the what, why, & how of social networking

The What, Why, and How of Social Networking

October 28, 2009

Skip ReardonDirector of Digital Marketing & Social Networking

Six Disciplines

In The Time It Takes Me To Do This Presentation…

• 333 million minutes will be spent on Facebook• 171 million text messages will be sent• 83,300 people will send tweets on Twitter• 59,367 professionals will visit LinkedIn• 1,200 hours of videos will be uploaded to YouTube

Today’s Agenda• WHAT

– What’s it all about?– How did we get here?– What’s all the fuss about?

• WHY– Why it’s no longer optional– What’s in it for us?

• HOW – What are the tools?– How do we get started?– How do we craft a strategy?– What does the future hold?

What’s It All About?

• Social Media (noun)– The tools & technologies combined with social

interaction that create communication and value.• Social Networking (verb)– The activities and use of social media.– The practice of expanding the number of one's

business and/or social contacts by making connections with others.

How Did We Get Here?

What’s All The Fuss About?

• It’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate, buy, and work.

• It’s not a fad – it’s not going away.

• It’s no longer optional.

Why It’s No Longer Optional

• Stop Making Excuses– My customers aren’t asking for it– My competitors aren’t using it– I don’t want our mistakes announced publicly– I don’t have the time– I don’t understand it

What’s In It For Us?

CommunicationEngage with customersBuild your communityAttract new customers

Improve your reputationBuild your brand

Earn trustBuild customer loyalty

How Do We Get Involved?What Are The Tools?

Blogs (and Blogging)

• Defined: a website maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, graphics or videos

• Participatory journalism, user-generated content• Personal, corporate, genre, media• Started in 1998, mainstream by 2004• Political impact, employment considerations

Blogs (and Blogging)

• Traditional Tools:• Newer blogging tools:

• Content is KING: user-created information• Revitalize old blog posts (for Google page rank)• Use categories, tags• Take advantage of Google Analytics (powerful, free)

Blogs & Blogging - Top Resources

• State of the Blogosphere – October 2009– http://bit.ly/1t1TpE

• My Best Advice About Blogging (Chris Brogan)– http://bit.ly/4mldwI

• 9 Hidden Benefits of Blogging– http://bit.ly/2CcXKv

• 50 Blog Topics Marketers Could Write For Their Companies– http://bit.ly/14RXxY

• 10 Things To Do Before Launching Your Blog– http://bit.ly/LeqHa

• How To Blog Almost Every Day– http://bit.ly/NB9At

• For professional networking & prospecting• 80% of companies – use LI for recruiting• October 2009 : 50 million members

Oct 09

• Personal Profile – “The LinkedIn Profile is the future of the resume.”

– Washington Post– Upload the same photo you use elsewhere online.– Fill your profile with colorful language, not drab

resume-speak. Include keywords in your summary statement.

– Collect diverse recommendations. Nothing builds credibility like third-party endorsements.

• Groups– Join groups – and get connected with others.– Contribute to the groups – don’t just lurk.– Join non-work related groups – shows you’re a human.

• Company Profile– Set up your company (for recruiting/brand awareness)

• Answers– Offer your expertise, become a recognized expert

• Advertising– Create DirectAds (cost-effective to reach targeted individuals)

Top Resources• 5 Tips to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

– http://bit.ly/94h0n • How To Build Your Company’s Profile on LinkedIn

– http://bit.ly/45Sa9W • 33 Ways To Use LinkedIn For Business

– http://bit.ly/1JhyVY• 6 Ways To Create Opportunities on LinkedIn

– http://bit.ly/4eJNek• 17 Invisible LinkedIn Tricks Revealed

– http://bit.ly/BXQKe• Create a LinkedIn DirectAd

– http://bit.ly/1id5bS

• 140 character limit – (aka a “tweet”) – roots in texting• Six different types of tweets:

– News, Spam, Self-promotion, Pointless Babble, Conversational and Pass-along Value.

• Your profile is key• Follow – and be followed (quality, not quantity)• RT = Re-tweet (reciprocity)• DM = Direct message (private)• #hash tags = categories, trends• Updates to Facebook, LinkedIn• October 2009 - 5 billion tweets later…

Why?

Personal Uses• Sharing news• Variety• Meeting new people• Building community• Real-time search• Learning• Entertainment

Business Uses• Brand building• Customer service• Product / service feedback• Monitoring trends• Contests, Polls, Coupons• Product / service reviews• Real-time testimonials• Competitive intelligence• Selling

Top Resources

• Basic Twitter for Beginners– http://bit.ly/2zZgo2

• Essential Twitter Apps (desktop, mobile, search, business, media sharing, URL shorteners)– http://bit.ly/31Zkpm

• Twitter Tips and Tactics – Best of 2009– http://bit.ly/2szb2y

• 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business– http://bit.ly/KEIRv

• 6 Ways To Integrate Twitter Into Your Website– http://bit.ly/3Z9ilH

• Sept 2009 - 300 million active users• 50% of active users use Facebook every day • Great way to keep up with friends, relatives, classmates, co-

workers• Fastest growing – 35+ years • Average user has 130 friends on Facebook• Each month

– 2 billion photos uploaded – 14 million videos uploaded – 3 million events created

• 65 million active users currently access Facebook through mobile devices

• For Business Use – Create a “Fan” page – More than 300,000 businesses — one-third of them

small businesses — have a presence on Facebook. – National pizza chain Papa John's added 148,000

fans on Nov. 17 through a guerrilla marketing campaign on Facebook. The promotion gained it thousands of customers and drove its Web traffic up 253%. It now has more than 300,000 fans and hopes to top 1 million by the end of the year.

Top Resources

• How To Get Started on Facebook– http://bit.ly/1afNc1

• How To Set Up A Winning Facebook Fan Page– http://bit.ly/3ydJS1

• How To Make a Facebook Ad in 15 Minutes– http://bit.ly/40Zydo

• How To Integrate Facebook with Your Blog– http://bit.ly/2tCaD3

• Facebook for Business Marketing Kit– http://bit.ly/qVo2U

• October 2009– 1 billion views – every day

• 11,574 views per second• 694,444 views per minute• 41,666,667 views per hour

• 24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute

• 25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video…on their phone

• By 2013, 90% of Web traffic will be video

Top Resources

• Using YouTube to Promote Your Business– http://bit.ly/4qWNJ2

• 34 Ways to Use YouTube for Business– http://bit.ly/2w8BdL

• Creating an Online Video Presence– http://bit.ly/3AEsW9

• YouTube 101 for Small Businesses– http://bit.ly/4leQmq

Crafting Your Social Networking Strategy

A Strategic Approach to Social Media

What Does The Future Hold?• Next gen of the web: connecting people vs. collecting

data• Mobile + social + real-time

• Corporate websites become irrelevant• Customers don't care what department you're in

• Increase in social personalization• Social networks spark the dawn of “social search “

– Microsoft’s Bing– Google

Useful Social Media Resources• The Social Media Revolution – you MUST watch this video

– http://bit.ly/299ghS • Why Social Media Is No Longer Optional

– http://bit.ly/dhpeo • 37 Statistics to Show Why Social Media is Not a Fad Anymore

– http://bit.ly/4r66gk • Social Media Strategy Checklist

– http://bit.ly/2P1z4x• How We Created and Implemented Our Social Networking Strategy

– http://bit.ly/23J3td• How To Leverage Social Media for Your Business

– http://bit.ly/44Ojpk• 10 Of The Best Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs

– http://bit.ly/1bCXTg • 10 Ways to Make Social Media Matter to Skeptical CEOs

– http://bit.ly/4twAb7 • How To Measure Social Media ROI

– http://bit.ly/FO2qB

Some Final Thoughts…

• Where to start? – Listen – learn – experiment – First platform: a blog– Next phase: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn– Reach out - connect with others – gain followers– Experiment and measure– Rinse, repeat

Questions & Answers• Request this presentation:

– skiprear@gmail.com• Visit the Be Excellent blog:

– www.SixDisciplines.blogspot.com• Connect on LinkedIn

- http://www.linkedin.com/in/sreardon• Follow on Twitter:

– www.Twitter.com/sreardon (@sreardon)• Friend on FaceBook:

– www.facebook.com/SkipReardon• Connect on Skype

– Sreardon