If a UPC Cablecom customer needs help installing their new Internet connection, they can contact the support community directly instead of calling the service department. There, customers help each other—and the provider saves on support resources. When customers of the outdoor gear manufacturer Mammut tweet suggestions for improving equipment via the microblogging service Twitter, this provides valuable feedback for product development. And when the tourism group Hapimag shares vacation photos with customers on its Facebook page, it generates priceless online recommendations for its vacation resorts. These are examples of the added value that companies gain from their social media activities.

A new study has examined this topic (see left). It monitored the social media activities of six major Swiss companies to determine which measures are best suited for which business objectives.

Reach and Customer Loyalty on Facebook

If a company wants to increase the reach of its marketing messages, Facebook is the most powerful tool. 96 percent of all impressions across all study participants and channels came from Facebook. The alpine equipment manufacturer Mammut, for example, generated more than 22 million impressions on Facebook during the month under review. (An impression is defined as each time content from the Mammut page appears on Facebook users’ screens.)

The portal’s dominance was also reflected in the traffic it generated for the companies’ websites: Facebook was virtually the only platform that succeeded in driving users to the sites. (Pinterest is also known for its potential to generate traffic, but was not included in the study.)

The study also examined how effectively companies are able to use social media to build customer loyalty to the company or a brand. The metric used was the number of interactions a user shares with the company (e.g., clicks on the «Like» button or comments on Facebook, retweets on Twitter, ratings on YouTube, or blog comments). Mammut generated the most customer interactions. Among the channels, Facebook once again dominated. Mammut fans interacted with the company 1,146 times on Facebook, but only 37 times on Twitter. The ratio was even more pronounced for the tourism provider Hapimag, where users interacted 252 times on Facebook and just once on Twitter.

Twitter for Customer Support and Innovation

Twitter’s strength lies in one-on-one dialogues with customers. These play a significant role in customer support and in fostering innovation. Across all channels and companies included in the study, 45 percent of innovative ideas come from Twitter users. For example, Hapimag customers have suggested new vacation homes on Twitter, and Mammut customers have tweeted suggestions for product improvements.

Twitter has also proven to be the most helpful channel overall for customer support. For example, UPC Cablecom learned very quickly via Twitter about internet outages and was thus able to promptly provide customers with information on how to resolve the issues. (In addition to Twitter, Mammut also relies on YouTube. On its own YouTube channel, «UPC Cablecom Support,» the company regularly posts new videos explaining how to resolve known issues. Unlike phone support, these support videos are resource-efficient and available to customers around the clock.)

Despite the simplifications that social media brings, maintaining a professional presence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms requires additional human resources. This raises the question of return on investment (ROI). One finding of the study is that this cannot be satisfactorily determined. If a company operates an online store, it is possible to measure how much revenue is generated by visitors coming directly from social media platforms. However, when it comes to offline sales, as is the case with Denner, things become more complicated.

Unlike ROI, the achievement of other marketing goals—such as reach or customer loyalty, as well as innovation, better support, or a stronger online reputation—can be measured very effectively. Among the companies studied, it was found that those that measure these benefits achieve better results. Monthly reports tailored to the goals a company pursues with social media are best suited for this purpose. These reports should not be prepared by the social media managers themselves, but rather by independent specialists. By holding a monthly meeting to review goal achievement, social media managers stay focused on these goals, and new ideas can emerge during the discussion. The monthly reports also provide insight into the success of pilot projects within an existing program. In this way, those responsible systematically learn about the needs of their target audiences. These learning effects are a possible explanation for the connection between measuring success and achieving success.

Tips for Social Media Managers

Companies can only achieve their social media goals if they encourage their customers to engage. However, conversations must be relevant to the company; otherwise, there’s a risk that customers will become annoyed. Topics related to vacation experiences with the tourism provider Hapimag have worked particularly well on Facebook. Hapimag customers were happy to share their vacation experiences with the company, thereby generating valuable word-of-mouth promotion. At Mammut, posts about products were very well received. Customers were eager to share their impressions, providing valuable feedback to the brand.

It is important for companies to find out what their target audiences want to talk about. In general, the most interaction occurs when content is phrased positively, evokes emotions, and offers users practical value.

Not every social media platform is suitable for every objective. For branding, Facebook is usually the right choice. For a business model that requires a lot of customer support, Twitter or YouTube may be more appropriate. Companies in the business-to-business sector that primarily want to demonstrate their expertise can do so on corporate blogs. It’s worth taking customer needs into account when choosing a platform and topic.

A clear strategic approach is another recommendation confirmed by the study’s findings. Even more evident than the link between a strategic approach and greater benefits is the correlation between regular performance reviews and social media success. No matter what a company aims to achieve on social media—branding, customer loyalty, reputation, customer retention, support, or innovation—the chances of success are greater when goals are defined and regular checks are conducted to ensure the company is heading in the right direction.

Martin Kost*

For the study «Why Social Media for Businesses?» *Martin Kost, a social media consultant and owner of the Standout agency, monitored the key metrics of the social media activities of Toyota Switzerland, Denner, Mammut, UPC Cablecom, Clariant, and Hapimag over the course of one month (the analysis included Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, as well as company-owned blogs and forums). The author assessed the effectiveness of these activities using the Social Media Scorecard (developed by online strategist Mike Schwede). The results show which platforms are suitable for which business objectives. In addition, the author examined the companies’ approaches in terms of their strategic orientation. Certain success factors have emerged, though they do not claim to be universally valid from a scientific standpoint.
 

Tanja Felix (Ruf Lanz) is taking over the position of Finance, while Dominik Stibal (Inhalt&Form) is the new Program Leader. Current members Tamara Schmid (Goldbach Media), Raphael Bratschi (20 Minuten) and Oliver Flückiger (Rayneer Entertailorment) complete the Board team.

The IAA Young Professionals are associated with the IAA Swiss Chapter and accordingly pursue the same goals and tasks. At the same time, the Young Professionals are also part of an international organization that focuses on junior executives in the individual countries. The IAA Swiss Young Professionals do not want to be the largest but the most important association for junior executives in the Swiss communications industry.

Tanja Felix (Ruf Lanz)

Dominik Stibal (Content&Form)

The house search of journalist Ludovic Rocchi of the newspaper Le Matin happened in mid-August. Rocchi had uncovered plagiarism in various articles in a book by a professor at the University of Neuchâtel. The accused professor filed a complaint against Rocchi for defamation, slander and violation of official secrecy. As a result, the journalist's house was searched and electronic data was seized (Werbewoche.ch reported). The action of the Neuchâtel judiciary was denounced by Neuchâtel cantonal parliamentarians, the newspaper Le Matin and media unions as a violation of press freedom. (SDA)

To celebrate Frigor's 90th anniversary, Cailler is subtly refining its recipe and texture. The chocolate shell has become even crunchier and the filling creamier, according to a statement on Wednesday.

Vintage packaging

To mark the anniversary, Frigor chocolate is once again available for a limited period in the packaging that made it famous: Carrés and chocolate bars revive the vintage design of the 1930s. In addition, metal boxes in this very retro look will be given away in limited numbers in competitions.

Inspired by love story

Four years after the launch of Frigor, the red packaging with its characteristic Chinese ribbon was created. The creation finds its origin in a love story, at least that's the popular story. When Noël Cailler, a great-grandson of company founder François Louis Cailler, brought back a printed scarf for his wife from a trip to Asia, she slipped it onto a pack of Frigor, inspiring him to create the new design. In 1993, the white plaid border was replaced by a plain red dress.

Cailler Frigor advertising poster from 1937

Cailler Frigor advertising poster from 1958

Cailler Frigor advertising poster from 1993

Cailler Frigor Vintage Metal Box

 

Jacques-André Maire (SP/NE) submitted the motion in 2011, shortly after health insurers had decided to implement self-regulation regarding telemarketing. In Maire’s view, this self-regulation—which provides for numerous exceptions—is not working. The number of calls has not decreased noticeably. Therefore, the federal government must take action by imposing a ban. The Federal Council, however, rejected the motion, arguing that a ban would be virtually impossible to enforce, since telephone marketing often involves brokers who are not subject to any oversight. Furthermore, there is no legal basis for such a ban.

In this context, Health Minister Alain Berset also recalled the protracted discussions of recent years on the topic of telemarketing. A proposal to ban the use of premium funds to finance such calls had already failed in Parliament in 2010. The government has made a new attempt to establish state regulations on the financing of advertising and brokerage services in the proposed Health Insurance Supervision Act. However, this bill is highly controversial in Parliament—and among health insurers. Maire’s motion will now go to the Council of States. (SDA)

Image: Keystone

Keystone, the Swiss photo agency, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. In 1953 - when the analog transmission of a photograph took almost ten minutes - Keystone Press was founded as the Swiss offshoot of the international press photo agency of the same name. While the ranks of the other offshoots all but closed or disappeared into archive collections, Keystone made its way through a constantly changing world of images.

To this day, the Swiss perspective of the picture agency has remained, with 20 permanently employed photographers taking care of that. The network of international partners has been expanded, as has the visual offering; in addition to news images, stock and thematic images, reports and historical images, Keystone also distributes graphics and videos. This makes Keystone an important part of Switzerland's visual memory. For 60 years, the picture agency has stood for focused image selection, qualitative consistency and professional service.

Keystone Open Days

On Thursday, September 19 and Friday, September 20, 2013, the photo agency will open its doors and invite customers, partners and friends to the Keystone Open Days. Among other things, the editorial offices and the archive will be open to visitors. Guests can also have their portrait taken by Keystone photographers or try out the latest cameras at the Nikon booth. Those who are lucky can also win a Nikon camera and the company of a Keystone photographer in action.

Facebook users were able to get to know and reserve the new Ford EcoSport as an exclusive Limited Edition even before the actual launch. The effect of the specially developed digital campaign with Facebook ads and posts as well as the redesigned microsite was overwhelming, Ford writes in a statement on Wednesday. After just three days, the ten Ford EcoSport Limited Edition models were sold in Switzerland.

Fanpage and Microsite continue to exist even after the flash sale. Interested users can configure the new Ford EcoSport model there and find out about the new Ford SYNC technology with Applink (smartphone interface).

Responsible at Ford: David Frey (Director Marketing), Marcello Varallo (Marketing Communications Manager). Responsible at Wunderman: Gabriel Szalai (Consulting), Daniel Schranz (Art Direction), Stefan Cramer (Text), Andrew Cook (Programming).

Ludek Martschini, graphic designer and illustrator, is the uncle of EVZ striker Lino Martschini, according to a press release. Together with his brother Peter Martschini, Lino's father, he runs Ideart Eesign & Werbung in Lucerne.

Responsible at Eizeit: Eugen Thalmann (editor). Responsible at Ideart: Ludek Martschini (idea & illustration), Peter Martschini (production & organization).

 

Three specialists and a moderator led through the program. Basil Böhni (film critic) and Raphael Sommer (youngest film music composer in Switzerland) gave a presentation on the topic. In the subsequent panel discussion, led by moderator Patrick Hässig (Radio NRJ, SRF 1), Dieter Meier shared his wealth of experience on the subject of "advertising music" .

Basil Böhni, trade journalist and film critic, presented, among other things, audio branding, a combination of background music and recognition signal. This can be recognized by a specific sound and auditory pattern as a typical characteristic of a brand. Raphael Sommer presented self-composed commercials and film music pieces and their effect.

Swiss Marketing Community Zurich (SMCZ) is a networking platform of the nine clubs from the Zurich region of the umbrella organization Swiss Marketing. Swiss Marketing is the Swiss professional and technical association for nearly 4000 marketing and sales experts. It also organizes the professional and higher professional examinations in marketing and sales and is the sponsor of the Swiss Marketing Day.
(SDA)

 

Through the partnership with MCH Group, the knowledge and information platform Marketing.ch is expanding its offering for users. Under the main heading "Events", users can now find useful tips, up-to-date checklists and templates relating to trade fair organization and the associated trade fair presentation.

 

The term content marketing, which is still not very familiar to many companies, has been the hottest buzzword in marketing for a good year now. Content marketing is no longer about directing polished advertising messages to a target group, but about creating content that convinces them with its added value alone.

The fact that an advertising agency, of all things, is jumping on this bandwagon is unusual, since content marketing is an actual counter-design to advertising, according to a statement on Wednesday. "The changed media usage behavior, the increasing rejection of advertising and the swarm intelligence of a networked society are increasingly pulling the rug out from under the feet of advertising," explains owner and creative director, Markus Gabriel. For marketing decision-makers and advertising agencies alike, the time has come not just to lament or suppress this development, but to react to it decisively. The key discipline for this is content marketing, which reverses the polarity from push to pull in communication and represents the essence of modern inbound marketing. In addition to the service journalistic approach, Markus Gabriel sees the core competence of Angelink above all in the art of storytelling, in the surprising and emotional preparation of content. Angelink summarizes its range of services on its website as content minig, content creation and content distribution.

In the course of this reorientation, Angelink is joining forces with its previous implementation partner Guave Studios in Au. With a mutual minority shareholding, Angelink (conception), Guave Interactive (web development) and Guave Motion (film production) are moving even closer together in order to better exploit synergies in market development as a content powerhouse. Angelink also works on projects with PR consultant Bernadette Bisculm, who also works in the field of content strategy and content marketing with her company BisCulmCom. As a complementary discipline to search engine marketing, the focus on content marketing also creates new synergies with sister company Yourposition for integrated inbound marketing.

 

Production was probably not cheap. Vodafon is paying for the promotion of the fast LTE mobile network. Not only are the special effects by Radical Media cinematic, the background music by French musician Woodkid also leaves a lasting impression. Just as with feature films: the less original the idea, the more elaborate and expensive the realization has to be in order to appeal to the audience. The message of the commercial is correspondingly simple: No matter where you insert the Vodafone SIM card - it gets more power. You can enjoy the one and a half minutes with a clear conscience. (hae)