Presented by: Social Media: Making it Work for Your Business Presented by: Cheryl Musial Mopdog Creative + Strategy and Bill Musial Mopdog Creative + Strategy
Objectives Understand the importance of Social Media for business. Determine the best approach to incorporating Social Media into your business s strategic position and marketing plan. Determine next steps in order to include Social Media as a successful marketing tactic.
Discussion Part 1:Uncovering Social Media Answer the question What is Social Media? Discover the power of blogging and Social Networking Understand what works and what doesn t Part 2: Social Media Examples and Best Practices Examples for greater comprehension Social Media best practices and strategies Part 3: Put Social Media to Work Concise and usable tips for Social Media The future of Social Media
Part 1: Uncovering Social Media
What is Social Media? Social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. Source: Wikipedia Social Media is designed to mimic how you interact with other people in real life.
Interactions Using Social Media Social Media is about interaction, just like any other form of social communication. Using Social Media: Business networking Finding people with common interests Sharing ideas/opinions Sharing media (photos, video) Keeping up with news or trends
Types of Social Media Social Networking Sites: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Media Sharing Sites: YouTube Flickr Other Social Media Platforms: Blogs Wikis
Types of Social Media In 2008, Facebook saw a 566% increase in membership. Most new members were over 35 years old. Facebook s success lies in its format which attempts to seamlessly combine all 3 Social Media types.
Social Media Statistics Social Network sites and Blogs are the 4th most popular online activity, now more popular than email. Source: Neilsen In 2008, Facebook grew 566%, LinkedIn grew 193%, and 70% of Twitter s entire membership joined. Source: Neilsen and Hubspot Wikipedia has more than 10 M articles in more than 250 languages. Source: Wikipedia Time on Social Media sites grew at 3 times the rate of the internet in 2008. Users are visiting more often and staying longer. Source: Neilsen On average, 57% of all adults have joined a Social Network, making it the number one platform for creating and sharing content. Source: Universal McCann, 2008 On LinkedIn, those with incomes between $200K-$350K were seven times more likely than others to have over 150 connections! Source: Anderson Analytics
Social Media Strengths & Challenges Strengths: Networking Customer Feedback Word of Mouth Advertising Instant & Cost Effective Widely Accessible Cause or Event Mobilization Sharing Ideas & Values Content & Media Rich Personable Entrepreneurial Challenges: Direct Advertising Institutional Messaging Hard Selling ROI Tracking Requires Time & Attention Subject to Trends or Whims
Learning the Language of Social Media Social Media creates one giant conversation. Social Media Rules: Don t talk or write at people Businesses must be careful not to sound too institutional or sales-oriented Offer your ideas; consider others Share your knowledge Contribute to the conversation It s a two-way street
Business Functions: Networking Social Networking mimics real-life networking: 1. Find people that have the same background, profession, have the similar interests, hobbies, live in the same area, or thousands of other connections with you and your life. 2. You connect with someone through a social networking site, adding them to your network. You ve not only connected with that one person, but their entire network of friends. 3. You invite that person to learn more about you, your profession, your interests, etc. It s like inviting them to your office or out for coffee.
Business Functions: Meeting Customer s Needs Social Media is revolutionizing business networks, creating a two-way, customer-centric street. Social Media puts more power in the hands of the individual, keeping businesses honest and transparent. This creates a business that s more responsive to the customer.
Business Functions: Word of Mouth The number one business benefit: WORD OF MOUTH People talk Listening to what people are saying is the key to using Social Media.
How Social Media Fits into a Marketing Strategy Social Media can be a powerful tool. Considerations: It s just one tool in your marketing arsenal Keep your strategy simple & pertinent Sync your content with your core message Think small: guerilla and grassroots Your company is a person... predefine how you re going to portray yourself
Part 2: Social Media Types, Examples and Best Practices
Social Media Type Comparison Type Strengths Weaknesses Crowd Most personal and most used medium. Friends, relatives, and coworkers connect here Post length is limited. Content is not archived. 18-24 users hold the largest percentage, but 35+ group is the fastest growing Message carries faster and through the most networks Posts are limited to 140 characters Wide audience, most there specifically for networking Excellent for business networking, recruitment and business development Not as viral as other media types. Primarily career/business people Largest segment are mid-level professionals BLOGS Unlimited space to write on any topic. Can be linked to all SM sites Time consuming to keep up. Requires persistence. All ages
Facebook Facebook saw a 566% growth in users during 2008. This is due largely because of its user-friendly approach and integration with other Social Media sites. Great for building communities Groups and fan pages Provides a system to post photos and video Provides widget applications that plugin to Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other Social Media functions
Twitter Original concept: let your friends know what you re doing Short: 140 characters started for text message service on phones Follow: you see the messages of those you follow and vice versa News resource that media is watching/using Information & conversation resource Fast information dissemination
Twitter: What to Tweet Link to your blog posts, press release, & third party comments about your program Link to news & other content that your followers might find interesting Retweet interesting tidbits from people you follow Respond to questions, comments, & complaints
Twitter: Uses Get answers Run campaigns Network Personal thoughts/opinions Raise money (Twestival, Frozen Pea Fund) Emergency communications Tweetups Live-tweeting Organized chats
Twitter CEOs on Twitter Gives a personal face to a company Business leaders get direct responses from actual customers George Colony, Forrester Research http://twitter.com/gcolony John Battelle, Federated Media http://twitter.com/johnbattelle Bob Parsons, Go Daddy http://twitter.com/drbobparsons
Tweetdeck Application
LinkedIn LinkedIn caters to professionals Facilitates online discussions & information sharing Allows organizations & members to post jobs Enables news feeds Provides a place to manage members Allows weekly announcements Supports various applications Supports subgroups
LinkedIn: Groups LinkedIn also allows for groups. Some group benefits: Brand awareness, events, thought leadership, & information Way to stay in tune with members thinking Increased visibility & community Online collaboration Current database Volunteer resources
Blogs: There s no Place Like Home A blog-based site can serve as home or base of operations by bringing all Social Media outlets into one central place. Can be tied into current website Easily links to all of your social media accounts Unlimited space to express ideas, post articles, write stories or create business content Gives visitors an opportunity to respond directly A well-maintained blog, used in conjunction with other Social Media sites, can be a powerful tool for companies.
Blogs: First Steps Determine the purpose & audience Determine the overall topic of your blog Establish how often you re going to publish Choose a platform (WordPress) Hire an agency to build your blog and integrate it with your current site Start blogging!
Blogs: Best Practices Let go of control Allow commenting, both good and bad Develop targeted search terms Make it easy for users to find older posts Provide some type of automatic feed Include prompts for sharing individual posts Register your blog Participate in the blogosphere
Blogs TED Blog Integrates multiple social media platforms into one Video Personal user blogs Robust visitor commenting system Carefully planned messaging strategy makes entire blog cohesive
Blogs
Blogs
Social Media Best Practices Create all of your Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) and then link them all together with your website or blog. Choose a single person or small team to develop and manage Social Media content. Define content guidelines Update regularly! Blog no less than once every 2 weeks and update Facebook and Twitter 4-7 times a week. The goal is to network and gain as many contacts as possible so your content is spread over a wide audience.
Part 3: Put Social Media to Work!
Where to Begin? Know your audience(s) Start small pick one tool Don t give up it takes time Refine as you go Remember to be authentic & make it about your audience Just do it don t sweat the small stuff
Social Media Harmony: Tie it All Together Be careful to link all of your Social Media accounts and outlets in a cohesive fashion Coordinate all of your Social Media efforts Integrate social media endeavors with traditional outreach & marketing efforts Incorporate your social media IDs in your communications: Blog Email signature Business card Presentation slides
Social Media is Not Just a Great Business Tool Social Media is just that it s social. It s about people and how they interact on a personal basis. This makes it naturally geared for: Non-profits Healthcare Consumer-driven organizations Philanthropy/fundraising Issue awareness Customer service
Develop a Business Strategy for Social Media Define your business strategy: What business objectives do you want to accomplish with Social Media? Remember Social Media is just one tool in your marketing arsenal. Think of your business as a person in the Social Media world. Then define your business personality.
Quick Tips: How to Use Social Media Create content people WANT to read. Make it engaging, entertaining and informative. Keep your content conversation and social. Stay away from institutional or sales talk. The Social Media audience is a savvy crowd. They respond to honest, engaging content. Be patient! It takes time to build networks and your online brand presence.
Social Media Guidelines for Employees Please consult your human resources representative and/or legal counsel Specific to the needs of your organization In adherence to your business codes of conduct
Where Social Media is Leading Us Social Media will mature as technology improves Integration of all Social Media outlets Interest-driven networks (e.g., NING) Merge of technology, entertainment, communications (e.g., TED) Social Media will continue to change the way businesses relate to customers as best practices are established. Sites will come and go Social Media concept will stay
Questions and Answers
How We Can Assist 1. Identify how to best integrate Social Media as part of your strategic marketing plan and overall Strategic Plan. 2. Evaluate processes to streamline Social Media within your business. 3. Develop and implement your business s Social Media brand. 4. Create and launch Social Media based blogs, websites and campaigns.
Follow Us on Twitter and Win! Sign up for Twitter if you haven t already done so and follow Mopdog. http://www.twitter.com/mopdog or visit mopdog.com and click the twitter icon link Those that sign up and follow up through Wednesday, September 9 th will be entered in a drawing for a FREE 2 hour Social Media and brand strategy consultation with our team.
Next Steps: Contact us to learn more: Mopdog Creative + Strategy: www.mopdog.com www.mopdog.com/twitter www.mopdog.com/linkedin www.mopdog.com/facebook