This document discusses how social media is a harbinger of changes in how organizations should operate in the digital world. It argues that organizations need to focus on personalization, crowdsourcing ideas from customers, developing flexible platforms, prioritizing speed in product development, and maintaining a constant user-centric focus to survive disruptive digital changes. The key is putting people, and understanding user needs, at the center of organizational strategy and culture.

1. WHY SOCIAL IS THE KEYTO
DRIVE (INNOVATION) STRATEGY
by@gerriesmits
17/12/15
ACANARYIN
THE COALMINE

2. Music
Industry
TV
Print
Media
Marketing
I worked in industries
disrupted bythe internet

3. I even worked in government

4. +
Comms
Marketing
Business/
Product
Organi-
sation
Now, I help organisations change
to get more out ofthe internet

5. Digital raises questions

6. Digital raises questions
?

7. The amount ofyears running that
CEOs have pointed at technology
as the single most important
external force shaping their
organisations
4
IBM study

8. Social Media is
a Canary. It’s showing
us in which direction the
world is changing.
We need to learn from
Canaries, in order to
survive the Coalmine.

9. REVERSE
ENGINEER
KEEP CALM
AND

10. Personalisation
1/6

11. The audience of 1

12. Design For
Limited
Bandwidth!
Design forthe
Thumb Swipe!
Your competitors on social are not
your industry competitors.
They are friends, media
companies, brands from other
industries.

13. You don’t reach
anybody.
You earn
somebody.

14. From Push
To Pull
To Earned
Push
The interface of the internet is
changing. From the homepage to
mobile first to apps to feeds to ‘the
unscreen’, based on context,
notifications, voice,…

15. “We knowwho you are”

16. One Size Fits None in productsOne Size Fits None in products

17. Personalised
Anything
AltSchool and Knewton are
two players in education field,
focusing on advanced
personalised learning through
a data-driven approach.
— Resources

18. Time to wonder…
What are you doing to
increase
advanced relevance
through personalised
communication + services?

19. Digital has impact on relationship
User Needs
Motivations
Purpose
Value
?Personal

20. The Audience With
An Audience
2/6

21. Self-publishing heroes

22. From Pageviews to Share Value

23. WhyWould They Share?
inspired by Faris Yakob
ACTIONS
TOOLS
ADVERT
CONTENT
PURPOSE

24. WhyWould They Share?
inspired by Faris Yakob
ACTIONS
TOOLS
ADVERT
CONTENT
PURPOSE

25. Time to wonder…
Do your communication +
products need SHO (sharing
optimisation)?
Do you understand why
people share?

26. Digital has impact on relationship
User Needs
Motivations
Purpose
Value
?Personal
Audience

27. CoCrowd-Culture
3/6

28. Wisdom ofthe Crowd

29. Wisdom ofthe Crowd

30. Steam platform
• 4500 games
• 125m users
• 450m pieces of user
generated content
User =
creator /
remixer

31. User has different roles

32. Time to wonder…
What are you doing to
unlock your customer’s
potential?
How can you embed ‘co-
culture’ into everything you
do?

33. Digital has impact on relationship
User Needs
Motivations
Purpose
Value
?Personal
Audience
Co+Crowd

34. Intermezzo:
Culture Eats Strategy
For Breakfast
i

35. “If the rate of
change on the
outside exceeds
the rate of change
on the inside, the
end is near.”

36. “If the rate of
change on the
outside exceeds
the rate of change
on the inside, the
end is near.”
-
Jack Welch,
ex-CEO General
Electric

37. Platforms unlock
potential
4/6

38. “Uber, the world’s largest taxi company,
owns no vehicles.
Facebook, the popular media owner,
creates no content.
Alibaba, the most valuable retailer,
has no inventory.
Airbnb, largest accommodation provider,
owns no real estate.
Something interesting is happening.”
- Tom Goodwin, senior VP of strategy &
innovation at Havas Media

39. Who needs banks?

40. Who needs supermarkets?

41. “We believe that
applying the open
source philosophy to
our patents will
strengthen rather than
diminish Tesla’s position
in this regard.”
-
Elon Musk, Tesla
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/heisenbergmedia/10611397123

42. #Energyondemand
Uber partnership with Red Bull
to deliver free energy drinks,
during one afternoon in
Amsterdam.

43. Platforms + platforms

44. Time to wonder…
What if your product/
brand/org had an API?
If your product/org was
open, what could other
people/companies build on
top of it?

45. Digital has impact on relationship
User Needs
Motivations
Purpose
Value
?Personal
Audience
Co+Crowd Platform

46. Small + quick =
beautiful
5/6

47. Lean Start-up Philosophy
Create
Measure
Learn

48. “We are just a learning
machine. Every time we
put out a new show, we
are analyzing it, figuring
out what worked and
what didn’t so we get
better next time.”
-
Reed Hastings, Netflix
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sebaso/17196974290

49. Vaak gehoorde quote rond
oktober/november
Who can sit next to Zuck?

50. Flexible problem solving

51. “We’ve got some
budget left. We need to
spend it this year.”
“”
A often-heard phrase around
October/November

52. Time to wonder…
How can you increase
learning?
How can you increase
flexibility?
How can you increase
speed?

53. Digital has impact on relationship
User Needs
Motivations
Purpose
Value
?Personal
Audience
Co+Crowd Platform
Agile

54. Userfocus
6/6

55. Spotify’s ‘Relationship Sauce’
source: Rahul Sen, Lead Growth Designer, Spotify

56. People Technology Change
+ = ?
People are the steady bit

57. People Technology Change
+ =
User needs &
motivations are
relatively stable
Uncertain.
Constantly
evolving
?
People are the steady bit

58. The Canary red thread =
User First

59. User Needs
Motivations
Purpose
Value
The Canary red thread =
User First

60. The Flip:
People are always central
><

61. The Flip:
People are always central
><

62. Customer Experience
Talent
New
Products
Tech
Process
The Flip:
People are always central
><
Marketing

63. Number 1
attribute for
success in
digital world
according to
business
leaders?
study University of South California

64. Number 1
attribute for
success in
digital world
according to
business
leaders?
Empathy
study University of South California

65. Number 1
attribute for
success in
digital world
according to
business
leaders?
Empathy
(the others:
adaptability
curiosity
holistic thinking
cross-cultural
competence)
study University of South California

66. 666
User-centric = pragmatic
>>
Long-term thinking
+ short-term doing
What can you make
more user-centric
• in 6 days
• in 6 months
• in 6 years
Create
Measure
Learn

67. “Everyone has their face
toward the CEO and their
ass toward the customer.”
-
Jack Welch again

68. THANK YOU >>
gerrie@gerriesmits.com
+32 491 354 365
@gerriesmits