What defines success in social media? How can you ensure success across different social media platforms, countries and cultures? This document sets out We Are Social's best practice guide to strategic social media marketing, outlining our 10 core steps to enduring brand engagement. It also contains an overview of our 8-step framework for planning powerful social media strategies. This version is fully updated, with the latest stats and thinking for 2014.

1. we
are
social
MAKING FRIENDS &
INFLUENCING PEOPLE
WE ARE SOCIAL’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
We Are Social
@wearesocialsg • 1

2. We Are Social
@wearesocialsg • 2

3. MAKING FRIENDS & INFLUENCING PEOPLE
SOCIAL MEDIA DEFINED
THE STATE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
DEBUNKING SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS
HOW CAN MARKETERS HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?
USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS
THE 10 ‘COMMENDMENTS’
8 STEPS TO STRATEGIC SUCCESS
FINDING OUT MORE
We Are Social
@wearesocialsg • 3

4. ?
WHAT EXACTLY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA?
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5. Social media are internet-powered
platforms that make it easy for
individuals, groups of people, and
organisations to converse and
participate with one another in a
wide variety of social activities.
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@wearesocialsg • 5

6. The concept of social media has been around for
thousands of years – even early cavemen wrote on
each other’s walls. However, the internet has scaled
social media to a whole new level. Nearly 2 billion
people around the world use social networks every
month, and that number is still increasing by
hundreds of thousands of people every day.
We Are Social
@wearesocialsg • 6

7. FEB
2014
GLOBAL DATA SNAPSHOT
7,095,476,818
52%
TOTAL POPULATION
URBAN
2,640,432,161
INTERNET USERS
1,858,450,660
ACTIVE SOCIAL NETWORK USERS
3,424,960,000
ACTIVE MOBILE USERS
48%
RURAL
37%
INTERNET PENETRATION
26%
SOCIAL NETWORKING PENETRATION
48%
MOBILE USAGE PENETRATION
6,966,523,000
ACTIVE MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS
98%
MOBILE SUBSCRIPTION PENETRATION
We Are Social • Sources: US Census Bureau, InternetWorldStats, CNNIC, IAMAI, Tencent, Facebook, VKontakte, GSMA Intelligence
@wearesocialsg • 7

8. It’s not just the number of users that’s impressive,
though. Facebook reports that more than half its users
sign in every day, while ComScore data indicates
that, worldwide, people spend more than 10 hours
each month using the top social channels. Social
media have become so popular that they are now
responsible for more than 1 in every 6 minutes spent on
the internet – more than any other kind of activity.
We Are Social • Sources: Facebook, ComScore
@wearesocialsg • 8

9. FEB
2014
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS PER DAY SPENT BY SOCIAL MEDIA USERS ON ALL SOCIAL CHANNELS
3.4!
3.2! 3.2! 3.2! 3.1!
3.1! 3.1!
2.8! 2.8!
2.6!
2.4!
2.1! 2.1!
2.0! 2.0! 2.0!
1.9!
1.8! 1.8! 1.8!
1.7! 1.7! 1.7! 1.6! 1.6!
1.6!
1.5! 1.4! 1.4!
1.3! 1.3!
0.9!
We Are Social • Source: GlobalWebIndex
JAPAN
SOUTH KOREA
GERMANY
NETHERLANDS
SWEDEN
CHINA
SPAIN
AUSTRALIA
UK
POLAND
SINGAPORE
IRELAND
FRANCE
TAIWAN
CANADA
HONG KONG
RUSSIA
WEIGHTED
AVERAGE
VIETNAM
ITALY
INDIA
USA
INDONESIA
SOUTH AFRICA
TURKEY
UAE
THAILAND
SAUDI ARABIA
ARGENTINA
MALAYSIA
BRAZIL
MEXICO
PHILIPPINES
0.5!
@wearesocialsg • 9

10. AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
TUMBLR: 89 MINS
TWITTER:
21 MINS
FACEBOOK: 405 MINS
We Are Social • Source: ComScore, as cited in the Wall Street Journal
MYSPACE:
8 MINS
PINTEREST: 89 MINS
LINKEDIN:
17 MINS
GOOGLE+:
3 MINS
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11. Social media are a global phenomenon too: Facebook
has users in more than 200 countries, with India,
Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico all in the top 5. China’s
QZone platform claims more than 630 million active
users alone. What’s more, with interest in social media
driving internet adoption in many parts of the
developing world, growth in the use of social
platforms will continue for the foreseeable future.
We Are Social • Sources: Facebook, Tencent
@wearesocialsg • 11

12. FEB
2014
ACTIVE USERS BY SOCIAL PLATFORM
BASED ON ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE LOGGED IN AT LEAST ONCE IN THE PAST 30 DAYS, IN MILLIONS
FACEBOOK
1,230 M
QQ
816 M
QZONE
632 M
WHATSAPP
GOOGLE+
WECHAT
LINKEDIN
TWITTER
450 M
300 M
272 M
259 M
232 M
SOCIAL NETWORK
TUMBLR
230 M
TENCENT WEIBO
220 M
We Are Social • Sources: most recent user data in company press releases, correct as at Feb 2014
MESSENGER / CHAT APP
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13. DEBUNKING SOME SOCIAL MEDIA MYTHS
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14. “SOCIAL MEDIA WILL REPLACE ADVERTISING”
This assertion continues to surface, even in
leading business literature, but it’s unlikely
that social media will ‘replace’ anything.
Rather, social media are simply one more –
albeit very powerful – addition to the mix of
comms channels at the marketer’s disposal.
We Are Social
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15. $0
“SOCIAL MEDIA ARE FREE”
This is another common misconception. The
media space itself may be considerably
cheaper than that in newspapers or on TV, but
the time involved in creating effective content
and interacting with audiences means social
channels still require financial investment.
We Are Social
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16. “MARKETING HAS NO PLACE IN SOCIAL MEDIA”
Marketers that try to shoe-horn interruptive
advertising approaches into social channels
may believe this to be so, but brands that
strive to add value to their audiences’ world
will find that their activities are actually very
welcome, and successful, in social media.
We Are Social
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17. SO HOW CAN BRANDS
HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?
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18. If marketers are to seize the opportunities offered by
social media, they must first decide what they will use
them for. Will they simply be another advertising
channel? Is there an opportunity to use social media to
deliver real-time customer service? Could the brand
generate revenue directly through social channels? Only
once these questions have been answered should
marketers start to plan specific social media activities.
We Are Social
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19. COMMON BUSINESS USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING
57%
INTERNAL COLLABORATION AND LEARNING
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT
SALES
29%
25%
HUMAN RESOURCES
STRATEGY
R&D
39%
21%
16%
14%
OTHER
We Are Social • Source: eMarketer
31%
@wearesocialsg • 19

20. THE
10
‘COMMENDMENTS’
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21. 1: FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY
Social media marketing is not a digital discipline – it’s a human
discipline that is powered by digital channels. Platforms like
Facebook, Twitter, and Sina Weibo have all achieved success by
satisfying our desire to connect and interact with other people,
but no matter how impressive it is, the technology is only ever a
means to an end. In order for brands to ensure lasting relevance
and engagement in social media, it’s critical that marketers
build social media strategies around people’s motivations, not
the platforms’ technology.
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22. 2: BUILD CONVERSATIONS, NOT CAMPAIGNS
Broadcast advertising works like a pick-up line: it’s a great way
to make an introduction and capture people’s interest. However,
it’s very difficult to build a long-term relationship with pick-up
lines alone. Social media allow marketers to engage audiences
beyond introductions and deliver more meaningful exchanges of
value. These exchanges are often smaller and less spectacular
than traditional advertising, but – just like in a good marriage –
these smaller interactions add up over time to form the basis of a
much deeper relationship.
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23. “
Content is not king. If I sent you to a desert
island and gave you the choice of taking
your friends or your movies, you'd choose
your friends – if you chose the movies, we'd
call you a sociopath. Conversation is king.
Content is just something to talk about.
~ Cory Doctorow
We Are Social
”
@wearesocialsg • 23

24. 3: CONTENT IS A MEANS, NOT AN END
Social media content is less about creating a stand-alone
spectacle, and more about inspiring and fueling on-going
conversations. Because of this, content can take on different
forms and roles: activities like asking questions, posting simple
pictures, or even sharing links to third-party content can all help
to engage an audience. However, it’s critical that this content all
contributes towards a broader ‘conversation agenda’, and
marketers need to give special attention to sequencing different
activities to ensure conversations evolve as desired.
We Are Social
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25. 4: ADD VALUE TO THE AUDIENCE’S LIFE
Brands must compete with a variety of compelling content in
social media: updates from family and friends, news, games,
and entertainment. As a result, the interruptive ‘broadcast’
approach doesn’t work; instead, brands must consistently deliver
activities that engage the audience – activities that people will
seek out and choose to share with others. Brands need to add
real value to their audiences’ lives, by going beyond product
attributes to understand what really matters to people, and
finding relevant ways to bring these benefits to life.
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26. 5: LISTENING IS THE NEW SHOUTING
People use social networks to talk about the things that matter to
them. In doing so, they share a wealth of information: their
interests, their habits, their moods; even their brand preferences.
This publicly available information is often worth just as much as
traditional market research. Critically, it can help marketers to
understand which platforms their audiences use, and why. This
understanding can inform a powerful, multi-channel strategy
that engages people in different ways at different times.
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27. 6: SPREAD THE WORD
It’s unlikely that people will accidentally stumble upon a brand’s
social media presence, so raising awareness of social media
activities is a key part of success. Advertising is a perfectly
legitimate way of getting the word out to the intended audience,
but it’s vital that it demonstrates how the brand’s social media
activities will add value to the intended audience’s life. Simply
inviting people to ‘Like’ a page is rarely enough; people need to
understand what they’ll get in return for their time and effort.
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28. 7: ALWAYS BE PREPARED
Social media provide frequent reminders that you can’t please
all of the people all of the time. Most brands will need to deal
with discontent at some point or other, so marketers should
prepare for such situations in advance. Similarly, brands should
allow for nice surprises too, and have plans in place to capitalise
on social serendipity and unexpected opportunities. A clear ‘3As
Process’ – alert, assess, act – can help marketers prepare for
these situations, ensuring the right people can deliver the right
responses in the right places at the right times.
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29. 8: MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS
Social media marketing is a business investment, and marketers
must be able to demonstrate how it adds value to the brand’s
bottom line. Social media ROI is not restricted to increasing sales
though; improving the frequency of referrals, reducing the cost
of customer service, and helping to track competitor activity are
all ways in which social can contribute to a brand’s overall
success. Measuring ROI needn’t be complicated either; simple
before-and-after measurements of metrics tied to objectives can
reveal whether activities are delivering on expectations.
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30. 9: OPTIMISE AS YOU GO
Unlike the ‘ready, aim, fire’ paradigm of broadcast media, social
media offer marketers the opportunity to stop, start, or change
elements of their activities in real-time, depending on the
audience’s response (or lack thereof). As a result, marketers can
adopt a ‘test-and-learn’ approach, trialling different approaches
and adapting their strategy based on their results.
Consequently, regular reporting should play a key part in any
social media strategy.
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31. “
You can’t hurry love,
no, you just have to wait;
love don’t come easy,
it’s a game of give and take.
~ The Supremes (1966)
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32. 10: BE IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM
Meaningful relationships take time to build, and we need to take
things at a pace the audience is comfortable with. Sometimes
they will initiate the conversation, but other times, it may take
months to build the desired momentum. Either way, brands can’t
achieve lasting success in social media by dipping in and out;
they must adopt a long-term, committed approach. This includes
building a dedicated social team – whether internally, or with a
partner agency – that can take advantage of every social
opportunity, however unexpected, tactical or transitory.
We Are Social
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33. THE
10
‘COMMENDMENTS’
We Are Social
FOCUS ON PEOPLE, NOT TECHNOLOGY
2. BUILD CONVERSATIONS, NOT CAMPAIGNS
3. USE CONTENT AS A MEANS, NOT AS AN END
4. ADD VALUE TO THE AUDIENCE’S LIFE
5. LISTENING IS THE NEW SHOUTING
6. SPREAD THE LOVE
7. ALWAYS BE PREPARED
8. MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS
9. OPTIMISE AS YOU GO
10. BE IN IT FOR THE LONG TERM
1.
@wearesocialsg • 33

34. SO, HOW CAN YOU GET STARTED WITH
STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
We Are Social
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35. 8
STEPS TO
STRATEGIC
SUCCESS
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36. STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
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37. STEP 2: MONITOR AND INTERPRET
YOUR AUDIENCE’S CONVERSATIONS
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38. STEP 3: UNDERSTAND YOUR
AUDIENCE’S MOTIVATIONS
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39. STEP 4: IDENTIFY HOW YOUR BRAND CAN
ADD VALUE TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S WORLD
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40. STEP 5: SELECT
YOUR PLATFORMS
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41. STEP 6: STRATEGISE
YOUR CONTENT APPROACH
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42. STEP 7: TEST
AND LEARN
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43. STEP 8: RINSE
AND REPEAT
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44. 8
1: SET YOUR OBJECTIVES
2: MONITOR CONVERSATIONS
3: UNDERSTAND MOTIVATIONS
4: IDENTIFY HOW TO ADD VALUE
5: SELECT YOUR PLATFORMS
6: STRATEGISE YOUR APPROACH
7: TEST AND LEARN
8: RINSE AND REPEAT
We Are Social
@wearesocialsg • 44

45. FIND OUT MORE AT
WEARESOCIAL.SG
We Are Social
wearesocial.sg • @wearesocialsg • 250

46. WE ARE SOCIAL IS A GLOBAL CONVERSATION AGENCY.
WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN TO, UNDERSTAND,
AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S
TOP BRANDS, INCLUDING ADIDAS, UNILEVER,
DIAGEO, NESTLÉ, HEINZ, AND LVMH.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT US HELPING YOU
TOO, CALL US ON +65 6423 1051, OR EMAIL
US AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG.
FIND OUT MORE AT WEARESOCIAL.SG.
We Are Social
Making Friends & Influencing People • 45

47. WE ARE SOCIAL SINGAPORE
SIMON KEMP, MANAGING DIRECTOR
@WEARESOCIALSG
SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG
+65 6423 1051
HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG
We Are Social
Making Friends & Influencing People • 46