This document summarizes key findings from a 2013 study on online brand communities. It finds that experimentation among brands increased while cohesive strategies decreased. Top performers from 2012 saw lower scores, and new industries like telecommunications emerged. Best practices around user reviews, tools/widgets, and community managers saw higher adoption. Mobile integration with communities remains low despite some examples. The presentation encourages brands to view communities as content and engagement hubs across devices and social networks.

1. Get Serious
About Online
Communities
June 25, 2013

2. today’s speakers
Kathy Baughman
President & Co-Founder
ComBlu
@ComBlu
Joe Cothrel
Chief Community Officer
Lithium
@cothrel
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

4. 



@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

5. June 2013 @LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

6. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
6
Overall Report Stats
• Looked at same industries as 2011
study
• Added a few new brands
o United Healthcare
o Cisco
o State Farm
• Dropped a few this year
o Dreamworks
o Sony Entertainment
o Anthem BC/BS
• Joined fewer communities
o More stringent criteria
o Brands sunsetted properties
1
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

7. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
7
Study “Aha’s”
Overall Classification
2
• Social experimentation jumped
from 50 to 55%, whereas the
cohesive strategy category dropped
from 42 to 37%
• Perennial top scorers dropped back
in the pack
o Intel, American Express,
Discovery
• Natural part of maturation process
o More community experience
and sophisticated analytics
o Jettisoning things that don’t
work; introducing a new era of
experimentation
o Expect to see growth spurt in
cohesive next year
Surge in Experimentation
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

8. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
8
2012 Top Performers
Interesting Observations
• 15 brands scored ≥ 50 points, up from
12 in 2011
o Six brands new to this category
 AT&T, IBM, Cisco, Kraft,
Sprint, T-Mobile
• Telecommunications = first industry for
all brands to score ≥50
3
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

9. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
9
• An additional 15 brands scored
≤ 50, but high enough to make
high wattage category
• Aetna was the most improved
with a 30-point jump
• Dropping out of high wattage
category this year
o Apple
o Disney
o Southwest Airlines
o JetBlue
o Ubisoft
o Best Buy
o Bank of America
2012 Bright Lights
4
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

10. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
10
Study “Aha’s”
• Big lack of community and social
assimilation
o Brands equate community with
Facebook presence; measure
success by # of fans or shares
• “Likes” ≠ “relationship with customer”
• Community = “go-to” destination
o Product info, knowledge, shared
insights, mentorship, brand
connection
o Deeper discussions and
interactions
• Optimize and leverage both for best
results
Community vs. Facebook
5
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

11. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
11 6
ENGAGEMENT: WHAT NOT TO DO
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

12. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
12
Worst Practices
1 Moderating comments, stories and
photos before posting
7
2 Asking for information at registration and
promising to drive pertinent content…but
never delivering on promise
3
Leaving up hopelessly outdated content,
campaigns and conversations
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

13. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
13
Worst Practices
4
5
Displaying a “what’s new” banner and
never showing anything new
Asking members to submit success stories
but never disclosing selection or site
inclusion criteria
8
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

14. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
14
DELIVER ON YOUR COMMUNITY
MISSION
9
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

15. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
15
Great Engagement Tactics
Used community and social to crowdsource a graphic novel that
became the basis for creative product launch.
Roady Awards: Celebrates high-performing community members
through a peer-nominated awards program.
Hackathon: Great integration of online and offline events and
community.
Provides a virtual backstage pass to NBC shows and properties.
Great multiscreen community experience.
My Sleep Coach offers a six-week, community-based workshop to
help improve sleep habits.
10
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

16. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
16
MAKE YOUR COMMUNITY A TRUSTED
CONTENT AND ENGAGEMENT HUB
11
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

17. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
17
Best Practice Adoption
• No significant change in Best
Practice adoption rates
• Biggest Winners:
o User reviews: 27% to 51%
o Toolbars/custom widgets:
10% to 26%
• Community Manager rebounded
slightly: 52% is highest level yet
• Highest adoption: mission-
appropriate engagement and
new/featured content
• Biggest Loser
o Content aggregation: 78%
down from 92%
12
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

18. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
18
Best Practice Adoption: Support
31% = Support communities vs. 33% last year
High adoption rate of Support Best Practices:
• Content Tagging: organizes community
content by segment, problem, product or
service
• Rewards and Recognition: reinforces
community experts and keeps engaged
• Leaderboards: spotlights top performers
and SMEs
• Advocate Program: taps the passion of
knowledgeable customers and keeps
engaged as mentors and SMEs
Faceted search, featured content, forums and
content rating were all ≥ 75% adoption rates
Rest lagged with advocate programs only at
47%
15
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

19. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
19
AT&T Case Study
16
Easy
Navigation
Quick way to interact
with brand
Return
Motivator
Shows best
community
content
Motivates
more posts
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

20. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
20
Best Practice Adoption: Advocacy
84% = Advocacy communities vs. 75% last year
Best Practices associated with brand advocacy:
• Rich Media: captures attention and provides a
shareable, snackable asset (78%)
• Share Features: optimizes amplification (78%)
• Social Networking: sparks group conversations
and segments by interests (51%)
• Community Manager: builds affinity (47%)
• Offline Engagement: integrates real world and
virtual experiences (32%)
• Rewards and Recognition: builds continuous
engagement and brand involvement (43%)
• User Reviews: captures post-purchase VOC
(54%)
• Advocate or Expert Program: essential for
spreading WOM (16%)
17
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

21. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
21
Home Depot Case Study
18
Content customization
Home Depot advocacy
examples
Localized
Content Personalizes
Expertise
Quickly
shows club
benefits
How-to content
drives engagement
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

22. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
22
Best Practice Adoption
by Pillar: Feedback
15% = Feedback communities vs. 20% last year
• Provide insights, ideas and efficiencies in
bringing products and services to market
• Bring members a way to contribute and feel
deep kinship and brand affinity
• SAP, Dell, Starbucks and Verizon all manage
high-performing feedback communities
Best Practices most associated with Feedback:
• Polling/feedback to gain consensus around
new ideas
• Content rating/ranking to facilitate
crowdsourcing
• Forums to facilitate further, deeper
discussion
• Leaderboards to recognize top contributors
and promote top ideas
• Personal dashboard to track ideas that are
contributed or added
13
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

23. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
23
EA Case Study
14
Content customization
Members can engage with multiple
social channels inside the community
Allows community to
quickly scan new ideas
Shows movement
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

24. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
24
COMMUNITY EXPANDS ACROSS A
ROBUST ECOSYSTEM
1
9
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

25. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
25
Social Media Integration
Drop in percentage of communities tightly
integrated with social.
Some great examples of a more sophisticated
model:
Crowdsourcing engagement
activities using both community
and Facebook
Features a customer care tab on
Facebook that integrates with
online support community
Feature Twitter feeds in support
communities and invite members
to respond
Developed sophisticated Facebook
home page which links to product
pages and CRM initiatives
20
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

26. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
26
Social Media Integration
21
Sprint Facebook
Community Page
Lil Wayne Campaign –
social crowdsourced
commercial
Coca-Cola Facebook
Community Page

27. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
27
Mobile is missing in action
• Six of the 15 industries scored have NO mobile apps
• Health insurance is the only industry at 50% adoption
rate
Some great examples include:
Access meal plans built in online community;
track progress; access shopping lists
Access saved recipes; search for recipes
based on ingredients; get coupons at POS
Offers Journey for Control app for managing
diabetes; integrates with online community
Offers Lipitor app that integrates with online
community content
Integrates desktop-to-pad-to-mobile
experience with its Shop Your Way
community. Access product reviews; earn
and redeem points; download coupons and
promotional codes
Mobile Integration with Community
22
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

28. © COPYRIGHT 2013, COMBLU, Inc.
28 2
3
Access meal plan anytime
via My Special K App
Access Shop Your Way
at home or on the go
Ability to manage heart
health via Lipitor app
Mobile Integration with Community
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial

29. questions?
Kathy Baughman
President & Co-Founder
ComBlu
@ComBlu
Joe Cothrel
Chief Community Officer
Lithium
@cothrel
@LithiumTech @ComBlu #seriousaboutsocial