Digital TV switchover: Social media

Transcription

1 Digital TV switchover: Social media By Matt Heselden, Social media lead Summary With the growth in popularity of social media, we recognised that increasing numbers of consumers and opinion formers would discuss digital television switchover online through other websites, forums, blogs and social networks. By deciding to participate online Digital UK was able to monitor and be part of that discussion. This activity was undertaken with limited resources, particularly budget, but we were able to achieve a great deal given the constraints. In 2007 Digital UK created a Digit Al Facebook profile designed to be friendly in tone, provide general switchover information and act as a forum for viewer enquiries. In 2010 we launched a national Facebook page and tailored regional Facebook pages for the Scotland and Central TV regions. Using this format we rolled out TV region specific Facebook pages for all the live regions. We complemented the group of Facebook pages with three Twitter accounts (one national, two regional). When we had sufficient experience and enough confidence using social media, we added Flickr, YouTube, Google Plus and Pinterest to our range of social networks. We found some social networks were more appropriate than others due to audience take up and the nature or purpose of certain sites. Pinterest, for example, is a social publishing site that allows users to pin images to their virtual pin boards and has an estimated 10 million users. The site works well for those offering creative and design services but we found it difficult to create relevant content and user interest. Objectives To engage and inform viewers. Provide basic viewer support. For example, by responding to switchover enquiries pushed through social media. 1

2 Complement the traditional PR and marketing communication channels. To communicate and network with stakeholders, local and national government, opinion formers and the wider media. Strategy Management Daily management of social networks was delegated to key staff in regional teams, whilst overall strategy and direction remained the responsibility of Press and PR, Corporate Affairs and the Web Manager. This cross functional team made up Digital UK s group of social media specialists. Activity We planned activity around key PR and marketing milestones and individual switchover days. Other activity was based on key messaging (retuning, use of the postcode checker, how to switch etc.), developments in the television industry and popular television shows. Linking We added share buttons to our website to create links to our social networks. We cross promoted our Facebook pages with the Facebook pages of similar organisations such as Freeview. Digital UK staff members were encouraged to carry a link to Facebook and Twitter on their signatures. Regional teams were encouraged to reference their relevant Facebook page and/or Twitter profile in meetings, interviews and correspondence. Advertising In November 2010 we ran adverts on Facebook linked to a competition to push traffic to our Central and Scotland pages. The cost per advert was 2,500 and both were geo targeted to appear to Facebook users from Scotland and the Central TV region respectively. The adverts directed users to click through to a specially created competition tab within the specific regional page. The adverts generated an increase in the numbers of visits to each page and the number of likes (fans) for each page. However, this increase was not sufficient to justify a continued advertising spend and we decided to grow the number of likes and page visits using the strategy as outlined above. Measurement We used a number of qualitative and quantitative measurements to give a holistic overview of performance. As our main reason for engaging on social networks was qualitative, we struggled to identify what we would measure and how we would measure it. Our measurement strategy developed over time. Initially we were concerned with the number of likes and followers and decide this would be our key metric. To improve the metric we ran advertising on Facebook (see above). 2

3 Once our audience grew we concerned ourselves with qualitative results and examined tone and sentiment of fans and followers. This gave us an idea of the mood on the ground which we fed back to the social media lead in each regional team. It also gave us the ability to monitor specific issues as and when reported by regional teams. We realised the number of likes or followers is not the only indication of how far our messages were going. We used Facebook Insights and free online tools such as those provided by tweetreach.com to assess the amplification of messaging, especially on Twitter. This included: Reach (the number of unique people who saw something by us). Exposure (the overall number of impressions generated by our activity or the activity of fans or followers). The number of referrals from social networks to our main consumer website. We used Google Analytics to measure the number of visits to the website and subsequent bounce rate generated by our social media activity. On switchover days we issued a social media report that featured in wider status update report. This not only gave anecdotal evidence of what was happening on the ground but happening on the ground but created a buzz amongst staff in the office. Receiving these regular reports made the senior management team more aware of our social media activity. Conclusion Whilst social media activity might not be seen as effective for Digital UK s core audience of generally older and more vulnerable people, it did sit alongside and complement the traditional communication channels (advertising, PR, direct mail and outdoor), and allowed us to engage with a specific segment in a personalised timely way. It gave us an indication of the mood on the ground by providing qualitative feedback from people interested in switchover and acted as another channel for viewer enquiries and feedback. The use of region specific Twitter accounts did not work. The London and Meridian accounts attracted a few hundred followers each. The national account attracted more and received the majority of interaction. Region specific Facebook pages were more effective with the Scotland, Central and national pages having the greatest numbers of followers. 3

4 Occasional competitions and ad hoc advertising is proven to generate discussion, create traffic and an increase in fans or followers. Competitions run exclusively on our Facebook pages gave fans a sense of exclusivity and importance. Prizes were not expensive and ranged from a Digit Al toy to a mid range Freeview box. Fans and followers will use social media platforms for complaints, enquiries and praise. These individuals may not wish to contact your customer care teams or advice line and will expect to receive help via the social media platform. During a switchover we received complaints, enquiries and comments from Twitter and Facebook although Twitter was the most popular platform for this. Being able to respond to these messages in a polite and prompt fashion was, perhaps, one of the most useful aspects of our social media work. Recommendations Be clear why the organisation is using social media e.g. brand reputation or sales generation. Get buy in from senior management. This is vital. Choose your audience and decide on the appropriate social media platform. For example, Digital UK used Twitter initially to communicate with high level organisations and individuals but followers used it for customer support enquiries. Write a social media strategy, agree key metrics and develop staff guidelines for its use. Create a group of specialists among the organisation who can be responsible for social media engagement. Do not necessarily assign the task to the youngest or most junior person in your organisation. Embed social media activity into marketing and PR strategies. Create a robust process to reply and/or escalate complaints, comments and enquiries to your customer care team/s as necessary. Aim to respond within 24 hours, if possible. Digital UK took an always on approach to social media. Queries and comments were responded to during evenings and weekends when necessary. 4

5 Understand the relationships between social networks. For example, activity on Google Plus and YouTube can influence an organisation s search ranking in Google. Be authentic and develop the voice of the organisation. Do not spam audiences with sales pitches, irrelevant or boring information. Multiple regionalised Facebook pages did not work for us (with the exception of Scotland and the Central TV region). One Facebook page with a tab for every region would have been more effective. A large budget is not vital to a successful social media campaign. Having a team with the right mix of skills (and enthusiasm) to run a social media campaign is more important. Advertising on social platforms does work. Experiment and do not initially commit to a large advertising spend. Finally Ultimately, social media is just another communications channel (albeit very interactive and always on). Activity should be well planned and undertaken by a cross functional team, preferably made up of members from PR, marketing and customer services. This activity is made easier when there is buy in from staff members and senior management. Matthew Heselden August