent MoreVisibility study.

Nearly all of those companies point to Twitter as the main focus of theirsocial media efforts (with 96% of companies using Facebook as asecondary – albeit essential – source). LinkedIn is still considered aworthwhile resource, but only 74% of companies continue to use it as areliable way to maintain contact with customers and/or colleagues.

What’s more impressive? Most experts agree social media hasn’t reachedits peak yet, at least in terms of business potential.

Despite that, some managers are still skeptical of whether social mediainitiatives can really provide substantial ROI. This is mostly due to the fact neither Facebook nor Twitter provide the type of analytics that allowcompanies to measure how many page views and/or online buzz specific posts are generating.

Small businesses, in particular, are slow to jump on the social mediabandwagon. A recent Citibank survey revealed 76% of small businessmanagers haven’t found Facebook or Twitter particularly helpful in termsof generating high-probability business leads.

This may be due to several factors, including the reality that smallbusinesses generally cater to a limited region, in which there are only afinite number of prospects to choose from. And it may simply be that a lot

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of small companies haven’t implemented the type of social media strategythat would provide a substantial return.

Consider the fact that seven out of 10 marketers in the U.S. still claimthey have very little understanding of what the true impact of social mediaconversations surrounding their brands really mean.

But as more companies continue to find proven ways to use social mediato not only attract new prospects, but also increase sales, one thing’s forsure: Social media has a vast potential for generating revenue – oncecompanies learn how to harness its power.

In this report, we’ll provide insight into how customers use social media,what attracts them to a company’s brand, how successful companies engagetheir customers on a regular basis, and – most importantly – how to turnthat captive audience into a major revenue stream.

It starts by changing your focus from social media sites as a platform foradvertising your products, to understanding what draws customers to siteslike Facebook and Twitter in the first place.

What social media users want (and how to attract them)

According to a recent Invoke Solutions survey, 75% of social media users are most interested in posts that provide “new or noteworthy” info.

The survey also revealed:

• 69% of users gravitate to entertaining content

• 68% seek out valuable advice

• 67% like exclusive info, and

• 65% are interested in any news or offer that provides financial benefit.

One of the survey’s other key findings was that almost half of socialmedia users seek out advice from their “friends” or “followers” whenconsidering a major purchase.

TURN SOCIAL MEDIA INTO SALES

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A third of users said they’d be willing to follow a brand or company onFacebook or Twitter in return for a discount or coupon, and 25% haveactually used a product or service they otherwise wouldn’t have because ofa coupon or discount they found on Facebook.

Who’s using Twitter (and why)Nearly 20% of Internet users now tweet, according to new statistics

from the Pew Internet Project.

That’s an 8% jump from a little over a year ago, and clear evidence that if you’re not using Twitter to boost your sales efforts yet, now’s thetime to start.

Twitter’s age 18-24 demographic almost doubled in size over the past two years (from 19% of all Internet users to a remarkable 37%).

Users age 34-44 increased 10%, a jump that includes a high percentageof b2b and b2c prospects.

Most visitors primarily use the site to post status updates or stay on topof what’s happening with their favorite celebrities, websites and companies.

People who use other social networking sites, like Facebook andMySpace, are far more likely to post regularly on Twitter, rather thansimply follow others on the site.

The smallest pool of Twitter users continues to be prospects age 45-65.

Still, that demographic grew by 10% during the past 15 months, whichis a positive sign for Sales.

What the top 10 tweets of 2010 say about social media

The popular Ad Sales Blog provides some valuable insight into whatsocial media users respond to and how to engage them.

Based upon a list of the top 10 “retweets” of 2010 (i.e., Twitter posts


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that were then reposted by other users), sales guru Josh Gordon breaksdown some interesting statistics top marketers may want to consider when using social media to promote their brand:

1. The average number of characters per tweet: 69 (less than half the 140 character limit).

2. The average number of words per tweet: 13 (short and to the point).

3. How many of the top 10 tweets incorporated humor: 5.

4. The number of tweets in which the person receiving the post needed toknow the person who made the post for it to make sense: 5.

5. The number of tweets that provided wisdom or advice: 3.

It’s also worth noting that no tweets about a personal mood, experience,real-time moment or news item made the list.

In other words, don’t get caught up inassuming social media users are interestedin your personal perspective, nor are theyfollowing your company to read about newsthey’ve already heard somewhere else.

Top 10 reasons for using Facebook

With companies estimated to spend more than $700 million on social mediainitiatives in the next year alone,BusinessWeek’s Ray-Franco Bouly offers this list of 10 reasons Facebook should be a company’s social media outlet of choice:

1. Owner of the largest network: 600million users and counting.

2. Customized news feed: Specializationspells success.


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By the numbers:More than 1,400 sales and

marketing managers were asked“Which of the following channels doyou use to create a personalizedcustomer experience?”

• Email – 72%

• Direct mail – 58%

• Website – 56%

• Social media – 53%

• We don’t focus on providing apersonalized experience – 9%

Source: 2011 Alterian Survey

3. Average Facebook user has 30 friends: Every post has more viralpotential.

4. Brand recognition: The more customers see your message, the morethey’re aware of your brand.

5. Almost 80,000 sites link to Facebook: It’s truly the largest socialnetwork in the world.

6. The “like” and “fan” buttons are simple: Just click and it’s a done deal, providing countless ways for companies to increase their visibilityon the web.

7. Strong niche marketing: On average, a Facebook user spends close to anhour each day on the site, returning several times to see what newupdates have popped up. Facebook is also responsible for one out ofevery four clicks on the web.

8. Effective metrics: Facebook allows companies to gauge how successfultheir levels of engagement are by simply tallying the amount ofcomments and “likes” each post receives.

9. Increased search engine rankings: The more popularity you gain onFacebook, the more popularity you gain on the web.

10. Connectivity: Facebook is perfect for providing direct links to yourcompany’s promotions, blog posts and/or upcoming events.

Best time to engage customers via social mediaYou know you can catch thousands of potential customers at any time

on Facebook. But when is the single best time to reach out for theirattention?

The most consistently busy time is Wednesday at 3 p.m., according tonew research from Vitrue, which studied 1.6 million posts, 7.5 millioncomments and 1,500 brand streams to reach this conclusion.

You can also throw weekdays at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. into the mix. Those were very popular usage times as well.


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For years, experts have been trying to establish a metric for the best timeto send email out to potential customers. They have tested what wordingworks best in email, and they have analyzed results in terms of what helpscreate customer relationships and maximizes value to customers.

The only thing they could agree on was it didn’t matter what time an email was sent, as long as it resulted in a sale.

Calculating the busy times on Facebook is a whole new ballgame. Onereason: Facebook results are measured by calculating how many minutesusers spend on pages and tracking what objects users interact with.

4 ways to boost sales, loyalty via FacebookThere are more than 600 million reasons for sales organizations to

engage buyers via Facebook.

Yet, a lot of sales managers still haven’t found a viable way to connectwith buyers via the world’s most prominent social network.

Here are four ways to make your company’s Facebook page not onlysomething buyers enjoy, but also an outlet for driving sales and revenue:

1. Ask questions: You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just solicit dailyfeedback about products and services, new launches, changes to existingprocesses. Give customers a voice, and they’ll reward you with loyalty.

2. Post funny videos and photos: It’s a viral world these days, and the morepeople repost your entertaining photos and videos, the more trafficthat’s driven to your page. You may also want to encourage customersto post their own pictures, providing examples of how they use yourcompany’s products on a regular basis. Once they post a pic or make acomment, they’ll more than likely check back every time someone elseadds an additional comment.

3. Give the people in your company an identity: Include fun posts aboutsome of the more colorful personalities in your office. It’s a way toconnect with buyers, and it makes them feel like they know the people in your company on a personal level.


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4. Tag everything: When you tag pics and notes, etc., they appear on the“wall” of anyone you’ve tagged. That means anyone who views thatperson’s page will automatically see your updates as well.

Email and social media: A one-two punchMore than 70% of companies are now integrating social media into

their email strategies, according to a recentStrongMail study.

The goal is to attract more prospects andgenerate more leads by enticing everyone onthe company’s email lists to follow thecompany on Twitter, Facebook and evencompany blogs.

In addition to using social mediastrategies to boost lead generation, theStrongMail study also revealed:

• 63% of companies are looking for waysto encourage email recipients to sharemarketing messages and other productinfo on their own social networkingpages

• 48% have used email to launch a viralmarketing campaign or referral programrelated to social media

• 35% have used feedback, reviews and other commentary from socialnetworking sites in their email marketing campaigns, and

• 17% have used email marketing to promote social networking pages run by other branches of the company.


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By the numbers:Which of the following best

describes how you focus yourwebsite to engage customers?

• We try to coordinate ourmarketing campaigns withcontent on our website – 55%

• The website’s main focus is to serve as a corporatebrochure – 34%

• We personalize each visitorexperience via our site – 11%

Source: 2011 Alterian survey

Social sharing: New trend boasts huge ROIMore than 80% of sales managers now

believe “social sharing” gives them theability to tap new markets and increaseprofits.

What is social sharing?

It’s a relatively new trend that allowsemail recipients to share copy or content onsocial networking pages in much the sameway a lot of companies have addedFacebook’s “like” button to their landingpages.

Social sharing requires a link at thebottom of each email, along with a taglinelike “share this offer with your friends onFacebook.”

Recipients can either cut and paste thelink, or your company can facilitate theprocess via a third party, in which case thelink will automatically appear on therecipient’s networking page as soon as he/she clicks on it.

How effective is social sharing?

More than 75% of managers say ithelps build brand awareness, according to arecent MarketingSherpa survey.

More than 50% also confirm it’s increased the ROI of email campaigns,while a third claim it’s helped them generate more high-quality leads.


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By the numbers:More than 60% of small

business owners now feelengaging customers via Facebookis just as important as conductingface-to-face interviews.

In addition, 63% said Facebookwas an integral part of their 2011marketing strategy.

Meanwhile, 30% say they’ll berelying on Twitter this year (upfrom 25% the year before).

That said, the majority ofbusiness owners still place a muchstronger emphasis on traditionalmarketing techniques, like directmail, telemarketing and providinga personal touch.

Source: 2011 ConstantContactsurvey

3 keys to posting tweets that turn prospects into buyers

A recent Hewlett Packard study reveals what people respond to onTwitter, and how to maximize the re-tweet potential (i.e. viral power) ofyour posts.

The study, which was cited in a recentTechnology Review article, monitored themost popular tweets on Twitter’s “trending”list every 20 minutes for 40 days.

After comparing all of the tweets,researchers noticed the following threeparallels, which sales and marketingmanagers can use to increase not only theirown online visibility but the number ofsocial media users who respond to theiroffers as well.

1. Most tweets, even the most popular ones,are only popular for 20-40 minutes,which means companies might be able tocapitalize by posting tweets thatencourage prospects to respond ASAP(i.e., limited-time offers, discounts thatare only available to the first 50 userswho retweet the post, etc.).

2. The viral potential of a tweet has little to do with who is tweeting it, but everything to do with how much value other users see in retweetingit. In other words, if you tweet a special discount or piece of valuablenews, chances are that tweet will have more visibility (a la retweets)than posting something witty or fun.

3. The biggest key: Post tweets that engage customers, encouraging anemotional response that spurs them to repost or comment.


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By the numbers:More than 97% of world-class

sales organizations place a strongemphasis on understanding howcustomers’ needs are changingat all times (in comparison with48% of average organizations).

Responding to buyers’changing needs is a key to notonly closing new customers, butkeeping existing ones in the fold.

Source: Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study

Connect with buyers on two levelsTwo-thirds of the most successful sales reps in the country claim social

media is “integral” to their success, according to an OgilvyOne study.

Sales managers can capitalize on that by developing a two-prongedapproach to social networks:

1. Corporate: Use your company’s social media feeds to generate feedback,announce promotions and attract new prospects.

2. Personal: Have salespeople create their own “professional” social mediapages, which they can use to engage existing customers and topprospects on a personal level.

Focusing on both perspectives allows the company to promote its brand,while salespeople boost loyalty and satisfaction by building strongerrelationships with individual buyers.

5 ways to reach more prospects via social mediaDriving high-probability prospects to your company’s website doesn’t

have to be expensive, provided you use these five tactics:

1. Engage customers as often as possible. Social media sites, messageboards and consumer info sites are great places to network withprospects on a regular basis. Responding to questions and providingvaluable info promotes your brand, but it also offers an opportunity toprovide a link to your company’s website. The more prospects valueyour expertise, the more likely they’ll be to trust your site (and dobusiness with your company).

2. Become an advocate for other industry sites. Use your company’swebsite, blog or social media feeds to promote other industry sites,companies or blogs. Then contact a representative from those sites viaemail to let them know you’ve mentioned them. It’s a great way to opena dialogue, and this way, you can pass along pertinent press releases,product info and company news that those sites will be much morelikely to repost themselves.


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3. Submit your own posts to some of the most popular sites in yourindustry. This not only increases your online visibility, it bolsters yourcompany’s credibility considerably. If you’ve got a certain area ofexpertise, contact the administrator of a popular industry blog or siteand offer to write a “guest post” about a topic or hot button thatinterests that audience.

4. Maximize your use of valuable keywords. Use analytic tools and otheronline resources to determine what the most popular search terms in your industry are. Use those terms as often as possible in productdescriptions, blog posts, landing pages and headings. StumbleUpon(www.stumbleupon.com) is particularly valuable in terms of identifyingwhich keywords have the highest rating on search engines.

5. Add a “search by keyword” function. The search function has beenproven to significantly increase the amount of repeat traffic a site gets,as well as the amount of time an average visitor spends on the site.Ninety percent of marketers claim adding a “search” function increasesonline conversions, according to a recent eConsultancy study.

Why email may be more valuable than social networking

Social media is all the rage these days. As a result, a lot of companieshave replaced their “register” button on landing pages with “follow us”buttons that lead to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

That could be a costly mistake, according to BrightWave Marketing CEO Simms Jenkins.

After reviewing a number of top business sites, Jenkins found the“register” button led to more conversions and a much higher ROI than the“follow us” button.

How much more? It costs an average of $4 to draw a new prospect to a company’s site. If you convince that prospect to register, his/her email


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address can be worth anywhere from $23-$118 over the life of the lead.

Meanwhile, the average Facebook fan is worth $3.60 – pocket change.

Blog stats: Embedded links yield 93% click-thru rateThe term “embedded links” refers to highlighted words in blog posts,

online testimonials, news items and white papers that automatically redirectreaders to a related web page.

Sales and marketing pros use embedded links to drive more traffic totheir online product pages.

Good news: 93% of prospects say they click on embedded links eitherout of curiosity or necessity, according to a recent Eccolo Media survey.

The survey, which polled 500 decisionmakers across a range ofindustries, also revealed 80% of prospects felt adding embedded linksincreased the value and persuasiveness of online resources.

That’s a key finding, considering a lot of marketers avoid embeddedlinks, mistakenly assuming prospects consider them a bait-and-switch tacticfor promoting the company’s products.

Reality: Prospects are reading a company’s white papers, testimonialsand news items to stay informed.

The more info the company provides, the easier it is for prospects tomake a wise investment.

C-level buy-in: One of the keys to social media success

Less than 7% of companies with the most effective social mediamarketing strategies (in terms of measurable return) cite “Lack of buy-in from top management” as one of the challenges they face.

Meanwhile, 23% of the least effective companies with social mediastrategies claim it’s a major challenge to get C-level execs to approve


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expenses or take part in company-wide activities meant to boost theeffectiveness of social media.

Companies like Zappos and Virgin have generated thousands of newleads and millions in sales simply based upon the fact the companies’ mostpopular Twitter accounts belong to the CEOs.

It’s a brilliant way to make everyday customers feel as if they’re a part of your corporate family. It also provides assurance they have a direct line to the man/woman at the top, in the event a major service issueshould arise.

More to the point, a lot of thesecompanies dismiss social media outrightbecause upper-management doesn’t putthem in a position to succeed.

Managers who think they canimplement a lucrative strategy shoulddevelop a proposal first, using case studiesand real-world statistics to demonstratehow similar campaigns to the one they’dlike to implement have provided significantROI for other organizations in the past.

How today’s companies use social media

Two-fifths of U.S. companies use socialnetworking as a way to exchange ideas andcommunicate with customers (see chartnext page).

The other leading ways companies use social media include:

• Customer retention (31%): Several studies have proven engaging buyerson a regular basis leads to higher levels of loyalty.

• Brand awareness (29%): Social media is a no-cost way to reinforce the


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By the numbers:What does your company plan

to do in terms of its annual socialmedia budget?

• Increase it more than 50%: 16%

• Increase it 20-50%: 19%

• Increase less than 20%: 33%

• Will not change: 22%

• Decrease less than 20%: 1%

• Decrease 20-50%: 0.2%

• Decrease more than 50%: 0.7%

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpaSocial Media Benchmarking Study

company’s mission and values.

• Customer support (28%): Social mediadecreases inbound call volume, whichreduces Service costs, while boostingsatisfaction.

• Engaging the public (27%): Buyers tendto be more honest when responding toquestions via social media, becausethey’re not speaking directly to asalesperson or employee.

Proven ways to turn socialmedia into a sales goldmine

While there’s a tremendous buzz surrounding social media’s potential toincrease satisfaction, loyalty and revenue, a lot of managers remainskeptical. This is mostly due to the fact it’s difficult to measure just howsuccessful social media campaigns are.

Despite that, hundreds of companies have developed social mediastrategies that have already yielded a major return.

One of the keys: Determine what it is you’d like to accomplish via siteslike Facebook and Twitter.

Simply using your feed to advertise discounts does little to engagebuyers. And more often than not, using Twitter as a “billboard” for specialpromotions doesn’t generate substantial ROI.

Here are 10 real-world examples of organizations that mapped out aunique social media strategy, which led to better feedback, higher levels ofcustomer engagement, as well as increases in satisfaction, loyalty and sales.


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By the numbers:Which of the following do you

use social media for?

• Communication and ideas: 42%

• Brand awareness: 34%

• Customer retention: 31%

• Customer support: 28%

• Engage customers: 27%

Source: 2011 Alterian survey

1. Avaya: monitoring mentionsto win new accounts

Avaya’s company name has beenmentioned as many as 2,500 times in one dayon Twitter, according to a recent New YorkTimes article.

The company, which specializes inbusiness communication, realized each ofthose mentions represented a chance toengage prospects, help customers and/orbuild new relationships.

Twitter has analytics tools that allowmarketers to search by keyword(http://search.twitter.com). Monitoringcompany mentions on a daily basis hashelped Avaya win several key accounts fromtop competitors. Avaya also conductssearches using industry keywords and othercompanies’ names to cast as wide a net aspossible.

Avaya has sales and service people personally respond to tweets askingfor help, advice or simply providing a product review.

In one case, the practice even led to a $250,000 contract.

2. Blendtec: An ad campaign gone viralBlendtec, a blender manufacturer, saved on advertising costs by starting

a viral video campaign that showed customers how to make better use ofthe company’s products.

Since the campaign’s launch, sales have increased more than 700%, andcold-call resistance has dropped off significantly because more prospects areaware of the brand.


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By the numbers:Which of these resources do

you regularly use to attract andclose high-probability leads?

• Social media: 79%

• Posting articles online: 78%

• In-person events: 62%

• eNewsletters: 61%

• Case Studies: 55%

• Blogs: 51%

• White papers: 43%

• Videos: 41%

• Podcasts: 16%

Source: Content MarketingInstitute Benchmarking Study

3. Cisco: Using Facebook to promotea landmark launchCisco, a consumer electronics company,

recently enjoyed one of the most successfullaunches in its history, using only socialmedia to promote the new product.

Daily Facebook posts got prospectsexcited about the benefits of the product.Then Cisco launched an online PR campaign,sending press releases to thousands ofindustry blogs, disclosing key benefits of thenew product.

Several of those blogs devoted favorableposts to the new product, which not only gotconsumers excited about the launch, it alsogave Cisco valuable links to repost onFacebook.

4. Dell: Turning tweets into a $3 million windfallYears ago, Dell created its @DellOutlet Twitter account to connect with

customers and announce new promotions.

Over time, it’s evolved into one of the company’s primary ways toengage buyers, tout key benefits and respond to service issues.

Dell attributes more than $3 million in sales to its @DellOutlet Twitteraccount, which now has more than 1.5 million followers(twitter.com/delloutlet). The original account has also spawned dozens ofother Dell Twitter accounts, each dedicated to a specific facet of thebusiness.


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By the numbers:What’s your biggest challenge

when it comes to developingvaluable online content?

• Engaging customers: 36%

• Producing fresh content on a regular basis: 36%

• Working with a limitedbudget: 20%

• Lack of buy-in from upper-management: 11%


5. Ford’s Fiesta Movement: Connecting with customersFord chose 100 sales agents and had them spend six months recording

their experience behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta.

The videos were then uploaded and posted on the company’s socialmedia pages (Facebook and Twitter).

Result: The videos yielded 4.3 millionviews on YouTube, 500,000+ Flickr views, 3 million clicks via Twitter, and more than50,000 new customers!

In addition, sales agents created anidentity for themselves, which madecustomers to trust them more.

6. GuitarMasterPro: Using viral video to create major buzzAfter years of struggling with little or no

advertising budget, the marketing team atGuitarMasterPro.net posted a YouTube videoof a teenager playing an amazing guitar solo.

The solo went on for three minutes,captivating the audience based on the fact a young teenager was soincredibly proficient on guitar.

At the end of the solo, a quick ad popped up, mentioning the teenlearned to play using GuitarMasterPro.net.

The company used social media to post the video, based on the beliefthe solo was impressive enough that music lovers the globe over wouldretweet or forward the video to their friends.

That ad has now been viewed more than 65 million times ... and it costnext to nothing to produce.


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By the numbers:Which of the following social

media platforms are a part ofyour online marketing strategy?

• Twitter: 55%

• Facebook: 54%

• LinkedIn: 51%

• YouTube: 38%

• Other: 27%


7. H&R Block: Using Twitter to reach a new demographicThe sales and marketing team at H&R Block ignored social networking

for years, based specifically on the fact their target demographic was olderand uninterested in such things.

But when online tax services like Turbo Tax started eating into thecompany’s market share, H&R Block turned to Twitter for help.

Rather than use Twitter as a billboard, H&R Block built up a solidfollowing, then started soliciting feedback about how the company couldupdate its process to attract more prospects.

In doing so, H&R Block tapped a whole new generation of taxpayersand earned their trust by acting on suggestions, then posting the changes(and the names of those who proposed them) on Twitter.

8. Shoeline: Twitter contest boosts sales 150%According to a recent MarketingSherpa case study, the sales and

marketing team at Shoeline.com had a simple goal: Increase the number ofpage views on their website’s product pages.

The challenge was finding a way to do so on a very limited budget.

So the team focused on a four-step social media strategy that wouldminimize costs while attracting (and converting) more prospects:

• Step one: Establish the rules. Shoeline announced a one-day contestcalled “Twitter BINGO.” Somewhere in the descriptions on thecompany’s product pages, there were hidden references to all five lettersin the word “BINGO” (e.g., “These slippers have a unique Bow.”).Registered shoppers would then have to post a link to the product ontheir Twitter page to get credit for finding each letter. Every time acustomer found (and reposted) the items with all five letters (i.e.,BINGO), they were automatically entitled to a free pair of shoes.

• Step two: Avoid cheating. Shoeline went to great lengths to ensure


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players weren’t posting to more than one Twitter account or posting thewinning links to their own account more than once.

• Step three: Promote the contest. For two weeks leading up to thecontest, Shoeline promoted the event via its Twitter feed. On the day ofthe contest, it also used email and Facebook to attract additionalprospects.

• Step four: Keep it going. Shoeline tweeted hints regarding where theletters were hiding throughout the day to keep customers engaged.

Result: 150,000 tweets providing links to Shoeline’s website that day, an 83% boost in web traffic and 150% more sales over the next three days.

9. Southwest: Turning Facebook friends into flightsLike most companies, Southwest was constantly looking for innovative

ways to turn its social media feeds into revenue.

When the company announced it was about to celebrate its 39thanniversary, the marketing team saw an opportunity to generate a majorbuzz and boost sales in the process.

Southwest announced the anniversary in a press release. Moreimportantly, the airline announced that for 72 hours (starting on the date of the anniversary), it would be offering $39, $79 and $119 fares for selectdestinations.

The only catch: People had to be friends or followers of Southwest onsocial media in order to be eligible for the fares.

The rush of traffic to Southwest’s social media feeds was unprecedented.

The deals Southwest was offering were so valuable, would-be-passengersflocked to its Facebook and Twitter pages, joining our Facebook andTwitter families, then rushing off to book their flights.

Result: Southwest booked 8,000 flights during the three-day promotion,generating $1.6 million and thousands of new social media followers,


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who’ll likely book more travel via Southwest in the months and years to come.

10. Starbucks: Cashing in on ‘Mayoral Discounts’Foursquare is a social media site that allows people to “check in” on a

virtual map that includes everything from restaurants to the gym to thepark, or even their own homes.

Users who check in to a specific location more often than anyone elseare awarded “mayor” status of that locale (e.g., “You are now the Mayorof Midtown Starbucks,” etc.)

Starbucks offered $1 discounts on popular products throughout 2010 to anyone who achieved mayoral status at one of its locations.

Result: A major rush of competition to earn mayoral status anddiscounts. Starbucks also gave users the title of “Barista” after five check-ins.

The campaign is believed to have generated millions in repeat businesswith no overhead costs whatsoever.

Turn social media into a sales goldmine: Key takeaways• Customers are attracted to social media posts that provide “new and

noteworthy” info.

• Half of social media users seek advice from online friends and followerswhen considering a major purchase.

• Overall, the most popular tweets average 70 characters and 13 words.

• Humor is a valuable resource if you want your followers to retweet your posts.

• The most successful social media campaigns don’t focus on usingFacebook and Twitter as a billboard. Instead, they engage customers and


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give them a reason to check back on a daily basis.

• Wednesday afternoon is the best time of the week to post valuableinformation, as the highest volume of customers are logged on duringthose hours.

• One easy way to engage customers on a regular basis is to ask questionsthat interest them, or ask them to provide feedback on your company’sproducts or services.

• Use email to promote your social media campaigns. It’s a great way toreach customers who may not be following your social media feeds yet.

• Have each of your sales and marketing people create their own“professional” Twitter and Facebook profiles, so the company canengage customers on a corporate level and a personal level.

• Embedded links (on blog posts or news items) are a great way to boostsales and direct customers to product landing pages.

• Companies can use Twitter’s analytic tools to monitor how often usersmention them and their products on a daily basis. This provides theopportunity to follow up, resolve issues and perhaps win new business.

• Viral video is a low-cost way to generate considerable buzz withoutbreaking the company’s advertising budget.

• Social media may be a great way to introduce your company to a wholenew demographic.

• Social media is a perfect resource for holding contests that attract newcustomers, keep existing customers engaged and increase yourcompany’s brand awareness.


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Turn Social Media into Sales · 2012. 2. 18. · Executive Summary Turn Social Media into Sales Every sales and marketing manager is aware of social media’s rising impact as a resource