1) The document discusses developing an industrial social media community for Appleton, a brand of electrical products. 2) An analysis found engineers wanted a central source of industry knowledge but were using blogs and forums more than company sites. 3) A strategy was created to build a non-branded community site for engineers and a branded Appleton blog to demonstrate expertise.

1. Building an Industrial Social Media
Community
ISA Marketing and Sales Summit

2. Introduction.

3. Welcome.
Presenters:
• Brian Joosse
o VP, Digital and Social Media Strategy at Symmetri Marketing Group
o 15+ years in digital strategy and social media strategy development and
implementation
• Elena Smith
o Marketing Manager, EGS Electrical Group, Emerson Corporation
September 18, 2013 3

4. About Symmetri Marketing Group.
Marketing for the selling organization.
Whether deployed through direct or indirect channels, our goal is to leverage
communications across all phases of the customer’s buying process to enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of the selling organization.
• Established September 2003
• Based in Chicago, IL
• Formed out of Leo Burnett Technology Group
• Named to BtoB Magazine, Top Agency List (2008 – 2012)
• Named to Inc. Magazine, Inc. 5000 List (2008 – 2012)
• Annual award winner in national and regional business-to-business competitions
September 18, 2013 4

5. EGS Electrical Group.
As a global manufacturer of electrical products for commercial, industrial, hazardous
and adverse environments, EGS Electrical Group, a business of Emerson, offers the
industry’s best known and most highly regarded brands.
From the latest innovations to familiar products that have led the industry for
decades, the brands of EGS Electrical Group offer durability, safety, quality, easy
installation and global availability.
September 18, 2013 5

6. Appleton.
Since 1903, the Appleton brand has been the hallmark for electrical products
designed to protect people and equipment while delivering reliable power. All
products are manufactured with the highest quality materials and finishes.
With the addition of ATX product lines and ongoing new product introductions,
Appleton offers certified protection for any environment, from ordinary commercial
settings to hazardous locations (NEC, CEC, IEC, ATEX, and more) and the harshest
industrial conditions – onshore or offshore, in any region of the world.
September 18, 2013 6

7. Appleton: Target Audiences & Selling Strategies.
Appleton’s primary target audiences are specifying engineers, electrical engineers
and maintenance engineers within hazardous and industrial facilities, including oil
and gas facilities, refineries, wastewater treatment plants and manufacturing
facilities. They also focus on developing relationships with Engineering,
Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms as a direct influencer of products that get
specified into a facility.
Appleton goes to market through distribution channels in global locations. Their
marketing efforts focus primarily on awareness building to end-users through
traditional advertising efforts as well as education and maintaining share of mind
with their distribution sales representatives.
September 18, 2013 7

8. Genesis.

9. Emerson’s commitment to social media.
Emerson Corporation has committed to developing social media across all brands
(more to come)
September 18, 2013 9

10. Developing the market strategy.
In 2011, Symmetri developed a go-to-market strategy for the Appleton brand,
focused primarily on the oil and gas market. As part of the research, Symmetri
completed several one-on-one interviews with engineers within the oil and gas
industry.
These interviews proved invaluable in understanding the customer and the category.
Symmetri determined that to gain greater traction with end-user customers,
especially upstream with corporate engineers, EGS Electrical Group needed to
better communicate their understanding the problems end-users face, and that EGS
Electrical Group havs the products and expertise to solve them.
It was also identified that EGS Electrical Group needed to focus on educating
emerging markets on the importance of quality, safety, reliability and ease-of-use.
September 18, 2013 10

11. Social media audit.
• In 2011, audit showed a low number of resources for learning about new
technologies and solving problems in electrical industry
• 68% of industry social chatter occurred on blogs or forums
• Competitors were building awareness through integrated PR and social media
communications
September 18, 2013 11
Online Share of Voice (SOV)Social Chatter by Media

12. Identified opportunity.
From the positioning research and social media audi, Symmetri discovered an
unmet need in the marketplace: an information-driven, knowledge sharing platform
for engineers in hazardous locations.
Insight. Interviews with end-customers led to a realization of an unmet need for
content on industry – customers did not have a central source of knowledge for
information on their industry. Discovery also showed a decrease in Appleton brand
recognition for areas outside of North America.
Strategy. Develop and manage a community website dedicated to the interests and
concerns of specifying engineers in the design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of oil, gas, chemical processing or other hazardous location facilities.
September 18, 2013 12

13. Strategy.

14. Our strategy: reach multiple audience types.
September 18, 2013 14
PRODUCT
BRANDED
BRAND NEUTRAL
SOLUTIONS
company
websites
white papers,
articles,
company
blogs
forums
trade
media
advertising
email
committed
customers
product
questers
brand committed
problem solvers,
innovators
independent
problem solvers,
competitor
customers
We had two gaps
that could be filled
via social media
and content
marketing. We are
unlikely to reach
competitor
loyalists without
neutral, solutions-
based content.
Power
Panel
Appleton
Blog
EGS
website

15. Our initial social media strategy was two-fold.
September 18, 2013 15
Build relationships
Build awareness globally
Establish leadership position
Purpose: Provide a non-branded
resource where engineers can
learn about new technologies and
engage in discussion and
collaborative problem solving
Purpose: Create a branded
platform and channels to
demonstrate Appleton expertise
and breadth of product solutions

16. Objectives.
Show expertise, innovation and leadership by authoring high-value content
Build equity and mindshare with our target audience through the curation and
distribution of high-value content
Foster community growth and encourage peer-to-peer interaction as a way of
bringing value to participants and monitoring industry activity to uncover actionable
business intelligence
Position EGS Electrical Group brands (primarily Appleton) as sponsors, hosts,
participants, and editors of the community
September 18, 2013 16

17. Use the community to meet objectives.
Content is king. In order to showcase EGS Electrical Group as an
innovative thought leader, Symmetri worked in conjunction with internal
subject mater experts and representatives in the field to develop highly
relevant, timely and informative blog posts that showcased expertise into
the challenges and solutions the industry was facing.
Find the right audience. The messaging of the community and the
content generated was focused at a very niche market – one that is vital
to the Appleton brand business but also difficult to reach.
Listen. To provide products that meet the industry’s needs, EGS
Electrical Group used the community to listen to the conversations
occurring between end-users to better understand trends and needs for
future product development as well as market development.
September 18, 2013 17

18. Formation.

19. Technical requirements: Telligent platform.
Emerson had purchased a corporate program to
utilize the Telligent platform. Telligent specializes
in developing online communities, providing a
turnkey system for large corporations, such as
Emerson.
Symmetri was required to use the Telligent
platform rather than build a proprietary program.
Thus, significant investigation was required to
fully understand the platform, the customization
options and technical limitations of the platform.
September 18, 2013 19

20. Process: Operating Plan.
To ensure all parties (both agency-side and
client-side) were versed in the online
community, it’s planning and maintenance
requirements, Symmetri developed an
Operating Plan that provided the roadmap for
the community.
Items such as site elements, tone and style
notes, content planning and social media
strategy were included in the Operating Plan.
September 18, 2013 20

21. Process: Editorial Calendar.
As part of the content planning process, Symmetri
developed an Editorial Calendar that would serve as
the guide for an integrated content strategy. Symmetri
would pre-plan topics for each month based on input
from subject matter experts. Content was planned
three months in advance to ensure adequate time for
interviewing thought leaders, developing the content
and receiving approval.
The Editorial Calendar provided information on
relevant industry information, such as upcoming
events, as well as pre-scheduled social media posts
for Twitter and Facebook.
September 18, 2013 21

22. Resourcing.
Symmetri. To actively manage two social
media platforms (Twitter and Facebook)
as well as moderate active on the
blog/discussion forum, Symmetri utilized
an internal social media manager and
copywriter. Tasks included:
• Researching recent news articles
• Commenting/posting in the voice of
the Power Panel Admin
• Moderating activity
• Interview subject matter experts
• Write weekly blog post
September 18, 2013 22
EGS Electrical Group. Although
Symmetri actively managed the Power
Panel Community, it was important to
ensure members of the EGS Electrical
Group business and Appleton brand
were involved in the community.
Requested tasks included:
• Posting and asking questions on a
regular interval
• Reading and reviewing comments
for community members
• Providing input on key topics from
subject matter experts
• Reviewing all written content prior
to posting

23. Social channels.
To help build the brand, Symmetri utilized social media channels to promote content
and post to a larger audience.
Symmetri utilized appropriate Twitter search functionality, including the use of
relevant hashtags, shortened links for tracking and updated content daily/weekly.
The process also called for design and description development of each social
media channel. Symmetri kept a similar look/feel across all social channels to
maintain brand recognition of the newly formed Power Panel Community.
September 18, 2013 23

24. Launch.

25. Internal engagement.
To support the launch of the new Power
Panel Community, Symmetri needed to
encourage participation from the internal
EGS Electrical Group thought leaders.
This included:
• Hosted webinars to announce the
new community and provide direct
channels for participation
• Created an incentive program for
activity, including a random-drawing
winner for an Apple iPad
• Developed one-sheet handouts for
quick tips on participation and links
• Sent weekly/monthly reminders as a
call-to-action for participation
September 18, 2013 25

26. External audience generation.
One of the Power Panel Community’s main objectives
was to provide a forum for end-users to ask questions
and discuss industry trends and challenges. Keeping
this objective in mind, Symmetri completed several
external promotional activities to encourage
participation, including:
• Sent promotional emails through Electrical
Construction & Maintenance publication (3 email
blasts) promoting the new online community
• Developed hand-outs and short presentations for
the sales team to use when meeting with end-
customers
• Partnered with key distributors to promote through
their social channels and website, including
banner ads and pre-developed posts
September 18, 2013 26

27. Community and social growth.
The Power Panel Community launched July 2012. Utilizing social media as the
primary continued growth driver, the community saw growth through the remainder
of 2012:
September 18, 2013 27
285 members
118 internal (Emerson) members
167 external members
266 Twitter followers
1,225 tweets sent – 228,195 impressions
112 retweets to content on Twitter
34,155 extended impressions
4,700+ visits
18,200+ pages viewed
3.84 average pages per visit
3:35 average time on site
73 discussion questions
96 responses
73 blog posts
31 comments/responses

28. However, 2013 Power Panel growth is stagnant.
September 18, 2013 28
Gained 120
Gained 31
Gained 26
Little outside promotion and exposure to audiences beyond social hindered growth
and brand awareness.
• Social follower growth on Twitter for Power Panel tapered off through first half of 2013;
Appleton growth during the same time is 4x that of Power Panel
• Despite similar outreach and calls to actions, Power Panel Facebook has generated a limited
audience (Power Panel Likes: 28; Appleton Likes: 67)
Gained 145
Gained 112

29. And the community lacked engagement.
September 18, 2013 29
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
External
Internal
From July ‒ December 2012: 203 new members; January ‒ May 2013: 76 new members
• Surge in January and February was due to promotion push at external events/conferences
• No new replies in the discussions since February 2013
• Last blog comment was from an internal person in May 2013
Membership Growth

30. Lessons Learned.

31. Our target utilizes social media.
• Our target audience is solution-driven
• They are more likely to respond to content that solves a specific purpose or problem
• They recognize companies, brands and products and are more likely to talk about
and/or follow them on social
September 18, 2013 31

32. Engineers are using LinkedIn more
than other channels.
32September 18, 2013
Electrical Engineer &
Instrumentation Group
25,000+ members, 500+ last week
Hazardous Area Equipment &
Installation Forum
2,668 members
• LinkedIn has exploded in growth in the last year: 1,000,000+ Oil & Energy and Mechanical &
Industrial engineers across companies like Schlumberger, BP, Baker Hughes, Haliburton, Shell
• Social is now the “community”: people are using LinkedIn and other social channels for
news, discussions and opinions instead of more traditional community websites
• LinkedIn provides easier entry to social media for our target because it provides them company
info, peer networking, jobs and focused conversation
• Competitors all have page presence, with a total following of 6,000+; no sponsored groups or
targeted statuses gives Appleton an opportunity to better reach and engage with the audience

33. Brand assets & culture drive engagement.
• Brand helps drive exposure: branded videos and content (case studies, byline articles) help
further extend the brand name and positioning on social channels and in traditional media outlets
• Personality works: people and company culture/history content generates interest because it
connects people on a deeper level with the brand
September 18, 2013 33
Healthcare Facilities Today article

34. Projects are discussed in social media.
September 18, 2013 34
$3-million boost for new oil research lab at MUN

35. Analysis.
September 18, 2013 35
Social is the new community site. Traditional community sites are decreasing in use because
of the growth of the broader social web.
Big opportunity on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is growing more rapidly than other channels for the
engineer audience and oil/gas, industrial sectors. Despite decent followings, competitors are not
reaching target audience through content or conversation.
Brand matters. Strong brand presence and assets drive more value than third-party sites; Power
Panel as a brand is not recognizable, so value is diminished.
Companies and projects can drive insight. Focus should be on more than just engineers:
companies and projects are just as important.
Content needs to be narrow and solution-driven. Engineers respond to specifics: what
products to use, why they are useful and how they help solve their problems.

36. What you can do to launch a social community.
Understand your target audience
• How do they find information?
• Is peer engagement important to them?
Understand the environment
• Do communities already exist?
• Can your audience get what they need from other sources?
Build internal support
• How can we profit from this?
• Are stakeholders excited?
Plan properly
• Do we have enough funding and bandwidth to manage?
• How do I get content and participation?
September 18, 2013 36

37. Thank you!
September 18, 2013 37