Wal-Mart
o Focusing excessively on your marketing message
o Restricted comments and feedback to “Wall Posts” and heavily moderated them.
o Step away from your main brand equity of deep discounts to provide fashion / style / taste advice to Facebook users
o 2,000 members participated in their questionnaire
objective
o Open a discussion board and allow a two-way conversation.
o Take time to understand how Facebook users interacted with each other and rejected the volume of your marketing message.
o 7,176 members, 409 photos, 483 pots and 37 organized discussion groups
While Target was launching a successful Facebook marketing campaign, Wal-Mart also retested Internet marketing on Facebook, but was not very successful.
So why did Wal-Mart fail? One big mistake was assuming that social internet marketing is similar to the traditional offline medium. In offline marketing, the winner is usually the one with the highest volume in their marketing message. However, in social marketing, it is often the best listener who enjoys the most success.
While Target was engaging users through discussion boards, Wal-Mart decided to restrict the dialogue to “Wall Posts” and largely moderated what was allowed. This immediately backfired, as users soon noticed the lack of two-way dialogue and started a torrent of comments against Wal-Mart. Rather, Target made students a part of its group discussion and to shape the dialogue around them rather than themselves.
Another big mistake Wal-Mart made was moving away from its core identity as a deeply discounted supermarket. Wal-Mart tried to entice users by offering fashion and style advice that didn’t fit well with Facebook users. Instead of focusing on your core value proposition of deep discounts by offering good discounts on school supplies and thinking of ways to disarm critics who choose to do otherwise.
Wal-Mart has always been a lightning rod because of its corporate reputation and work practices. They should know that the moment they go social, negative comments and criticism will be an integral part of the campaign that they will have to manage. But instead of opening up and involving users, they tried to restrict the dialogue and focused on a one-way communication plan.
The different tactics resulted in very different results. Wal-Mart received at least 2,000 members who participated in its questionnaire about roommates and other activities. Target on the other side had attracted more than 7,176 members posting more than 410 photos and 483 posts. Target also hosted a total of 37 focus groups throughout its campaign period.
Forrester analyst Owyang explained that the problem had to do with strategy. “Wal-Mart’s strategy seems to be more of an interactive website design, which is evident because it is not using the discussion forum. The goal is to engage students to form and be part of the group.”
Adopting a website design in a social setting is like driving a nail through your leg. Limit the conversation in a social setting and position yourself as something that was not meant to be eliminated from Wal-Mart’s social internet marketing campaign from the moment it was conceived.