Social Media & Your BusinessWhat are you waiting for?
January 26, 2011
Georgianne Brown Co Founder & Managing Partner Big Couch Media Group
Agenda
• Big Couch Media Group• What is Social Media?• The Social Media Landscape• Why is Social Media Important? • Getting Started - Considerations• Other Social Media to Consider• Tracking & Analysis • Resources • Summary• Q&A
Big Couch Media Group • South Florida based digital strategy agency.
• Principles former senior digital executive leadership in publicly traded and large organizations in travel, financial services, health / wellness, and online retail.
• The BCMG team has extensive experience in assisting
emerging growth organizations develop, implement, and optimize results oriented digital strategies.
• Strategic Consulting• Interactive Development & Design • Interactive Marketing • Social Media • Mobile
What is Social Media?
"Online content created by people using highly scalable publishing technologies."
- Wikipedia.com
Social Media Strategy
The Social Media Landscape
Device Agnostic
Why is Social Media Important? • Bringing Your Brand, Product, and Services Where Your
Constituents are Gatheringo More than 500 million users of Facebooko LinkedIn - over 80 million members in over 200 countries
• Brand Reputation Management o It is now very easy to see what people are saying about
you and quickly respond • SEO
o Google LOVES social media • Cost Effective Platform to Connect and Engage with
Associates and Customers• It’s not a passing “fad”.
"Getting Started" – Considerations
• LinkedIn • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Company Blog • Google Places • Other Social Media
LinkedIn - Company Profile
• Optimize your company profile o Company name o Company description
Keyword rich o Address o Twitter integration o Link to company blogo Job Postings
LinkedIn - Personal Profiles• Create a robust personal profile • Aggressively reach out to build
your network through past and present business associates, colleagues, and clients
• Request recommendations • Join related groups • Encourage your employees to do
the same and attach themselves to the company profile
• Engage with status updates• Link Twitter & Blog
LinkedIn Optimization • Applications
– Slideshare – TripIt – Polls – Events
• Authoritative Leadership– LinkedIn Answers – Post articles – Start group – lead
discussion
• Create an optimized Facebook Fan Page o Robust description o Contact information o Photos o Videos
• Build Fan base o Employees o Associates o Clients o Related groups
• Engage in conversation o Regular updates - tips, articles, photos, news, PR, etc. o Monitor and answer inquiries
• Fan related and partner businesses • Consider targeted paid ad campaigns
Facebook Places
• Facebook’s entrée to Location Based Services• Information and / or
entertainment available via mobile that leverages GPS
• Claim your business on Facebook Places
• Leverage Facebook Deals as appropriate
Facebook Deals – Case Study
• The Gap launches nationwide promotion
• Check in through Facebook Places in store
• Chance to win one of 10,000 free pairs of jeans
Facebook “Like”
• Link your website to Facebook : • Facebook Connect – Single
sign on • “Like”
• Optimize Twitter page • Build Followers • Integrate Twitter as a
method for short and immediate messages:o Customer Service o Announcements o Press Releaseso Promotions o Reputation Managemento Industry News & Trends
YouTube
• YouTube is the largest online video community boasting over 60 billion videos watched each month
• Build company YouTube channel
• Will integrate with your other social media
• Optimize descriptions and link back to website
Company Blog
• Establish Company Blog
• Blog Platforms:• Blogger • TypePad • WordPress
• Tips for a successful blog:• Helpful content • Original content • Lists • Updates
• Link to other social media
Google Places
• Secure listing on Google Placeso Verification will be required
• Optimize Google Places description • Add images - photos & videos • Promotional messaging • Encourage clients & associates to submit reviews • Consider Google Tags (paid)
Other Social Media to Consider
• Other Location Based Services • Foursquare• Gowalla
• Reviews• Yelp
• Mobile • mWeb • SMS services
• Article syndication
Tracking and Analysis • Make sure you track and analyze all your
efforts, establish KPI’s (key performance indicators)
• Implement Google Analytics (free) to monitor:– Traffic & visitors to your website – Where visitors are coming from
• Establish Google Alerts for your company to monitor online media mentions or activity
• Social media monitoring services, i.e SocialMention.com
Connect Your Social Media
• Link your social media, as they all work together.
• Leverage services, i.e. OnlyWire, HootSuite to automate messages across social channels.
• Integrate company social media your website.
• Add your social media to your email signature.
Resources
Social media is evolving and ever changing, therefore it is critical that you stay current. • Daily Newsletters:
o Mashable (trends)o eMarketer (statistics)
• Articles: o 30 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Business:
http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/01/30-tips-for-using-social-media_pagen_3.html
• Several good Social Media Groups on LinkedIn
Summary
• Embrace social media as a strategy for your business, your competition is already doing it.
• Lead by example within your organization. • Allocate resource (internal or outsource) to make sure you are
monitoring and engaging in the conversation. • Integrate the concept internally - "casting a wider net". • Measure your results. • Stay educated. • Have FUN!
Georgianne Brown Co Founder & Managing Partner Big Couch Media Group
Today’s presentation is available on my LinkedIn profile.
www.linkedin.com/company/big-couch-media-groupTwitter: @BigCouchMediaFacebook: www.facebook.com/bigcouchmediagroupBlog: www.bigcouchmediagroup.com/blog
[email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/georgiannebrown Twitter: @georgiannebrown