Twitter: connecting with your customers in 140 characters

LinkedIn: connecting, sharing, learning and recruiting

Blogs: sharing your knowledge and passion

Adding to Your Social Media Toolbox

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Part of business has always been social…

…just the approach is new

• Outbound marketing is out. Inbound marketing is in

• Start by developing a strategy and a social media policy

• Your social media plan doesn’t have to be managed by one person. Different tools may be suited to different roles within your business

• Don’t become overwhelmed. Develop a social media schedule. How often you post, tweet or share is up to you

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

@arnoldmcp - Connecting with Customers in 140 Characters #sctchamber

What’s happening?

Connect With Customers In 140 Characters

• Consider Twitter a global focus group. Don’t be afraid of negative comments. You’ll know what people saying about you and you can respond quickly

• Benefit from word-of-mouth

• Small businesses are a natural for Twitter because they already rely on more personal relationships with customers and it’s free

• Provide value-added service

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Build Your Connections• Your username should be easily identifiable with you. You want people to

know who you are

• Fill out your profile and make sure you add a picture or logo

• Search Twitter for your existing contacts or import from Gmail, Yahoo and AOL

• Start building new connections by searching key words relevant to your business and follow people. Many will follow you back and you’ll have access to all their followers

• Direct message people to thank them for following you

• Set up your cell phone to tweet

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Get Started Tweeting

• Retweet things you find interesting. It’s like forwarding a message to all your followers

• Use a url shortener: www.bit.ly www.twurl.nl www. tr.im

• Content should be relevant to the conversation, not just self-promoting

• Use #hashtags. They are key words used for searching

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

RT @sctchamber Chamber of Commerce Lunch & Learn Twitter LinkedIn Blogs http://bit.ly/9qgHX8 #Twitter #LinkedIn #blogs#sctchamber

Custom background

Why?• Personalization and expression• Contact information• Branding• Artistic creativity

How?• http://www.twitrbackgrounds.com• http://www.twittergallery.com • http://twitrounds.com • http://www.twitterbackgrounds.org

• If you are comfortable with a graphics program use a template or work with a graphic designer to help you create one

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Managing your Account

• You can manage your tweets in Twitter

• Use a desktop program such as: – www.hootsuite.com – www.seesmic.com – www.tweetdeck.com

• Set up mobile apps such as seesmic / tweetdeck / hootsuite / ubertwitter for blackberry

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Effective ways to use twitter

• @virginamerica – A medical graduate was flying to England for a holiday and tweeted about it. Virgin saw it and they tweeted out asking anyone on the flight to buy the girl in seat 4B a drink and several customers did

• @cremebruleecart has a street cart and tweets its location

• @WoodhouseSpa tweets every Tuesday with discounts and specials

• @coffeegroundz takes orders via Twitter

• @christopherwines found new customers by searching the town and local tourism spots. He started conversations about the area and increased sales without promoting his business

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

LinkedIn: Business Connecting, Recruiting and Learning

Get LinkedIn

• Connect, share, learn and recruit

• It’s like an online business card collection

• Connect only with people you know

• Participate in groups to share your knowledge and make new contacts and to learn what others in your industry are doing and talking about

• Post and look for jobs

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Setting Up Your Profile

• Your profile is more than a résumé . It’s conversational so think about what makes you stand out

• You’re not just your job. Include personal endeavours, passions and interests

• Make sure you include your other social profiles like Twitter, Facebook or your blog

• Add your company profile and it will automatically post all your employees who have LinkedIn profiles

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Connecting

• Search using previous jobs, schools you attended or by name

• Recommend and ask for recommendations

• Get active in groups that interest you and expand your network

• The Answers section is a great way to get your name and expertise out there

• Share your knowledge. Don’t use it to “pitch” yourself

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Blogs: Sharing Your Knowledge and Passions

Blogs: Sharing Your Knowledge and Passions

• Read, watch and listen to other blogs and get a feel for whether it’s something you’d like to do

• Subscribe to blogs and you will get an email when there is a new post

• Comment on other people’s blogs. Remember it’s about conversation not competition

• Your blog doesn’t have to be about business. A personal blog is fun and you may find some surprising connections

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Types of Blogs

• Written blog: www.dressageforlife.com

• Video blog: http://tv.winelibrary.com

• Photo blog: http://mute.rigent.com/

• Audio blog/podcasts: www.managingthegray.com

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Blogging Tools

• Written blog: services such as Wordpress, Blogger and Typepad

• Photo blog: store your photos on Flickr or Picasa, for example, and link them to your blog. Posterous is a unique photo service that allows you to update it using email

• Video blogs are hosted on a video hosting site such as YouTube, Viddler or Vimeo and then embedded into your website or blog

• Audio blogs: record your blog, import it into itunes and embed it in your blog

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Get Blogging

• Identify your niche

• Use links to increase your visibility on search engines and get your name out there

• Interview experts in your area or consider guest bloggers

• Don’t be intimidated because you think you have nothing to say

• You can automatically post to your other social media tools

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Keys to Success

• Remember it takes time to build relationships so don’t expect results overnight

• Content, Content, Content

• Don’t get overwhelmed. Use your time strategically and remember to link your social media tools

• Have fun!

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

Resources

• http://business.twitter.com/twitter101• www.mashable.com – excellent social media blog and resource• www.hubspot.com – social media marketing blog and resources• http://www.openforum.com – small business forum by American Express • www.ted.com – inspiring videos

Our sites:• www.arnoldimcpherson.com• www.dressageforlife.com• www.wartimehouses.com

arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy