What can we learn from consumer social networks to improve engagement with learning communities?

Editor's Notes

• #2: Independent consultancy Developing engagement strategies Help learning orgs better connect with audiences. Content strategist specialising in UX and game design 7 yrs BBC, Playstation Channel 4 designing content Consumer audiences The impact > consumer digital space > learning audience > harder to ignore We set up LearnerLab to bridge this gap
• #3: 10 minutes > How we’ve got to the point over 100m How to videos made by consumers what we can learn from Netflix build more user focussed learning content. Last year Gartner report HALF of large organizations will have internal ‘Facebook-like’ social networks by 2015 Only 30% will be considered essential
• #4: Same report states 80% of social business efforts will fail to meet targets This is out of alignment with the success that social networking is having in our personal lives.
• #5: Most of us would agree social networking has been mainstream for sometime. Even back in 2011 every TV show promoted a hashtag. Social media had felt like the ultimate second screen experience.
• #6: But what is interesting Social network usage is still growing And it’s growing fast. 73% of uk adults internet every day Reason behind this is 50% of UK adults are using social networks WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
• #7: Social networks / Facebook in particular Seem to be getting people to return regularly Also efficient at turning people into active users That is a user not only visits regularly but also interacts with content
• #8: Reason seen Growth activity 72% UK adults own smartphones (deloites) Social activity tripled on mobile last year
• #9: People love social media on mobiles because Looking for short but fulfilling activities on mobiles Get some emotional engagement in the time it takes to order a cappuccino We know this from the kind of games we play on mobiles. It turns out that Social media delivers this perfectly Brands have realised of social media in marketing for some time on all platforms
• #10: Thanks to investment in delivering product and service knowledge via SNS Audiences > using SNS to discover and share knowledge
• #11: But consumer audiences are creating content too A phenomenal amount of ‘How to’ on YouTube. Every kind of content People want to create, consume & share knowledge >consumer space Crafting online identities > sharing information. User generated, crowd sourced learning on YouTube is attracting big audiences. So why So many Social Business Efforts > fail > incredible level of engagement > consumer space?
• #12: The success of social media creates the demand for social media at work But it also creates the user expectation This could be the problem that could cause 80% of social business efforts to fail Our audiences > naturally benchmarking corporate tools against > consumer services Use Facebook, You Tube and Wikipedia > love their simplicity, usability and cross platform consistency. Get turned off > don’t get the platinum service on business systems> grown accustomed too. Not interested decade of investment and refinement. And who can blame them. But are big budgets the secret to success?
• #13: Well, big budgets certainly help. Spend 18 months designing, developing and refining netflix latest update > wouldn’t be cheap Made that investment > evidence on the return on investment Which was proven last week announced - added 4m new users in Q4 People who tried the demo – loved the system and started paying But money isn’t the magic bullet
• #14: Often see big IT projects go wrong. Engagement issues arise > designed around technical processes > rather than user needs. Users unclear where to begin Too much copy to read Not enough detail when it was required Very strict username and password Unhelpful messaging when problems arise healthcare.gov was plagued by these engagement issues Could have been designed out if they were more like Netflix
• #15: So what did Netflix do that healthcare.gov didn’t How do the consumer social networks sustain growth and engagement? How can we use similar engagement strategies to ensure our social business efforts wont fail 2015 Here are 6 strategies to use to help motivate engagement with communities
• #16: Easy to experience disconnect with an audience > making assumptions our own experiences healthcare.org demonstrated what can go wrong Netflix invest in getting a deep understanding of their audiences Via surveys, focus groups and listening to conversations online Create successful social networks for learning > deeper understanding of our audiences DISCOVER Why and how people like to learn for work – motivations and preferences What current challenges they face What do they think is important What conversations they are they already having How do they behave online at work and in their personal lives What channels, devices and social media use Use to create your business case, better solutions
• #17: Communicating clear purpose is crucial to creating a shared understanding of what the community is trying to achieve It’s natural for audiences to think What’s in it for me What’s in it for my colleagues What does the organisation get out of it. Facebook takes every opportunity to communicate purpose > interface. The phrase What’s on your mind is perfectly > mission statement But you could use illustrations, photographs, video or copy to reinforce your primary message. Should be at the forefront of your content and communications strategy. Leave your audience in no doubt What the point of your service is
• #18: Don’t force your audience to think where it’s not necessary Use familiar conventions where possible Make your audience feel confident > using your platform Innovate around these conventions Tessello had a couple of unique features We spent most of our time getting these right Audience felt confident New features didn’t cause friction
• #19: So how do you spot engagement trends. Look for similarities appearing in consumer networks Well, it’s not often easy to spot them early, but when Twitter and Facebook both start using bigger images in their news feeds then it’s a pretty safe bet that they have been proven to engage users It’s probably something that your learning community Definitely a low cost way of increasing engagement.
• #20: I always liked this, because it’s true Really should be testing all the time with real users Netflix used A/B testing - found out bigger images engaged users Deployed test content to real users to test features They also analysed data to see what was working and what wasn’t That didn’t just apply to the interface, but the content too Testing and evaluation will show you where you are succeeding And help you improve your experience
• #21: Twitter don’t expect their audience to use the service every day without prompting And neither should you. system notifications email notifications engaging email messages with strong calls to action to keep audiences engaged What’s trending, What’s happening in your network, What are others saying, youll be interested in this person too Make sure you using all your communications channels effectively to keep audiences returning and engaged
• #22: New technology can inspire new thinking Mindmeld uses news and social history to help you have better conversations. Imagine watching a video on tessello The tin can API giving me suggestions on relevant content I’ve viewed in the past Giving me snippets of copy so I can share these with my colleagues. So when you see a new technology or platform Think how could that work for my learning community
• #23: We can’t stop people comparing learning experiences with those they use as consumers But we can use the techniques that these services employ to better connect with our audiences. I’ve only skimmed the surface of how we help organisations like Brightwave engage their audiences. But I hope it’s given you a taste of how using consumer influenced engagement strategies HELP You You’re in the 20% of organisations who are getting the results from social business efforts in 2015