Customer Experience

By Liam Dowd - August 18th, 2014

Matt Warnock, Digital Editor in Chief at Philips speaks to us about social media strategy, tools, ROI and much more

In the build up to this year's Corporate Social Media Summit Europe we ask one of the speakers, Matt Warnock, ideas and insight behind Philips' social media strategy.

What are the key drivers behind your organisation’s use of social media?

In a nutshell, we’re looking to drive brand preference through awareness and community building.

We’re doing this by informing social media users about the breadth of the Philips business portfolio, our sustainability initiatives, and the motivations, people and technologies behind our innovations. All other strategies and activities are borne of those key drivers.

How is social media organised within your company? What organisational models do you use and why?

The organizational model is complex as it mirrors the organization itself, arranged by Group, Business Group and Market, with some platforms even reflecting combinations of those.

We’re actively seeking to simplify the structure, but that is easier said than done as, while complex, the current structure does ensure product, platform, audience and content synergies.

As a corporate user of social networks, how does your company value the networks it has a presence on?

At Philips, we value social networks for a variety of user cases, such as product feedback, brand awareness, crisis monitoring, competitive insights, promotion, and, of course, for building one-to-one engagement with people interested in Philips, our technologies and our innovations.

Can you outline a recent initiative that included a social media component?

Last year, we launched our new brand positioning and digital was front and centre in the activation.

One of the main elements of that new brand positioning was the Innovation and You platform – a storytelling site featuring compelling videos from individuals and communities all around the world whose lives had been improved by Philips products and services.

Our social channels were responsible for driving 22% of all traffic to that platform, much of which was achieved organically.

How much pressure is there to show ROI with the social media you use?

Currently, at Brand level, there is actually not too much pressure to show full ROI, although I envisage that this will be the next step in the evolution of our channels.

We have firm KPIs around share of voice, engagement and driving traffic to other Philips properties – we see those as principle objectives rather than pure ROI. That pressure is different, of course, at market level.

How did your organisation approach the mapping of your enterprise to identify where social media should reside in the corporate structure? And how this would deliver an integrated approach to social media activity?

We have gone through an extensive mapping exercise that looks at who does what and where, not just for social but across many digital areas.

In the realm of social, our Group team is the owner, publish and builder of communities around the brand and the entirety of the ‘Philips experience’; meanwhile, our Business Groups focus on category-specific social content and community building, such as Mother and Child for our Avent Business.

Our Markets/Countries execute in both spaces, on behalf of the global country properties and supporting category specific communities.

What is your advice to organisations that are beginning to map their own corporate structure with the view to embedding social media activity within their enterprise?

Strategy, strategy, strategy. Build from the business objectives and audience needs up, then identify which channels best suit those requirements.

Also, create a firm gateway and governance system – it’s far easier to control the opening of channels than to try to reign them in once they’re out there.

Finally, all social media activities should be based on a firm, shared content calendar – put simply: no calendar, no channel.

Are there any specific tools you employ that help your business manage its social media activity across multiple departments?

Lots of both free and paid tools, such as Radian 6, Social Bakers, Buddy Media, Nexgate, Bitly etc… In terms of internal social media, we employ a Socialcast solution which is best-in-class.

That said, today’s content marketers shouldn’t ignore the power of good old Excel and email..! Tools are only as good as the knowledge and training of the people using them.

How do you see the management and development of social media in your company evolving over the next few years?

Simply speaking, social will become even more integrated.

From a content perspective, that means becoming a more holistic and cohesive part of the whole marketing and comms landscape, rather than sitting separately. In terms of digital, the lines between social and other capabilities such as e-sales, CRM, and search will also become far more blurred.
 

Mark will join a further 20+ speakers at the 5th Annual Corporate Social Media Summit Europe (London, 18-19 November). Leading social brands such as; McDonald's, Nestle, Sony, Mondelez International, Lego, Siemens, Orange and many more will discuss and outline how companies can become social businesses. Take a look a the official event guide to discover the key topics being addressed.