June 16th, 2009
Seagate uses social media to 'humanize' storage devices
It was about two years ago that storage device company Seagate realized it had to get into the social media game. The company’s initial strategy was to listen, build community and learn. So, the communications team set up a presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and so on, and strapped itself in for quite the ride — and learning experience. Today, the company’s social media efforts are a much more strategic component to its overall marketing mix.
I spoke with Rich Harris, who is responsible for the overall social media effort for the company. This encompasses Seagate’s corporate blog strategy, social platforms, ROI measurement, a bit of video and content creation, and in-depth analysis of analytics/reports as they pertain to social media initiatives. Harris discusses the company’s redefined strategy and use of social media to reach a broader audience
“Seagate has just scratched the surface of where we think we can take our social media vision and roadmap,” Harris said. “I think you will see a much wider scope of content and engagement coming from us, ideally on a global level.”
Q. [Jennifer] How long would you say that Seagate has had a social or digital program in place?
A. [Rich] As far as the full social media program goes, it’s really been just about a year. We put the framework together about 18 months ago, but up until July of 2008, Seagate primarily focused on building relationships in the blogosphere, but had yet to fully embrace social media tools as a communication platform. Pete Steege, a Seagate marketing manager, started the first official Seagate blog called “The Storage Effect” in 2007. So, you might say that launched us into it. We built from there adding online properties and a blogging platform. The response has been very positive. It’s an exciting opportunity for the company
Q. How big is the team? How does this team interact with other divisions within the company?
A. Seagate’s social media team is currently made up of one senior manager directly responsible for the overall strategy, planning and implementation, and a support team of 6-7 internal contributors that blog and assist with editing/packaging of the various social media content that we push out there - video, audio, and market segment focused blogging.
Q. When considering new programs, what are your first steps?
A. Our first steps are to look for a marketing/content gap that needs to be filled for our customers. Alignment with our global marketing and corporate priorities is always top of mind. And we closely monitor feedback on Twitter, Facebook, as well as SocialMention.com and other various analytics tools that we have in place to see what the people out there are saying. Resulting programs could be anything from viral videos, contests, to sponsoring events where storage is a key component of the lives of the audience involved.
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Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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