CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
Marketing Through Social
Media: Case Study
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• Social media as a marketing tool
• Our goals for social media uses
• How we implement social media marketing
• Metrics and measuring success
• Lessons learned
• Q & A
Agenda
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
What to Use, What to Choose?
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
A Social Media Bombardment
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
A Social Media Bombardment
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
“
Audiences everywhere are tough. They don’t have time to
be bored or brow beaten by orthodox, old-fashioned
advertising. We need to stop interrupting what people
are interested in & be what people are interested in.
”
CRAIG DAVIS
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, WORLDWIDE
J. WALTER THOMPSON (WORLD’S 4TH LARGEST AD AGENCY)
Why Use Social Media?
6
“Leading firms understand that being behind the curve on
the strategic use of digital technologies weakens their
ability to interact and strengthen relationships with
customers, employees, and partners.”
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
1% - Creators 9% - Editors
90% - Lurkers
Industry Guidelines for Engagement
7
The 90-9-1 Principle
Creators – create content from scratch and drive vast majority of content
Editors – modify content or make a comment
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
Call to Action:
Get Them in the Game
8
1
stBASE
Subscribe to at
least one outlet
2
ndBASE
Following 1+ outlets,
inviting friends
3
rdBASE
Regular contributors
and influencers
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• The program began in September of 2000
• It is a global program
• Assesses skills that cross multiple networking disciplines
•
About 26000 credentials awarded to ≈14000 people
• We offer web-based exam delivery for low-stakes exams
• We have external proctored delivery of high-stakes exams
• Our volume is about 4500 exams/year
• We use(d) traditional marketing methods
– Web pages
– Email blasts
– Instructor messaging in classes
Our Certification Program
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• Put a face to the organization
– Today’s learners like to collaborate
– Many people don’t go to the main website first
• Residual effect of mobile devices
• Spark ideas; gain mindshare with potential customers
• Start/monitor discussions; identify influencers
• Build loyalty and value; establish authority and credibility
• Mine posts for quotable comments and testimonials
• Engage with customers on a personal level
– Dialogue is worth more than market research
– Find if people are using our information
Our Social Media Goals
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
Each social media outlet has its own style and nuances
– Brocade Communities (MyBrocade)
• Good for blogs, lengthy content, announcements, discussions • Works well with all audiences; medium engagement
• Good for short posts, pictures, polls, discussions, fun items • High engagement, largest population from US, India
• Casual audience, not all Brocade customers – LinkedIn
• Good for short to medium posts; medium engagement
• More formal audience, mostly Brocade customers/employees – Twitter
• All audiences, short messages, URL call to action included – YouTube
• Used for 1½ – 3 minute videos promoting Brocade University
Using Social Media to Market
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
MyBrocade
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
•
We post across multiple outlets, driving people to MyBrocade
•
In MyBrocade, we have the most latitude, and can update content
dynamically
•
We also drive people to other Brocade assets
– Brocade.com
– Brocade Knowledge Base – Brocade micro sites
A Multi-pronged Approach
14 MyBrocade
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• What we post to keep audience interest
– Announcements – Study materials
– Technical challenge questions – Opinion polls
– Trivia games
– Interesting pictures
– Giveaways and contests
– Responses to questions or queries – Discussion starters
– An occasional Brocade marketing piece – Celebrations of people’s achievements – Individual welcome messages
– Exclusive content for the Facebook/LinkedIn page fans
The Art of Social Media Marketing
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
Fun with Pictures
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• Post between 8 PM & 7 AM, when they are not busy
– Considerations should be made if your audience is global
• Post 1-2 times per day, but avoid exceeding 7 posts per week
• Keep it short and use 80 characters or less
• Use photos or text-only status updates to increase interaction
• Use questions to drive dialogue in the form of fan comments
– Ask people to “Share” or “RT” if they like the content
• Put questions at the end of posts for higher comment rates
• Use “caption this” and “fill in the blank” to drive more
comments
• Use calls to action to direct your audience’s interaction
• Use the “Pin to Top” feature in Facebook
• Use Manager’s Choice on LinkedIn
The Art of Social Media Marketing
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• When is the best day to post for maximum impact?
Art of Social Media Marketing
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
MyBrocade Analytics
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
Facebook Analytics
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
LinkedIn Analytics
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• Number of followers
– Going up constantly
• Quality of the posts
– Getting richer
– Number of shares increasing slightly
• Engagement threshold
– Reached 143 potential new customers through an exclusive promotion
• Cost savings
– 75% of our marketing budget saved • Inbound marketing vs. outbound
• Slight bump in exams delivered, course enrollments
• Had the #1 most-viewed document on MyBrocade
– A hand-built, at-a-glance training schedule
Our Impact Metrics
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• Have a strategy before launching
• Research company social media policies and guidelines
• Running the social media program for Brocade University is
like producing a variety show
– Guests; comedy bits; video clips
– Hooks to keep the audience (promotions, interesting content)
• It will not explode over night; have patience for nurturing
• Our successes have built the credibility of Brocade University
– With our customers – Within Brocade
• Asked to be early adopters on projects like gamification
• There is an art to keeping the audience engaged
• Use all means available to promote your social media
Lessons Learned
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• “Brocade goes above and beyond in the online community to help individuals become certified”
• “I have the feeling that you always have someone there - whose name you know - available to
clarify your doubts”
• “supported even in FB”
• “I usually get all updates regarding certifications from Facebook link. Quick response.”
• “I think that the brocade certified facebook page its a differentiator”
Recent Customer Comments
CEdMA Spring Conference 2013
• An email signature
• Welcome message from our certification management system
• Training classes
• Exam vendor confirmation notices
Low Hanging Fruit
Joe Cannata
Sr. Manager of Certification Brocade University
2050 Marconi Drive, Suite 300, Alpharetta, GA 30005 (T) 770.777.8374 (M) 404.520.5004
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